We sat with Jungler eXyu to talk about the end of the season and his thoughts going into the off-season. We talked about his presence in the professional League of Legends scene, what he’s learned between his Academy and LCS runs, and what the focus was for the DIG team during the final push of the season!

Hi eXyu! Naturally, DIG fans have seen you before since you stepped in for the main LCS lineup a few times before, but for those that are more unfamiliar with the team, can you give us a brief glimpse at your start with the team?

eXyu: I entered the Semi-Amateur Pro Scene through the collegiate scene. I played two years there while also playing for side teams that were in the challenger bracket. Then in 2020, when COVID hit, I made a post about being top 25, 1000LP, and it kinda blew up. I told my story about dropping out of college and trying to pursue this full-time and then I got picked up by C9 for their amateur team. Of course, I put a ton of time into the game and then there was a fiasco about Scouting Grounds in 2021 with my invite and it made my career unsure, but I got lucky and got a tryout with DIG. I got down here in early January and as soon as I landed the manager, Toby, was like, “You excited to play in LCS?” and I was like, “Nah I’m actually an Academy player.” And he goes, “No-no-no, you’re in LCS since River has visa issues.” So, I played for the LCS through Lock-In and then went back to Academy.

When you found out you were moving to the LCS lineup, what did that mean to you and how did you handle the shift in workload?

eXyu: I’m happy to be back. My experience in Lock-In made Academy feel easier than it likely would’ve been had I just went straight there, so my first run in the LCS helped. The first time I had the overwhelming feeling of, “I’m a Pro Player and playing in the LCS right out of Academy” but coming back has been good and I’m thankful for it.

Comparing your time in the Academy circuit to the LCS now, what are some of the biggest differences between the two that you think fans and players don’t consider between the two Leagues?

eXyu: I think Academy players look really good in Academy because you don’t get punished for your mistakes. So, as long as you’re a pretty good player, you’ll make a lot of really good plays, and the enemy team will make a lot of really bad plays. So, it’s one-sided and all you making the good plays. But in LCS, everyone’s a pretty good player and the mistakes that Academy players make get really exposed, especially against the top teams. So it makes people change their opinions really quickly.

What is something you’ve learned from playing against the LCS starting Junglers that you’ve come to adapt to your game?

eXyu: I think Jungle at a high level is a lot of mind games. I think one of the things I’m pretty good at is taking gambles. But, when you’re in LCS, it’s a little scarier to take them. So, especially since I was thrown into the water out of the blue, I wasn’t too confident to make those plays. But I learned to play more consistently and understand how to win the game without having to completely take over. Just letting the game naturally progress. But I think the really good Junglers are able to push the limits to the max, like Inspired.

When it comes to the team, who’s been helping you the most when it comes to adjusting and picking up the pace of the LCS tempo? In a previous interview with Blue, he mentioned you two hitting it off really well!

eXyu: I would definitely say Blue also. When I first came to Lock-In, he made it really easy for me to fit in with the team, he tried to help me as much as he could and make sure I wasn’t feeling uncomfortable. If I made mistakes, he would try to explain why instead of being toxic about it. He was very friendly and helpful. And of course, when I came back to LCS, I was very excited to work with him.

Lastly for the more LCS focused side of things, DIG was scrapping at the bottom of the ladder and playoffs were in sight, but it was something that felt like a coin flip when looking from the outside of things. What were things like around the team and what is the focus on during times where it may not feel worth it to some other orgs?

eXyu: Our team mentality, literally until the very end, was we were going to try and make playoffs. So, that was what we were all pushing towards. I honestly think that the atmosphere wasn’t as bad for a 10th place team as some would think. Especially considering that three of us were rookies. But the two veterans that we had were very mature. They understood the situation and were all about helping us experience as much as possible and learn as much as we could. So, it wasn’t toxic or negative, it was very hopeful.

Even until the end, we thought we could make playoffs. Even in the GGS game, the game was definitely in our control, but it just slipped away due to inexperience or lack of understanding. But, honestly, with how we played those last weeks, most of us can be pretty proud with what we put out in that short window. If we had been playing together all year, I think we could’ve even taken the game against EG too.

Looking out some out of LCS stuff, have you seen the potential preseason Jungle update? What do you make of all of it?

eXyu: I heard something about making clearing easy and more forgiving. Something involved Jungle pets which seems interesting. But I’m not sure how they’re gonna incorporate it. But the reintroduction of the Chem-Tech Drake is interesting and how it mutates the plants and makes the map all wonky.

Do you think these changes could address the pressure and difficulty of the Jungle role?

eXyu: I think it’s a step, but whenever you are trying to learn Jungle or get someone new into the game into playing Jungle, no one wants to learn it since there are so many little intricacies to the role to understand. And those skills don’t translate to other roles, so if you commit to learning Jungle, you’re committed to that. So, I always encourage everyone to learn other roles, then learn Jungle since you’ll learn the actual fundamentals of the game since the Jungle role plays around those rules.

Getting into the postseason things of it all, what is something you’re going to be looking forward to experiencing during the downtime? Any big goals or plans?

eXyu: Since Worlds is in NA, I don’t really plan on doing any boot camping or anything. All the Pro Players will be here for Worlds, so no point in really traveling. Definitely want to take some time off, but I’ve been having a hard time staying away from the game. But, this offseason, I really want to work on my understanding of the other roles.

Like I mentioned earlier, I think the best Junglers are proficient at pushing things to the limits and that comes from an understanding of all roles. So, like Canyon was able to play in the LCK as a Mid Laner sub. So, that’s something I want to work on this off-season. I don’t think directly practicing Jungler will help a whole lot since there will be a lot of changes coming up. Overall, getting a better understanding of the game is really important to me.

Thanks to eXyu for sitting with me for the interview! If you’d like to follow him across social media, you can find him on:

Twitch
Twitter