Despite struggles during their first week back in the LEC, Rogue impressed many by defeating G2 Esports on Monday, January 15th. Following this important win, Armand sat down with the team's newly appointed jungler, Markoon. Now on the board, Rogue is aiming to continue their recent successes heading into the second week of matches. In this exclusive interview, the 21-year-old Dutch player discusses differences between his current and previous teams while also delving into the team's current state.

| How are you feeling after your win against G2?

Markoon: “Pretty good! After yesterday [against TH], I've been feeling much better, we honestly played [that match] so freaking badly. I didn't even care if we won or lost today's match, I just wanted us to actually play the game. Thankfully, we got the win, so that's even better!”

| Were you surprised by the Trundle pick?

Markoon: “Not really, it's been around. I think it's just the best match-up into Xin Zhao. I'm glad I was able to win it regardless.”

| One could say that G2 seems to be having a bit of a slow start. How did you feel facing them?

Markoon: “We definitely did not give them a lot of options in this game and I really liked our draft. In my opinion, G2 is still warming up and trying to figure out what they want to play in the meta. At the moment, I don't think they're playing that well yet, but I fully expect them to get much better as the split goes on.”

| Yesterday you were put on Maokai duties. Did you feel more comfortable on Xin Zhao?

Markoon: “[Laughs] I wasn't actually put on Maokai duties yesterday, I kinda put myself in that spot. I thought it was a really good Maokai game overall, even though we lost. I think that with the way we were playing we would have gotten stomped regardless of what champion I picked. I would probably pick Maokai again.”

| In a pre-game interview, you mentioned the differences between your times in SK Gaming and Rogue. Could you elaborate?

Markoon: “I think that my roles in both teams were extremely different. In SK Gaming, I was appointed as the team's captain by default, since I was the player with the most experience. I'm not sure if I was well suited to be a leader at that time, honestly.”

“The biggest difference is how problems were tackled in each team. In SK, everyone seemed a little non-confrontational whereas, in Rogue, I realized from the first week that players would instantly point out any mistakes or problems they had. There's no fooling around and ignoring problems here, it's a lot more direct, and I'm currently enjoying this style of working a lot more.”

| With how fast-paced the LEC format is nowadays, do you feel a bit more stressed about performing early?

Markoon: “Yeah, it's a lot more stressful than previous years. With the old format, for example, if we had gone 0-4 in the first two weeks, we would still have so much time to fix our issues.“

“After going 0-2 on Sunday, we were already thinking and telling ourselves: Alright, we're gonna have six more scrim days in total before our season is over, we have to start fixing stuff fast.“

“We talked until 2am before today's match about our game-plan and how we wanted to actually play the game. This week was a bit of a reality check, the pressure is really rough with this format.“

| After week 1, where do you see Rogue in terms strength?

Markoon: “If we keep playing like we did during the first two games, we're straight up going to finish 10th. If we play like we did today... I'm pretty confident we're at least gonna make it to top 6, maybe top 4.“

“It's entirely up to us, right? We have a lot to improve on, especially with the new season. Everyone still has so much to learn. The standings are extremely volatile at the moment and, regardless of being the best or worst team in the league, the only thing that matter is who will improve and adapt the fastest in the next four weeks.“

“I think we have pretty good potential, and I'm pretty confident that if we actually improve at a rapid pace, we can eventually contest G2 for the title.“

| You've been pretty self-critical online. What would you say you tackled differently this game in order to not have a repeat of the first two match-days?

Markoon: “I just wasn't very... I won't say warmed up... Maybe not comfortable enough? I feel like I am still in the process of finding my rhythm. After yesterday, I had a huge reality check. I knew that things needed to go differently because we had been just too indecisive.“

“We had to start making proper plans and actually executing them. My mindset coming into our match against G2 was that I just wanted to make sure we would actually play with purpose, and I think I did that pretty well today.“

“I think my mechanics have been a bit off as well. I'm still messing up a bit, but I think they'll get better over time.“

| Overall were you happy with your performances today?

Markoon: “In terms of pure mechanics, I don't think so. I messed up one engage in their base, which was pretty big. Overall though, I'm really happy with our macro this game and I feel we were much more decisive. That made me really, really happy.“

| What would you say is maybe the biggest point that Rogue still has to work on right now?

Markoon: “Our early games were the biggest issue but I feel like we already fixed that by talking a lot yesterday. I think our biggest problem now is probably our execution around Baron Nashor, which we're currently working on. I feel that it showed in our game against G2 that we still have a lot to work on. It'll probably be our focus for the next few weeks.“

| Can we hope for more variety in jungle picks?

Markoon: “I don't think the meta is very open right now. In the past, I always had some pocket picks cooked up, but right now there's not many. It might change next week when we start playing on the hot-fixed patch. We'll see!“

| Any particular opponents you wish to face?

Markoon: “I really want to play against Fnatic. I've played a lot of in-houses with Noah and Jun this off-season and I really wanna beat them! It's been a lot of fun playing with and against them in Champions Queue.“

| Is there a better dopamine booster than driving the Rift Herald into a turret?

Markoon: “No, actually, god bless Riot Games for adding this feature, it's so fun. It's been one of Riot's best features in a long time! I had so much fun in the off-season just completely inting because I was just engaging with it [laughs].“

| Thank you for your time! What are your plans after tonight?

Markoon: “I'm going home, I'm very hungry [laughs]. I'll probably relax for a day at least, it's been a stressful week. Maybe I'll play some games in the evening tomorrow, but I'll probably take some time off.“

What's next?

Now on an upwards trajectory, Rogue is aiming to continue their recent successes as they look to face Vitality, Fnatic, and MAD Lions KOI in Week 2. Readying up for Saturday, January 20th, Markoon and his team are now aiming to consolidate their standings in the LEC 2024 Winter Split. Fans should look out for Rogue's match against FNC, which should prove to be an exciting one!

Week 2 RGE LEC Schedule: