SK Gaming is off to a great start this LEC Spring Split finishing the first week with a score of 2-1 and a win over Vitality. Despite similar success after the first week last split, SK had finished 6th. How can they keep this performance going for the Spring Split? Midlaner Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer shares his impressions with Sheep Esports.

| Hi Nisqy, congratulations for your win against Vitality. How did it feel to win against a French midlaner today?

Nisqy: *Laughs* "It felt really good because the last time we lost to them was in playoffs and the games weren't necessarily close, so yeah, it felt good to win today."

| Compared to Vetheo, do you think you're a step above him in terms of level?

"Personally, I think so, I'm still one of the top midlaners in the LEC, even though we were top 6 the last split. I'd say just by experience and knowledge of the game I'd say, I think I'm still a step above but he's slowly getting there, especially as he's got Pad and Mac now."

"So, I think that during the split he'll continue to scale and maybe he'll become even better than he is now, but I think that for the moment I'm better, yes."

| So, it's interesting, given that Pad and Mac have worked with you before, they've helped you a lot as a midlaner to progress and you imagine that it'll be the same for Vetheo? Can you tell us more about the degree to which they've helped you?

Nisqy: "In fact, they help you a lot in lane, what to do in mid-game, how to take fights etc... I get the impression that they teach you a lot of micro mechanics that not many coaches do."

"In any case, for me Pad, when he was my positional coach in mid, I learnt a lot from presentations of X players, Xiaohu, Chovy, all that, what he does well, what you can learn from him, what you can't do etc. So, I think he's one of the best coaching staffs in Europe."

| Talking of comparing your level to the midlaners, I often see people on Twitter saying that Nisqy is a more supportive midlaner, who plays around his team and all that. Do you think this narrative is true and do you think it affects people's perception of your level as a midlaner?

Nisqy: "Not necessarily. At least for me I think I'm at a place now where I know I can play pretty much everything. Yesterday I played Orianna, today I played Neeko, and before that I played Ahri. I think that now the role of mid is less of a carry, I'd say."

"When you look at T1, Faker, he plays Neeko, Ahri, Leblanc, things that support his team and of course he plays Orianna too. But I get the impression that it's not like it used to be, where you'd just pick Orianna and Azir and then full scale and carry the fights. I even played Azir a lot during the last split, and it went really well."

"So, for the moment I'm just playing a bit of what's the meta and what I think is strong. And I think I've got a lot of experience in knowing which champion is good in which draft etc. That's why you often see me pick in 4-5 because I have the impression that what I pick there makes the difference. So, I don't necessarily pick for the lane, I just pick to win the game.

| So, would you agree or disagree with those people who say you have a more supportive style? Would you describe your playstyle differently?

Nisqy: "I'd say in previous years, for sure, because I had a lot of Galio, a lot of TF, a lot of Ryze, champions who pushed, roam, compared to the Orianna or Azir of before."

"But now I think I've changed. Even last year with Mad when I played a lot of Gragas, for example, and Taliyah and all that. So, I think I'm better known for playing a bit of that style than the carry style, but for me I know how to play both."

"After that I know that on the supportive side or engaging in fights I'm better because I've done that a lot more over the years. But for example, now that I've got Isma, I feel like it's easier to play the carrys because he likes to play the supportive ones himself, instead of playing the carrys himself. So yeah, it's just a balance between the two of us that I'm trying to see.

| You say things have changed a bit recently. When I look at SK's roster, I realise that you're the most experienced player in the team. Does that influence your gameplay? Do you manage the lead more than before?

Nisqy: "Yes, I think so. For example, if there's a decision that has to be made in-game, if I say no, it's often going to be no. And if I say, let's do this, we'll do this. Just because I've got players who are a bit rookie and not necessarily veterans yet, I think."

"It's good to have someone like me who just says: OK guys, we're playing Nash. Everyone's chill, they play their game and I kind of dictate. For example, today, Exakick, who was really fed and had a good matchup on bot, was the one who led the game, and I was there just confirming his calls."

"I think it depends on game to game, but if there are big decisions to be made in-game, I'm often the guy who makes the call. But I think that's also because I'm the veteran and I'm the oldest."

| Is that why we see him playing more supportive junglers or would he also be capable of playing carrys with you?

Nisqy: "He likes these supportive champions. He played them a lot last year too. But he can also play carrys and I think that if the meta comes up with more jungle carrys, he'll do it. But at the moment I get the impression that it's all Vi, Rell, Sejuani, Maokai, stuff like that, and Jarvan. So, for the moment it's still supportive and it's not the meta jungle carry."

| I thought you played really well this weekend, and your split is off to a good start. That was also the case last weekend when you started 3-0. But you didn't make it to the final stages. Do you feel more confident about this split and what have you changed to get there?

Nisky: "So, first of all, I think we've got a way of playing the game, compared to before when I had the impression that everyone did a bit what they wanted, in other words, where everyone had a lot more plans in mind."

"But now I have the impression that we're more or less playing together in any case. In the 3 games we've played, it's mainly the teamfights that we've lost, for example game 1 and game 2 and 3, we were just playing with 5 people, and it was going well. So, I think it's just that one thing that's different from before. And I have the impression that our meta read is good. And often we just play the champions, we're good at it, we don't really care what the meta is."

"What I also like, and I think this is what G2 does too, is that they just pick their champions and play the game. So, it's not that we're copying them, it's just that we're looking at what the good teams are doing. And for me, G2 is a very good team. So, we just do what we want to do. We trust each other on our picks, and we boost each other."

"And we know that, for example, I don't know when Exakick has Kalista, we're going to win the game or when Irrelevant has Jax, we know that's how the game's going to be played etc..."