For the second time in three splits, Cloud9 is facing Team Liquid in the LCS Summer Finals. However, for C9 Mid Laner Yasin "Nisqy" Dincer, the weekend is particularly momentous. Not only is this Nisqy's first domestic Final, but with Cloud9's Semifinals victory over Counter Logic Gaming last weekend, Nisqy also qualifie for his first World Championship.

Nisqy spoke to Nick Geracie before the 2019 LCS Summer Finals in Detroit to discuss his matchup against Team Liquid Mid Laner Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen, his improved synergy with C9 Jungler  Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen, his upcoming first World Championship. 

So, Nisqy, how is your first trip to Detroit so far? Have you been doing much in the city, or just focusing on practice?

We've been mostly scrimming. I've been playing solo queue a lot as well, but I didn't really go out that much. However, I don't think there is much to do anyway, so mostly, I'm focusing on Finals.


You've been in playoffs before, but this is your first Final. Has this milestone caused you to reflect upon your career thus far?

Making Finals means a lot. Before C9, I was on worse teams, so making Finals was quite hard. In addition, I wanted to qualify for Finals last split, but we couldn't, so I really wanted to make sure we did this time. I also think our Finals qualification proves that I'm a top Mid Laner in North America.
If we could win it all, it would be really great, because I would have already won a split with Cloud9 in my first year with the team. It's going to be a great series.


You had a great split with Cloud9 this summer and led the entire LCS in kills. Do you feel your improvement from spring to summer was due more to individual adjustments, or you having more time to develop synergy with the team?

I'm way closer with the team than I was in spring, especially Svenskeren. We connected way more this summer, and we play way more as a duo than we did before. Overall, we just play together much better than before, and if we play really well as a duo, we know what to do on the map. I think that helps our team a lot, and I think our whole team knows how to play around us as well.

For example, if I was playing very badly in a game, I would not call for resources, but I have a bigger voice in the communications. Playing more aggressively has been key for us as well, so I hope we can keep doing that.


There is notably improved synergy between yourself and Svenskeren, but individually, he's been so good at utilizing his aggression that he just won the 2019 LCS Summer Split MVP. What are your thoughts on his performance this summer, and as his only teammate also up for the award, do you think he deserved it?

He really deserved it. He's plays so aggressive and only makes really minor mistakes. He wins a lot of games for us with his plays, but he never loses games for us as well. Having no bad games as a Jungler is really huge, in my opinion.

Also, Svenskeren's communication is really great. You always know what he wants to do and what he wants to do next after that. In general, Svenskeren is the best Jungler in NA, so I do believe he deserves the MVP. We're at least top 2 in the LCS right now, and a big part of why is because he's been stepping up huge.

What was your reaction to your own nomination for MVP?

I did not really care, to be honest. I feel like I only played well for half of the split. After Rift Rivals was when I started to perform better, whereas Svenskeren performed well the entire split, as well as last split. He deserved it, and I didn't even think I'd be in contention. As far as Mid Laners go, I would put Jensen or TSM's Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg before myself in that conversation regarding the Summer Split.


Do you feel like you have something individually to prove in facing Jensen in the Mid Lane this weekend?

I think Jensen is still the best for now. He's on the best team, and you can't deny where he ranks. I want to prove is that I can go head to head against Jensen, because I think the gap between us is quite narrow. I want to see how I do against him in Finals, because the regular split doesn't really matter, in my opinion. Good players shine in playoffs, especially Finals, so I want to see how I can match up against him in a big game.


Regardless of the result, both Team Liquid and Cloud9 have already qualified for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. However, since this is your first domestic Final, is it still extremely important to you?

Since I've never gone to Finals before, just being here is kinda nuts *laughs* I'm happy. But now, I realize we can actually win, so I want to win. Though we have qualified for Worlds, I feel like that's the minimum expectation for an organization like Cloud9.

Winning the split would be really interesting for me. Cloud9 hasn't won an LCS title in 5 years. To win one within a year of joining would be huge. I would like a great series and I hope that we either win the series, or I at least hope I can improve from it. Mostly, I want to have a great game and enjoy the moment. If we can win it, though, it's going to be great, for sure.

This will also be the first World Championship of your career. Are there any teams or players you'd want to test your mettle against?

Playing at Worlds is going to be really exciting for me. Outside of Rift Rivals, I've never played internationally before, so I want to see how I do against other Mid Laners.

Playing against Mid Laners like DAMWON Gaming's Heo "Showmaker" Su or SK Telecom T1's Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok is something I hope I'm capable of achieving. I've never played either of them before on stage, so I'd want to see how that would go and also, how I stack up compared to Mid Laners around the world. That's one of my goals for sure.


Players throughout time and across multiple esports have talked about how much they enjoy playing for the Cloud9 organization and receiving support from its fanbase. How has your experience been with C9 overall, and is there anything you'd like to say to the fans before playing Team Liquid in the Finals?

First of all, the support from fans is really nice because if they criticize us at all, it's in a good way. I haven't gotten any blame from any fans. Some orgs get a lot of hate from fans, but in the C9 fanbase, there isn't much hate. It's really nice, because I've been blamed a lot in my career, but here, the fans are mostly positive.

In addition, winning this Final for our owner, Jack Etienne, would be 1+ because he's all-in on the team, so we want to win it for him, too. I really like Cloud9 right now; it's been only positive with no downsides.