The date is November 23rd 2015, Team Dignitas’ Heroes of the Storm team is about to start practicing again after taking a well-deserved rest after their second place finish at Blizzcon. There is a change in the roster though, a young Frenchman who has proven himself over the year, is given the chance to represent the team that will go on to be a top contender in Europe for years to come. Who would have known then that he would go on to be one of the most successful players in competitive Heroes of the Storm history to this day?

Between the second Western Clash and BlizzCon 2018, JayPL said the following on his stream, “I have thought about it for the past year, and now I have made my decision to move on from HGC and follow a new path.”

After four years in the competitive Heroes of the Storm scene, there’s no doubt that JayPL will leave behind a legacy only few other players can match. We are talking 10 major titles, more than 500 competitive games, and three different roles played at the highest level. The past three years of his career have been here with Team Dignitas. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of Jerome “JayPL” Trinh’s greatest moments.





Not once, not twice, but three-time champion at IEM Katowice

The Heroes of the Storm tournament at IEM Katowice is truly a place where Team Dignitas feels at home. The three years it’s been running, we have seen our guys in black and yellow lift the trophy every time without exception. One factor that has been consistent for the team during these victories has been JayPL.

In 2016 we saw the beginning of JayPL’s dominance on the heroes Muradin and Stitches. While Muradin was his most played hero, maybe this was the moment JayPL realized he had a special connection with Stitches, a hero that he would be renowned for in years to come.

2017. Oh, how we remember this! Team Dignitas had had a bit of a shaky tournament, but they made it to the Grand Final where they pulled out the Stitches, Kael’thas, Tyrande strategy they made up on the spot. The clip of JayPL’s blind hook from the boss area on Tomb of the Spider Queen into Zaelia’s Ragnaros Heroic that was already in the air when the hook hit is still one of the most memorable moments in competitive Heroes of the Storm history. From this moment, JayPL had earned the reputation as the best Stitches player in the world.

In 2018 Team Dignitas went into IEM Katowice as the favourite titans, destined to win the tournament without any problems. Things went fine as the team went through the upper bracket, but in the Grand Final they were taken to the final deciding game by Zealots. Here we saw JayPL play a huge role yet again. When everything looked hopeless, he went beast mode on his Diablo and dominated the teamfight that would secure Team Dignitas the third IEM Katowice title in a row.





The Global Champions title in Sweden - So close, but never meant to be…

JayPL has indeed won a lot of titles, but there is still one feat he has yet to achieve. An international title in a tournament where East and West meet to see who the best in the entire world is. There are two chances for such a title each year: BlizzCon and the Mid-Season Brawl. The Mid-Season Brawl is one of the most beloved tournaments for the fans because of the lineup of teams and the round-robin into double elimination format. Two times have we been blessed with this tournament, and two times JayPL was so close to the title that he could taste it.

In 2017 the competitive Heroes of the Storm scene was dominated by Korea. MVP Black and L5 were merciless whenever they faced any teams than each other, but this tournament would teach them a lesson. Team Dignitas and JayPL did not only beat L5 in their regular group stage game, they would go on to show that it was not just luck by also defeating L5 in the following tie-breaker match. L5 were not the only Koreans to feel the wrath of Team Dignitas though. Next up was none other than MVP Black, the best Heroes of the Storm team there has ever been, but also they were taken down by this Dignitas lineup lead by JayPL on Anub’arak for nearly every game. JayPL and the rest of Team Dignitas managed to beat L5 for the third time in the tournament after that but would fall in the last deciding game of the Grand Final to EU rival, Fnatic. Though JayPL and crew didn’t get their international title, they arguably achieved the better feat and earned the reputation of “Korean killers” after proving that “THE KOREAN OVERLORDS CAN BLEED!”

In 2018, Team Dignitas made it to the Grand Final at the Mid-Season Brawl again. They were the hope of the West, the only team that was believed to threaten rebranded MVP Black, now Gen.G. The series was a nailbiter to the very last moment, and few minor factors saw the title slip away from JayPL’s hands one more time.

This Grand Final was special though, players on both sides agreed that this was probably the best series ever played in competitive Heroes of the Storm. After he returned home JayPL told us that he wasn’t even angry or disappointed by losing. He was happy and honored to have been a part of the experience the series was.





The last chance before the goodbye

Now that JayPL’s plans to retire is a fact, BlizzCon will be his last tournament. After a nearly perfect season in Europe with only one defeat in League play, two Western Clash victories, and a Grand Final at the Mid-Season Brawl, JayPL is more motivated than ever to give it 200% at BlizzCon so he can retire while being at the peak of his career.

We from the Team Dignitas Heroes of the Storm content team will be sitting at the edge of our seats right there in the front row at BlizzCon to follow his final battles against the Heroes of the Storm elite from all over the world, and when he walks off that BlizzCon stage for the last time, with or without the trophy in hand, we hope that he will remember: Once DIGfam, always DIGfam.

Make sure to show JayPL and the rest of Team Dignitas your support at this year's BlizzCon journey! #DIGWIN