EST Josedeodo: "If we had more time as a team, we could have done a way better job."

After a difficult loss to PSG Talon, Josedeodo delves into the future of the LLA and analyzes the team's MSI performances.

🇬🇧English

Brandon Joel "Josedeodo" Villegas, jungler of Estral Esports, competing at MSI 2024.

"There weren't many teams who actively wanted to scrim against us."

Now eliminated from the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), Josedeodo and Estral Esports, the LLA representatives, are heading home disappointed, having expected more from the tournament. In this exclusive interview, the team's jungler discusses his recent loss to PSG Talon and delves into the region's future.

| Unfortunately, Estral Esports were just knocked out of MSI after a 0-2 loss to PSG Talon. Josedeodo, what are your thoughts after this match?

Josedeodo: "I feel very sad losing today because I feel like our expectations were very high. We could have done a much better job in every sense. All the things that went wrong, I think we could have handled better, and we know that everything that went wrong is on us. So, I just feel very sad, but overall, disappointed."

| Your team looked good versus T1 but then fumbled today. Overall, are you still happy with your performances at this event?

Josedeodo: "I think it would be foolish for me to say that I'm not happy. I feel like I've done everything I could to be where I am. Since we arrived in Korea, I've achieved a very good win rate in solo queue, we've worked hard in scrims, and I truly feel like I've given it my all; I've put in 100% effort throughout the event."

"Even in defeat, I'm satisfied with how we performed as a team. Against T1, for instance, I believe we showed one of our best performances yet. Even in defeat, I don't feel ashamed."

"But today really felt like the other side of the coin for us. We displayed the worst part of ourselves. Everything that went wrong in our scrims manifested against PSG Talon, but well, that's just how competition works. Personally speaking, I'm content with my performance. Of course, there are areas where I can improve, perhaps in attitude and such, but I feel like I gave it my all, and I'm happy with that."

| This format is extremely difficult for teams from minor regions. Do you think that the format does a disservice to teams like yours and prevents them from showing their true potential?

Josedeodo: "The tournament is hard, yeah. I feel like the biggest problem is the time we have to prepare. Comparatively, at Worlds, you have a lot of teams that want to scrim and play against you, regardless of where you are from."

"In contrast, when playing at MSI, teams like ours will only have 2-3 scrims since no one wants to play against teams from minor regions. Obviously, it's understandable that T1 or G2 wouldn't want to play against us, but I feel like it makes the format even harder for minor regions."

"Still, I don't like making excuses because I feel like we've had some good games. We played against some LPL teams and such. Also, our lack of practice made our understanding of lane swaps much worse, and that strategy really caught us off guard."

"You'll never know how to play around it and adapt when you don't get to practice against it. Especially before playing against T1, we didn't have much practice against lane swaps."

| Speaking of lane swaps, I was surprised your team did not use that strategy in game 2 against PSG. Would you say the team was hesitant to utilize it due to previous lackluster results and uncertainty about effectively utilizing the strategy?

Josedeodo: "Yeah, I feel like we didn't want to do it as a team. In my eyes, it was an obvious call, and even though we lost against T1, they were just better than us. I definitely think that lane swapping is a good tool against teams that are better than you since you can avoid matching difficult lanes and situations that can get you punished."

"What T1 did was really good because it allowed them to avoid playing against us when we would have had the upper hand. As a team, we wanted to show that we weren't scared of matching them, which I don't think is bad or anything, but I feel like we could have prepared better."

"We got fewer scrims than we expected going into the event as well, which made it hard for us to make it work. We underestimated PSG, and we didn't think they'd pull out those strategies as well. I think that they didn't get a good enough lead in game one, which is probably why they chose not to run it back in game two."

| Are you able to tell me more about your scrim situation? Were you able to scrim teams that were not competing at MSI perhaps?

Josedeodo: "We scrimmed against a good team from the LPL, but it was only one or two games, and it was around 10 at night. We didn't get much more than that. I don't think I can disclose who we faced, but as you can expect, we mainly practiced against teams from other minor regions. There aren't many teams who actively want to scrim against us. North America will play against the LCK and LPL, and the other teams will just scrim against each other."

"Sometimes, we'll receive requests from major region teams and, of course, we'll instantly take it, no matter the circumstances. It's very hard for us to do more than that. Even if we had won today against PSG Talon, we'd probably have gotten only one more scrim session before playing against FlyQuest... That's it, no more than that."

"I'm not trying to blame teams from major regions because it's understandable they'd want to face better opponents; it's obviously better for them since we can't really teach them anything they cannot learn from other teams."

"That's why I think this tournament is incredibly hard, especially for minor regions. We have a lot to learn, but very little to teach. Catching up to major regions when they're learning from each other and we remain starved for practice becomes very hard."

| You've got pretty high on the solo queue ladder, almost peaking in Grand Master I think?

Josedeodo: "I was 3 LP away, almost!"

| [Laughs] Well at least you had a 74% win rate last I checked, which is very impressive. Are you still happy with this trip overall? Do you feel like you've learned things from a personal standpoint?

Josedeodo: "I feel like if we had more time as a team, we could have done a way better job. We only had about 9 days in Korea before the event; it's not like we had an insane boot camp and prepared tons. I don't know if we would have beaten PSG with more time, but we probably would have looked better, at least."

"We haven't shown our true ceiling, which is what frustrates me the most because I know what we are capable of. Every player on this roster had a lot to show, but it is what it is. Today's outcome is definitely something we'll learn from for Worlds."

| The LLA is in a precarious spot now. With the league recently announcing the departure of All Knights and moving down to 6 participants, how do you feel about the region's future?

Josedeodo: "The biggest fear is suffering the same fate as Japan did. Our league doesn't have a strong reputation, and given our international results, people's worries start to accumulate. We're not doing a good enough job."

"Today's performance doesn't reflect what we have to show, and I think that Worlds is going to be our true test to prove ourselves. Japan's absorption by the PCS came out of nowhere, and it feels like it could happen to us too. It's not hard to imagine that we might have to play against Brazil in the future to secure a spot, for example."

"Still, even though we performed well against T1, what people want to see is a team reaching the main event. If we don't make it, eventually, people will grow tired and unhappy with our region. That's just the reality of our situation."

"Whoever ends up attending Worlds on behalf of the LLA will have a lot of weight on their shoulders to perform, because if they don't, who knows what will happen. It's a very sad situation, but it's our reality. We just have to wait and see what happens."

| Is there anything you wish to say to LLA fans before we close out?

Josedeodo: "Yeah. I want to thank everyone who cheered for us even though we lost. I feel like we could have won more. But I'm always happy to represent them and appreciate the support they gave us today, especially after we lost. I already have a lot of messages to read and a lot of people showing us respect and support, but yeah, very disappointed and hopefully we can do better next time."

Header Photo Credit: Lee Aiksoon/Riot Games