MAD Armut: “I believe the trio of MAD Lions, Rogue and G2 Esports will rise to the top again as the season comes to a close”

Like in Week 3, MAD Lions end Week 4 with another 1-1 scoreline, defeating Misfits Gaming but falling to fierce rivals Rogue.

As the team is now ending their long quarantine, they will look to bounce back and hit their peak once again in the coming weeks. MAD Lions toplaner İrfan Berk “Armut” Tükek spoke to us after their match against Rogue and talked about MSI 2021, MAD’s performance and anime. Yes, anime.

First and foremost, thank you for doing this interview with us and commiserations on the loss to Rogue. Despite the loss today, the game seemed very back and forth. What are your biggest takeaways from the match and how did you see it?

Armut: Like you said, I think the game was constantly swinging from Rogue to us and so on. I think it was also very fun for the viewers and even for the players because no one knew what’s going to happen, and anything could happen. I’m happy I was part of this game. Of course, it’s sad that we lost but we’re still in the regular season and while winning is definitely better, we just need to watch the losses, analyse why we lost and keep improving from that point.

When you mentioned that the players enjoyed this somewhat scrappy game, how would you evaluate your first game against Misfits Gaming, considering they generally like to take fights a lot too?

Armut: I wasn’t having a great time in that game, to be honest. I was playing Wukong against Camille, Lee Sin and Leblanc, and they were constantly diving me. I think they did it three times and the game was really hard for me to play since I was set behind. However, our bot lane duo was pretty ahead, since we played for bot side, and they played towards top side, and I think both teams executed these plans pretty well. My whole team played really well that game and I’m happy we won.

Coming back to the Rogue match, I noticed in the pick and bans phase that neither team picked or banned Viego, which I found interesting. What was the team’s decision making like on that?

Armut: Both teams could have picked him, but on our side, I think Nocturne beats Viego on top lane and Rogue were flexing Nocturne for either top or jungle, so we didn’t want to pick Viego into it. I don’t think Viego is a good blind pick, even though he’s still very strong, and even in the last patch his ability to lane was slightly nerfed.

I think Rogue could have picked Viego as a fourth pick instead of Volibear but they decided Volibear fits their team or composition better, so yeah.

I also noticed that you haven’t really had the chance to play Viego or Gwen in the top lane. What are your thoughts on these two champions? Are you keen to play them or would you prefer them permanently banned so you can keep playing Wukong?

Armut: (laughs) I think Gwen, especially Gwen, is so broken right now. She should be picked or banned, she’s too strong. I would say Akali is the same, and she and Gwen are probably the top two champions in the game at the moment, especially in the competitive scene. If I get the chance, I definitely want to play Gwen in official games.

I think Gwen, especially Gwen, is so broken right now – Armut

Misfits perhaps have surprised many and they still remain first in the standings. What do you personally think of them? Do you think they can keep their momentum going and be a top 2 or top 4 team at the end of the season?

Armut: Hmm…I personally don’t think so. I think they will probably be in the top 5 but not top 2. I mean, they can probably be a top 3 team at the end of the regular season but I don’t think they will stay at the very top because other teams are going to slowly pick up the pace and get back in form once more. I believe the trio of MAD Lions, Rogue and G2 Esports will rise to top again as the season comes to a close.

You face Excel Esports and Schalke 04 Esports next, what are your thoughts on those matches, especially on Excel since they went 2-0 this week with rookie players?

Armut: After seeing how Excel performed, especially their jungler Mark “Markoon” van Woensel, I would say they seem like a really decent team. I’m really looking forward to the match and seeing what happens because Excel seems really strong, and this is the first time I’ve seen Excel this strong. But I only started playing in LEC this year, so I can’t speak or compare them to previous years. I do think this might be the strongest Excel we’ll be seeing, for now at least. I don’t know how it will be in the future.

One of the big topics on MAD Lions is the long quarantine period that the team had to go through, where some have mentioned that it has been a difficult time for the team. How have you been handling this period and has it affected things like practice?

Armut: I had to be quarantined for 14 days and to be honest, I think this quarantine helped me to get back in my right mental state again. After MSI, I had a hard time playing LoL again and didn’t feel motivated. I felt really down because MSI was really long and this was after we had played the LEC finals too. It was really tiring and I was bored of the game and pretty much everything.

But after the quarantine, I’m actually feeling more refreshed and ready to work really hard again. I wasn’t really pushing myself too hard at the start, because I felt that I needed to pace myself and practice before ramping it up. For example, if I start really going all out at the start of the season, I will probably be burnt out by week 8 and playoffs will not go smoothly. I was saving my energy a bit and starting this week, it’s time for me to put my head down and work really hard. I will be ready when the playoffs come around.

So yes, the quarantine period really helped me, but I don’t think it did for my teammates and some of them have had some difficulties. But for me, I just like staying in front of my computer watching anime and playing other games. It’s fine for me!

What anime have you been watching then and what are your top 3, currently?

Armut: What anime have I been watching? Oh, there are so many of them… . My top 3 would be Hunter x Hunter, I guess Attack on Titan but I’m not so sure. Right now I’m also watching Tokyo Revengers, which I think is also pretty good but I’m not sure if it’s in the top 3 right now. It’s probably in the top 5! I’m watching a lot right now (laughs).

I hope your coaches don’t cut your anime time and say, “you need to practice more!”

Armut: (laughs) Nah, they’re actively helping me and understand my routine. What I’m doing now, I believe it’s the smart decision and they support me on it. Like I mentioned, what matters are the playoffs, the regular season is not that important once you’re locked in the playoffs. I mean, of course the matches in the regular season matters but playoffs matter much more.

On that note, have the MAD Lions’ staff changed anything from your routines to practice schedules to keep the team focused on defending your title? What have you guys been working on more this season?

Armut: We’re having more ‘off’ times as a team now since everyone needs a bit of a break, because as I mentioned the MSI period was so tiring for everyone. We didn’t have any chances to rest properly. So now we are just taking it slowly and we’ve not gone all-in at the moment, we’re just waiting for the right time. I think for me, the time has arrived and I’ve already begun to work harder than before.

On the topic of MSI 2021, do you have any nice or funny memories from Iceland?

Armut: Yes, shooting the promotional video for the Rumble Stage, especially the “Boys boys boys, don’t forget about Armut” part! Khan (from DWG KIA) and I also did a video together, it was really fun.


Before we end, I’d like to get some quick thoughts from you on top lane this patch since Riot has tried to reintroduce split-pushing back into the meta. What do you think of top lane in general for this patch?

Armut: I think right now, Gwen and Nocturne are exceptionally strong. After that, counterpicking matters a lot, in my opinion, because I don’t think there are that many strong blind picks. The meta used to be just picking Gnar if he was open since he was good into everything but now after Gwen and Nocturne, who are banned in most games, counterpicking matters a lot more in top lane. In regards to Hullbreaker, I don’t think it’s strong enough at the moment to make split-pushing champions return consistently at the top level.

I don’t mind the current meta and I think top lane is quite strong, actually. I remember there were metas where I would pick Cho’Gath and the opponent just locks in Sion for example, it wasn’t really fun for toplaners, you know?

We’ve come to the end of the interview, anything else you’d like to add? Any shoutouts you’d like to give?

Armut: I just want to say, I know I’m playing really poorly right now but I will definitely start to play better. I don’t want to sound cocky but I trust myself. I can feel it again, my ambition and motivation has returned, and I’m going to continue improving a lot from here. Trust in the MAD Lions and in me, thank you!

Thank you for the interview, Armut, and best of luck!

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