100T Dhokla: “I still have the drive. Age [was never a factor for me] because I still have the passion.”

Q: There was a lot of criticism with you joining 100T to make a six man roster. How does it feel to win today?

Dhokla: Personally, I think I didn’t have the best year last year, so it makes sense why I didn’t get a team this split. But [I was] definitely overlooked, in terms of top laners in the league who were getting played over me, which is kinda crazy. 

For the sixth man situation, obviously the outside people don’t know what’s going on within our team, so they’re just gonna speculate. But for us, you know, we thought it was the right move to win, and we’re starting to see some of the progress there. That’s all I can really say about that.

Q: Once a player reaches a certain age and stops winning titles, people seem to think they should be kicked. Many players retire or demonstrate a decline in skill, but clearly you feel overlooked and still want to play at the top level. What do you think is still pushing you? 

Dhokla: I still have the drive. Age [was never really] factor, at least for me, because I still have the passion. The age narrative is just overblown in that sense. 

If you have the passion, then you should try to be able to play. That’s essentially what I judge it off of. […] Yeah, maybe your life changes, maybe your goal shifts as a person. But if you’re still passionate, then I don’t see what’s different than [for] an 18-year-old. You guys have the same passion in terms of how committed you are to playing the game.

I played like 1,200 soloq games this year so far. I’ve not been slacking. [Other pros are] scrimming and all that, so [it’s] obviously a little different there. If you still have the grind and enjoy playing, then I don’t see why people force a retirement narrative on you. It’s up for the player to decide if they wanna play or not, not other people calling it quits for them for how old they are.

Q: Speaking of age, your next matchup will most likely be Impact. People are saying he’s not as good as he used to be. What do you think about his recent performance and how it relates to your matchup?

Dhokla: Obviously, I think Impact’s not playing towards his level. He was MVP last year, and then this year, he’s nowhere near how good he was last year. So I don’t know what to speculate for him. The reason [his performance has] declined — maybe it’s a team environment. I don’t know what to speculate. I don’t know the reason. I’m not in there every day, so I can’t speak to his motivations. 

But yeah, his play is not good. I mean, even his coach called him out on it [and said], “The first eight minutes, we’re working with him on 1v1s.”

Everyone knows. He knows that. Impact is a very driven player. He’s been playing for so long. I’m sure he’s capable of understanding the situation and self-reflecting — You just have to trust the process. Everyone can’t just be at the peak forever. No one’s Chovy, I guess. Only Chovy is Chovy.

Q: Analysts are saying Sniper’s been much happier. Goldenglue confirmed he’s not scrimming, and is doing more behind-the-scenes help. What is your relationship with Sniper like right now?

Dhokla: We do 1v1 practice. He helped me yesterday, just firing up some 1v1s to get a better understanding of them. That’s helpful, immensely, because he’s talented in 1v1s for sure. 

The relationship we have is… I mean, he’s just part of the team. It’s not anything else or anything different. He’s one of the boys, and we just treat him as such, too.

Obviously, it’s frustrating, him being a sixth man [and] essentially not scrimming. Obviously, there’s gonna be frustration on his end, but he understands the reason behind it. And he’s been working harder in solo queue, so obviously it’s been helping […] his motivation. 

At the end of the day, the better player will play. That’s just how competition is, and he understands that. So right now, it’s just me playing. But if he plays better, then I’m gonna lose my spot, too. It’s just how it goes.

Q: Did you watch the DSG series yesterday? What did you think?

Dhokla: Unfortunately, I tuned in. The throws are just unbelievable. I heard some shit on their team from a friend of mine there. I’m not gonna say it, but what Photon said — someone should keep digging in that. Maybe there’s more there, how about that.

Q: In the lower bracket, DSG and 100T are splitting between C9 and TL, who both looked pretty shaky in their upper bracket games. The expected result is C9 vs. TL next. 

Dhokla: *shakes head* Who’s expecting that? I’m not expecting to lose. 

Q: I assume C9 will pick DSG. Since you obviously believe you can beat C9 and TL, what would you say are their weaknesses?

Dhokla: TL, when they’re playing against FlyQuest, can’t even close out a 7k gold lead with triple inhibs down — FlyQuest are really good at making the games chaotic and thriving in the chaos, but some games you just have to be able to end, and that was one of them. After they lost that game, the series was over. 

And then [with] C9, I think, Shopify just played a little bit better. I don’t think C9 is bad at all. I think they just kinda choked on stage, Game 5. 

Q: What do you think of Shopify?

Dhokla: They suck ass in scrims, but Palafox and Contractz are always good stage players. So I’m not putting too much weight into [scrims]. 

Q: Are they the ones sprinting it in scrims?

Dhokla: No, everyone’s taking turns. Fudge is not sprinting it, but… I mean, they’re not sprinting it. It’s just [that] they don’t make cohesive plays as a team, so it just looks like they’re lost, essentially. 

They’re not actually running it down, I just wanna clear that up. They don’t look like they have a game plan [or] a clear objective of how they wanna play, and if they do, then they need to get better at that. 

But I’ve been with them, so I know how it is for them. So I’m not putting too much weight into their scrim performance.

Q: Any fun stories with the team lately? Azael talked about how the vibes have been a lot better than before. 

Dhokla: No, we’re just all good friends. I think this win will bring us closer to that, for sure. We’ve been having a very good team environment, I think. Credit to our coaches for still keeping that team environment throughout the rough first few weeks and throughout the roster scenario. 

Our environment has been really good. It’s probably the best I’ve been in terms of [how] no one really gets tilted. If they’re tilted, then we always joke it off. We’re serious when we need to be, and we have fun as well. 

Everyone’s getting mad sometimes. We all take turns, and then we just joke around with each other after. I think Spookz [and] GoldenGlue bring the vibe, I bring the vibe. 

Everyone brings something to our environment, even Sniper. *laughs* Sniper especially brings the vibe. It’s just a great team environment. 

Transcription help from @eonmoons