Usually when people talk about the champions a player can play on any given day at a competitive level, they’re referring to a “champion pool.” But over on the LEC broadcast, the casters and analysts have coined a different term for Origen mid laner Erlend "Nukeduck" Våtevik Holm: champion ocean.





During the Spring Split, Nukeduck played an impressive 16 champions. A longstanding veteran in the LEC, Nukeduck has consistently stayed in the conversation of ‘best EU Mid.’ Upcomer had the chance to talk to the heavyweight mid laner after Rift Rivals about how he maintains his champion ocean, his thoughts on the NA teams, and where Jiizuke stands as in the conversation of EU mids.





NA was pretty free this event. When you guys were getting ready to come out to North America for Rift Rivals, were you all pretty much expecting the tournament to sort of go the way it did?





Well, we thought, but also a lot of people were saying that, you know, the top teams from America is also very good, and we haven't faced them ourselves. And when they play against each other in NA, it's a bit hard to tell if they are better than us or not. So we were confident, but also we had big respect for Cloud 9, TSM, and Liquid.





So I would say it went better than expected, yeah, because, you know, the narrative was that they are really good, and since G2 won Europe that easily, maybe they are just a step above, and Europe is a bit lower. But I think that wasn't the case.





When everyone talks about you, you know, it's the “champion ocean,” or the “champion galaxy,” the fact that you can pretty much play any champion you want. Whenever you play these champions, you always look competent. Do you practice a lot on different champions or do you just have a method where you're like, “Well, I should play Enchanters this way, I should play Assassins this way”?





It's, as you said—knowing how you should play them is important. So to play them kind of good you have to also know, like, for example, Enchanters are played this way, and then this Enchanter has this niche, and this has this niche, right? It's also the case that I've played for a very long time, so like... let's say, I've played many, many games with all the champions, and then I just need a quick few games to bring back my muscle memory for a champion, you know?





So I think it's a lot of practice, but not necessarily playing all the time. Now it's just all the experience I have that allows me to pick up the champions that have been meta in the past, like really quickly again.





You have been playing for a very long time, and you've stayed consistently in the conversation as one of the top EU Mids. What do you think about yourself has allowed you to remain a highly competitive mid laner in such a competitive region?





I would say, definitely, that it's because I work hard, and I practice a lot. Especially in my earlier days, I used to play solo queue just nonstop, all the time, and that built a very good base to where I could always perform pretty well.





And then also I like to think about the game. I really like the strategic game as well, so that way, I think it's very interesting to think about this strategy against this strategy, and all that stuff. So it's all very fun for me, so I consume it a lot, and that helps me stay consistent.





Looking at another mid laner in EU, you know, you have someone like Jiizuke, who came in, and had a lot of hype around him. He was making all these really amazing plays and now he's sort of starting to fall off a bit. Looking at a younger player, what do you think someone like Jiizuke needs to do to sort of stay consistent, and sort of reach that same level that he was playing at in the beginning?





Right—I think the level he had in the beginning is like, he was very, very good on some champions that were very strong. I think having that, because he was actually really insane in the start, and I think that level is impossible to maintain—or it's impossible to play and practice towards having that level.





That's going to be very hard, but what he could probably try to do is play a bit more well with his team, where he kind of right now likes to just play really aggressive on solo mission, and ask for a lot of backup, and then try to snowball a bit. But maybe he needs to focus more on different playstyles to be more consistent.





Domestically, you guys are currently 3-3. You're in the same table I think with Splyce and SK. Do you see yourselves being the Worlds representative for EU? Or do you think that teams like SK, or even Splyce, have a chance to usurp you?





No, I think we had just some off games. We made, actually, the same mistake many times in our three losses, and even one of the games we won. But the opponents were too weak, so even when we make mistakes we can still win.





So I think that's a bit worrying, of course, but I think, at the end of the split, when we have practiced and we know the meta, I don't see us losing bo5's against Splyce or SK. So I think we will go to Worlds, yeah.





You said it yourself: you guys made a lot of the same mistakes consistently, and in four of your games. And I understand that it's early in the split when you guys start to realize, “hey, we're making this mistake,” and then you talk about it. And then the next game you're making the same mistake. What do those comms start to get like when those mistakes are just happening over and over again?





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Well... we don't discuss it in the game as much, because when I'm in the game, then we trust each other's calls, and it's hard to... Let's say the best play was something else, but it had to be set in motion already, at least like half a minute before. So it's kind of hard to say, like, “No, stop doing this plan, and do this plan instead,” you know, in the middle of the other plan, right?





So in the game... we stay positive, and we encourage each other on the plans we are doing. And then after the game we see it, and everyone is very self conscious about that. So it's not like we need a huge meeting or anything. We just talk about it in the car, or when we are together, we talk about the mistakes. And then one guy will be like, “Oh, I didn't see that, I should see that next time,” and then we just, we do it kind of lighthearted, and hope that everyone just tries hard to improve.





Image via Riot Games





﻿Who on the team, for you, is the one that you are able to confide with the most, have the best sort of working relationship, if you're trying to be self reflective about your own play?





So about self reflecting on my own play, I usually prefer to do it alone, where it's like, if I know I did something poorly, then I will just try to fix it. But if I actually don't know what I did wrong, or what I should do, then I usually talk to Alfonso [Mithy] about it. He's usually the one I'm discussing team play options with the most, because when I talk to him, we kind of understand it similarly, so I try to talk to him about it. And who wants to talk about team plays? Like, it's me and Alfonso, Alfonso and Jonas [Kold], and then, whatever we come up with, we try to bring to the team.





This is going to be a long season for you guys. You know, you played really well in the LEC, and now here you are, you missed out on MSI, so you're here now at Rift Rivals, and then after Rift Rivals, you're going to go back to your domestic region, hopefully go very deep in play offs, and then potentially go to Worlds where you're going to have to play, hopefully, a long tournament too. And then a player like you has a chance to make all stars. Do you think the current Riot system expects too much of players in the amount of time they have to put in to their pro season?





Of course, there are so many things being done, right? So it's Worlds, then the split, then MSI and everything—so it kind of has to go nonstop for all of it to, you know, even be done, right? But I would really like if you had, for example, vacation in summer.





So let's say we would, you know, somehow, at least, if we could have a summer vacation off, because it's hard to meet my friends and stuff, because they're all studying in different cities, and some of them are working. It would be very nice and more relaxing if, you know, we could have the summer vacation, like everyone else, and we could have time to go on a real vacation then.





So, that would be my main complaint. The volume is... it might be too much volume also, for this idea to happen, but I think... it could be better, yes. But at the same time, we take this kind of lighthearted, and we don't play as much when we're here, and we have three weeks off, so I think it's manageable. But it could be better.





You brought up your friends. One of the things I've been talking to a lot of players about is dealing with mental health and having the ability to disconnect from the game when needed. What is something you do when you need to remove yourself from the pressures of being a professional player?





I definitely just call my mom or my dad, and I talk to them. If there is something I really want to talk about, those are my best friends. So yeah, I can talk to them about anything. So if there is something that bothers me, then I'll talk to them.





I actually had an incident back in 2016 where I was feeling really, really bad, because the team was put up in a way where I didn't feel like I could change anything, and some people had more power than others, and it felt like it was being abused, but not like in a very bad way. But it's just like, they got their will, but they were, in my opinion, wrong, and that just becomes very straining mentally when you have to wake up and you work, but you know in the back of your head that it's not moving forward, you know? And then it becomes very, it becomes a bit depressing.





So at this point, I had to talk to my dad, and just take, basically, a whole day off, and just... yeah, that helps me. Call my parents, yeah.





What is your go-to thing to do when you're not playing League of Legends? Is it like, going to the gym? Do you play other games?





So I do a little bit of everything. So I do play some other games—sometimes I like to play Heroes 3. I don't know if you know this game. And I like to work out, though lately I don't feel like I have the time. It's kind of like a lame excuse, but...





I mean, Kold finds the time.





Yeah, Kold does find the time. But I also... it depends just how much you play, because you have to take your bag, you have to go there, and you also have to wash your clothes when you come back home, and everything, you know? So, it's not like that's like, an unmanageable task. It's just takes quite a lot of time, and if I don't feel completely comfortable with all my champions I need at this moment, I kind of just don't do it.





But when it's off-season time again, then I usually like to do activities. My dad owns a cottage in the mountains, so that's where I spend [time] between summer and spring, and I usually do a lot of skiing, and just being active. I like doing that when I don't have to be performing at the highest, you know?