AGO ROGUE toplaner Jakub “Sinmivak” Rucki: “I personally wouldn’t say the LFL teams are a level above the rest, but they are definitely the strongest contenders to win EU Masters. However, there are very strong teams like BT Excel or BIG who should challenge for the title as well.”
It’s a tale as old as time for the Ultraliga: AGO ROGUE vs K1CK Esports in the finals. Like last spring, AGO ROGUE emerged triumphant after the smoke and dust settled, clinching a nail-biting Game 5 to follow up on their European Masters (EUM) title last summer.
One of the members of the POLSKA GUROM brigade is toplaner Sinmivak, who’s had a great first season with AGO ROGUE so far, clinched a spot in the second All-Pro team. He’s been to EUM before and is looking to make a splash this time around.
Sinmivak takes time out to talk about AGO ROGUE’s run to the Ultraliga title, overall thoughts on EUM and what his expectations are, as well as the current state of top lane going into the tournament.
Thank you for accepting this interview. Before we begin, I’m curious, where did you get the name “Sinmivak” from?
Sinmivak: Thanks for the invitation! There is no interesting background story, it’s randomly generated! There is a browser game called Margonem and you can randomly generate your nickname there. You can choose one of the themes/classes your nickname will come from, so I picked Forgotten Mages and I got ‘Sinmivak’. I think I was 13 or 14 back then.
Oh. Fair enough. First off I’d like to say congrats on winning the Ultraliga with AGO ROGUE! I believe this is your second title in Poland, how are you feeling about your career trajectory so far?
Sinmivak: Thank you! I'm really happy with the fact that I managed to win Ultraliga again because previously I did that as a sub for devils.one (2019 summer), but now I can finally say that I worked hard enough to get the trophy without any random circumstances.
Overall, I’m satisfied with my career achievements so far. There were some ups and downs but I learned from them and I’ve gotten to where I am now.
The recent Ultraliga finals with K1CK Esports was really close, especially the last game. After a 3–2 win over Illuminar Gaming, did you guys expect the finals to be this close with K1CK? Also, how did it feel to steal the Baron with Sion’s Q?
Sinmivak: To be honest, during the entirety of playoffs we felt like we are way better than the other teams, but we just couldn't prove it. Our gameplay was slightly different from what it was from scrims. I said to myself that I definitely needed to step up if we want to achieve anything in EUM, because I was not satisfied with my gameplay. We are not happy with how it went, and we still have to work on our confidence in official games.
And yes the series against Illuminar was close, but the K1CK series was even closer. I’m not going to say we shouldn’t have won it, but we may have used up all of our luck for this year (laughs)!
Also, Sion’s Q Baron steal was so random. I didn’t even check how much damage my Smite dealt but it somehow worked! I was very relieved for sure after that.
I believe this was Johan “Klaj” Olsson’s first full season as a coach, and he’s won the Ultraliga on his first try! How has it been like working under him, in comparison to coaches you’ve had in the past?
Sinmivak: Klaj is really passionate about the game and he has a great work ethic. He is leading by example in various things, not only in those that are connected with the game. It feels great to work under him, even if he is not experienced as a coach, I can definitely say that I learned a lot from him and he is giving his best every single day without any excuses.
It’s difficult for me to compare coaches because every time I switch teams, I’m on a different stage of my career so my point of view is slightly different. For example, Adrian “Zetural” Dziadkowiec specialises in building a team with rookies and makes them reach a high level of play in a short time. He values team spirit and he puts a lot of work to make communication in-game as good as possible. In AGO ROGUE we have experienced players, so the team dynamic is slightly different and we focus on the different things.
I didn't work with Alvar “Araneae” Martín Aleñar for a long time, but he definitely gave me a lot of confidence and taught me a lot about map awareness. I really enjoyed working with him because he was a very charismatic and positive person.
Speaking of Araneae, before you joined AGO ROGUE you played for MAD Lions Madrid in the 2020 Iberian Cup. How was your experience like playing there, and what do you think about the general level of play between Spain and Poland?
Sinmivak: Playing in the Iberian Cup was a great experience for me. MAD Lions had great staff and everyone was happy to help each other. As a team who wasn’t really favoured to win, we still managed to beat Movistar Riders, who were then the SuperLiga summer champions! Everyone was so hyped after that (laughs).
I would say that the level of the top teams are similar in level, but the bottom teams in Poland tend to have their own playstyle and picks, and this makes it really annoying to play against them. I feel like teams in Spain are really predictable but I can’t really say because it was only one tournament, so I might be wrong.
Interesting insight. As the Rogue’s academy team, how close is AGO ROGUE to the LEC team? Do you guys actively practice lane matchups or scrim each other often?
Sinmivak: We didn't practice too much with them throughout the season, but recently we’ve started doing a lot together. We are practicing matchups and playing scrims way more often than before. Obviously we were able to watch their scrims for the whole season and reach out to them if we wanted to know more, so that’s nice.
“I really respect him [Agresivoo] and I think he is one of the best toplaners outside of the LEC. It’s the second time in a row I will be playing against him in the Main Event , and it will be a great opportunity to see how much I have improved.” — Sinmivak
Alright, the main topic: EUM. With Illuminar making it through from Play-Ins, this means the Ultraliga has all three seeds through. What do you think of the general strength of the Ultraliga in comparison to other major regions for this EUM? Are the LFL teams still a level above the rest?
Sinmivak: I feel like the Ultraliga teams wont be scared to pick teamfights and skirmishes this year. From what I’ve seen and from when I’ve played against them, everyone is trying to get used to the LFL style where you play really aggressive and punishing enemies as much as possible.
I can’t really tell what’s the biggest strength of the Ultraliga this year, but I think every team has players that can pop off and completely ‘1v9’ the game. We have those individuals that can make the difference when its needed most.
I personally wouldn’t say the LFL teams are a level above the rest, but they are definitely the strongest contenders to win EUM. However, there are very strong teams like BT Excel or BIG who should challenge for the title as well.
You are seeded into Group B with Misfits Premier, G2 Arctic and ŠAIM SE SuppUp, and it could be a pretty spicy showdown! What are your thoughts on this group? Any team here you think could be a potential dark horse?
Sinmivak: Looks like we have two Polish teams in our group! Misfits Premier is definitely a great team built on players with a high individual skill, and every player from Misfits can carry the game, which makes them a bit scary to face.
To be honest, I don't know what to make of G2 Arctic. They managed to get first place in regular season but I’m not sure if they choked in playoffs or if something else happened. In my opinion, they didn't look great in the Play-Ins but if they step up, G2 Artic could be the dark horse of the group. I don’t really know much about ŠAIM SE SuppUp just yet, but they stomped the EBL so they could be scary too.
Facing Misfits Premier also means you’ll be facing an old teammate of yours in toplaner Tobiasz “Agresivoo” Ciba. How much are you looking forward to facing him?
Sinmivak: I really respect him and I think he is one of the best toplaners outside of the LEC. It’s the second time in a row I will be playing against him in the Main Event (last time was EUM 2020 summer), and it will be a great opportunity to see how much I have improved. I feel like those games might be really spicy if we’re gong by what we’ve played against them in scrims!
I’m looking forward to it. AGO ROGUE also comes in as the defending EUM champions, is there a lot of added pressure to defend the title? What are your personal expectations for this tournament?
Sinmivak: I don't really think about it that way. There is no one left from the previous roster, so I don't think I should have the pressure on me that I need to defend the title.
Obviously it is our goal and we will do our best to achieve that, but we have no extra pressure because of the last year’s results. Personally, I would love to get out out groups and finish at least a top 4. It’s a big chance for me to show my skills on the European stage.
Before we end, I’d like to ask you about your thoughts on the current state of top lane. Do you like the current meta for top lane or would you prefer to play carry tops and so forth?
Sinmivak: Top lane feels a bit weird right now. There are two champs which are Gnar and Sion that you can blind pick almost every time, and you probably won’t get punished for it. The rest are very situational. I think to an extent, you can play almost anything now as long as you feel comfortable on it and it’s good in the team composition. We’ve already seen people playing Darius, Akali, Nocturne and the like.
The meta also feels a bit weird also because even if you play Sion for example and go full tank, you can still one-shot people and be unkillable at the same time. Personally, I would prefer to play a strongside carry meta like Irelia, Akali and Camille. It’s way more enjoyable for me and you have to be more creative while playing those champions.
“I can’t really tell what’s the biggest strength of the Ultraliga this year, but I think every team has players that can pop off and completely ‘1v9’ the game. We have those individuals that can make the difference when its needed most.” — Sinmivak
Following up on that, yesterday EDward Gaming’s toplaner Li “Flandre” Xuan-Jun pulled out Sejuani in the top lane. Any thoughts on that pick and if it’s something we might start to see more of?
Sinmivak: Sejuani could be viable in some scenarios, but I don't think she will become a meta champion. Her laning phase is not that great, and she probably can only be played against tanks without getting really behind. On the flip side, this pick does provide a lot of utility for the team.
Personally, I really like Sejuani and I used to play her a lot in Season 9, so I will for sure try to pick it up again.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Sinmivak: I would like to encourage more people to focus on the Ultraliga teams this EUM. There are some rookies that might become really good in the future, and it’s definitely worth keeping an eye of them!
