Akinola 'Blakinola' Verissimo is a Youtuber mainly known for his popular TL;DR series. In this interview he talks about his visit to the NYC LCS Summer Finals, meeting up with his fans, and his hopes for more east coast League events.

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Hey everyone, welcome to the NA LCS Finals. I'm Dig Nightsend and I'm here with Blakinola. Blakinola, how are you doing today?

Blakinola: I'm doing good. How are you guys?

Doing pretty great! So what brings a Youtuber out to a huge event like this?

Blakinola: Well, I'm based out of Philly so the biggest draw for me is that it was super close. It was only a 2 hour bus drive. Normally, the LCS is in LA and I've never been able to make it so it was really fortunate. Everything kind of fell together and there was no way I could miss it so here I am and it's one of the best experiences I've ever had.

So this is your first time coming to a big event like this?

Blakinola: Yeah, first time LCS. I've seen the stage before but I've never sat in on a game before so this is mindblowing.


So what's it like being a pretty big member of the community at a big event like this? Are you getting pulled over all the time with people wanting pictures with you?

Blakinola: It's really nice. Ever since I've started Youtubing, I've gotten bigger and bigger and this event is no exception. People stop me, have me sign stuff, say hi to them, shake their hands, and it doesn't get old. I stood there for 2 hours today signing stuff. I was so parched, I needed water, and I had to be physically pulled away. I don't like saying no to people so even while going to get food, I still stopped to sign something or take pictures and it never gets old. I can keep doing that forever and I love all the support that I've gotten from my fans and all the League of Legends people that are here.


So if we start getting more events on the east coast or more towards the center, do you think you'll be able to start making it to more getting out to the fans like that?

Blakinola: Yeah! It's all about the fans. Seeing people react to the content that I put out and having the ability to meet them in person, there's nothing different. It's such a great experience and hopefully this puts on a great prescedent for other events on the east coast. New York is a wonderful place. It's great to be here and it'd be nice to have a repeat at The Garden or some other major place on the east coast.

And the most important question is, what teams are you rooting for and, keeping that bias aside, what teams do you think will win?

Blakinola: I want TiP to win. I think they deserve it more. But Liquid probably has what it takes to beat them. They'll shake things up between TSM and CLG. For tomorrow's game, I want TSM to win and I know TSM is going to win.

Any final remarks or shoutouts that you want to make?

Blakinola: Thank you very much to my friends, my family, and everyone who supports me and watches my videos. All of the opportunities I've gotten as a result, to be here and interact with everyone that makes me what I am, you guys have my deepest gratitude, so thank you.


Thank you everyone. Thank you Blakinola. Thank you for watching and thank you to all of Team Dignitas' sponsors!