At the end of the Summer Split, Yusui chats about his history in LoL, where he’s at right now, and all the lessons he’s learned along the way. We talk about everything from Academy to LCS, as well as what he needs to translate towards the team’s success.
As the LCS Summer Split reaches its close and the last few teams are vying for the last slots to play in the Playoffs, I had the opportunity to sit down with Yusui and talk more about himself and his impression on DIG overall.
First of all, thanks for joining me. I appreciate your time. In my prep for our interview, I looked back on some previous interviews that you’ve done with other sites before, and I’ll be honest, I’m a bit sad that we haven’t gotten to hear more from you across your time as a pro. So, I’m wanting today to serve as a great jumping off point for everyone that’s looking to learn more about you, Yusui.
With that said, can you give me the TL;DR on where you got your start in Professional League, and your journey to joining DIG’s roster?
Yusui: Honestly, it’s been so long since my first competitive team. So, the way I usually describe it is, I started playing in late Season 2 or early Season 3. I hit high Diamond in Season 3, and started playing in Go-For-LoLs which were small weekend tournaments. Where you got a skin or RP, ya know?
Anyway, I hit Challenger the Season after and the first org I played for was LoLPro which was one of the Curse teams of the time. After them, I played for C9 Tempest and we performed pretty well. But not as well as expected, so I took a bit of a break.
I was at a point in my life where I could’ve either focused on school or on League, and still being high school, I chose that. But, as I got out and got into college, I felt the drive to compete again and I missed playing, so I picked it all back up.
Echo Fox Academy had a weird situation with a player and needed someone to fill in. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and I played on that roster and eventually the main roster for a short minute before making my way to DIG’s Academy roster. So, yeah that’s about the jist of my journey to get here today.
Having been on the LCS stage before as a main-roster player, what was it like for you to transition back to this point after having played in the academy circuit for almost two years?
Yusui: I’ve really liked both of the rosters I’ve played with. I think we’ve got some good guys and players. But yeah, it’s easy to say that the level of play is different, because obviously it is. But something that’s been different for me is the pressure of playing in LCS. In Academy, it feels like there are more games being played, so you feel like you can have an off game here or there, and it [does] not feel as impactful. But with the LCS the expectation is a lot higher, and the pressure of each individual game is much higher in comparison. So, that’s something I’ve had to come and adjust to since stepping up to the LCS again.
Regarding talent in NA, in an interview from many years ago that you had as a member of C9 Tempest, you were quoted saying that, ‘NA has a big lack of solo-lane talent’. Where do you stand on the strength of NA talent today, and do you think teams are pushing in the right direction to cultivate it?
Yusui: I think there have been some gems to come out of Solo-Queue over the years, and generally I’m not trying to be as negative as I was back in 2015.. But I think there’s still like a clear issue where there’s not enough good players in NA and I don’t think that’s limited to just solo lanes. And that’s part of the reason why there’s so many imports. But, every year we’ve seen one or two players pop up that were previously unknown. So, the talent is there.
What have been the biggest lessons for you throughout your professional career? Are there any words of advice or motivating situations that you recall during difficult periods now?
Yusui: Oooh.. One of the biggest lessons for me has been to not put weights or energy on things you can’t control. I think if I had that mindset earlier in my career, I would’ve been more successful starting out. And that applies to League for sure, but it also just applies to a lot of different parts of life as well. It’s just really important to focus on the things you can do, and not wasting energy on things like, ‘What could have been?’
Transitioning us to the present a bit, your promotion to the DIG main roster was met with raised eyebrows from the community and fans weeks back, do you think your performances have done well to quiet any concerns? Or do you not put a ton of stock into thoughts outside of the team?
Yusui: I will admit, I did care at the beginning. But, I talked a lot with our coaching staff and our sports psychologist, Lenny, and I just thought about it a lot on my own. I came to the conclusion that people will just criticize the losing team regardless of what’s going on, and that not just with DIG, that was with other teams too. Like, a player that’s typically good would have an off-game and would just get destroyed on Reddit, unjustifiably since Redditors don’t know what goes on in-game or anything about the communication or situations leading in. But, once I came to that realization, and I saw the trend of players that were clearly doing well just getting roasted, I thought, ‘Well, I should really never care about this.'
Do you think you’ve solidified yourself as a permanent fixture on the roster?
Yusui: Well, I actually don’t know. But, I think I’ve made a solid case for what I bring to the team and I’ve shown the coaching staff and my teammates the upside that I have. All I can really do is work on being more consistent and showing up for the matches that matter. I’ve definitely had some bad games and moments that were obviously not good, but I’ve also had some good moments too, and I’ve been performing well in scrims too. It’s just about translating all that.
Akaadian has stepped up after Dardoch left the roster and things seem to be finding a groove as you all have secured your playoff berth over the weekend. What has it been like to work with Akaadian and how has he helped your game since joining the team?
Yusui: Firstly, I think they’re both really good players. Akaadian brings a more controlled and steady style, whereas Dardoch has a very aggressive and explosive style. It’s very fun to watch. But, both have their merits, of course. I think Akaadian’s a bit more consistent though. He just brings a lot to the table since he’s been playing or a while now and, of course, he’s good.
Outside of the game, he’s helped me a lot with the fan criticism since he experienced that a lot with TSM. He’s been super supportive both in and out of game, and I think we’ve been doing really well together. So, it’s been good.
For our final questions, what have been your biggest lessons throughout this run with you as the starter? What do you think has been the thing that has improved most with you since your promotion?
Yusui: Communication. I have to make sure my team is involved in my own individual game. It’s very important as a Mid that you control the map since Mid Lane has a lot of impact. When I first came to LCS, I was so used to playing on an island and I found out that just wasn’t the correct way to do things, and I’d get punished by better Mids that were using their teams. But then, I realized, ‘oh wait I can use my team too’, so that’s been like the biggest lesson for me. Just better communication and incorporating my team in what I’m doing.
Closing Out
Thanks to Yusui for sitting with us and sharing with us all that he’s learned. Good luck to him and the team going into the playoffs. If you’d like to follow Yusui more closely you can catch him at these links!
Twitch
Twitter
