FNC Nisqy: “It’s important as a midlaner that you can play a bit of everything and I feel like I am one of those players”

Despite early concerns, Fnatic ended Week 2 of LEC 2021 summer with a 3-2 record defeating Team Vitality and Excel Esports and are now tied for third with Rogue and MAD Lions.

Fnatic midlaner Nisqy took time off after their win against Excel to talk about their current form, what role he would role swap to and if he missed playing in the US.

Thank you very much for accepting this interview and congratulations on defeating Excel Esports to go 3-2! Let’s start with the game against Excel, how was the game like for you? Was the level one jungle play something you guys planned from the start and you knew Dan would invade despite your ward?

Nisqy: We knew something was wrong at level one when we went botside and we didn’t see them, so we kind of expected them to be around the topside. That’s where Bwipo started raptors as well and somehow we got a huge advantage from it. Bwipo got the red buff and raptors instead of just one of them. After that, the game was really hard for Excel afterwards.

Later into the game, you guys had a big fight after getting the Ocean Soul, which was very messy and close. What was the communication like during that fight? Were you guys confident you would still win 4v5 even after Hylissang was out of it?

Nisqy: We were basically just calling to play really slowly because we had somewhat of a poke composition. I guess Excel’s composition was also a poke comp, but we had the Ocean Soul and they didn’t. The plan was us waiting for Rumble’s ultimate to go off cooldown and my bubbles to hit someone.

Even though Hylissang died, we were still confident we could win because we knew we were pretty much ahead gold wise. We turned around to fight when I landed a bubble on Ezreal and then we cleaned everything up with Renekton after that.

Yesterday you faced Team Vitality and it was quite a game, a very dominant performance coming from Fnatic. Defeating both Excel and Vitality means that Fnatic go 2-0 for Week 2, what preparations or changes did you guys make?

Nisqy: I mean, I feel like we’ve actually done pretty well in Week 1 even though we went 1-2 against Misfits Gaming, Rogue and MAD Lions. I think we should have won against Misfits and the game against Rogue, it was just a really hard draft for us to play out and I’d say it wasn’t really our style. We’ve learned so much from these losses, maybe compared to some other teams, who still continue playing the same things.

I also think we adapt really well to what our strengths are and we see what works for us. Now we have a much better idea on what our meta/identity is and what we think is really strong as a team as well. So yeah, that’s what I think has been working better for us.

I’d like to touch on two points that you mentioned, regarding meta and team synergy. With Bwipo becoming a jungler and with Fnatic now five games in, how would you say your synergy is developing and what is the biggest difference playing with Bwipo as a jungler compared to Selfmade?

Nisqy: I’d say… our synergy has been pretty good to be honest. I think we’re definitely up there among the best mid-jungles duos in Europe, in my opinion, synergy wise. I know his timers really well and he knows what I need, and we have good combos together. On average, we just play really well together. We have good communication in-game as well, so it really helps a lot.

I think the main difference between Bwipo and Selfmade is that Selfmade was more of a carry oriented player compared to Bwipo. Bwipo’s new to the role so he’s exploring everything right now. He doesn’t necessarily have a style for now and he’s just adapting to what I think is good or what’s good for the team, compared to Selfmade who likes the carry champions.

Fun question: If hypothetically you were to choose to role swap. Which position would you pick and why?

Nisqy: Hmm… it’s probably either jungle or botlaner, I would say, because these are the two roles that can impact the game a lot (laughs)! Jungle for sure impacts the game a lot and then being a botlaner just because playing carry champions is fun, so yeah!

Good answer! Moving on to the meta. Many say the current meta is being proactive early, fighting a lot and scaling is not always the best option. Since Fnatic loves to take fights, is the team just very suited to the current meta and you guys will play like this regardless of the meta? What are your thoughts on this?

Nisqy: It’s difficult to say now because it’s a new roster and we’ve only been playing in one meta so far. Of course, we like to fight a lot and I think the fights we take are usually good as well, since it’s calculated and not just random or terrible fights. We like fighting champions but I feel if the meta switches, then as a team we would probably be able to adapt, because right now I don’t think the meta has been figured out yet, to be honest.

I think a lot of champions are playable in every single role. You can play whatever you want, scaling champions, melee champions and the like. We will just play whatever we think is strong and as long as it’s working, we will probably not change it.

Following that point, there’s been a lot of debate on mid lane. Some say it’s still very strong while others say it’s very weak, due to mages not being very strong, even though we still see Orianna, Zoe and Viktor. What do you think of the current midlane meta right now? Do you think it’s very diverse or restrictive?

Nisqy: I like the current meta a lot. You can pretty much play literally anything you want as long as you’re really good at it, which makes it really exciting! You can see it in LPL and LCK, and it’s like two different metas. In the LEC as well, some players prefer mages while others like melee champions or assassins.

We see so many different champions and in my opinion, in this meta it’s important as a midlaner that you can play a bit of everything and I feel I am one of those players that can play every style, so I think it helps us a lot too.

Going into Week 3, we’re seeing a lot of ties (as always in EU) and there’s generally the ‘everybody can beat everybody’ trend at the moment. What do you think of the competitiveness of LEC summer at this point of time compared to spring?

Nisqy: It feels similar, honestly. It’s maybe a bit different just because G2 Esports is not really at the top anymore, so there’s not just one favorite team. For example, Misfits is doing pretty well right now and people were discussing if perhaps Misfits can win summer and the like, which makes it really interesting for me.

I think a lot of teams can actually win this season, it will just depend on which one has the better form at the end. So yeah, for now there’s probably no real favorites, which makes it exciting for fans and for the teams as well. This season has been a bit weird to be honest, like some teams losing matches when they should not and some are doing really well when I didn’t necessarily think they were that good. It’s interesting to see how summer has been going so far.

(Author’s note: Well, there are six more weeks, so if it’s weird now..)

Generally speaking, my focus tends to be around the European Regional Leagues (ERLs). I’ve written about Fnatic Rising before and the last time I spoke to them, the academy was very close to the main team. How close is the LEC team to the academy? Do you exchange a lot of ideas with Febiven?

Nisqy: Not necessarily, but last season Febiven and I talked a lot compared to summer so far. We’ve not been talking as much as we did in spring, not for now at least. Of course, if he wants to talk, he knows I will always be around to respond. Conversely, I also know that if I need something like 1v1 practice or anything else, I can always hit him up and he will be ready to help as well.

A more difficult question then, when you joined Fnatic and when Febiven was signed for Fnatic Rising, there were some people who were outspoken on how Febiven should start in the main team instead of you. How have you dealt with seeing those kinds of opinions on social media?

Nisqy: To be honest, I don’t really care what other people think of my performances. As long as my team thinks I’m good enough and they trust me, then I don’t really care about public opinion. I know Febiven is a really good player and I respect him because he has been successful in the past, and now he’s working hard as well, which also makes me work harder so it’s good motivation.

But in the end, if I’m able to keep my form, I don’t think I will be losing my spot to anyone. That’s why I’m so confident in my play as well.

Since Fnatic has a role swapped player and a rookie, what are your goals and expectations for summer? Are you guys confident that even with new changes to the roster, Fnatic will still be aiming to win the LEC in your first season?

Nisqy: Of course. We kept four out of five players and even with the role swap, Bwipo in the jungle has been really refreshing for the team. Hylissang and Bwipo have also been really good together, Upset and Hylissang have been even better, and our mid-jungle synergy is better than before.

It’s just positive all around the board and I think Adam has been adapting really well. He’s a rookie and he has been doing a pretty good job. I only see positive stuff from us for now, at least.

Before we end, another fun question: Do you miss playing in the LCS and the US compared to Berlin?

Nisqy: (laughs) Yes, I do miss some of my friends there! I miss the Cloud9 boys, such as Closer (100 Thieves’ jungler), just the people I knew from there. It’s a different vibe I’d say in NA and it’s also where I started so for sure I do miss it sometimes, but I don’t really have the time at the moment to miss it, you know? I’m so focused and busy that I don’t even really think about it.

I still get so many messages from C9 and NA fans in general, which is kind of surprising because I’ve left the region, but yeah it’s nice!

Anything else you’d like to add? Any shoutouts you’d like to give?

Nisqy: I want to say thanks for all the fans that send good messages and good vibes all around, I feel like we’ve been getting a lot of positive energy lately. Yeah, just keep going and just keep believing in us!

Thank you Nisqy and good luck!

Also read:

Do you think Fnatic is stronger than they were in Spring? Join the discussion on social media or our Discord

You can also help improve our website by submitting direct feedback!

Image Credit: Riot Games (Michal Konkol)
*The listed articles are provided through affiliate links. A purchase after clicking through them supports us at esports.com as we will receive a small commission without additional cost to you.