Jason “Majik” is the current GM of the new expansion team the Tyrants. He plays for the franchise’s Champion League (CL) team, which is currently ranked #4 in the league with an incredible 14-6 win/loss record. He is also #6 on the individual CL leaderboard, averaging just under 6.0 MVPR per game – proving that he is a competitive beast.
However, Majik is also one of the most fun-loving people in the whole community. From my personal experience playing in tournaments with him, mentions from other people, and just watching his banter unfold, it is clear that Majik loves the game and has a blast playing it.
Majik embodies the mix of competitiveness and fun that makes MLE unique, and it is for this reason that we chose to interview him for our GM Spotlights.
Let us start at the beginning: What is your history with the MLE? When did you join, and how were your early seasons?
Well, my interest in the MLE was piqued in around October 2017 when I saw that it was a developmental league and a great opportunity to get better. Unfortunately, there was no Champion League at the time, so I was really disappointed, but I paid attention to the teams and how they did because I thought the franchise system was pretty awesome. When they dropped the Champion League, I was one of the first players to apply – but I wasn’t taken, so I went and subscribed to their Twitch channel and I got immediate access. (laughter)
So which season was this in?
This was back in Season 5. I got in around January 2018. I played a little, strutted my stuff, and then in February TruSolja hit me up and he asked me to come tryout for the Spartans. I ran some games with him and Stumpy and then I got picked up, which is where I spent the rest of the season.
TruSolja, of course, is one of your current teammates, so you two have been playing for a long time.
Yeah, me and him getting back together have been a long time coming. We had great synergy that season. After that season, I was drafted onto the Puffins for Season 6, where we were able to make playoffs, which was pretty awesome. And now we’re here, in Season 7, and I’m the new GM of the Tyrants! It’s a new expansion team, but I think I’m running it ok.
Speaking of being a GM, how has that new responsibility been for you? This is your first season, so how do you think it is going?
Getting accepted was awesome. It was almost like becoming the face of the Tyrants, especially since it’s a brand new expansion team and I’m their first ever player. It made me feel like I made a real impact, which was amazing. I’m also excited about running the social media accounts, the Twitter and all of that (side note: follow @MLETyrants), but the biggest thing was being able to draft all my players and have that freedom in picking teammates. I guess scheduling sucks, but everything else is pretty great, so I can’t complain.
About the draft and the pre-season, I have heard a lot of GMs talk about the difficulty of juggling the pre-season and the draft. Did you find that held true for you, or were you able to coast through?
It was really difficult for me, especially for Academy and Premier League. For Champion League, I already knew what I wanted. I knew that TruSolja and Alex were my picks from the start – they’re sleeper picks because they didn’t have time to do tryouts, and I knew I could rely on them. I’ve been playing with them for almost my whole time in MLE, so I knew I could count on them. For Academy, I had to run a lot of sessions – I was having a really hard time picking them out because as a Champ player I didn’t have a good perspective on who was good for their salary and stuff like that. I think I made good choices but it was super hard to juggle everything, with schools and extracurriculars, and so on. I was also in Florida for the Academy League draft, so it was difficult, but I managed it.
That is some dedication.
It was really rough, but I think I made some good picks and we’re not doing bad.
Definitely, definitely. You guys have been popping up in the top of the leaderboard in multiple leagues.
Thanks! I also think it’ll be easier in the future, because I can retain players now to help me with tryouts and avoid having to do as much. I think as long as I don’t get put on another first-season team, it’ll be a lot easier for me to handle. And as of now, nothing’s going badly – I think it’s going pretty well for my first season.
Obviously, we have got a pretty good idea of what you like about your CL team – you like the synergy, you know the players, and you know they are solid. Do you think you can also talk a little bit about your other two teams, those in PL and in AL? Why do you think those teams are going to do well?
For Premier League, I have a ton of faith in Barry Allen. I watched him play last season for the Elite and I watched him grow as a player through that whole season. His playstyle is super, super solid, and once I saw him play a few times in my Premier tryouts, I immediately knew he was one of the people I wanted to grab. As for Fuzh, he’s a mechanical maniac – he’s so confusing to play against because he’ll pull some 360 flip reset pinch out of nowhere. He’s just got the weirdest playstyle. And as for JRyck, I only saw him in two of my tryouts. But he’s a really solid player, his rotations are clean, and his offense is really good. There’s nothing more I could really ask for in a player or a team. All of them are solid, and since we’re not relying on one player to carry, they can all grow together and become better players together.
As for Acad, I was struggling because I was in the middle of the pack and all the picks I had originally wanted got sniped. I picked up Sci_Frye because he did really well last season on the Hawks, and then used his knowledge of other Academy League players to get TSR and Revolving. TSR and Sci_Frye are very aggressive, very offensive, and I like that a lot. Revolving is more passive, but he’s still an offensive monster – all three of them are really good on the offensive end and as long as we can clean up the defense, we have a playoff team – maybe even a championship team – right here.
Sticking with Champ League (since that is the time you play for), who are you scared of in your division?
I mean, the Flames seemed kinda scary but we took them down already.
Yeah, 4-1. And that was with TruSolja and Alex, so not even your highest salary team.
Yep, it’s looking good. Next, I’d say probably the Pandas, with Pomwonderful, that’s a team to watch out for. We’re playing the Bulls this week but I’m not really worried. Honestly, I think we’ll do really well in our division. I think a lot of people have been citing the Elite as a team to watch out for but I’m not really scared of them.
Oh really?
I’ve seen Xeia play, and he’s solid, but I’m not really too worried. If I had anybody on that team to worry about it’d be Demonic, with that experience, but I definitely think we can take them down.
Note: this interview was before Week 2. The Tyrants would go on to beat the Bulls in Week 2 and the Elite in Week 3, before taking a close loss to the Dodgers in Week 4 with a 3-2 scoreline.
How about outside of your division? Who are the big teams in the whole league?
Shadow’s probably no. 1 – even though they aren’t numerically on top, I think they have the highest ceiling. I think a dark horse to go far is the Pirates – they’re looking mean with RED. Also, the Outlaws have a pretty good scrim record against other top teams, so they’re a team to keep an eye out for too.
Basically, MLE is super stacked – both in CL and in general. It’s gonna be exciting this season no matter your league.
Definitely, definitely.
Last question: What do you think you are most excited about, not for your team, not for any of your teams, but for MLE as a whole? What are you anticipating coming up soon that is going to be awesome?
It sounds super dumb, but I think the most exciting thing for me moving forward is having new logos. I’m so pumped for that, because it adds a new element to the team for me. It adds some extra life – right now we have the banners with the circles and the team name in the middle, but that’s just a name to me. That’s not a logo, that’s not a look. When I have that look, that personality, to associate with a team, it feels so much more exciting. It feels like that team is more than just words – they’re a community.
That’s a great way to look at it. And, of course, you joined MLE because of the franchise system, you loved the teams and the idea of the franchises, so seeing those getting more attention must be awesome.
Yeah, I can’t wait.
Thanks for taking the time, Majik! We can’t wait to see you and your teams on the field over the coming season, and we wish you the best of luck!
Thanks! Happy to come out.
