Astralis mid laner Dajor doesn’t let things like his youth, or the team’s projected 10th-place finish get to him.
Going from EU Masters to the starting in the LEC just seven months, Oliver "Dajor" Ryppa is the fastest rising star in European League of Legends. From a second-place finish with Fnatic Rising, the talented mid laner was quickly snapped up by Astralis as the team looked to level-up their roster.
We spoke to Dajor after Astralis’ opening game against Misfits Gaming. It was a loss, but the LEC rookie was a bright spark for Astralis. In his debut in the league, Dajor’s Vex held its own against a Misfits team that seemed to have a slightly better handle on the Macro game. Ultimately, Astralis looked strongest when they encountered five-man teamfights. When the odds were even, Dajor and Astralis were on top.
Thanks for speaking to me Dajor. Is it “Day-Jour” or “Day-Your?” The casters couldn't figure it out.
Dajor: That's whatever. There’s like 20 pronunciations.
As long as you don't mind it then that's fine. Today was your debut LEC game. Apart from the result, how do you think it went?
Dajor: I think we had some good moments, but also a lot of bad moments. It was the first day, I was pretty nervous over the whole game. So my mind was not too clear because I was just nervous. But in the end it was a fine game. I think. Not too bad. Yeah.
You were playing Vex this game. Is that a comfort pick for you? Or was it just something you needed to try and counter Diana and Yasou?
Dajor: So Vex is a champ that I like to play in the last few days, and last few scrims as well. It's also really good against the Yasou lane so I think that this pick just fits perfectly.
With the Misfit’s Yasuo/Diana pick, do you think that was kind of a target on you? They were focusing you because they thought “this is his first time in the LEC, let's gang up on the new mid laner”?
Dajor: No, I think it's just because Yasou was on my lane. And that's why Diana comes through. That's just Yasou lanes. That’s how it works. And so in the end, I got focused in the mid lane.
Does the LEC feel different from the European Masters? Or because it's online and remote, does it just feel the same?
Dajor: I think it's the same, yeah. But pressure is just higher. I mean, everyone is talking about us going to 10th place. So the nerves and the stress is going down a little bit because no one is expecting too much. But it's the 200,000-something viewers. So people expect at least something. The pressure is for sure higher.
Speaking pressure, actually, you're the youngest player in the LEC right now. Does that put more pressure on you?
Dajor: I don't really care about my age. I don't care about it. I mean, my team is probably the oldest actually, if we combine the ages *laughs* I don't really care about the age and that I'm the youngest, no.
As you mentioned, you do have a lot of veterans on the team around you. What kind of advice do you think they give you?
Dajor: I mean, they already told me it's game one. It was my first game and it was my debut. And everything from here gets only better. And they actually said I played fine as well. I played actually good… besides some points, of course. But they helped me by saying it just comes with time.
Okay, brilliant. This was Astralis’ first game of the spring split, so it’s wild to make predictions. But if you were forced to, do you think Astralis makes the playoffs this year?
Dajor: I think this year, for sure. At least in the Summer, we want to hit the playoffs. And in Spring.. I think I wouldn't mind being 10th place. Absolutely not because I just want the experience. I mean, I’d probably get clapped by the best teams right now. But I'm here just to learn the first bit and get as much experience as I can and then come back strong in the Summer Split. So Spring Spring splits. I don't expect too much.
That sounds like a fantastic attitude. Thank you so much for speaking to me, and good luck with the rest of the split!
Dajor: Thank you.
Astralis and Dajor face a tough challenge in G2 Esports on Saturday, January 15th, and finished their week on Sunday against Rogue. You can catch their games live on the official LEC YouTube or Twitch.