Slow and steady, Team BDS now stands at 2-1 after the first week of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC). Despite middling expectations for the squad, the Swiss representatives asserted themselves last week with victories over Rogue and the reigning champions, G2 Esports. With many important matches ahead, the team's star rookie support, Polat "Parus" Furkan Çiçek, shares his perspective on the upcoming games, reflects on his growth and journey to the league, and comments on playing alongside his friend, Doğukan "113" Balcı.

How do you feel about your entrance into the LEC so far? Are you happy with your performance, especially after a 2-1 start with wins against G2 and Rogue?

Polat "Parus" Furkan Çiçek: "Personally, not really. I think in the first two games, I could’ve played much better. I could’ve won the first game in team fights, and in the second game, I got caught and died at level 3. But today was good. I think today is the day I played well; not the other two days. But other than that, I’m happy we got the win.

You described yourself as aggressive, but you picked Seraphine on day two, which was surprising. When can we expect to see your Pyke or Elise?

Parus: When the draft is right for a Pyke or Blitzcrank, I’ll pick them, don’t worry. Like yesterday, I could’ve played it, but if I picked Seraphine, it was an un-loseable game. It was meant to be a Seraphine draft, you know? So, I was like, okay, let’s just pick Seraphine, and it’s like a free win.

You've played with two Korean ADCs in the past, Bini and BAO, and now you're paired with Ice. How has it been playing with him so far? Do you feel the chemistry is better with him?

Parus: It's been better with Ice to be honest. The other ADCs I had, like BAO and Bini, they didn’t talk much and weren’t too friendly. It felt a bit weird during the split or season. But Ice is way more friendly than them. It’s more fun, easier to talk to him, and the time I spend with him is just more enjoyable.

You first reached Master in 2019 and then Challenger in 2020, the same year you joined the Turkish Academy League. When did you first realize that you could turn this into a career?

Parus: The first time was probably when I first got Challenger. In the TCL, I was playing Thresh and was an OTP. Then Pyke came out, and I was like, "Holy shit, I need to play this champion." After I played Pyke and Thresh together, I was climbing so easily. When I saw other pro players I played against in solo queue, I thought, "I can do this too, I can try." I enjoy playing League of Legends, so I thought, "Okay, let me try." Then I kinda got into the TCL Academy, and it was fun.

Did you expect that one day you’d make it to the LEC?

Parus: At first, no. Because when I first got Challenger, I was mostly watching the TCL, not the LEC. My main goal was to get into the TCL, and back then, it was a better and bigger region than it is today. But as TCL started to decline, after I got into the TCL, it became clear that my focus should be on the LEC, so I worked for that.

In 2024, you were close to joining the LEC but ended up in BDS Academy instead. Many rookies go to the LEC too soon and aren’t fully ready. What do you think you learned from your time at BDS Academy? Do you think it was for the best, and did it help you grow?

Parus: It for sure helped me grow, but I feel like I could’ve still played in the LEC, though maybe not performed well—I can’t really know. But I learned a lot. I played with good teammates, and I worked with good coaches. I definitely grew a lot. But if you play in the LEC for half a split or a whole season, you’ll get way better, way faster because you play against better teams, with better players, and you work with better coaches. It would speed up my growth, but it’s fine. I played in BDSA last year, and I’m happy about it.

You started your career at 17 during the COVID. How was it for you to dedicate yourself to professional play, and did you have to convince your parents to let you go pro?

Parus: Kind of. If you go pro, you have to have that talk. Because 99% of parents don’t want their child to play a game and make money from it. They don’t want that at first. But when you show them that you have the ambition and passion, and when you’re playing LoL 24/7, showing that it’s your interest and what you want to do, at one point they kind of have to accept it. So, during COVID, I wasn’t going to school physically, so I could play League all day and work harder on improving. It was a really good timing for me. I think I’m lucky about it.

Do your parents still support you, especially now that you're moving to the LEC?

Parus: Yeah, of course. After my first year in the TCL, I joined the İstanbul Wildcats, and we accomplished a lot. We won the TCL two times and EMEA Masters once. At the start, my sister was my biggest supporter, then my mom. My parents initially weren't really fans of me going down this path, but my sister was really pushing me. She actually wanted me to do it and helped me all the way. I’m really grateful for it. Now, I have full support from my family.

You’re reuniting with 113 this year, who you played with back in 2021 on SuperMassive. How did you feel when you found out you’d be playing with him again?

Parus: When I first heard I'd play with 113, I was like, “Oh my god, this guy again.” I got flashbacks. When I was playing with him, he was the biggest cheeser on the European server. He would invade late and flip level 2-3 bot dives. But I know he’s grown since then. So, of course, I'm happy to play with him again. Having a Turkish brother on the team is always good.

Is there one team this year that you really want to beat?

Parus: I'd say Fnatic because in scrims they looked the strongest by a mile. We want to beat them. I thought they’d have a better showing at the start of the season. They lost one game, and I was kind of surprised. I didn’t expect them to lose any game. But they looked the strongest, so we want to beat them.

Next week, you'll be facing Fnatic, Movistar KOI, and Team Heretics. What are your thoughts on these matchups, and are you confident?

Parus: I’m confident. After the game we showed yesterday, we played too slow when we had the lead, I know that. But we still played kind of clean, except for one bot fight because of my Turkish brother Bum. But it’s fine. We can do better, and we will do better. I think it’s going to be a good week for us.

Who would you choose as the best teammate to survive on a deserted island with, and who would be the worst?

Parus: Wow, that's a hard question. No joke, that's really tough. Okay, the most intelligent guy might be Ice. For sure not 113… Irrelevant and Nuc… they are definitely on the dumber side of the team. But with Ice, you lack the power... he doesn’t have the strength, you know?

Sheep Esports: Yeah, he has different stats, right?

Parus: Yep. I would probably pick Irrelevant to survive. Worst case, I can use his strength, you know?

Sheep Esports: So, 113 or Nuc would be the worst option?

Parus: Yeah, 113 for sure is the worst. He can’t survive even one day. There’s no way. I can't do it with him."