With just one event left in the RLCS 2021-22 Winter Split, things have started to take shape in the European Region. Dignitas currently sits in 3rd place, and hopes to punch their ticket to the Major during the final Regional Event. We had the chance to sit down with Dignitas' own Joris "Joreuz" Robben about how the Winter Split has gone so far and his hopes for the Major.

Hey Joreuz! The Winter Split is well underway. How has it felt to be back competing?

Joreuz: It's definitely more fun than the off-time! I really enjoy competing. Even though it has not been up to our standards, I still love the thrill!

You guys did see quite a bit of success in the Fall Split, and some good results have been achieved during the Winter Split as well. How do you feel like things are going overall?

Joreuz: While the results are still pretty good, I feel like we haven't played up to our standards. Our play has been underwhelming in my opinion, but it's looking like we're picking it up heading into Regional Event 3. I'm exciting about that as well!

And, with this new split, there's a new format. You're placed in a group with three other teams, and you play them all once. The top three teams from each of the four groups then play in a double elimination bracket to determine the winner of the event. How does this format compare to the Fall Split format for you?

Joreuz: I like the Fall Split format, the Swiss, way better than this one. In this Group Stage, if you lose once, you kind of screw yourselves up because you probably won't get first in your group, and that means that you go straight to the lower bracket. The difference between getting first and second in your group, and the small difference that it could take, is so rewarding or disappointing. If you get first, you instantly get two lives, because you're in the upper bracket and you're guaranteed Top 6. It's a really big difference for a really small result difference.

So, in Regional Event 1, you got put into a group with Team Queso, Misfits Gaming, and Rix.GG. You went 1-2, but that was enough to get you into the bracket. You finished out the first day by taking out Luminosity in the first round of Lowers. How did you feel about that first day? Did you feel like there was some rust to be shaken off after the break.

Joreuz: Oh yeah, we definitely had to shake off some rust. The thing is though, we lost twice, but it was against Misfits and Queso, and we've had tough matches against them in the Fall Split as well. We actually haven't beaten Misfits once. So, with those two teams, we know that they're the most difficult for us to play against. It's still a decent thought that we still haven't lost to a team that isn't one of those two.

On the next day, though, you guys did really well! You swept Karmine Corp and Williams Resolve, which got you into the semi-finals. What made things click on that day and against those teams?

Joreuz: When we dropped to the Lowers after Groups, all of our mentalities instantly changed. In Groups, after the first loss, we were kind of demotivated because we knew we probably wouldn't get first in the group anymore. When we went to Lowers, we all had a mentality shift. We knew that if we lost, we were out, and we weren't going to go out in 9th-12th. We want to make the Major. I've never put that much energy into matches before, and it just showed in our comms and our gameplay. We really got fired back up again, and it rebirthed our play on the field.

And that continued into the next day as well. You beat a pretty tough Endpoint team, and then you very impressively swept Team BDS without even conceding a single goal. Talk a little bit about those two games.

Joreuz: So, we struggled against Endpoint in the Fall Split. But, in scrims, we do really well against them. So we went in with a lot of confidence. Our play was kind of lacking in the series, but we still managed to scrape out the win. We just played a basic playstyle and managed to outpace them. And then, BDS. In scrims, we've just been completely clapping them every single time. We went in with full confidence, we knew we were going to beat them. Not conceding once was the cherry on top.

Finally, you reach the Finals. You come up against Team Queso for the second time in that event. Queso was able to get the win, which was their first Regional Event win. Did this team really surprise you, or did you see that they had that potential.

Joreuz: Team Queso plays a lot like us. We have the exact same playstyle. On the day itself, we just saw that our mechanics were slacking and they were peaking. I've honestly never seen a team have all three players play that well mechanically. We saw that the potential was there, but it was still kind of surprising. Before, they would make small mistakes in their mechanics, but in that Final, they were picture perfect.

After that, you guys went into Regional Event 2. You were placed in a group with Misfits Gaming again, as well as 00 Nation and Team Vitality. You went 2-1 this time, which was good enough for 2nd in the group, but you still had to go through Lowers. Then you finished off the first day by sweeping Na'Vi. How'd you feel about those games?

Joreuz: So, when we saw that Misfits was in our group again, we were like, "Here we go again." We tried our best, but our play again just wasn't up to standards. I think we deserved that we got 2nd in the group. And then, with Natus Vincere, I'm going to be honest. They're just barely a Top 16 team. So we should win those.

The road did come to an end for you guys on the second day. You beat Luminosity in a tough 5-game series, but then in the Lower Quarterfinals, you ran into Team Queso, and unfortunately took the loss. This gave you a 5th-6th place finish. What do you make of those games and the event as a whole?

Joreuz: Luminosity was a very difficult series. We kind of threw early on, but then we picked it back up. We won because we had some really good last second saves and some clutch shots, but not because we were way better than them. And then, the Queso series, I'm pretty sure we won Game 1, and then in Game 2, we were 2-0 up. But then, we completely threw and were 2-3 down. From there, it kind of went downhill. It felt like we should have won that series, and could have. But, again, it was not up to standards.

So, the final event of the Winter Split is on the horizon. You guys are still positioned quite well to qualify for the Winter Major. How exciting is the idea of playing at another LAN for you, especially one where fans will be able to attend?

Joreuz: I'm really looking forward to it. We do still have to make it, so I'm knocking on wood. I hope we qualify as soon as possible, hopefully get first in Groups. I've never been to America before, so it would be sick. And then, there's the fans. I can't wait, to be honest. In the Fall Major, I saw that I can perform well on LAN, but there were no fans. Now, I want to see how we will perform in front of fans. The adrenaline is definitely going to be at an all-time high. It's 5000 people! I definitely know it's going to blow my mind when I sit on that stage. It's a lot of people!

Finally, are there any shoutouts you'd like to give? And where can people keep up with you?

Joreuz: Shout out to my teammates, ApparentlyJack and Scrub Killa. And our mentality coach, Big Lenny, of course. People can keep up with me on Twitter!

Thanks for taking your time to chat!

Joreuz: Of course!

We'd like to thank Joreuz again for taking time out of his practice schedule to chat with us in the run up to the Regional. Make sure to watch the team in action when the Regional begins on February 25th by watching the team's Twitch stream!