Superliga starts today, and a lot of things have happened for this upcoming Summer Split. Teams rebuilding, past disappointments are trying to be fixed, title favorites have new challengers to face⦠And all of that crowned with the lurking fear of relegations next corner. A lot of things are at stake, and much more to prove.
UCAM Tokiers and his coach Mario âMotrocoâ MartÃnez is the one team that, at the same time, has the most to prove has improved the best on paper, but they risk the most this split. Last Spring, they ended up dead last in the regular season, with a record of 3-15 but, to be honest, itâs what most people expected. Going for a modest roster the one season Superliga went up a notch certainly didnât play in their favor. This time, though, Summer looks infinitely more promising, with a completely revamped roster that is only keeping Cantoursna “Nji” An from the previous split.
Almost all of the players are widely regarded as either well established players in the ERL scene, as well as promising talents. For example, botlaner Dominik “Zamulek” Biela comes from Excel Academy team of JDXL, but his more remarkable performance belongs to 2021, where he managed to join Richâs list of âADCs to inquire before talking with Flakkedâ.
On the other hand, UCAM has also managed to sign Ãngel âDuaLLâ Fernández and Jørgen âHatrixxâ ElgÃ¥en in the support and midlaner respectively, firstly reported here on BLIX.GG. Both of them are one of the most desired prospects in the Spanish scene, long seen veterans who are always part of title contender rosters. Lastly, Rafael âDoxyâ Adl Zarabi would be playing in the toplane, a not very known player in Spain but a steady veteran in the ERL scene.
To top it all off, the team will be coached by Motroco, who last year was considered one of the best coaches in the Superliga scene, and has a very difficult Spring split this 2022, where he fell out of playoffs with tournament favorites Team Heretics with a 8-10 record, 2-7 on the second half.
But, the main question is: Will UCAM return to the top of the league like they did in 2021, or will they have to think about surviving relegations? Iâm sure Motroco knows better than us, so I decided to interview in regards to his offseason after the difficult departure from Heretics, the formation process of the roster and his expectations upon Summer.
Motroco: âThe objective is reaching the playoffs and then whatever comes to usâ
How did it go for you after your departure from Heretics in Spring? Were you hungry to compete again, or were you thinking of taking a break?
Motroco: Well, I was a pretty tough split with Heretics on the mental side, I was feeling at 100%. To be honest, I was facing the dilemma between taking a break or signing with another team, I was pretty doubtful about it. Initially, I thought I needed that break.
But, as I spent more time not working during the Spring break besides having reached a verbal agreement with UCAM, I have realized (not taking a break) was the correct decision. I feel myself motivated, energized, and eager to enjoy working again, because in the end thatâs the most important thing.
Was it hard to adapt to your new environment in UCAM?
Motroco: Not really. They (UCAM) have made me feel like home. UCAM behaves tremendously, they have a lot of cool people behind them that support us in everything necessary. So, there has been 0 problems with it, and that shows that UCAM is a veteran organization in the sector.
The office is also situated very close to my home, so at any moment I can grab the car and visit my family.
What was your role in the formation of the UCAM roster for Summer?
Motroco: When I joined UCAM, they already told me a bit about the project and the players in mind, which for me was pretty reasonable. From that, we tried to build the rest of the roster in which I thought was best, in terms of scouting, which players were better between the options we had. So, the roster is built between what we all agreed upon, but I got much involved between the decisions.
Tell us something about your players. Some of them, like Hatrixx or DuaLL, are old acquaintances in Superliga, but other like Zamulek have never played in Spain before.
Motroco: I have already coached both DuaLL and Hatrixx before. I coached DuaLL on Cream Real Betis back in 2020, and I think he has evolved a lot, back in Betis but also last year oon Movistar Riders and this one in Bifrost. He has always shown that he will perform besides his bad reputation, which is fake anyway. There isnât much to say about Hatrixx either. He comes from KOI, and I already coached him back in 2018; he is a very solid player, with a good mindset and companionship. Heâs going to be a lifeline for us.
In the toplane Doxy is going to be a surprise, I think. Heâs a guy usually known because of his toxicity, but since heâs here he has been nothing but a wholesome person, as well as being very consistent in the rift, so I’m very pleased with him. Nji is a resident jungler, and has spent a lot of time competing in major leagues so it’s also a safety pick for us. He is a beast in and outside the game, you can watch him lifting 140kg and then playing Volibear like an animal [laughs].
[Lastly] Zamulek is the most unknown player so far in the roster. He did a great job in the Polish league before [he reached EUM Quarterfinals in 2021 with Illuminar Gaming], but had a weird split this Summer with JDXL. He is a guy with a lot of talent anyway, so we decided to pick him.
What are your expectations upon Summer? Do you have any objective in mind? Whether it is winning, reaching playoffs, avoiding relegationsâ¦
Motroco: I always say that the objective is reaching the playoffs and then whatever comes to us. I donât like to set performance bars, but a minimum of reaching playoffs is necessary when you join a team, and from that my objective is working day by day, improve day by day, so by the end of the split it can be said that we are a cohesive team, we did things right and we worked well
How do you rate Superligaâs level? Do you think it has improved compared to Spring?
Motroco: I think so, yeah. Thereâs been a lot of changes, a lot of known people has joined, and in the end all teams are trying to reinforce their rosters removing the weaker links and bringing potentially stronger players. Itâs going to be a pretty hard split for us
Do you have any team in mind that you want to match against? For example, your former team of Heretics
M: I donât have any special team in mind. I think the series against KOI always has some extra exposure and its always cool to face them and all, but not much else. Yeah, Heretics is my former team, but itâs just another match. Itâs not who you face against, but to play at the best you can.
A lot of things could happen this split. As Motroco said, the league has improved since Spring, and if the last split was close, this split looks like it will be even tighter. Bottom teams, such as UCAM itself and MAD Lions Madrid, have greatly improved their rosters for Summer, and top teams like FC Barcelona and KOI Squad also made changes aiming for the best. The teams that remained mostly unchanged, such as Spring finalists Bisons and Fnatic TQ, as well as Movistar Riders and G2 Arctic, certainly will have to prove that their previous core couldnât be improved.
A lot of challenges, narratives and fun matched are awaiting today. You can watch them on Twitch in twitch.tv/lvpes
