After a disappointing showing at the
LFL Invitational,
bounced back convincingly during the Spring Split, securing six victories. Much of that improvement can be attributed to the arrival of
in the AD Carry role. The Romanian ADC made an immediate impact and significantly elevated the level of the team’s botlane. Before continuing his first experience in the LFL with a playoff series against Galions this Thursday, the player spoke with
Sheep Esports about his first months with the team.
How do you feel ahead of the upcoming playoffs?
Darius "Yakkey" Bistrian: “I'm pretty excited because it's my first competitive playoffs, and also we have a strong opponent in the first round, so yeah, it's exciting.
Are you satisfied with what your team showed during the regular season?
Yakkey: We can show more than what we did, and a few wins slipped out of our hands, but I think that in the playoffs, we can definitely catch up to that and get some more wins.
Vitaliy.Bee had some troubles in the LFL Invitational until you came into the team. How did your integration with the team go? Did you feel like it went smoothly?
Yakkey: It went very smoothly and very fast. Everyone welcomed me, and the coaches took their time to explain what my role was and what I needed to do, and I think I integrated very fast into this and into their scheme. And yeah, we could see it because we got good results as well.
It’s your first time in LFL this split. Did the level of the league overall and the teams meet your expectations?
Yakkey: Honestly, I had a bit higher expectations from the top teams. Only
met my expectations because they played really well against us. But besides Solary, other teams still have to meet my expectations in the playoffs.
What is your personal goal for this season? Do you think you can aim for a spot in LEC by the end of the year?
Yakkey: Yeah, that's my goal by the end of the year. I would like to get some chance from LEC teams, but for now, I'm just focused on LFL and my short-term goal, let's say, is to win LFL and win the EMEA Masters.
Do you still feel like you're far from reaching LEC?
Yakkey: On paper, it doesn't look like it's that far, but I just don't really think about it enough, so to me it's far, but I don't think it is that far.
When you were in NLC, there was a good hype about you and your level. Do you think that you’re getting a bigger exposure by joining a league with multiple talents in it?
Yakkey: I mean, yeah, I think there are a lot of great talents in the LFL. But I'm ready to show mine as well, and I hope that I can keep up the pace with them, of course.
How do you consider your role within the team? You're still a rookie in LFL but you have been playing a few seasons in ERL already. So would you say that you are closer to a veteran or a rookie on the team?
Yakkey: I would not say that I'm a complete rookie, but I would also not say that I'm a veteran. Since I joined, I learned a lot of stuff regarding how major league players should play. So definitely I cannot say that I'm a veteran or something close to that, but also I'm not a rookie because I didn't learn the basics when I joined the team, so in between.
In LFL, we don't have one but two Romanian talents in AD Carry position with you and . Did you already speak with him in the past, and do you see him as a good competitor to play against?
Yakkey: Actually, me and Hazel go way back and I kind of consider him as a rival at this point, because the first time we played against each other was in 2023. Since then, we kind of played in some competitions almost every year, so it's always like hype to go against him. I think he's a very good player, and it would definitely be exciting to maybe face him in the playoffs.
From the perspective of a possible spot in the Romanian team for the Esports Nations Cup, what would you say to be picked over him?
Yakkey: It’s for sure between the two of us. We just played against each other, right? So the national team coach has to look at that game and make the good decision, I would say [Laughs].”
