Interview with DIG Keane on Performance, the Meta and Team Development

Following our 2-0 performance during Week 6, we've caught up with our League of Legends mid laner Lae-Young "Keane" Jang! We've had a chance to speak to him about his thoughts on his performance, the mid-lane meta, and more. 

Hello Keane! How was your mid-split break? 

Keane: It was a pretty good break for us. We spent 3-4 days taking a break, then went straight back to practice after.

With Altec joining the Team Dignitas lineup, Team Dignitas now has a few members from Season 5's Gravity Gaming lineup, including Cop and Saintvicious as coaches. What's it like to be working with former teammates once more?

Keane: It’s most definitely easier to work with former teammates. Playing with them in the past makes things more comfortable.

Following the mid-split break, Team Dignitas’ performance has improved significantly compared to previous weeks. In what areas has the team improved the most?

Keane: The meta kind of shifted in a way that’s benefited our team and what we play. We’ve also spent a lot of time trying to improve our teamwork.

Sweeping top team CLG with a 2-0 was an impressive feat. What were the deciding factors in securing these clean victories?

Keane: During the first game, I think we all won our lanes pretty well which made the game an easy win. Second game, we controlled objectives pretty well with Nunu, which was a huge deciding factor in winning the series.

In regard to your own performance, how do you feel about your individual showings as of late?

Keane: I think my performance has been similar to past splits. I’ve been able to play with a lot of new players this split i.e. Shrimp, Big, Altec, Adrian, and therefore I need to find myself more comfortable playing with them so we can improve together as a team. This split, I want to be the player who can make my teammates shine more, because I believe Ssumday and Altec are able to play really well.

Jatt's mid lane tier list shown during Week 6 was widely discussed and topical. Do you agree with Jatt's tier list, and if not, what would you change?

Keane: I agree with my given tier. This split, I’m working on being a better team player and trying to make more team plays, rather than attempting individual plays, which can be great if I can make them work. I think that attempts at these individual plays made my performance in LCS look very inconsistent. Hopefully we’ll continue to win games in the future, and do well in the playoffs.

How do you feel about the current state of the mid-lane meta?

Keane: It’s been kind of the same, but maybe we’ll see some lethality mid laners in the mix. It’s alright, the meta’s good and is just based around powerful control mages.

Recent NA LCS pick/ban has been dominated by LeBlanc, who saw bans in all but one match during Week 6. What makes LeBlanc so strong right now, and what can teams do to hold up against her?

Keane: LeBlanc has the best gank pressure and setup potential to make plays with the jungler and strong split push. Games can snowball easily if the enemy mid dies to LeBlanc and the jungler’s plays. To counter this, you need to pick stronger 2v2 matchups, or draft a split pusher to can match LeBlanc’s pressure in the mid/late game.

With the latest changes to lethality, do you foresee a resurgence of AD assassins like Zed or Talon?

Keane: There’s potential that they’ll be good picks in the LCS, but I’m not entirely sure because there’s bolder counterpicks and strategies against them.

With two bot lanes in the roster, how does the team decide whether LOD/Altec or Big/Adrian is played?

Keane: We split up times during our scrim blocks, and who plays in LCS comes down to the coaches’ decisions beforehand.

With Altec and Adrian starting bot lane in Week 6, how do they impact team communication and shotcalling compared to LOD/Big?

Keane: In the past, Big usually shotcalled, but now with Adrian and Altec on the roster, I’ve been working on shotcalling when it comes down to mid/late game macro play, along with other players also making calls.

Do you have any closing words or shoutouts?

Keane: Shoutouts to all our fans and sponsors!

We thank Keane for his time. To keep up with Keane, you can follow him on Twitter and Twitch!