Team Dignitas’ NA League of Legends team has a new manager in the form of Joe "InnerFlame" Elouassi. Elouassi has previous experience as manager of SK Gaming and Gamers2, as well as management and team experience outside of eSports. His knowledge and insight will have to cross the Atlantic from the UK to the USA, but with previous experience living in Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Falkland Islands this shouldn’t be an adventure too far for the team manager.

Our very own Robert ‘Roscoe’ Wery caught up with the new Team Dignitas manager in a video interview to ask about his hopes and aspirations for the future with the organisation, as well as revealing the man himself to the keen fans who are itching to know more about the new guy and what he is going to bring to the team.

You started off playing with and managing a bunch of challenger teams, eventually moving on to SK Prime, as well as being the manager/pseudo-coach for SK Gaming as well. It transitioned, you moved around and left them, and you spent some time with Gamers2. Now you’ve moved to Team Dignitas. How did you happen upon the move?

InnerFlame: I think Team Dignitas – at least in my eyes – is something that was supposed to have happened for quite a while now. The first time I approached ODEE for a League of Legends team was… I can’t remember which year it was but I was at the WCS Starcraft tournament. I was really nervous; I was young, new into the scene, and I went to ODEE about this team and he said “We’ll look into it”. Nothing came of it [looking into a team]. This was with Gamehoppers, which was years ago. I was a nervous kid back then and I wasn’t as comfortable with doing what I do, unlike now.

I had the opportunity to join Dignitas for the Summer Split with Dig EU but I felt at the time it wasn’t the right offer. I was a bit impatient to be honest, but the main thing is now that the right offer has come I’m finally able to do it and I don’t see myself going anywhere for quite a long time. It’s just something that I felt was going to happen for a long, long time – at least personally – and I’m super pumped to be here.

I’ve actually supported a lot of the teams and players here that they’ve had in different eSports as a fan and I’ve always seen the ethos that ODEE and the management here have and I’ve always thought to myself ‘how can I be a good enough manager to work with people like this?’ because there aren’t many organisations out there where the staff care about winning more than anything, rather than making a quick buck. I think that’s the main thing that has always set Team Dignitas apart for me is that the management have this ethos and it’s very apparent and you know that’s what they’re thinking when they tell you.

This was going to happen eventually, it just took a little longer than we expected.

How are you going to make the team succeed? How are you going to get them to do well this split?

InnerFlame: One thing I will bring is discipline. I wouldn’t say I’m strict as a person, but I am when I need to be, and I have a very clear idea of what I want to impose on the team. When we’re building the roster I play a major part and I do other things. I give speeches just before the games. I’m a very passionate person and I think you’ll see me jumping and screaming when we’re winning. I’m genuinely excited about winning; I hate losing more than anything and I love winning more than anything.

You mentioned the discipline being strict – along what lines? Lifestyle, habits, schedules?

InnerFlame: Yeah, with what surrounds practice - making sure that whatever’s influencing the players is positive. I’m very approachable and I’ll be there for them in many ways, like moral support… there’s a lot to say and I can’t be too specific but a bit more discipline will come. There’s something I bring and it seems to work seeing as I’ve brought teams round to winning. I’ll be working closely with the staff and organisation making sure I get what I want from my staff, making sure they get what they want from me, making sure my players get what they want from me as well.

In your eyes regarding successful teams in NA – or any region – what is it that good teams do in terms of your sector of the staff? What do good managers do?

InnerFlame: I think a good manager has to always be there for his team. It’s just the small things. A) you need to be approachable, B) you need a bit of charisma, C) you need to not be afraid to discipline your players when you need to. I think they’re the main three things. You need to not be a hypocrite whilst doing this – practice what you preach – but there’s a lot which makes a good manager.

The way I look at it is that there are two kinds of managers; one is being a functional manager as I call it and charismatic is the other kind. It’s about finding the balance between the two. You need to be there for your team outside a game as well as doing everything I need to do for the organisation.

With Brokenshard as coach do you think there’ll be much crossover? How do you think you’ll interact with everyday practicing and watching scrims, vods?

InnerFlame: I think Ram – and the other support staff we’re going to bring in – they will work closely to work with players on the in-game stuff and I think anything outside of the game is down to me. I’ve done bits of coaching I’ve been around long enough to not sound like an idiot when I speak. Ram will take care of most things in game and he’ll lead that. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries. He has his job and I have mine, but I will just make sure there’s no negative influence on the team, whatever that may be. Whether that’s something outside of the game affecting the players or someone is getting to the player.

One of the main things in most of my teams is that I want to be very approachable to my players so that they feel very comfortable talking to me. I like to make the comfort zone for a player slightly bigger.

New rosters and staff usually have a shaky start. Do you think that will be an issue this time or do you have a plan for it?

InnerFlame: Every team has their difficulties, I just think it’s down to the players, the staff, and the willingness in general. I think a lot of teams out there are not made with the same mindset in the players. I feel like a lot of players have different goals in general and I think the most important thing is finding five players with the same ethos. You can really tell if they have that mindset.

If the player’s hardworking and hungry they’ll fix issues sooner than other teams. There’ll be some synergy issues at the start, but that’s just down to practice.

Is that hunger and authenticity something you’ve seen in who Team Dignitas has right now?

InnerFlame: Someone who doesn’t have that hunger doesn’t have a place in my team. Whoever has it has a place and to be honest you don’t perform without it. It’s what sets apart a lot of players. I think the main thing will be grinding out results when you need to. You can’t win every game cleanly.

If you look at traditional sports… for example, when a team wins the Premier League in football/soccer, the team at the top always grinds out the results that they need to against the big teams. They’ll get the point for the draw, or even the win. The main point is grinding out the results and not underestimating anyone. I think if people underestimate us that it’ll be a big problem for them. We’re definitely not going to underestimate anyone and we’ll take it one team at a time.

There was an interview with you and SK Gaming’s Fox where your answers were all about the next game, not future competition.

InnerFlame: That’s how I like to be. It’s not for show: that’s the most positive mindset. I just think one step at a time is the best way. Take each game as it comes.

We’ve recently had the Doublelift swap from CLG to TSM. With all the off-season changes in progress is there anyone/any team that you’d put on your list as ones to watch out for?

InnerFlame: I’d have to see a final list of players but what do predictions mean? Players might be better than others skill wise or achieved more than others in the past but at the end of the day if they lack the hunger, passion, maybe even the talent… who knows who will drop off in form in the next split. I don’t like predicting things. I didn’t do a Worlds Pick’em. You don’t gain anything from predicting. What does it matter? All you need to do is predict your team is going to win the next game and make sure they do win the next game. I don’t care about other teams’ success, I care about my team.

You’re going to be moving to the house in LA. You’re English so you’ve got big changes coming up. Time, measurements, temperature… have you been to America before?

InnerFlame: It’s just the lingo really. I’ve been to America before but just the east coast. It’ll be my first time in California and it’ll be a nice fun experience for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m really looking forward to it, though one thing that will be odd for me is that the weather is always nice, which is a bit strange for my wardrobe when I come from quite a cold country. I don’t have much summer-y clothing, so I’ll have to buy more stuff.

Any last words or shout outs you’d like to add at the end of this interview?

InnerFlame: Thank you to all the sponsors and thank you to Team Dignitas for picking me up and giving me the chance and believing in me really. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure this team succeeds and I will try and get the best out of this team, whatever that is. More than anything I want to see my players enjoying what they’re doing and you know, winning is fun. I don’t know if I come across as arrogant but at the end of the day all I really care about is how the team does.

You can follow InnerFlame on Twitter and Twitch, as well as by following Team Dignitas on Twitter and Facebook for the latest gaming content, news and updates!