FlyQuest has turned some heads this season and one of the biggest reasons is Lucas “Santorin” Larsen. Santorin has been the driving force in FlyQuest’s run at the playoffs and he’s proven this when he’s needed most. His commitment to helping his teammates paid off in their series win over the Golden Guardians, and now FlyQuest will move onto the spring semifinals. Emotions ran high for both squads, but Santorin couldn’t help but let it out during his post-match interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J2RfbgVJu4?start=1&w=560&h=315
League of Legends is classified as an ‘esport’ due to its insane popularity around the world, and with that there are bound to be some naturally gifted players. It’s an incredibly long, tedious path to get to the top of a worldwide game, resulting in months of practice just to become competent with a few champions. This path only gets steeper as players progress through the ranks and face the rest of the world’s best competitors, making it seem like a nearly impossible goal. For Santorin, this goal began to fade after issues with TSM.
Santorin shares a rare smile from his struggling time with TSM. (Image Courtesy of Riot Games)
Team SoloMid was Santorin’s first true chance at competing in the LCS. Like all newer players, he struggled early on and eventually left the team for newer and better opportunities. He dabbled with multiple organizations, but the shoe never seemed to fit. Finally in 2018, Santorin joined FlyQuest and quickly molded with the other members. After months and months of chemistry building, this FlyQuest team is looking better than ever with the spring playoffs trophy in their sights.
Santorin has played exceptionally well this season, keeping his team towards the top regarding their record. There are many factors in his successful play, but positioning seems to be the one that overshadows the rest. No matter what champion he’s playing, Santorin is comfortable enough to position himself in dangerous areas to create proper fights. He’s often taking down the enemy back line because of how easily he can maneuver his way around the opposition. Whether dodging abilities, making a play or simply waiting in a bush, Santorin has a knack for positioning.
Santorin focusing in with his new team. (Image Courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr)
Aside from his general skill and knowledge of the game, Santorin likes to pick champions that can give his team an early advantage. Some of his top choices this season have been Nocturne and Kha’zix, but he’s branched off for the playoffs. Most of Santorin’s more comfortable champions revolve around gap-closers and high DPS to make ganking more effective. For instance, Nocturne has the ability to provide assistance from a long distance on top of his already high damage. The presence of this type of champion sticks in opponents’ heads as they always have to be mindful of his position on the map. With Santorin at the helm, these types of champions become utterly lethal and most likely shape the outcome of the game.
Most teams tend to research their opponents more heavily when playoffs come around, so Santorin has decided to change tendencies. In their series win over the Golden Guardians, Santorin and his team made adjustments to their composition to stay a little more unpredictable. As a result, Santorin stuck with his usual play style, but utilized different champions. This ultimately proved effective and kept the opposition on their toes.
It’s not too often that Karthus gets played in the jungle, but Santorin decided to bring the old-school method back. He focused on his farm score for most of the early-game until he reached the biggest turning point for every Karthus player. After Santorin reached level six, he made sure that his presence was felt by using his ultimate ability flawlessly during big fights. As time went on, his damage was heaps above everyone else, and the worst part is it’s mostly unavoidable. This resulted in a dominating victory for FlyQuest and kept them alive in a tough playoff series.
Santorin fooled around with the idea of playing Lee Sin multiple times this season, but it never proved effective. Though he only managed to go 1-1 during the regular season, he felt that Lee Sin could become a useful tool for FlyQuest’s composition. Since the champion is dependent on play-making, Santorin made riskier plays to make the pick worth while and this eventually led to healthy leads for his teammates. It was clear that Santorin put his team first and his stat line of 1/1/12 only goes to prove it. If he can keep up this type of play on Lee Sin, Santorin might have found a new favorite champion.
Featured Image Courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr.
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