MSF Neon: “It is like working in the field with trip mines everywhere. You do not know who is going to get triggered by what.”

Misfits have been one of the big surprises of the 2022 LEC Summer Split three weeks into the season. With an average game time of 32-minutes, the third fastest in the LEC, primarily through their mid/late game team fighting, the Misfits are becoming the darkhorse team capable of challenging the top three, something that MSF Neon knows himself.

However, while they are growing at a steady pace in the LEC, Misfits Gaming AD carry Neon, knows that there is a lot more work that needs to be done if the team wants to really challenge the upper echelon of the LEC in 2022.

Neon joined Misfits Gaming in the offseason following his two-year stint as part of the former LEC team Schalke 04 Esports, and he was quick to note his excitement in being a part of Misfits.

“This is a really good team, and I am really glad to be a part of this team because there is a lot of potential.” Neon said. 

After a successful year in 2021 where they were one game away from Worlds qualification, Misfits Gaming rebuilt their team around star solo laners Hirit and Vetheo with a slew of young rookie talent, alongside Neon.

As a result, Misfits Gaming is one of the youngest teams in the LEC, and feature some of the LEC’s brightest future stars. However, that young vigour also comes with the downsides of wanting to be the star player of a team every game.

“There are a lot of big personalities in the team,” Neon shared. “It is like working in the field with trip mines everywhere. You do not know who is going to get triggered by what.”

Right now, Neon sees him and the Misfits as the 4th-5th best team in the LEC, but he is confident that the team has the potential to climb up to the top three if they can fix their primary issues as a team.

“Everyone wants the resources, but realistically not everybody can get that every game, which is a very hard mentality to latch onto.” Neon empathized.

This has shown in the Misfits struggle to find early-game advantages, a weak point of their current game as evident by their 44 early-game rating, 7th out of 10 LEC teams.

The mentality of needing to be a star performer in the ERL’s carried over into the LEC, and has created a confusing scenario where diluting resources has resulted in a slacking early game. 

Neon, who is currently in his fifth year in the LEC, sees this as the primary issue for what is currently holding the team back. But at the same time, it is a problem that he can empathize with because of his own understanding of the ERL mentality he once had himself.

He remembers the earlier days on his quest to become a consistent LEC starter, and how he felt that if he was not ahead, the game was automatically lost. 

It was not until his time on Schalke 04 that he finally began to realize that this exact mentality was holding him back from finding consistency.

“I don't always need to be ahead all the time to win the game.” Neon shared  “I do not need to take unnecessary risks. I am okay to play from behind because I have teammates who are capable of winning now.“

For Neon, that adjusted mindset has paid dividends in the long run for his career. While his early game laning took a hit, as evidenced by his -5.5 CSD@10 in Summer, 2021 was the first time Neon did not play any games in the ERL.

This mentality is something that Neon is adamant about helping his teammates new to the LEC understand because he has seen how successful trust can be in the LEC.

While Neon is honest about what is holding the team back from reaching its potential, he revealed that these arguments help the team grow and improve.

“We have a lot of arguments and explosions often, but we are always able to bring it back to a neutral standpoint.” Neon explained.

As the veteran of the team, breaking the habit to play as a solo star is one that has been a new challenge for Neon. And while he is truthful that it is still a work in progress, he finds humor in it all.

“Things can get pretty crazy, but at least we are not boring right?” Neon laughed.

With a talented young team at the helm, Neon will look to continue his growth as a player as he aims to make his first trip to the League of Legends World Championship at the end of 2022.

 As the veteran of the team, he is ready to take on his new role as a mentor for the young talented players, which all begins with trust.

“This is a really talented team where every role can be an impact player,” MSF Neon claimed “As long as we remember that, we will be a top-three team at the end of the year.”

Misfits Gaming is currently 4-3 after three weeks of the 2022 LEC Spring Split, which is good for a tie in fourth place alongside MAD Lions. 

Misfits Gaming will match up against Team Vitality and SK Gaming as they look to improve upon their 4-3 record in week 4 of the 2022 LEC Summer Split.

Stay tuned to Esports.gg for the latest League of Legends news and highlights. You can find MSF Neon on Twitter.