WLGaming Esports botlaner Nikos “Bananitoo” Fakis on the Greek scene: “Teams in the GLL need to give more rookies a shot. I do believe we have a number of good players in Greece, but I also feel like there’s a lot that needs to be done for the Greek scene to advance to the next level.”
In recent times, WLG or We Love Gaming have emerged as one of the most successful organisations in the Greek circuit, winning the league an astounding five times in succession (once as Future Perfect WLG in Spring 2019). As such, they’ve become quite a recognisable name in the bi-annual European Masters (EUM).
For the ongoing tournament, WLG have pleasantly surprised many. Despite a 1–2 score in their group, there is a world where WLG becomes the second Greek team ever to make the Knockout Stages. Botlaner Bananitoo, one of the most decorated players in the scene, would love to see it happen. He joins us to talk about his career, the GLL’s constant roster shuffles, his thoughts on the Greek scene and WLG’s chances in EUM.
Thanks for accepting this interview. Before we start on any of the larger topics I must ask, where did you get the name ‘Bananitoo’ from?
Bananitoo: Hello, thanks for having me. This is probably the most common question I get, it’s a nickname from an older MMORPG I used to play a lot: Lineage 2.
That is an old game alright. You are currently one of the most successful players in the Greek circuit: six time Greek champions, five times EUM attendee and many other tournament wins. How do feel about your current career achievements thus far?
Bananitoo: Winning the Greek league six times in a row and attending EUM every season honestly feels great. I’m glad I have been a part of so many championship winning teams, and there have been a lot of great memories with a lot of teammates over the years.
However, my goal is not to win the Greek league over and over again. I want have another successful EUM run like the one I had with Panathinaikos AC eSports (PAO)in 2018 summer.
I know some players say that constantly winning the same championships in the local circuit does feel like it diminishes the significance of it over time. Do you still feel a huge sense of relief after every Greek title win or is it expected of you?
Bananitoo: Obviously winning the title is a big relief and it always feels amazing, but at this point I feel like it’s something I have to do. If I somehow fail to do so, it would be very disappointing.
That’s fair. Speaking of Greek titles and PAO, you have played with midlaner Paris “Paris” Outsis-Dimitriadis in many of these championship winning teams. Tell us a bit about your relationship with him and why both of you have stuck together for such a long time.
Bananitoo: Yeah, me and Paris have been through a lot together (laughs). Paris is probably the best Greek midlaner alongside Prodromos “Pretty” Kevezitidis from Vodafone Giants. He is an amazing team player, he knows how to win games and he gets things done.
I think we both have stuck together for so long because we are really good friends outside of the game as well, there is a lot of mutual respect after playing together for so long, so I feel very comfortable around him.
That’s really interesting because something about the Greek teams in recent times has been very puzzling to me.
In the Greek Legends League (GLL), it seems many teams are fond of either starting with large rosters or constantly change players throughout the split, even in playoffs. WLG too changed their jungle five times this split and support once. Why is this such a prevalent trend among the GLL teams?
Bananitoo: Yeah, changing players within rosters is a pretty common practice in GLL. In my opinion, it’s because most teams don’t have the patience to see how the roster will develop. You lose some games and immediately there is someone you need to scapegoat, so instead of trying to fix the issues within the team you just replace someone.
We also had problems with our junglers this split. Our original jungler (Necati “Appen” Sarıgül) got an offer he couldn’t refuse in the middle of the split and the player that replaced him got called for mandatory military service (Emilios “Rabbit” Zekia). We were a bit unlucky this split but I think we found what we were looking for with Lukas “Warden” Lenikas.
Do you think this will be a long term trend or it’s just a short term practice to how new the GLL is? In your opinion, how will this affect the league in the long term?
Bananitoo: I really can’t say to be honest, maybe it’s because GLL is still new (formed in 2019 summer) and most organisations are still figuring out how best to operate. I hope that teams realise this is not the solution though. They should sign newer players and let them develop as a team without constant roster changes. For example Mertai “Mersa” Sari, our support is a rookie in his first team and he got the MVP award in the GLL finals.
Speaking of Mersa, he is just 18 this year and already has a GLL title to this name. Tell us how is it playing with him so far and how far do you think he can go?
Bananitoo: Playing with such a talented rookie has been great. He is really good for the atmosphere of the team: Mersa has a very solid mindset, he constantly improves daily and that’s the key to his current performances.
Also, having someone so young is really motivating for the team as well, as we are trying our best to set a good example and help him grow. I think Mersa has a bright future ahead of him, he has the potential to play in a bigger European Regional League (ERL) or even the LEC.
LEC huh? So can I expect “Bananitoo and Mersa” to be the next great Greek combo like “Markos “Comp” Stamkopoulos and Labros “labrov” Papoutsakis” then?
Bananitoo: (laughs) Yeah, the inside joke in the team is that Mersa and I are the budget Comp and Labrov!
With so many talented players coming from Greece (such as Mersa), is the current GLL and Greek circuit conducive for developing and finding Greek talents, or do you think a lot more needs to be done for the Greek scene to truly rise?
Bananitoo: As I said before, teams in the GLL need to give more rookies a shot. I do believe we have a number of good players in Greece, but I also feel like there’s a lot that needs to be done for the Greek scene to advance to the next level and be as competitive as the bigger regions. All the players, organisations, and the GLL itself needs to step up in order for that to become a reality.
Let’s move on to the main event: The EU Masters. WLG are back once again, this time straight to groups. What are your current impressions of Group C so far and do you think WLG can make it out?
Bananitoo: I like our group so far and I definitely think we can get out of it. Misfits Premier is the strongest team in this group but between the three teams remaining, I feel like anyone could win and potentially get the second spot.
Compared to past EUMs, this is the first time ever Greece has gotten two teams into the Main Event. What’s different this season for the teams to be able to achieve such as a feat and what do you think this means as a whole for the region?
Bananitoo: Honestly, it’s really cool that we have two teams making it to the Main Event. I think Intrepid Fox is a good team but they unfortunately got placed in a really hard group.
I really hope that this can level up the region as a whole, since two Greek teams competing in the EUM Main Event should -hopefully- motivate everyone in the scene to be better and show that we can compete with the likes of bigger ERLs.
For WLG, would you say you guys are a stronger team now compared to your EUM spring 2020 run?
Bananitoo: Yes, definitely. I would say we are a lot stronger than we were in Spring. We have better synergy between us and we are more of a team than we were back then.
You did mention PAO’s run in EUM 2018 summer, and that was indeed a huge surprise, making it the first Greek team ever to make EUM Knockout Stages. What made PAO so strong that season and what has been your fondest memory from that time?
Bananitoo: It was a big surprise for us as well. It was partly because it was the first appearance of a Greek team at such a high level, nobody knew who we were and we were complete underdogs. So we just said to ourselves: “let’s play our game without fear and see what we can achieve”.
Ultimately, it worked out and we got out of groups by beating the team that won the whole tournament: MAD Lions. My favorite memory is for sure the voice comms when we were hitting the nexus of MAD Lions, everyone was screaming!
That game indeed is a memorable one! So I’m going to put you on the spot: Is the current WLG better than PAO in 2018 and do you think you can go further than PAO did?
Bananitoo: I’m not quite sure if we are better but the ceiling is 100% much higher. As I said, I’m confident that we can make it out of groups and that’s the goal right now, one step at a time. I believe we can make it further, I know everyone in this team has the potential to do so.
Before we end, I’d like to ask you a little bit about your pocket pick Lucian. Despite the buffs, he is almost not seen bot lane at all but he’s now more commonly seen in mid or top lane.
What scenarios can you still pick Lucian bot in the current meta, and do you have any solo queue tips for our readers who might want to play it?
Bananitoo: Lucian is a champion that benefits from being ahead and he wants to snowball. Most times you put him mid or top and you are guaranteed to have priority and a winning matchup. For botlane, it’s just that the meta picks are much much stronger right now, Ashe and Senna in general offer utility and more things than Lucian does.
For solo queue: Yes, don’t play Lucian bot guys! Jokes aside, I would only pick Lucian into things that I’m guaranteed to win lane, such as Ezreal or Kai’Sa. Never blind pick Lucian!
Time for me to blind Lucian in solo queue then! Any closing thoughts?
Bananitoo: Thanks a lot for this interview, it was a pleasure. We will try our best in EUM, and hopefully get out of groups to prove that Greece has potential. Also, a big thank you to WLGaming. They are a fantastic organisation and they are helping us every way they can, I hope we can make them proud.
