Seen as one of ERL's most hyped players after Solary's run earlier this year, jungler Lanzo "Zicssi" Ciajolo sat down with RFT.GG right before his playoffs match against ZYB in the LFL Spring Split. He revisits the environment that finally let him explode, the years of doubt that came before, the parallel with Skewmond, his attachment to Solary, and his potential move to LEC.
I think it's a lot down to the environment — the team, the coaching staff, everything around me. In LFL, I had GameWard first, where we were a bit underrated, more of a bottom-table team — it was hard to prove anything. Then M8, where we had a good team but it was a strange year — we played all year around the bot lane, everything for Comp. It was hard to shine. But on the other side, that year built up a lot of confidence in me.
This year, from the very start, I felt confident, I felt good. My teammates trust me, the coaches trust me. The whole environment is very, very healthy. Everyone is benevolent. With all that, plus the confidence I'd built up, I performed.
Honestly, no, of course not. I came in confident, but at the start I was just like: "I'm going to build the roster with them, I want a team I get along with."
A little. Blazzios did three quarters of the work, but he asked my opinion on every player. He had a take on whoever I asked about — it was great. Even knowing the names from the start, I didn't know we'd perform this well. Everyone in the team plays extremely well.
I've never really talked with him. We've scrimmed against each other, like all players. I watch his games, so I know his gameplay well, but I don't really know the person.
In terms of trajectory, I don't really see us as the same — for him, things happened very, very fast.
In Open Tour, he had two challenger accounts and was second or third in the EUW top 10 at the time. Then he got an LFL offer at AEGIS, which was a good team for the time. Then jumped straight to the top LFL team — BDSA at the time — and the year after, the best team in Europe.
His path went very fast. I, on the other hand, did two years in Division 2 — first with Solary Academy, which didn't go great, then MCES, which went very well. Then I went to play in the Czech Republic — no one knows it — but it actually went really well, we won everything. Then I came back to LFL, again with GameWard, a bottom-table team, so it was tough. In my whole career, I had to grind more. He really did all the steps in one go — and you can see he deserved it.
Yeah, a bit. Especially the first two LFL years with GameWard and M8 — it was harder to gauge myself. Those weren't the best environments, not the optimal teams.
There were times I told myself: honestly, I don't think I'm going to make LEC. I don't think I have the level.
I had moments of doubt. And it's really this year that I realised: actually, I'm fine, I'm playing very well, I trust myself.
Mostly, yeah. Between last year and this year, I don't think I've stepped up massively. It's the whole team aspect that plays differently, the fact that I have confidence in myself, that everyone trusts me. This year I have a bigger voice than I've ever had — I talk a lot more, I push more for what I want to do. I was the first one surprised, but very early this year I realised I was fine, I was confident, everything was good.
Not really, honestly. Right now I'm full of confidence and I feel like I really understand a lot of things. There are so many of my strengths I'm really good at, and that helps me in gameplay. In skirmishes and teamfights for example, I think that's one of my biggest assets — so I lean on it, I try to play around it, and I think I do it well. Whether it's in scrims or officials, I'm not afraid to play. As long as it keeps going like this, I think I'll be fine.
Giving the title back to the fanbase, maybe a bit less. But Solary is still a team I really care about — it was my first team, and if I hadn't joined them back then, I would never have made it to Division 2.
To be fair, they took too long to actually recruit me — they could have done it sooner, but never mind [laughs].
I love all the streamers in the club, I love the fans, it's a club I appreciate. So when I had the opportunity, I didn't hesitate much. Once I knew the staff, once I knew I could build the team with them, it was obvious to me that I had to join.
I don't know if I have the right to say it, but honestly, no LEC team has approached me yet. So of course I've had to ask myself the question, even talking to my teammates.
For me, LEC is the goal — but if a bottom team offers, I don't know if I'd accept. Because that could be a bait. And if our 5 stays, if no one leaves, I might want to stay with them. Because I think this year, with this team, we can win everything.
For this year, I'm not rushing it. I'm very happy with everything that's happening here. For the years after, of course I'll be open to offers, and I hope there will be some.
Yeah, hugely. Well, not in the sense that I absolutely have to play with him — but I'd be very happy to play with him in LEC. He has a very good level. We understand each other well, we get along well — I've never had a problem with him, I don't think he's ever had a problem with me. We're on a really good wavelength, we know how to talk to each other. So it would be a pleasure to play with him again. But if I have other supports, that's fine. With great pleasure — and even the five guys on my team, I'd be happy to play with any of them again.
Honestly, I'd give us 10% chance of getting there — which is already a lot. You have to know that in every match we'll be the underdogs, we'll always have less of a chance of winning.
But if we're at our prime, if we're not stressed, I think we can beat almost any team.
KC is a bit of the exception — even at our prime, I don't think we beat them. But we'll see, you never know.
