Dark Passage: where do we go from here?
Riot·9/30/2014, 12:01:01 AM·0 votes·8,314 views
In Turkey, there is but one League of Legends champion, and that champion is Dark Passage. Though the team has won every tournament in the region since 2012, they couldn't secure a single win on the Worlds stage. The uninspiring results left diehard fans of the team with little cause for enthusiasm. But Christopher Willekens, coach of Dark Passage, isn't too worried. He knows that Worlds 2014 was a tremendous learning experience for the squad and anticipates what the future holds.
So where did things go wrong for Dark Passage? For one, they found themselves to be playing scared. Throughout the Group Stage, it seemed as if the team stuck to mostly standard meta champions, but Willekens explains they did have some surprises up their sleeves. Yet once they saw the picks of their opponents, they were reluctant to use them. "This was the first time for us to compete at such a high level, so we kind of feared using our out-of-meta strategies," Willekens admits.
Dark Passage also made a few bad decisions during their own pick-ban phase, like in their game against AHQ. DP first-picked Lee Sin without doing anything to lock up the opposing jungler's champion pool. This allowed the Taiwan-based team to secure their strong-performing bot lane, in addition to giving themselves a chance to hold off counterpicks against both top and mid. Similar lackluster ban-pick phases ended up costing the Turkish team throughout the Group Stage.
Rather than dwell on results, Dark Passage took valuable lessons away from playing and practicing against some of the biggest League of Legends powerhouses in the world.
Samsung White in particular taught Dark Passage a lot throughout their time at Worlds. Indeed, even though Dark Passage had arguably better picks than Samsung White in their matchup, White's strong individual play and superior strategy allowed them to pull out a 15-0 win. Nevertheless, Dark Passage seemed more impressed by the Koreans’ disciplined play than disappointed in the game's outcome. "We all liked Samsung White's players and even though we lost too hard against them, we had too much fun in our matches with SSW,” said Willekens.
He explained that when Dark Passage played against White, it was "something much more different than playing against other teams." He says that even after playing and scrimming against some of the best teams in the World, Samsung White is something special. "They are just playing at the next level, it's like "tomorrow's LoL," Willekens continued. "We think they'll win the tournament."
Looking past Worlds 2014, Dark Passage is hungry for regional supremacy in 2015, though it won't be easy. Star ADC Anıl "HolyPhoenix" Işık recently left Dark Passage to join a newly formed, still unnamed, team made up of well-known Turkish players. Ex-top laner Asım Cihat "fabFabulous" Karakaya also departed, to rejoin his former squad Hwa Gaming.
With two exceptional players stepping down, the Turkish Champions League (TCL) could prove to be much more challenging for Dark Passage in the 2015 season. But that doesn't seem to phase the team’s optimistic outlook. They're keeping a positive attitude, saying they want "to win everything in Turkey, attend Worlds, and make a bigger impact at Worlds." Sometimes a strong mindset can be half the battle.
"We believe we can be an EU LCS-level team easily," says Willekens. "But the first thing we need to change is our mentality. Thanks to Worlds, we started doing this."
In order to make such an impact, Dark Passage knows they have a long road ahead. This year, they plan on playing at more international competitions and scrimming against more of the top teams in Europe. The squad is confident in their ability, and have big dreams for 2015.
Samsung White in particular taught Dark Passage a lot throughout their time at Worlds. Indeed, even though Dark Passage had arguably better picks than Samsung White in their matchup, White's strong individual play and superior strategy allowed them to pull out a 15-0 win. Nevertheless, Dark Passage seemed more impressed by the Koreans’ disciplined play than disappointed in the game's outcome. "We all liked Samsung White's players and even though we lost too hard against them, we had too much fun in our matches with SSW,” said Willekens.
He explained that when Dark Passage played against White, it was "something much more different than playing against other teams." He says that even after playing and scrimming against some of the best teams in the World, Samsung White is something special. "They are just playing at the next level, it's like "tomorrow's LoL," Willekens continued. "We think they'll win the tournament."
Looking past Worlds 2014, Dark Passage is hungry for regional supremacy in 2015, though it won't be easy. Star ADC Anıl "HolyPhoenix" Işık recently left Dark Passage to join a newly formed, still unnamed, team made up of well-known Turkish players. Ex-top laner Asım Cihat "fabFabulous" Karakaya also departed, to rejoin his former squad Hwa Gaming.
With two exceptional players stepping down, the Turkish Champions League (TCL) could prove to be much more challenging for Dark Passage in the 2015 season. But that doesn't seem to phase the team’s optimistic outlook. They're keeping a positive attitude, saying they want "to win everything in Turkey, attend Worlds, and make a bigger impact at Worlds." Sometimes a strong mindset can be half the battle.
"We believe we can be an EU LCS-level team easily," says Willekens. "But the first thing we need to change is our mentality. Thanks to Worlds, we started doing this."
In order to make such an impact, Dark Passage knows they have a long road ahead. This year, they plan on playing at more international competitions and scrimming against more of the top teams in Europe. The squad is confident in their ability, and have big dreams for 2015.
