Sheep Esports talked with GIANTX Pride's substitute ADC who won both final and semifinals MVP during
Superliga Domino's Final Four.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from your time with Bulldog in NLC?
Mario "Exofeng" Emilov Strugov: "Well, I learned a lot of things, and it was a very good experience to have. It was my first ever experience and also my first ever LAN experience on stage. So I learned a lot of things with them—a lot of things that will improve my gameplay and also the priorities I have to focus on to do so.
How has playing with Raymond "Kasing" Tsang been like? He's 31 years old. He's one of the oldest and most experienced players within the ERL ecosystem. Did he help you a lot?
Exofeng: Yeah, he helped me a lot. He is a really good person. I really like him. He was always aiming to help me with everything. He could do everything and at the same time help me too, both outside and inside the game. Due to his experience, he knows a lot about the game, so he has taught me a lot actually.
Was there any match or series in the NLC that you considered a key moment for your growth as a player? For example, you played against NORD Esports, a team that has many experienced players like Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski or Tamás "Vizicsacsi" Kiss. Do you think there's a game or series that felt like a turning point?
Exofeng: I wouldn't say there's necessarily one, because I was performing pretty much the same in most of the games. I think I was performing really good and there wasn't specifically one game that stood out.
Looking back, what's your impression of the NLC? You finished 3rd on Winter and 5th-6th on Spring. How yould you rate your year overall?
Exofeng: I mean, it wasn't that hard to play there. The opponents were not that good, so I could perform well and be confident in myself there. I felt like I could stomp most of the teams.
Could you share how the opportunity with GIANTX came about? How did things develop?
Exofeng: We were talking even since March or April. We were talking about me joining GIANTX Pride and then it became a reality in June. In June we started talking seriously about it. And that's when it all started. I started talking to managers, players... and so on.
Did you join knowing that you would play the finals? Or was it a surprise for you? Did you know beforehand?
Exofeng: I didn't know I would play, I was just there in case something happened. At first they told me that Aetinoth could play online. And the very last moment they told me that he couldn't come and that I had to play finals. It was totally unexpected.
How did you deal with that? Suddenly you had to play on a live stage almost without any experience on stage. How was it? How were your first impressions like?
Exofeng: Yeah, I liked it a lot, but it was not my first time ever so I was confident in myself. So it wasn't much of a big thing to me. It was just... I don't know, it felt like no pressure. I was playing at home, you know, it was just like if I were playing at home.
You performed amazingly in both semifinals and finals against Barça and Heretics and you even won the MVP. You looked super experienced. And as you have just mentioned, you didn't feel any pressure. How doest it feel being named MVP? Did you expect that?
Exofeng: No, I actually didn't expect that, because I thought my team was also performing really good and I didn't think I did something extraordinary to receive both MVP's in the finals. But I was thinking there was a small chance that I could get them and I was a bit surprised. I mean, yeah, KDAs and gameplay overall was great, but my laning wasn't that good. So I was a bit disappointed in myself for my laning phase. But I think I did good overall. I also didn't perform that good at the Sivir game, because I am not that experienced on Sivir.
Is there a specific play or moment during the finals that you are especially proud of from a gameplay perspective?
Exofeng: I guess it would be the Kai'Sa play. The one where Feisty died and it was just me and Lospa against the enemy team and we killed them all. I think that was the moment that made me happy. Even Feisty said that the game was over for him and then he said we turned the game around.
What feedback did you get from GIANTX's staff and players after the tournament?
Exofeng: I didn't ask for feedback, but they all told me that I did great. I didn't ask for specific feedback from them, but they congratulated me.
What goals are you setting for yourself in the short and long term? What about the season ahead in 2026? What can we expect you doing this year?
Exofeng: I don't know anything about the future yet. I don't know, we'll see what happens. Maybe I will receive good offers.
Talking about offers, would you like to continue competing in Superliga after seeing its level and its fans? I guess that you must have been shocked by the amount of GIANTX fans that came to the event.
Exofeng: Yeah, they were amazing. I would like to play in higher leagues, but it would be still fine to play in Superliga, because the opponents are not bad. I think it would be fine either staying or going into higher leagues.
So you would like to look into LFL, Superliga and Prime League offers?
Exofeng: Yeah, something like that.
Last but not least, what message would you like to send to the fans who discovered you? Up until know you were probably an unknown figure to the Spanish fans. What message would you send them?
Exofeng: They were all great and super supportive to all the players of our team. Everyone was really happy to meet us after the matches. Their attitude was great. I love them and I'm looking forward to seeing them maybe next year."
