Once a hotfix for Fnatic’s weakened jungle position, Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen has blossomed as a player ever since he joined the LCS earlier this year, a journey culminating in his nomination as the jungler for the all pro team. Gathering consistent advantages for his laners, and notorious for his early visits to the toplane, he has consistently provided resources that have been instrumental for Fnatic’s summer success. Today, he joins us to discuss the nomination, his thoughts on the state on the jungle and what can be expected from Fnatic in the future.

CM: Was being featured on the all pro team something that was in your mind before it was revealed? Does looking good weight on some players' minds when they play?

Broxah: I think that, for most players, being on the all pro team is some sort of a goal you're working towards. It's always hard to tell which players are the best in each role, and obviously the all pro team doesn’t necessarily say that either. It does mean that you've gained the respect from everyone close to the scene, however; broadcast team, players/coaches from other teams and the closest journalists, and that's what makes it really meaningful.

I did think that I had a good chance of being somewhere in the top 3, but I was surprised and super happy seeing that I got onto the first all pro team. Of course looking good individually does have some sort of meaning, but for me that's not what it's all about. If it's necessary to take a supportive role and set my teammates up for success rather than myself in order to win the game, then I'm more than happy to do so.

CM: Is there any particular quality where you consider yourself to be the best in your role in Europe (eg. Mechanics, Shotcalling, Vision Control...) that you think has helped push you above your competition in getting this achievement?

Broxah: I'm not sure if there's a specific game-related quality where I'm a clear number one in Europe, but I am overall pretty stable all around I'd say. Something that I've always been good at though is the early game, like figuring out what I'm supposed to do in the first 10-15 minutes of the game and taking the right decisions at the moment. I don't think that I'm the absolute best at this, but it's a good quality to have as a jungler.

CM: This season, it feels like jungler's impact in the game is harder to assess. Where would you place the current strength of the jungle role? Do you think this might be a result of the role being too weak?

Broxah: There has been a lot of changes to the jungle role over the last year of time, and your whole purpose as a jungler now is totally different now compared to one year ago. Before, junglers would usually play carry champions most of the time; aggressive early game junglers with offensive builds that would often be able to 1v1 the enemy carries.

Currently, that is far from the case. It's more of a supportive role now, often having to play tanks and making sure that your teammates get the kills rather than yourself. I think the biggest difference is that before you were able to literally carry alone if you had a good game, whereas now you can still carry but in a different way. It's more about making sure that your teammates have the resources they need in order to carry.

CM: Plenty of analysts have been praising your strength for a long time, and your placing in the all pro team seemed to be one of the easiest choices for them from the outside, do you personally feel like you are the best jungler in Europe?

Broxah: It's more or less impossible for anyone to say themselves if they are actually the best in their role or not. As a player you'll always have to be biased towards yourself and think that you're one of the best if not the best, otherwise, you won't be confident enough to play at a high level. With that being said, realistically speaking I do think I am one of the best junglers in Europe currently, but I am not the right person to decide if I am actually the best or not. Regardless, I still have a lot of things to learn and can get much better, so I'm gonna keep working hard and looking to reach a higher level.

CM: Even though it was something born out of necessity, the playstyle you guys showcased in spring appeared very dominant when it worked. Still, you guys seem to have come to a consensus of shifting towards a more "meta-friendly" approach. Is there no merit to personal styles that stray too far away from the meta or is your team's champion pool simply not in the right place for it to be viable now?

Broxah: The meta constantly changes, and that makes it really difficult to keep playing the same style for a long period of time. It doesn't have anything to do with champion pools, as professional players you should be capable of playing the best champions for your role, or at least the ones required to help your team succeed.

When it comes to the playstyle, teams simply found ways to abuse it after a period of time, which forced us to change things up and lean more towards a "standard" playstyle. There are still specific things that define us as a team and make us different than others, but currently, our new and more standardized approach seems to give us the highest chance of doing well on stage.

CM: Rift Rivals was a hard hit on Europe's pride because how poorly our best teams performed against middle of the pack NA teams. Will this difference in performance will be similar come worlds? What can we expect from Fnatic when facing NA teams?

Broxah: Rift Rivals was a huge wake up all for all European teams. It showed very clearly that we were behind NA and that a lot of work had to be done before Worlds in order to compete internationally. I think EU as a whole will perform better at Rift Rivals, and when it comes to ourselves I believe that we'd have a good chance of beating teams from other regions, including NA.

(Photos by LoLesports)

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