DIG Santorin’s Thoughts Going into the LCS Season
DIG Santorin shares his thoughts on the new roster, his team goals, and reuniting with old friends!
Dignitas’s new Jungler, Lucas ‘Santorin’ Larsen took the time out of the busy pre-Split scrimming to discuss his outlook on this new roster, his goals for the team, and his opinions on the scheduling and formatting changes new to this year!
Note to reader: This interview was conducted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2022, the night before the first LCS game.
The first thing that I wanted to ask you right off the hop is about Dignitas obviously making a big change with pretty much an entirely new roster. I'm curious, why do you think they chose you as their jungler? And why did you choose Dignitas?
Santorin: Yes. So, why did they choose me? I mean, that I'm not sure, I assume just being a good jungler, so I can't really talk too much about that because I don't really remember if they actually ever told me.
But when it came to why I chose Dignitas, I feel like they have done poorly the last couple of years but before that, they were pretty good, and I feel like they want to now go back to that route where they want to be a good org and they want to actually win and succeed and compete.
That's the vibe I got and from talking to them a lot of it feels like they wanted to really make a competitive roster. And when we started talking about the pieces of the team, I was really, really interested. You know, there's a lot of players in this team that I really enjoy working with already because I played with them before, and it just felt like a good place for me to go and that's why I chose Dignitas.
The only piece that has stayed consistent from last year is Spawn. He is still a relatively new name in the LCS, so what has it been like playing with him so far?
Santorin: Honestly, I really like playing with Spawn. He’s a really nice guy, works really hard and is good at taking criticism. I think he has all the pieces to become a really, really good AD Carry. Sometimes, you have players that are good, but they are hard to work with, or they have attitude problems, or they don’t work hard enough. I feel like he has the whole package, and we have a lot of players around him so we can help him grow as a player because, you know, he is still new to the scene. Because of all that I feel like he is set up for success.
Staying on the topic of your teammates. You have been reunited with two of your past teammates. I first want to ask you about IgNar from your time back on FlyQuest. You two seemed to work really well together back then. What would you say about your Jungle/Support synergy, and has it clicked the same way as it did back then?
Santorin: Well, the issue is he actually doesn’t have his visa right now…*laughs* So I haven’t been able to play with him at all. So, we are playing with Biofrost currently, who is still an LCS-caliber Support, which is awesome. But, yeah, we haven’t gotten to play together yet, but back in the day, I remember when I was playing with IgNar, I was really happy with him because I remember back then he was one of the best Supports, if not the best Support, in the league. I remember how he’s very proactive, and he’s good at getting his team to do the same thing. He’s good at engaging and playing the map, and he’s just a well-rounded player. It always feels like even if the game feels out of control, he will make a good engage and figure out a way to win the game. I really enjoy working with him and on top of that he’s a really funny guy so also team environment-wise it’s nice to have him around.
That brings me to Jensen. Jensen is another big name in the LCS, especially when it comes to consistent, high-caliber performance, having been to Worlds eight (8) years in a row. How has his presence inside and outside of the game helped you perform previously, and how do you feel it could change moving forward?
Santorin: The thing I really like about Jensen is that if he ever makes a mistake, he instantly knows what it is and he’s completely fine talking about it. In general, he always tests his limits in scrims and solo queue, and on stage he can still play aggressive but in a smarter way, and I feel like he always performs when it matters. I think that’s a really high-caliber player in the sense that I feel like he always puts in the work when it matters.
You know, you have players that play really well in scrims and solo queue, but when it really matters, they choke. Jensen is the opposite. So you always feel comfortable having him as a teammate because whether you win or lose in scrims I always know this guy is going to perform when it matters.
Obviously, the last teammate I have to ask about is Armut. Coming from the LEC, Armut was able to make a quick name for himself there, what do you feel like he has brought to the team so far?
Santorin: Armut also has visa problems, but he did come in a couple days ago. I’m still learning the roots of Armut, but I will say he’s a very vocal player. He is good at bringing the team together, and I honestly really enjoy playing with him. He’s really good at taking responsibility for himself and making sure we stick to the game plan and he’s a very talented player.
Obviously, there are these memes about him only playing Gnar or whatever, but he has a really deep Champion pool, so I think going into this year after only a few scrims I’ve been really happy with him!
One of the things I’m hearing you mention about each of your teammates is responsibility. It seems like the fans believe that you have a set of individuals that can hold each other accountable and show a consistent performance. From what you’ve gathered so far, do you think you have met the fan expectations in terms of the vibe you’re getting from the team?
Santorin: I’m not going to lie, it’s still a brand-new team and the first couple of weeks are always rough. We are all from different teams that all had different structures and ways of playing the game. Every team that I’ve joined in the beginning, it’s always a little shaky because there are so many layers of information and communication that needs to be improved on. Since we haven’t had the full roster and Armut only came a few days ago, there is still a lot to get better at, but with time, I think we will be a really strong team.
The only reason I sign to teams is when I believe we can win the whole thing. I feel like with this set of guys we can, it’s just a matter of time and of course having the full team together. You don’t get to develop the style you want to do as a team when there’s players missing, but so far, I’ve been feeling pretty good about it.
Do you have any goal for your team or yourself to use as a benchmark to look back on at the end of the season to see how you’ve done?
Santorin: This one is hard for me, because I feel like every single split, I’ve had the goal of winning LCS. I have gotten really close many, many times in the last couple of years, but I have never actually made it. I still want to win the Split and go to Worlds and do well, but obviously you have to take it one step at a time and since we are a new team I think Spring, I would be happy with top three. It’s definitely in the right direction, but by Summer, I want to win the entire thing.
Especially when you consider a lot of teams have kept some parts of the same core of their last team, in Spring, they will start off stronger because they already have an idea of how they want to play the game and won’t have to rebuild the whole structure like we will. I do believe once we have all five players and start working together, we will be a really, really strong team!
Looking at your performance individually, with the changes of the new season, how would you say the changes have impacted your playstyle as a Jungler?
Santorin: I’m not going to lie, I feel like the meta is very similar to last year’s Worlds. It’s the same Champions and the same way to play the game, but the next patch seems like it will change a lot. Right now, I feel really comfortable and I feel like no matter what season of League I’m going into, I always do well, so it’s not a worry that things are changing. This kind of playstyle suits me a lot because I like playing these kinds of Champions so I think I’ll do well.
I finally wanted to ask you about your opinion of the LCS, MSI, and Worlds changes for this year?
Santorin: Personally, for me the LCS moving days doesn’t matter at all. I don’t care if I’m playing on Tuesday or a Thursday. For us, we just go to work and do our thing whatever day it is. I will say the start time… at least they moved it a little now it starts at 2pm, but I still feel like it’s too early. I know that now North America has an easier time watching it than the 12pm start, but now it’s even harder to watch from Europe so I’m not too excited about it. In the end, it’s not the viewership I care about, it’s winning. So, whether there’s 100k people, 500k, millions, it doesn’t matter. Obviously, it would be nicer with more, but in the end I’m still just looking to win and that’s my main concern. It still sucks because I feel like the previous schedule was better for viewership but maybe I’ll be proven wrong.
For MSI, I’m excited that there will be two teams from NA going now. I hope we can get to the top two this split. At least for me, I’ve gotten second in 2020 and 2021 and it sucked not going to MSI, so it would be fun to do it this year.
When it comes to Worlds, having the Swiss format is definitely really exciting. I was personally one of those people that didn’t like the format for all those years and never understood why it was the way it was, but I’m glad they are taking it in another direction.
We’d like to thank Santorin for taking the time to sit down with us and discuss the team just hours before their first game! If you’d like to hear and see more of Santorin, check out his socials:
