With Curse and Team Dignitas constantly battling for the top spot on the leader board, I was fortunate enough to catch Jordan 'Patoy' Blackburn during his time off to talk about Team Dignitas' performance in the LCS so far.

Week 6 saw Team Dignitas go 3-0 in the LCS. What did you and the team do to regain your form from before MLG?

Patoy: We sat down and decided we were outplaying ourselves during picks and bans and we didn't think enough about possible team comps, champion picks and bans, and playstyles revolving around certain champions or ideas. So, we're taking things slower now to think of all possibilities and try to counter it.

Team Dignitas and Curse are regularly swapping places at the top of the leader board. Do you consider them your biggest rivals in NA at this point?

Patoy: They are currently our biggest rivals because they are in first place and we want to take over their spot.

Now that you're 2-1 against TSM, do you feel that you understand their playstyle more and that it's easier to strategise against them? How different was it to play against WildTurtle instead of Chaox?

Patoy: It was easy to strategise against them for my personal support role as their team fights are somewhat predictable in how they will play out. Playing against WildTurtle wasn't too different but his champion pool is by far better than Chaox's so he'll fit in well with TSM.

How much did that level 1 team fight against Curse in Week 7 impact the rest of the game?

Patoy: We lost the game because of it.

Your duo-lane playstyle with Imaqtpie is extremely aggressive. How did you develop this playstyle? Was it developed over time, did you design it to fit into Dignitas' strategy, or was it just a natural fit for your preferred champions?

Patoy: Originally, I was an extremely passive-aggressive support player, and over time I went to playing only catch supports like Blitzcrank. As support champions continued to evolve, I just started to naturally play a bit more aggressive.

Your support Elise was devastating in the last game against CLG. Is Elise's kit a great fit for the support role, or is she just so strong at the moment that she can be played anywhere? Will we see you playing more support Elise?



Patoy: Elise's abilities aren't naturally fit for the support role but because of what she brings in other variables, she becomes a strong support pick. I definitely plan on playing more Elise.

Are we likely to see any other unusual support picks from you soon? Support Twisted Fate or AP Janna perhaps?

Patoy: I have a few ideas for different supports but I need to evaluate them and practice them a bit more before throwing it in a competitive match.

Thresh, Lulu, Taric and Sona seem to be dominating the support role in both the NA and EU scene, but you have shown that support Zyra and Alistar are still a threat. How do you decide which support to choose, and why don't we see more of these aggressive supports from other teams?

Patoy: I decide on which support to choose depending on the enemy teams playstyle. I have to consider the enemy's common support/ADC champion picks along with how they look to play the map and their team fights. From then onwards, I will pick - in my opinion - the best support to counter them.

How do you decide which summoner spells to take? When would you take heal vs. Ignite vs. Exhaust, for example?

Patoy: Heal isn't too great of a pick right now. Typically, Ignite and Exhaust are better, but as for a general guide line, Ignite is for early pressure and more aggression. Exhaust is more towards the defensive side.

Do you feel the constant lane swapping we're seeing during the laning phase has increased the effect that the support role has on the outcome of the game?

Patoy: I think it opens up more options, but a lot of supports don't take that into account and use those other options; whereas I make the most of everything and open up to make as many plays as possible when I'm duoing mid.

We've recently seen a slew of teams pickup AD carry mains to fill the support role. Are the mechanics or knowledge behind supporting and playing AD carry similar, or do you think that these players are simply skilled enough to adjust quickly?

Patoy: During Season 2, it was a common idea that the best support players came from carry roles since their game sense and micro in general was better as a whole. I took that into account and only played carry roles in soloque to practice my micro. I don't think it's as true today but I do think support players that used to play carry roles will grow to be better support players.

We've noticed that you seem to get more cs than most other support players. Is this an active effort?

Patoy: It's not an active effort. I don't look at my cs mid game and then decide that I need more farm. It just comes from how lanes go past 15 minutes into the game and I end up tower defending a lot as well as split pushing, and farming jungle when possible.

To wrap things up: you recently moved in to the team house. Could you give us a breakdown of a typical day at the Team Dignitas gaming house? Who cooks and cleans?

Patoy: A typical day at the Team Dignitas house consists of everybody stealing my food and yelling at each other during their stream sessions.

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Thanks for your time! Any shoutouts you'd like to make?

Patoy: Thanks to Team Dignitas, our sponsors, and our fans for all the support.

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Follow Patoy on Twitter via @Patoylol.

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