Two. That's how many players have been a part of their respective League of Legends Championship Series teams longer than Jason "Wildturtle" Tran. After departing TSM following the 2017 NA LCS Spring Split, Wildturtle joined FlyQuest, and has started for the team ever since. The only players who boast a longer tenure than the Wildturtle are Counter Logic Gaming AD Carry Trevor "Stixxay" Hayes (2016 spring - present) and TSM Mid Laner Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg (2014 spring - present).

Wildturtle spoke with Inven Global's Nick Geracie about FlyQuest's new acquisitions ahead of the 2020 season, the organization's rebrand and Go Green initiative, and shared some of his thoughts on the newest champions to join the League of Legends roster. 

I'm here with FlyQuest ADC Wildturtle to talk about FlyQuest 2020. First things first, you have two new teammates in Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage and Lee "IgNar" Dong-geun. We've seen PoE play new champions like his great Rumble performance in your win against Dignitas, has he been trying out newer picks since joining FlyQuest?

Yeah, I think PowerOfEvil is very comfortable on our team and he just plays the way he wants. I think we play around him very well as a team, too, because we think he's a really good player. We just need to enable him to play his game.

You've previously played with FlyQuest Academy Support Juan "JayJ" Guibert as well as Kim "Wadid" Bae-in last summer before bringing in IgNar for 2020. What's it been like playing with IgNar; he seems stylistically more aggressive than other North American Supports?

I really enjoy playing with IgNar and I think he matches my style really well. He likes to play very aggressively, and I think he really likes the way I play, too, so we have that going for us. We just enjoy each other's playstyles.

This FlyQuest as a whole looks like one of the more proactive teams in the LCS right now. Is that a difference in style or just a relatively higher level of cohesion due to the core of your squad remaining the same for over a season?

Yeah, developing synergy has definitely not been an issue for us. We're just trying to get on the same page. When you fall apart as a team is when players are individually thinking about other stuff in the game, but for us, we know exactly what we want to do in the game.

Over the past couple of years, you've become synonymous with the FlyQuest brand due to your tenure and position of leadership within the team. As FlyQuest's franchise player, I wanted to get your opinions on the organization's rebrand and Go Green initiative.

Honestly, that was mostly due to our CEO, Tricia Sugita. She's been really hands on with the rebrand, and she has a big voice. Her going for the Go Green Initiative is something that aligns with my views as well. I'm a huge fan of these jerseys, and flowers in general, actually. I actually wear floral patterns pretty normally; if you see me outside of LCS, I'm probably wearing something floral.

The rebrand doesn't really conflict with my personal views, and I don't really see flowers as something only feminine. I actually think, at least for me, it's more masculine. *laughs*

New players, new jerseys, and also, a new Head Coach. What's it been like working with Anand "Curry" Agarwal?

I've actually worked with Curry in the past; he used to be on TSM when I was departing the team. He wasn't in a big role at the time relative to the other staff; he was working as the positional coach for Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen, who was our Jungler at the time.

It's been pretty good working with Curry again, because at least in my experience with him, he's always been pretty smart in terms of how he views the game. His approach is very simple, there's not a lot of beating around the bush. Curry doesn't try to add a different layer to the team, he just tries to make sure the team has the fundamentals down and leaves the rest up to the players, which is a dynamic I really enjoy.

How has Curry changed since your time together on TSM? A Positional Coach for Junglers and a Head Coach are two very different positions.

I think he's just more cutthroat now; he tells it how it is. As far as our dynamic between Head Coach and the players, I think it's a little bit different from other teams because the players are still dictating a lot in terms of what we want to do, but ultimately, we leave it up to the coaching staff to decide how well we're performing on certain champions. We fully put our trust in the coaching staff when it comes to the Draft Phase.

Speaking of the Draft Phase, the AD Carry pool is defined by two brand new champions in Aphelios and Senna. I've been asking your peers in the LCS if preparing for this season was different, given that the two strongest picks in your role are the two newest champions in the game.

I mean, they're just f*****g broken, man.

Right, you can't not pick either of them if they are available to pick, so did that change your approach to the 2020 season compared to years past?

Not at all. Part of being a professional player is being able to play new champions. I think that's a given, and personally, I enjoy learning new champions. I enjoyed learning Sett when he came out recently as well. I like to learn all of the new champions because they're going to be broken. This off-season, I spammed a lot of Senna and played a lot of Aphelios because they're overpowered, so I'd like to say my mastery on those champions is pretty good right now.

Is there anything you want to say to the FlyQuest fans?

Stay green, guys, and come along on our Go Green initiative!