FNC.R Dajor: “I think Misfits Premier might be the best team in the EU Masters right now”

Fnatic Rising has had an interesting summer so far. Their mid laner Fabian “FEBIVEN” Diepstraten retired, they finished second in the NLC but most importantly, made top-four at the Amazon EU Masters 2021 summer. They’ve equaled their best finish at their tournament so far, is this the season where they make that push towards the finals?

First of all, congratulations on defeating Movistar Riders 3-1 and advancing to the Amazon EU Masters semi-finals! Started on nice and easy then, how did you see this series coming into today and what were your expectations?

Dajor: We played against them before in the Play-Ins and they beat us, but throughout the time and the games we played, to the point where we are right now, I think we have improved a lot. We expected to win, of course and that just happened.

You had a very good series today and you faced xKenzuke, were there any special preparations going into this series against him?

Dajor: To be honest, not really. The key points that we worked on was working to play together more as a team, so I didn’t really practice just to beat him as a mid laner. We just practiced as a team, and that worked out in the end.

You also mentioned that you did play Movistar Riders in the Play-Ins and they got the better of you in the tiebreaker game. They won the first game in this series as well, how was the mood in the team after that and how did you adapt?

Dajor: After the first loss, we told each other that it was not a bad game. We didn’t make that many mistakes, they just played a little bit better. We focused and we knew that we could still win this series. After the first game, we still had confidence in ourselves.

On Movistar Riders, there have been discussions on them and their playstyle and their gameplans being predictable, generally speaking. What are your thoughts on that?

Dajor: I mean, I think it was pretty clear to see what their strategy was. They always pick the red side for example, and they always play from the mid priority to the side lanes, so I think I agree with that to a certain point. I think it’s pretty obvious how they play and they have this one preferred strategy. They follow this strategy and if it doesn’t work out, then it’s just GG. We just know how to play against that strategy and yeah, it worked out.

Moving to the start of your time with Fnatic Rising, before this tournament began, you came in to replace Febiven. How would you say your development has been from the NLC and to now in the EU Masters?

Dajor: We played through the Play-Ins and I said to the team that through the Play-Ins we will learn a lot, and it’s not a bad thing that we lost to Tricked Esport in the NLC finals. We lost and I think I played really poorly in those games because I didn’t have a lot of experience, and I was pretty nervous and stuff. But throughout the games and as time went on, I got more confident and I think we as a team just got better.

If I compare myself from the NLC games to the games today, I inted one or two games today but I think I played really clean in one or two of those games. This team, Fnatic Rising, they’re incredible. They have so much experience and I’m so happy that I joined this team, because I can improve so much faster than everyone else, probably because it’s also my first season.

Speaking of your first season with Fnatic Rising, this is also your first EU Masters and you get to play against some of the best mid laners in the European Regional Leagues. Who among the ones that you faced have impressed you the most and given us the most trouble?

Dajor: That’s a hard question. I think Steven “RKR” Chen is the best one I’ve faced so far. Serkan “xKenzuke” Atılgan is a pretty good mid laner and I have no doubts about that. He’s close to RKR I think but overall, RKR is the better mid laner. There are not too many players that I can compare them to.

I think your fellow Germans will be very happy to hear that! Following on from your victory against Movistar Riders, I believe you will be playing the winner of Misfits Premier or Vodafone Giants. What do you think of that match and who do you think you’ll be facing?

Dajor: I think that Misfits for sure has the upper hand between those two teams and I hope we are going to play against Misfits because they’re the LFL champions. I think Misfits Premier might even be the best team in the EU Masters right now. It will be a challenge to face them and this is a challenge I am happy to accept!

Your statement on Misfits potentially being the best team in the Amazon EU Masters right now, that’s a very interesting one. Who do you think then, including yourselves, do you think are the favourites to win the Amazon EU Masters?

Dajor: After today’s games against Movistar Riders, I think that actually we have a chance to win EU Masters. But I mean, we have to be realistic and Misfits is a pretty solid team so it will be very challenging, for sure.

Karmine Corp won the last EU Masters as well. Of course, they are a really good team as well, but they lost to Misfits in the LFL finals. So yeah, I think that Misfits is just a better team and I would just go with Misfits for this question.

That’s fair enough. So here’s a funny question I just thought of, because you’ve been practicing in BIG’s office, wouldn’t it be the dream for you guys to have an EU Masters finals between Fnatic Rising versus BIG right in BIG’s office?

Dajor: For me, I’m at home right now and I’m not at the office, but I was there before. But yeah, it’s funny because we played against each other in the Group C before Knockouts and it was funny after the games. They were going out and stuff and hand-shaking…it’s pretty funny to have two teams in one facility, for sure! I can only imagine that it will be pretty fun to play finals against BIG!

Who pays for dinner then after the finals?

Dajor: (laughs) Who pays for dinner? I mean, I cannot pay for dinner because I’m at home… I’m not sure.

Before we end, as a newer player in the ERLs, you have impressed many people thus far watching your progress this summer. What are your personal goals and expectations?

Dajor: It’s my first season and yeah it was pretty surprising that Fnatic contacted me. So now I’m in the Amazon EU Masters, so everything is going pretty fast, right? And right now I’m playing against the best teams, like you said, in front of thousands of online spectators!

For me, the goal is currently, of course, to win the Amazon EU Masters. I think we have a chance, for sure. And after that, I can’t really say what’s going on after. Maybe LEC in two years or something, who knows?

We’ve come to the end of the interview. Do you have any closing thoughts? Any shoutouts you’d like to give?

Dajor: Shoutout to Leandro. He’s my teacher and he gives a lot of practice in playing Ryze!

Best of luck, Dajor!

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