Pre-BlizzCon Interview with JayPL

You have probably heard the news, Jérôme "JayPL" Trinh has announced his retirement, which will take effect when this HGC season ends after BlizzCon. We sat down with JayPL at their bootcamp in Korea to discuss the team's adventures in Korea, some of Jay's favourite moments in HotS, and the state of Team Dignitas going into the HGC Finals at BlizzCon.

You’re bootcamping in Korea right now - how is it?

JayPL: Korea is so great. I think for this year, it’s always been a dream to be in Korea. And being here again, especially when I know that it’s going to be probably my last time here as a competitive player, I’m trying to get everything I can out of this trip.  

I know you’re there to work, but have you had some good food? Seen some amazing things?

JayPL: Of course! I posted on Twitter a bunch of photos from my omakase (various sushi dishes prepared and selected by the chef). It was Japanese food, but it was insane. It was actually the best meal I’ve had in my entire life. It was a special day for me. It was really good! I didn’t have the time to go too deep into the city, but where we ate with Gen.G was actually a beautiful place. It was a small street with a lot of shops and it really felt so different from the rest of Seoul, less modern. I really like the countryside. I plan to go to Seoul and Korea again, for holidays, and I’m just going to discover all of the things. Because when we are bootcamping, we don’t have that much time to explore. But for sure I will come back next year.

Do you think being in three different time zones right before BlizzCon is a risk?

JayPL: I think it just depends on the person. We already did this last year, and it was pretty good, I mean for me at least. Yeah, it can be a risk, but I think has to be manageable. We are players who did a lot of traveling like this in these last three years. I think we are getting used to to jetlag. I don’t think it’s as much of a risk anymore, well maybe for POILK because he didn’t travel that much, but I think we can all manage it so I don’t think it’s a big risk.

At least if there is a risk, it has to be worth it. Bootcamping here is to learn and play among the best in the world. So I think as long as we keep ourselves in shape, we won’t get sick from all the traveling. For me, a professional player is not just someone who plays well, they’re someone who also takes care of themselves, eats well, doesn’t sleep at weird hours… kind of a philosophy of being a professional player, to be honest.

Can you tell us a bit about the Gen.G dinner? How was it?

JayPL: Oh my god! We went to the other side of the city, and it was way, way, way more beautiful than where we are right now. We did Korean BBQ. I’ve already been to some Korean BBQ places in my own country, but this was different. I took so many pictures and videos. You know, I really like food. I even plan to, in the future, travel just for food. It was amazing, the food was amazing, we had a lot of pork, beef, and stuff like that. The restaurant was actually really “user friendly”, we did all of our own cooking at the table.

Just, the food was just so good, every bite was just amazing. For me, the food is important. So it was just a special day for me. Hanging out with Gen.G was great, they are really good people. Even the language barrier, it was fine, their English has improved a lot and we also have phone translators. We can kinda understand some Korean ourselves so we could talk with them kinda easily.

What’s it going to be like playing the Group Stages for BlizzCon in front of an audience? Previously it was also at the Blizzard Arena but there was no audience at all.

JayPL: On Dignitas, I’ve always felt that we are a team that performs the best in a LAN environment. I feel like we play better with the pressure. The fact that if we are playing a game that is really important, it makes us play better in general. So I just prefer that there is an audience. The odds of the other teams feeling more pressured because of the audience, it’s just better in our favour. I think it’s way better when there is an audience. It feels more real.

It’s like, when you’re playing HGC at home and it’s an important match where we could qualify for BlizzCon, and you just feel like it’s not important because you’re just playing at home. But when you play on the stage with an audience, you can feel that it is important. It’s just a different mindset, I just prefer when there is an audience.

Let’s get into your career and retirement. How do you feel about this being your last tournament?

JayPL: I’m kinda excited. I’m not worried, because obviously as my last tournament I will give everything I can and I would like to win it, if possible. The fact that it’s my last tournament will probably improve my plays and my commitment. Not saying that last tournament I was not giving everything, but I think this time I will give more. 

What was the process of deciding to retire and announcing it to the team and then to the public?

JayPL: I told the team earlier. I had to, because of how the acquisition phase works. I told them as soon as possible, because they have to find a new player and try them out. If I waited for after BlizzCon, all the better players will have been signed already and they would not have the choice to take the best replacement. With the public, I already mentioned one year ago that I might do something else because I judged that Heroes of the Storm might not be here for long, and I needed to prepare for my future because I’m getting older. So sometimes I talked about that with my friends or my stream.

How do you think your retirement announcement will affect your teammates, both during and after BlizzCon?

JayPL: I think that during BlizzCon it will not impact them because we are professional, which means that we have to give everything just to win. For me, being professional does not need to be linked to relationships, you know? Like, it can help, but as long as we keep professional we should always aim for the win, no matter what. So it doesn’t matter if I leave, or 2-3 players leave, we will give everything to win the tournament. After BlizzCon, yeah I think it’s going to have a huge impact on the scene. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that rosterpocalypse happens every year, and I think Dignitas is in the spot to take all the best players to fill the team.

If we look back at your time with Team Dignitas, it’s been about 3 years. During that time, what are some of your highlights? What are some moments you will always remember?

JayPL: The highlight I will always remember from my career was when we won the first European Championship, but... that was not with Team Dignitas. We (Na’Vi) did beat them though, in the Finals, haha. But for my time with Team Dignitas, it has to be the Mid-Season Brawl, it was incredible. We were about to win the title, it was just insane. We didn’t know that we would be so close to Gen.G. Because at the beginning, my mindset was like, “Ya, I don’t know, maybe we will just finish 2nd and get destroyed by Gen.G,” and then we were about to win the first map and I thought “Oh damn, we could actually do this,”.

We ended up losing 4-3, but we could’ve won with 1 or 2 more seconds. I think that was the hardest tournament and the most hype. I think it was the biggest final in Heroes of the Storm, to be honest, and it was a pleasure to be a part of it. And of course every title that we’ve won will be in my memories.

Let’s move on to BlizzCon. Is this going to be the best chance so far for Team Dignitas winning BlizzCon?

JayPL: I would say yes. But the thing is, we are practicing with Gen.G right now. Gen.G is extremely good, it’s always been like that. You know when you come to bootcamp and start scrimming with them you notice that you are so behind, when you thought you were kinda good at the game and they are just smashing you. But somehow, this has only happened in scrims. In tournament, it’s always been kinda OK, you feel that you can beat them, but in scrims somehow they are just way better. But I’m not scared because it’s always been like that. We come here, we bootcamp, they destroy us, and then in the tournament when we face them we can beat them.

In fact, it’s even better for us, because we can learn more from them. It’s actually a good thing to get completely slapped in scrims because it means that there is a gap there and you can learn from it. I think this is the best shot Team Dignitas has had to win it, but that doesn't mean we will, but it just means that from all the Dignitas rosters, this is the one where we can potential win.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us Jay! This is probably one of your last interviews, do you have any special shoutouts?

JayPL: Well, shoutouts to everyone. To everyone who made my career possible. And when I say everyone, I literally mean everyone. It can be the players I played against in Hero League, the players I played with, like my teammates, the two organizations that I played under, the Blizzard employees, literally everyone who made my dream possible. And my mom, obviously. Of course, shoutouts to Team Dignitas, to our sponsors (Champion, HyperX, Mountain Dew, Raynor Gaming, Twitch, WD, Buffalo Wild Wings), to the DIGscord, and to all our fans!