This year, Loïc "Toucouille" Dubois has been one of the most exciting stories of the LCS. In one season, he has developed into one of the most promising young prospects the league has, and was undoubtedly one of the most important pieces in FlyQuest's successes throughout the year. Though the season had many ups-and-downs, Toucouille is excited for the future. Inven Global spoke with Toucouille, to discuss his thoughts on the season, his personal development, and the mid lane talent pool at Worlds. 

Thanks so much for the conversation, Toucouille! It was certainly an eventful year for you. How do you reflect on the season, and what do you see as the biggest things you need to work on going into next year?

Overall this season — lots of good things, and a lot of bad things. The good things were that we managed to scrape the top teams and challenge them, as well as beat the other teams. We had a good standing — it could have been way worse than that. But for me, we ended both splits where we dropped down in terms of performance and gameplay. I would say that is the biggest bad thing. 

But, yeah, there's a lot to talk about for the year. Personally, I really liked being able to lane against the top mid laners. Because I'm from LFL, and even the people that are good — the people are better laners in the LCS. You're just facing all of these experienced players like Bjergsen, Maple, and Jensen. You actually learn a lot from playing against them, and that's really exciting. Yeah, overall, I'm happy with the year. 

You mentioned Bjergsen — someone that you've spoken about as being an enormous inspiration to you. People have seen the parallels between his individual strength in the league being similar to yours — what parallels do you seen personally? Would you say you've experienced personal growth since playing in the LCS?

Overall, I'm really happy that I left the LFL and went to the LCS, and still managed to make my name heard — that's something I'm really proud of. And, yeah, it gives me confidence for the future. I know that I'm on the right path, and it's gonna pay off a lot anytime soon.

Something that Bjergsen is very famous for is his consumption of motivational media — do you do anything similar to that?

Yeah. Since early on in my career — maybe three or four years ago — I talked to some friends and coaches, and they recommended me reading those types of books. And I read some self-improvement books, and I think they're really, really helpful. It's helped me a lot in reaching the point I am here today. 

Do any of them stick out to you?

Yeah! There's a book named The Art of Learning. I think it's a really good book, and I remember when I read it, a lot of stuff made sense. And it gave me a clear direction. He's the guy that was good at chess, and then became good at Tai Chi Push Hands. Yeah, that was a really good book. 

What’s your minimum goal for LCS next year?

I just want to go to Worlds. This year, I was not too disappointed not going to Worlds. It's still my first year, and is still very early in my career. But yeah, I definitely want to go to Worlds, and just going to playoffs. 

Obviously, there may be some roster changes with FlyQuest throughout the break. Ignoring that, though, what do you believe are the biggest factors the current team needs to work on?

The things we need to work on, I'd say, is being consistent throughout the season. Not being good at first in the middle of a split and then going down. For me, it's a really big thing. And just not forgetting about fundamentals. Yeah, just staying calm-minded, and following the process — not getting too crazy. For me, that's all we need. It's not the easiest thing to do, but that's all we need. 

You mentioned how experienced and talented the lineup of LCS mid laners are — most of the ones you spoke of are going to Worlds. What are your opinions of LCS mid laners versus those from the LEC?

Honestly, I was quite impressed by Jensen and Jojo. I think they play good. I don't know how to rate them compared to LEC player, but...I'd say it's even. Okay, LEC has Caps, but if you remove Caps, I would say it's like...they're slightly better, but it's still close.  

What about in regards to western mid laners in comparison to those in the east?

I think Chinese mid laners are just too good. It feels like they're one or two years ahead of us in the game. They're just crazy good — they scrim each other every day. So yeah, it's gonna be hard.