Cop & Saint Reddit AMA - Answers!

As we're sure you already knew, last Saturday our coaches David "Cop" Roberson and Brandon "saintvicious" DiMarco had an AMA session on Reddit. To make it easier for you to get through all of their answers, we took them out and summarized them below!

What's one of the best traits a jungler should have?

Saintvicious: Planning is very big for a jungler. You should know every point of the first 5 minutes of the game in most cases (where the jungler started, whats his path most likely, where does he need to go, what are the enemy junglers goals, where will you most likely meet and how will you fight him?). Also, you have to be able to take in fine detailed information and adjust your plan.

Do you think importing Korean pros is mistake?

Saint: I think the expectation of Huni/Reignover status is a mistake. Bringing in Korean players and not properly incorporating them into the team and building a good culture together is the mistake nearly every team makes.

Would either of you consider going pro again? You are two of my favorite pros and I am happy to see your success in coaching as well but I will always miss you on the stage.

Cop: I was going to but I ended up coaching Team Dignitas instead. I think I would've been pretty good since I was down to grind solo queue but who knows.

What are your thoughts on NA skill level as a whole?

Cop: The skill level is pretty average. This might be because our solo queue kind of sucks. I feel like there aren't a lot of actually good players in challenger/master compared to Korea/China and even Europe has a lot of big name players coming out every now and then. Our solo queue is getting better since we're bringing over people from other regions but we're still pretty far behind Korea.

You guys both had successful careers, but if you could go back in time knowing what you do now, what would you change about your training/playstyle?

Cop: I'd just make SKT and win worlds.

So what are your two roles on the team? Do you each focus on a different aspect, or work together? Any cheese picks inc?

Cop: We each focus on different things, like I help with bottom lane more and Saint helps with jungle pathing/ganks, and we all pitch in for team plays. We also find different things to bring to the team, like plays from another team or champions/counters and we talk about different ways to approach the game. We might be a little cheesy this split.

What are your realistic expectations for DIG going into summer?

Cop: I think we'll have a good start, we have a few things to work out and then we should be stronger. We need to work on our mid-game communication and understanding before we can beat the top 3 teams.

Why has Tahm Kench started to get back into meta/see more play?

Saint: He's a decent blind pick when the power support picks are down.

Did you guys work on Chaser/Ssumday synergy? This duo ca.n carry hell of game if their synergy improved. What it's like to have possibly the best toplaner in the world?

Saint: I believe Ssumday and Chaser already had decent synergy when I first started working with them. Chaser and Ssumday's weaknesses were more in their communication and planning parts of the game. That is the main reason we brought in Big and another sub jungler was to push Chaser and Xpecial’s communication to the next level. Both of the sub positions we brought in are extremely vocal about what they want to do next and getting their team mates in place to accomplish it. Both Chaser and Ssumday have also been showing great progress from their English lessons as well which should help their in game Comms.

Do you see a world where Ssumday gets on carries more often if the meta allows. It seems the team needed him on engage in the past. Could big and chaser become primary engage if meta allows?

Saint: Top lane isn’t really a lane you hard carry from in this meta unfortunately.

Cop: I don't think people realize how hard Ssumday carried on tanks. His Nautilus actually won us a ton of games because he'd hit the nastiest hooks which would get us a free teamfight. Tanks were better back then and maybe even now, so it's best to just play what's strongest. If a counterpick is strong, I'm down to pick it, but only if it's good like some Fiora matchups.

How does one acquire a coaching (or analyst) position? What are the qualifications/experience needed?

Cop: Good qualifications\experience include being a pro player, being high elo, or having a good understanding of the game and the team, and how to put them together. You'd have to show that to whatever team is doing a coaching tryout, but it'll still be tough if you weren't high elo at least. People can also start as analysts and move up if they're good.

Is it weird or any other kind of feeling being on Dignitas after several years on Curse? (Kind of like Doublelift going to TSM)

Cop: It's weird but only because I don't have a sick ass Dignitas hoodie like they used to have back in the day

As a coaching staff do you feel it is better to keep expectations realistic (like let's just get top 3), or is it better to always shoot for 1st.

Saint: All of the teams in NA are a lot closer than people think. Lot of it comes down to player mentality and getting the drafts you want. Anything can happen.

Cop: I like to aim for 1st place. All of the decisions we make are because we want to become the best team possible. We're actually really close to the top teams in NA so our goal for now is to win and qualify for worlds. We haven't made it to the worlds level yet so I can think about that later.

Generally speaking, do NALCS teams' scrim performances reflect their on stage performance?

Cop: Not really, we'd lose most of our scrims last split and win every LCS match. It was like a bad omen if we won all of our scrims. Most of the time, drafts are weird because people are trying new champions and practicing stuff they're bad at. That leads to weird scrims sometimes and doesn't really reflect anything.

What are the goals for the team for the upcoming summer split?

Cop: We ended up 5\6th last split, but I'd put us right under P1 as they're the only team we couldn't beat outside of TSM\C9. Our goal this split is of course to become better than P1, C9, and TSM, and go to worlds. Hopefully, bringing in Saint, Big, and Shrimp can help us see the game differently and will improve our understanding of mid\late game.

Which traditionally non-support champ do you think will be next to be played as a support?

Saint: Ask Maxx

Cop: Galio support, if you get caught warding just jump out or save your bros.

What do you think team DIG needs to improve on in order to see more success?

Cop: Our mid\late game communication was really weak last split and we'd see most of our losses there. We'd hit 20-24 minutes and throw as hard as we could, give up a baron or two, and somehow get a mean teamfight and win the game against worse teams. Once we clean up the mid-game decision making, then I think we can start fighting for top 3.

Can you shed some light in the weird early split coaching situation? We fans have heard weird allusions in interviews and other media sources, but haven't heard anything definitive.

Cop: Not much has changed - We brought on Saintvicious. We then added Big and Shrimp to the roster as subs. Big playing game 1 against NV mainly because of the 2v2 match-up and to see if communication improves on-stage.

Hey Saint, been a long-time fan of yours since season 1. Your stream was what made me a jungle main. Why don't you stream anymore?

Saint: Don't really get enough viewers to make it worthwhile and during the season I am usually watching vods in if I do solo queue.

In your opinion why has Keane been inconsistent throughout his career? He's had games where he smashes Bjergsen, but then games where he kind of feeds to lesser teams. He's my favorite player, just wondering and I'm pretty sure you’re the one that scouted him back on Curse Academy i think.

Saint: Keane just seems like a confidence player to me. In my time playing with him in Gravity we would always drop off at end of split due to champ pool confidence or match up confidence. I think if Keane has the right idea what he wants in the match up/pick ban he will go off.

What would you say are the most essential points/fundamentals all coaches should share?

Saint: I dunno man I just kinda wing it.

Cop: I also kinda wing it, but one of the most important things I've learned is that you shouldn't try to be a really forceful coach. It can work in some teams where one person leads all the strategy, but most of the time it'll just hinder growth. If I see an answer to a play that a player doesn't see, then I try to lead discussion towards those answers. After a while, it's about finding what everyone's really good at and improving on it as much as you can. If your team is really bad at something then maybe it's best to not follow what everyone else is playing and focus on counters.

How did it feel to retire? What kind of theories did you implement into your coaching styles based off of playing professionally at one point? Saint: What do you think of the new American breakout junglers (Contractz, Akaadian, etc.)? Saint: Opinions on the new Rift Herald? Saint: Do you think the respawn timers on jungle monsters should be reduced? Cop: Very outdated question, but what do you feel about Graves going from being a botlaner to a jungler?Cop: Not really your lane, but what do you feel about on-hit Kennen? And to an extent, on-hit Teemo? Cop: Is there any marksman you think is going to become meta soon?

Cop:

1. It felt pretty good actually. I felt bad for not spamming solo queue and knew my teammates didn't like how little I played so having that stress gone was really nice. I had also thought about coaching for a while before I retired, so my mind was already made up.

2. A lot of my coaching is based around my time as a professional player and what I've learned over these last 5 years. In pick\ban, I try to imagine what every player is thinking when they bring up a random counterpick. Also, most of the people in LCS now were actually still playing back when I was playing so I remember a lot of their weaknesses and patterns\playstyles.

3. I actually sucked at hitting Graves ultimate so it's good for me. It doesn't really change much as I jungle and AD, so I still get my fair share of Graves games, but I still whiff the ultimate.

4. Kennen was actually a weird champion for me as it didn't sound like something that would work. I think the BotRK buffs helped him but he just sounds like a Jayce\Quinn..?? They're usually traps in competitive games but Kennen seems like he may actually be good with his stupid amounts of CC and his E disengage

5. Not a lot has changed since MSI, but each region goes back to different meta picks. Caitlyn, Twitch, and Kog seem really good but who knows, NA is so monkey that we just end up playing a new hot ADC each week.

Saintvicious:

1. When I retired was one of the saddest moments of my life I was in tears for a bit. Mainly just knowing I would never be on the stage again like that. I am an extremely competitive person so that hit me there.

2. I wouldn’t call it a theory but mainly just the concept of a relentless work ethic. I’ve been in esports as long as I have because I am willing to put it all out there to achieve what I want and every player should have that same drive. You would be surprised at how many don’t.

3. Contractz is pretty good from what I have seen has some pathing issues but plays skirmishes well, Akadian seems to have pathing issues and is a bit too cheesy.

4. I like the rift herald a lot it creates more early game trades of objectives and some nice power plays.

5. No? It gives the jungler more time to gank instead of farming 24/7

Hey Saint, big fan! As someone who seems very direct and straightforward I'm curious how you deal with conflict within the team or stressful circumstances?

Saint: Promote people talking and being open with each other. Even the most social people can have a hard time talking to each other about things. Most gaming teams are full of anti social people and come from very different backgrounds where usually showing emotion is kinda taught to be bad. You'd be surprised how much tension and stress gets relieved when you realize the guy next to you is experiencing all the same things as you and wants all the same things as you. Even if that person on the surface seems so different.

Saint, as a jungler, what are your thoughts on the jungle timers, global death sounds, etc. that were introduced to the game a while back? I remember the big uproar when these changes were first announced because it took away from an aspect of a jungler's game (tracking buff timers, etc.) and was wondering how you think the changes look nowadays!

Saint: I like the jungle timer being shown. Less stuff for me to track.

You don't have to go into too much detail if you don't want to, but could you talk about the biggest differences in coaching style between the Korean coaches you had earlier last season and now? I've heard some less than good things about the ousted coaches.

Saint: At least from what I was told the coaches prior did an extremely bad job of bringing the Korean and NA players together. This lead to a very bad atmosphere and no productivity in the team at all. So, I would say the biggest difference I bring is making sure everyone works on this together and not just two parties trying to figure it out.

For SaintVicious mainly, I saw on the contract database that Shrimp was added to the roster once again! Is he a in-house sub or just a "regular one" I guess?

Saint: Shrimp will be a sub that will get play time for sure. Chaser and Shrimp have incredibly different play styles as well as communication levels so its great for them to be able to learn from each other.

How do you approach dealing with players who aren't pulling their weight (being unmotivated or otherwise)?

Saint: Hmmm, I usually just have a heart to heart with them. I would never force someone to do something they don't already want to do. Have to talk to them about why they are here on the team? What are they working toward? Why they are even a pro? What gets them up in the morning? I think a pro player can only thrive if they genuinely love what they are doing.

Hey to both of you, what team had the friendliest atmosphere, and what ever happened to Nyjacky?

Saint: For me CDE which was more of a fun play around team but we also took things pretty serious thanks to Regi. We were all friends and just enjoying the game together. Jacky is a real estate agent now.

Cop: I think Curse Academy\Gravity since at the start we were just a team cruising through challenger having fun smashing everyone, and then we won most of our matches. We were mostly just having a good time and enjoying the game until the tilt. EDIT: Never mind, I forgot that almost every team I've ever been on was with Saint and we're both toxic. A day before qualifying and becoming Gravity, we were just going to disband, lmao.

What can you tell Team Dignitas fans that would make us excited about this split? What can we expect to see in terms of improvement during the off season?

Cop: Ben Simmons + Joel Embiid. Also, I believe we were right outside of top 3 last split and we made changes to hopefully fix that. We're looking to improve on our poor mid-game communication and then we should be able to beat the better teams.

Which competitive match do you feel was your best performance as a player alone?

Cop: Could be the match against TSM at MLG Anaheim where I played Draven back in the day. Idk if it's my best performance but the crowd got super hyped for our comeback and it felt amazing to carry a game like that in front of a big crowd.

Saint: hmm, maybe IEM Guangzhoi, playing Udyr every game until they banned it, feelsbannedman.

What's your best memory in competitive League?

Saint: Maybe winning IEM Cologne after pounding vodka and redbull shots right before the games, lol.

Cop: Maybe beating TSM and knocking them out of groups at IEM Hanover. They were still super hyped and I was still a bad new player, so getting to smash Chaox when he was the best felt really good in front of a giant crowd.

What was the main factor in your decisions to retire from pro play to become coaches? Do you ever regret not playing for longer?

Cop: The main reason I chose to retire from playing is because I didn't value playing the game enough and I didn't like the effect it had on my teammates. I regret not putting more time into the game but I'm still very happy that I chose to become a coach. I was actually going to go back to playing before this recent split and grinded 2 accounts to challenger, but ended up coaching Dignitas.

Saint: Main decision for me was it became extremely hard to focus in game. I would always know the right things but was unable to play out the situation properly to achieve what I wanted to do. Might be a sign of age. I used to be able to get challenger with ease and now it’s a struggle just to maintain d1/masters.

What qualities does Big have over Xpecial that allows him to be the starter?

Cop: We're starting Big in our set against NV because we had some troubles in the 2v2 and mid\late game shot calling against NV last split. Xpecial is still going to be starting in some sets and potentially playing game 2\3 against NV, but we also want to see how the team plays with Big on stage.

Thank you, Redditors. See you soon!