Astralis Dajor: “I think Fnatic right now is the strongest team and I want to get whooped by Humanoid”

Astralis entered the LEC 2022 Spring Season with only two changes to their rosters, swapping in Kasper “Kobbe” Kobberup in the bot lane and a newer face to the competitive scene, Oliver “Dajor” Ryppa. We interviewed Dajor last year during his EU Masters run with Fnatic Rising, and he’s risen up from playing in the NLC and EU Masters to LEC.

First and foremost, thank you so much for joining me on this interview, Dajor. Commiserations on the loss against Rogue. Let’s start off nice and easy and talk about the previous game, what are your reflections on the game against Rogue?

Dajor: I think they kind of knew what we were going to pick. So they had some good bans against us with the Corki and Vex, we didn’t expect that. But in the end, I think we still drafted pretty well and we were happy with the outcome of the champions.

But in the end when we were in-game again, just like last time, we played too defensively I think, and therefore we just let Rogue scale which was exactly what they wanted. And they were also like 5k ahead at 20 minutes already, so it was kind of doomed.

I don’t mean to be a downer but Astralis of course ends the superweek 0-3. Since you know it’s only the first week of play of LEC, what are your takes on Astralis performances in week one, generally? 

Dajor: The game against Rogue was probably the worst. Day 1, the game against Misfits Gaming, I would say was the best day even though it was the first and no one really played the game even close to perfectly. I guess day 2 was fine, not the best and not the worst, some good and bad moments.

So I think overall week 1 was not too bad. I think even though we are 0-3 now, we’re still learning how to play as a team. I’m still learning how to play on stage because it’s my first time in LEC. So overall, it’s not too bad.

The last time I interviewed you, it was during EU Masters 2021 summer actually. You told me that you wanted to play in LEC after two years, and here we are! I’d just wanted to get some thoughts from you on how it feels to be playing in LEC straight from EU Masters with Fnatic Rising?

Dajor: It’s funny that you mentioned that I said that in the last interview. That went pretty quickly after all! In terms of the difference between playing at the top tier of EU Masters and LEC right now, I don’t think there’s that big of a difference. I mean right now, I was pretty nervous playing in the first week but I think it’s getting better every day. I already felt more confident playing in-game against Rogue.

Overall, it’s only playing League of Legends. It doesn’t matter if you’re in EU Masters, in Prime League, if you’re in LEC or even at Worlds, you’re still playing League of Legends. Just for more viewers. The difference would be the daily life in LEC. It’s more serious. LEC feels like a job and not playing League as a hobby.

Since it’s your first time in LEC and you mentioned being nervous, even though it’s getting better, talk to me on how you are meshing with the team. Astralis is full of veteran players and you’re the new blood in the team. How are you meshing so far?

Dajor: I think we are matching well already. Like you said, Astralis has four veterans and a rookie in myself, so it’s probably a perfect dream for the rookie. We are learning from every scrim. I get to learn so much every scrim and every official game. I mean, of course we are 0-3 right now but as I’ve said in previous interviews, I just want to learn the most I can in the Spring Season and come back stronger in the Summer Season.

What would be your personal goal for spring then?

Dajor: My personal goal for spring? Maybe just not getting 10th place. But I wouldn’t really mind getting 10th, it’s just Spring Season. I have to show what I’m capable of in summer.

It’s just Week 1 and you still have a lot of days and matches to go and since you are new to the LEC, are there any players or teams that you want to meet?

Dajor: Hmmm, maybe Fnatic. I think Fnatic right now is the strongest team and I want to get whooped by Humanoid.

Shouldn’t you say you want to whoop Humanoid?

Dajor: No, no, that’s not how it works (laughs)!

That’s a funny one! I wish you luck when you play them. Before we end I’d like to ask you a little bit about the mid lane meta at the moment. What do you think of in general? Do you think it’s a very flexible meta?

Dajor: I think the meta right now, you can really play a lot of champions. I don’t think there’s one specific champion that’s really overpowered and I think it’s generally quite balanced right now. Of course they are strong picks like LeBlanc or Twisted Fate, but they have counters as well and these counters are not bad champions. So right now you can literally play anything, I think.

It’s funny you should say that you can literally play anything, because from the time I’ve watched you until now from NLC to EU masters, you’ve been known to pick Seraphine mid. So I have to ask you now: when are you going to pick Seraphine mid in the LEC and show people what you’re really made of?

Dajor: (laughs) I think Seraphine right now is not even a bad pick, we saw it being played by G2 Esports in the bot lane against us. And if you can pick it bot then you can probably pick it in the mid lane as well at some point, you just need to have the right composition around it. I don’t think the percentage is too low that I will pick Seraphine one day.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance?

Dajor: There’s for sure a chance!

We’ve come to the end of the interview. Any final thoughts or any shoutouts you’d like to give?

Dajor: I’ve received a lot of support on social media and other platforms, so thank you for that and keep supporting us this week. Hopefully things will be better in Week 2.

Best of luck in Week 2, Dajor!

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