LYON Dhokla: “We scrimmed G2. It was fairly competitive. I feel like it would be competitive between our regions; I didn't think there was a massive gap.”

Home > Articles > LYON Dhokla: “We scrimmed G2. It was fairly competitive. I feel like it would be competitive between our regions; I didn't think there was a massive gap.”

Niship “Dhokla” Doshi has had a rollercoaster of a career in the LCS, from Worlds to teamless to Worlds again. He joined LYON after Frankie “Zamudo” Lin experienced visa issues, winning another LCS title and leading the team to First Stand. LYON defeated CBLOL’s LOUD 3-2, but suffered defeats against the LCK’s GEN.G and the LPL’s JDG. We sat down with Dhokla to talk with him about his experience against the best teams in the world and how LYON is looking to improve to give hope for NA in future internationals.

At the end of your run at First Stand, you said that you weren't happy with your individual play. What are some of the specific areas that you want to focus on going into this next split?

Dhokla: Being in the right spot for team fights. That was a deciding factor in the JDG series. We could also do better in draft; against Gen.G we didn't really have good answers to their champs. Those two would be the big ones for sure.

You're a veteran. How has the approach to individual improvement and the way you structure your practice changed during your career? What's changed in the way you practice and prepare?

Dhokla: Being more intentional, that's the biggest thing. Focusing on which specific part of the game I want to improve on, watching a lot of VODs that deal with the relevant concepts and applying those.

Outside of the game, how are you fitting mental and physical wellness in your routine?

Dhokla: That's also a big part of it. Physically just being active, getting some sun in the morning. Mentally, just de-stressing before the day ends, so you're ready to go for the next day. Going to the gym and getting outside is a big part of it.

What is the Dhokla workout regimen? Are you still getting on the bike like the CLG days?

Dhokla: I did just get a bike recently, so I’ve been biking to the gym. I mostly do push/pull/legs. Nothing crazy, just consistent.

Let's get into the drafts from First Stand. It looked like getting top lane counter picks or priority picks was a focus. How did the team decide to take that approach?

Dhokla: I think it gives you more value in draft if you can counter pick well and get an advantage through it. We thought that was something we could gain an advantage from against other teams.

Against LOUD you picked Vayne and Garen. Against Gen.G you had Irelia, but, against JDG, you had much more traditional picks. Does the perceived level of your opponent factor into your decision whether or not you're going to go off meta, or is it just a game-time decision based on the way the draft is going?

Dhokla: I think it doesn't really matter who you play against. If the champ looks good in that certain situation, then you should just play it because you’re probably not going to get a better scenario. I see what I think would be good and then decide from there.

The series against Geng and JDG obviously didn't go your way, but you have a 100% win rate against the teams that eliminated them, G2 and BLG. Did G2 and BG only make it to finals because they dodged you?

Dhokla: Definitely not in this tournament. We didn't have to play BLG, but I think they were the strongest team there. I think their lineup is really strong individually. Unfortunately, we didn't meet, but I don't think that's why they made it.

Before you played Gen.G, you noted that they had only lost two games this year, and then that G2 series happened. Do you think G2's upset was a case of them performing above expectations or Gen.G just inting that series?

Dhokla: I think it was G2 being above expectations because I think Gen.G played mostly how they normally do, but G2 played very well. So, it was a bit of both. G2 for sure needed to play really well to win, and they did.

This was your first time playing in Brazil. How was your experience playing in front of the Brazilian fans? How was the visit to Brazil outside of the game?

Dhokla: We didn't really get to do much out-of-game because it's a quick tournament, so I can't really comment on the outside aspects. The fans were really passionate. It was really loud for us even in such a small arena, which is kind of what Brazil is all about, the energy that the people have. It was really nice to play in front of that crowd.

Let's talk more about where NA stands as a region. The Americas Cup saw Brazil win the tournament, but then you [LYON] beat LOUD at First Stand. How do you think Brazil stacks up against NA overall?

Dhokla: I think among the top teams we are better, but I don't know. They beat our second and third team. I think overall as a region we're probably still better, but they definitely have good teams on their side as well. It looks pretty close right now, and they did get a second seed. I think at the next international we’ll have a better sense of how close it really is.

The community sentiment about regional parity tends to swing dramatically based on limited sample size. Do you think the results at these internationals like First Stand are broadly indicative of regional parity?

Dhokla: I think a longer term result is necessary because it’s just one best of five at one specific day in the year. The levels of the team will shift and improve over time. The more sample size, the more accurate conclusions you can draw. I don't think there's too much to take away, other than G2 are quite good and BLG is the best team right now.

No NA team has played an official match against EU this year. Did you have an opportunity to scrim against them while you were at First Stand? How do you think NA would fare against EU right now? G2 looks like they might do pretty well, but what about the region as a whole?

Dhokla: Yeah, we scrimmed G2. It was fairly competitive. I feel like it would be competitive between our regions; I didn't think there was a massive gap. That's a nice thing about going to these international events. You get to scrim the best teams to see what you need to work and improve on. I’m optimistic that we can close the gap.

Do you think that more international exposure or a heavier domestic schedule would help improve NA’s competitiveness?

Dhokla: Both would be great, but I think if you play against the international players who are playing against the best in their region and have more players in their region, it's easier to improve since there are just more players available. Having more competition domestically does help as well. I’d like to have both.

What are some of the realistic, sustainable changes that you would make to NA Pro if you could snap your fingers and make it happen?

Dhokla: I have no idea because I think the player base is just far lower and the interest is not there as much as in other regions. It's just part of the culture; it's different here than other places. I’m not necessarily sure how to fix that. Maybe you try to frame it around college, because I do think that's ultimately the best path. You don't want just 18-year-olds just dropping out and having no setup for their future. You want to tie it to college; I think that’s the best idea. If that can be aligned, then that’s probably our best way to gain back some audience and get back up.

You were the 19-year-old who went pro and it all worked out pretty well. What are your thoughts on the path you took versus the collegiate path?

Dhokla: It was just very risky and there was no great fallback if it didn't work. I wouldn't want to be subjected to a risk like that again. In hindsight, it worked out, but it was also very risky to go through. If it doesn't work out, then you're in a really bad spot. I think you can do both [League and college]. I don't think it's necessarily one or the other.

How important do you think the health of the Tier 2 scene is for the health of the Tier 1 scene? What are your thoughts on the appropriate level of support for Tier 2 in NA?

Dhokla: I definitely think pretty much all sports need more players playing, or the sport will die eventually. Tier 2 is crucial. The way to go about supporting it? We just don't know what the right idea is or what the best pipeline is. Personally, at least in North America, I think it's probably tied to schooling. I guess Riot's still experimenting; I don't know what's necessarily happening. It's not a great outlook right now for Tier 2.

Let’s shift to a slightly more positive vision: the future of LYON in the spring split. What are some of the next steps you’re looking to take coming into this split? What do you think are the teams that are going to be the biggest competitors for you looking to repeat?

Dhokla: For us it's to build on our experience at First Stand and iron out those mistakes. We did win [last split], but we just need to have dominance in the regular season and still play well because teams like C9 and TL are still going to be competitive as well. We’ll just keep the improvement process going and hopefully we can make it to MSI. We haven't scrimmed [other LCS teams] in a while since we've just come back, so I can't give a read on all the teams, but they've had a break and hopefully they've leveled up. We need to do the same and just focus on ourselves, because everyone's trying to win

Looking into the team dynamic, you have Inspired, who’s well known to be a vocal player. What is the team dynamic like, and how has it evolved since you joined? Do you see any changes going into the second split?

Dhokla: Inspired is a big voice for our team, but I think everyone's become more comfortable with each other as time went on. We're all adding our voices into what the game plan needs to be, and I think First Stand showed that we still need to work on that so we get everyone on the same page. That's going to be the goal for us moving on in split two: to have everyone give their input, but also to be cohesive on what the goal is and to have everyone align on that.

Dhokla and LYON will return to the LCS stage to take on Cloud9 in the opening match of the Spring Split on Saturday, April 4 at 1:00 PM PDT. If you want to learn from the pros to take your own game to the next level, you can check out the coaches on ProDiff.

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