After an impressive 2-0 score at the 2024 LFL Days in Nice, the mid-laner of BK ROG Esports, Czekolad, sat down with Sheep Esports in an exclusive interview to discuss his journey in the LFL. With the race to playoffs becoming more intense with each passing day, the Polish player now talks about his expectations for the future and hopes for the rest of the split.
Czekolad, competing at the LFL Days with BK ROG Esports. Photo: Elliot Le Corre
| Today is the first day of the LFL Days 2024 in Nice and BK ROG Esports just earned a very dominant victory against GameWard. How are you feeling today Czekolad?
Czekolad: "Yeah, I'm feeling good. I won against Pengito, and it's always satisfying to play against him."
| Your team has been fighting tooth and nail for that first place. Are you aiming to claim that spot undisputedly?
Czekolad: "Yeah, I hope my brother [M8] Kamilius will help me out and get a win against Karmine Corp so that we can claim first place. I'm just gonna make sure that we beat Solary and my friend Innaxe. I think we have good chances at claiming first place."
| Some people did not expect BKR to be this high up in the standings before this split. Exceeding expectations and proving yourselves to be a true contender for the title, are you confident that you will keep up those performances and that your team has a good chance at winning it all?
Czekolad: "Since Howling and I stayed together in BKR, our synergy has been great. Plus, we genuinely enjoy each other's company outside of the game. Howling has made a lot of progress with his personality, and now we're really clicking. We lift each other's spirits every day, which makes our practices much better."
"We've learned from our mistakes last year, so there aren't as many issues in our gameplay, especially between mid and top. I believe we're contenders for the top spots of the league because we have the best laners and jungler who just don't need to farm while also being able to gank everything. We can basically do anything we want, and we're just stomping our games."
| Have you been winning scrims as well?
Czekolad: "Yeah, we're just farming the LVP SuperLiga in scrims [laughs]. That league at the moment is just a farmer league right now and I don't think their teams are very good, to be honest..."
| Do you think the LFL is the clear number one league then?
Czekolad: "Yeah, for sure, I think the LFL is just the best. We've only had good practice against other LFL teams and maybe the top teams from the Turkish League."
| Are you happy with your own performances so far?
Czekolad: "At the moment, I think that I'm simply the best mid-laner in the league... Honestly, I could say I've been the best for the past two years."
"I feel like I have so much freedom playing with 113 as my jungler so it really makes me shine. If I need help or want to make a play and dive the enemy mid-laner, I know that he will always be there. Together, we've perfected our ability to choke out opponents and make it so that my enemies cannot breathe. We can gain so many leads through mid-lane."
| You won the EMEA Masters back in 2020 and spent a split with XL in the LEC during Spring 2021. Are you hoping for this year to be your breakout year and your second chance at reaching the LEC?
Czekolad: "I think that I fixed most of the problems I had when I was in the LEC by now. I was not mature enough back then and I had some confidence issues. Right now, I'm sure of myself and I've really worked hard in the last 3 years to get back to that level. I can easily play there, I know it."
| Have you liked the atmosphere in Nice?
Czekolad: "It's always great. Last year, it felt harder and, we had much closer games but, today felt easy. Our match wasn't too fun to watch since it felt quite one-sided, I hope that tomorrow will deliver!"
"A more difficult match means more dopamine and excitement. Today Hantera got the interview with Laure so I really have to win if I wanna get an on-stage interview as well [laughs]."
| What are you looking forward to in your match against Solary?
Czekolad: "I think Decay is one of the top mid-laners in the LFL, so I don't expect it to be easy for us. I do think that our players are just better as a team though so we should take it. If I don't run it down too much, we should win on paper for sure."
| Do you have a rival in the league aside from Decay?
Czekolad: "Honestly, I feel like Karmine Corp fans are trying to build up Vladi as a big prospect and as a rival for me but, today he lost against BDS, you know? Reeker kind of clapped him and, I feel that I don't really have a strong rival due to that. If Decay doesn't show up tomorrow, I think that I'm the clear best mid-laner in the league."
| Do you enjoy the 14.2 patch and its meta?
Czekolad: "[Laughs] It's a Polish meta! You know, the Corki/Azir Polish meta. I swear I didn't want to be cocky for this interview but, with these questions, I can't help it. If we lose tomorrow I'll blame it on this interview [laughs]."
Editorial Note: He won!
Czekolad: "The thing is, everyone knows that I am the best Corki/Azir player and, my enemies fear me. Against GameWard today they tried to ban Corki and first pick Azir so that I couldn't pop off. The same thing happened against BDS a week ago where they banned both Azir and Corki. Everyone's scared of the Polish Hussar!"
| Unfortunately, we haven't seen too many BK ROG fans in the crowd so far...
Czekolad: "Where are they?!"
| [Laughs] Yeah, where are they?
Czekolad: "Where are you BKR fans? We even have jersey giveaways on our Twitter sometimes. We need more fans!"
| Luckily though, you have quite a huge fanbase on your own. Do you have any words for all the people who support you?
Czekolad: "I love you guys. I absolutely love you all!"
| Thank you very much for your time! Any last words?
Czekolad: "Actually, I have a funny story before we go. We were actually not expecting that our jungler 113 would show up as he had no visa until yesterday. He managed to get his visa approved at 10pm, the night before our matches in Nice."
"This morning, he flew in at like 7am and slept on the plane then, he joined us at 11am and barely slept 3 more hours. He was in a really bad condition to play our match against GameWard today but, we still won somehow. I think that tomorrow should be a piece of cake since he'll have time to rest."
Photo Credit : Elliot Le Corre
