One of League’s loudest players is back on the main stage. Between all the reddit hate and the pregame trash talk, there is a talented yet very ambitious player called Berk Demir.

The player behind the tag Gilius has always made some sort of headlines. Either by some trash talk on twitter, controversial comments and reactions towards other professionals or even tilting in a match. Besides all the stuff that makes the Reddit front page, the German player that once lead Schalke 04 League of Legends team used his time after relegating from LCS not only to get better at the game but also to become more mature.

Gilius has always been a very impulsive player and probably still is when it comes to interactions outside of the game. He used social media or interviews to leave a message, trash talk and create hype towards his play. You could not overhear that he was hungry, pumping himself up for the next matches. He was loud.

However this past week he was the total opposite in his interviews than some might remember him from the last time we saw him on the big stage. Gilius talked like an experienced and more mature young adult. Not that he wasn't a humble guy before, but he definitely had a certain calm vibe around him. He has always been a guy you would like to drink a beer with and chat along. He matured as a player and as a person.

Something we could observe during his time in the challenger scene, when he lead Giants to the LCS. He was the experienced player, the solid rock and the drive behind that team. The guy that brings in the tempo of the team into play but also the one that learned through his losses how to carry a loss with pride.

Something we saw also in his play. Gilius loves to play aggressively in the early game. He loves going for the 1v1’s, 2v2’s or simply gets his later going. The difference from his first game with Schalke two years ago and his first with Vitality this year, he played like a different player while maintaining the same aggressive style. He just got smarter.

Just take a look at the coordination of the dive in Vitalities game around at the 4-minute mark. Jiizuke shoves the wave at 2:45 to support Gilius at taking vision control and they go for the play after Jiizuke goes back to base to pick up his tear of the goddess. Gilius plays calm and takes his time before even dropping his ward for the tp. The plan was clear going into the game, we will snowball Jayce. No selfish decisions and the jungler executes the plan as coordinated with his teammates without any kind of second thoughts. Everybody in the team knows what to do and where to be. Most interesting is to see the new Gilius in action, team player Gilius.

The player was often criticized for overaggressive and questionable decision making in the past. Possibly the game most of the newer followers of the game will remember is the match Schalke played against Vitality and their series was at the same time the last series of the 2016 summer split. The winner stays, the loser plays relegation and in case of a tie, they will have to face again in a tiebreaker match. The game was close and at 35 minutes Schalke finally is able to get close to gold once again and Gilius gets caught and they lose the first Match. Even after keeping the hopes alive with his grave in the following he would be his teams downfall in the tiebreaker match. Schalke has a small lead and still have the time to play it out safely before Cabochard’s Fiora starts to become a serious problem. However, Gilius gets a little bit overexcited and starts a dive at 26 minutes that would stop their siege and turn the game in Vitality’s favor. Schalke had to play the relegations and leaving a big mark on his career.

After getting through the devastating relegation, Gilius was able to use the time in the challenger series to become a much more diverse player. While being a very mechanically gifted player, Gilius still missed to prove himself during the playoffs in the past. Vitality is looking good with their synergy, although whats most interesting is if Gilius will finally be able to leave his mark as a player, with success in his hands. He might be always remembered because of his personality, but this split could be the year he could prove everyone who doubted his success wrong. Vitality is looking good right now and if they don’t stall and prepare for the LCS marathon they could contest every team going towards the playoffs.

It is going to be interesting as Gilius aims to rewrite his story and finally end it with the LCS title.

(Photo Credit : lolesports Flickr)

Disclaimer: The following article was written freely based on the author's opinion, and it may not necessarily represent Inven Global's editorial stance. 

About the Author: 
Hello guys, Alexandre Weber also known under the ID: DrPuppet. I'm a Brazilian professional Coach and content creator since 2015, mostly focused on League of Legends. I worked with many teams throughout the years in major and minor regions, but my most known work was with Kaos Latin Gamers from Chile in 2015, where we played the International Wildcard Finals against Pain Gaming. Since then I have been studying Cinema in Hamburg and creating content on youtube and twitch, besides writing for respected sites in Esports. You can find me on the social networks under @drpuppetlp and on Twitch under DrPuppet.
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