Xmithie Xpeaks Mid/Jungle Xynergy

Jake “Xmithie” Puchero – “I think the safest way people can have more consistency on it is having that mid/jungle synergy”

I talked to Doublelift last weekend and he said you guys have a very high ceiling and that all of you are very talented and understand the game well. He also said you as a team are not even close to your full potential. So I’m very curious what this means, if you’re already this good and you still have a lot of room to grow, how does that play out? And how can you improve to reach that ceiling?

“Individually everyone is very talented. Everyone can handle their own internationally against these players. I think what we need to improve on… well, since the meta is [changing] we have to adapt and find all these new things… We have to be ahead of the meta. We have to be five steps ahead of everyone.”

What is something you are personally doing to increase your strength in the jungle and overall presence in the game?

“I think it is just making my time spent really efficiently. Just finding the right things to focus on. So watching vods of the LCK or specific LPL games. Or even EU games that are really interesting. But we just don’t have time usually. We scrim 8 hours a day every week. And usually on breaks, I try to make it a break to refresh my mind and stuff like that. So normally during off time [between] scrims, I try to watch a vod and ask people why it’s good.”

On the new patch, it doesn’t seem like too much has changed from the jungle perspective… But is there something that you are looking forward to going into the next few games as people get more familiar with the patch? Is there something that you think is strong that people haven’t figured out yet?

“I think there will be a lot more champions in the bot lane and people will ban more in the bot lane. Since Ezreal got nerfed [and Targon’s too], that opens up a lot of champions. Like we were just against a Xayah and Rakan and we haven’t seen that in a long time. If people ban a lot of champions in one role, we are going to see a lot of nuance. I haven’t seen a lot of two teams banning 6 junglers yet, but maybe there will be a change back to carries or back to second rate bruisers. But we will see some change.”

What is the most important lane to be closely connected with for the jungle? In 8.1 it was mostly farm and heal bot lane, so the game was more top/mid centric. But what do you think now, will attention shift back to the bot lane?

“The safest way people can have more consistency on it is having that mid/jungle synergy. Since the game is really adaptable right now where top can either play Maokai or Jayce, it really depends on how people draft the comps around it. But when you have the mid-control set, you can go to top or bottom from there, and you can go to their jungle.”

What would you say your role is on the team outside of the game?

“It’s kind of funny, because I think I’m the opposite of what I am in game. Like I think I am the most vocal in game. And then outside, I’m pretty much the least talkative out of everyone. In post game review I pretty much observe. And even when we go out – sometimes I try to troll people, but usually I get in my own circle.”

Thanks for reading! Find Xmithie on Twitter @Xmithie (Liquid really has those handles on lock). Check back here for more interviews and content! If you’d like to contact me, go ahead and tweet @parkeso. For pictures and stories, follow my Insta @parqueso. If you’re not big into social media, email me at [email protected]. =)