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Interview with Trixtank on the current SPL Season and Support Meta
Smite support Jeppe "Trixtank" Gyling came to Team Dignitas along with the other members of Variety's team after crushing the Smite Challenger Series. The roster shook the European Smite scene and jumped to a very strong start where they ended as the second seed. Trixtank reflects on what it was like to face his old team and their cheeky Kuzenbo pick as well as his hopes for the 2017-2018 season with Team Dignitas.
What do you credit behind the success of Team Dignitas this split?
Trixtank: I think it is straight up just us being good players. We still have a lot to work on, and by a lot I mean A LOT but that is only good. The reason why we got instant succes though is just coming down to the fact that we are all top players and not because of our strategies yet.
How happy have you been with your own performance this split. What areas of your play do you believe still have room for growth?
Trixtank: I feel like I have been playing alright, not really to the standard I want to play yet. I am in a pretty good spot right now because I no longer have the mentality that I am the best support in the world and I think that is good because now I can just focus on my own plays and try to become that instead of focusing on others.
You recently played your former teammates from Paradigm where they are now known as Eanix, was there extra drive and pride to beat your former teammates or did you treat it like any other match?
Trixtank: I mean of course we wanted to beat them as they are our old team but if we lost I would not have minded either. We have been on a team with them for 2 years and we needed a change and to get away from eachother, and I feel like I want them to succeed ALMOST as much as I want us to succeed :D
They somewhat shocked the community by last picking a Kuzenbo in the solo lane. Do you believe it was primarily a cheesy pick or was it a pick with actual purpose?
Trixtank: I mean, I feel like he has a lot of potential, but against the combo we had I was not sure why they picked it. It is really good into Zeus/Vulcan/Scylla because you can reflect so much damage from their spells, but overall I do not think it was a cheesy pick. Kuzenbo seems to be a typical Xaliea pick to me.
Many believe that Kuzenbo is really bad. What are the limitations to this champion and what do you feel would be needed for it to become a viable pick for say Guardian or solo?
Trixtank: I think Kuzenbo would be the best support ever if you could get thorns on support and that is actually the thing limiting the character in the support role the most. He has really good early brawl with his 1 and his clear is fine too. Overall he also lags a little bit of crowd control, like a root or anything you can use to peel. He only has the knockback which you usually want to use first, which means you have no peel.
Currently, the support meta revolves around Fafnir, Terra and Sylvanus. Why do people tend to shy away from picks outside of these three?
Trixtank: They are just 3 very good supports overall, Fafnir and Terra bring a lot in the lategame and they are also pretty easy getting out of the early game with, so that is why those 2 Gods are picked so much. Sylvanus is just insane because you cannot lose lane with a Sylvanus so it is just the best early game support this meta. Khepri is also a similar pick to Sylvanus where he gives a lot of early pressure.
Are there any Gods that you would like to see come back into meta for supports? If so, what do you believe would need to happen in order for them to become viable again?
Trixtank: BACHUS PLEASE. I mean, I know the Americans are using Bachus, but I just feel like the early game is so bad that it is impossible to play the God, plus you sort of need talaria boots this meta so Bachus also gets limited there since magic boots is the better thing to go for. So for sure Bachus, he was my favorite support at one point!
In a recent interview, Variety gave a shout out to your head coach Biggie. What has he done that has impacted your team’s growth so quickly?
Trixtank: I mean Biggie is like no coach I have ever been with. He basically does all the researching on every team and then when we play against a certain team he goes deep into the analysis of them and gives us a lot of good information about how they play and what they pick. Also small things like setting up scrims and making sure the scrim environment is good. He is for sure the best coach I have worked with in my 4 years of playing competitive Smite.
You guys are currently doing amazing work this season. What do you believe you can achieve this season with Team Dignitas that you have not been able to achieve previously in your Smite career?
Trixtank: I mean I am not sure how we have done so good at the start, I kind of felt like we sucked a little bit. I am just happy to see everything working out and as I said earlier, we have so much to work on. The fact that we are 2nd seed now just shows the potential of the team. So I think with this new roster we can become the world champions and that is something I have wanted to achieve my whole Smite career.
Do you have any shoutouts?
Trixtank: Just a shoutout to my personal supporters and those who support my stream, I love you guys ♥! Also thank you to all the team fans as a whole, we appreciate it, and of course thank you to our sponsors.
Make sure to follow Trixtank through his social media outlets to stay up to date on Team Dignitas' amazing 2017 Split.