"It's a Weird Dynamic": Dhokla on Competing With Teammate for a Starting Spot

An hour after this interview wrapped, Lyon announced Castle had left the team. Dhokla didn't know it yet — so his answer about what it's actually like sharing a locker room with a teammate you're also competing against is the real thing, not a retrospective. Dhokla, Lyon's top laner, talked about coming back from a big win over Team Liquid in LCS 2026 Spring Split — but this conversation goes past results. He breaks down the six-man rotation, the ambiguity of not knowing what determines who plays, and why "we're teammates but we're also competing for a spot" is a more honest description of pro esports than most roster announcements ever give you. Also covered: his growth split over split, the "Isles has always been on bad teams" misconception, and being named to Team USA for the Esports Nations Cup as the last North American-born starting top laner left in the LCS. Chapters 0:00 – Why the news broke an hour after this was recorded 1:00 – What's actually different about each international event 1:24 – The biggest area of team growth this split 2:20 – Saint's bigger voice, and what it says about comms 3:35 – Finding a groove late in splits – and hating it 4:41 – Context: what changed mid-interview 5:31 – "It's a weird dynamic" – competing with your own teammate 6:50 – Isles' growth, and the bad-team-doesn't-mean-bad-player myth 8:45 – Making Team USA: "I'm kind of the last one standing" 10:04 – Sign-off More from The Load-In throughout MSI/LCS coverage. Follow: x.com/PaulDelos_ The Load-In with Paul Delos Santos is independent esports journalism across the FGC, Riot ecosystem, and the esports business layer. #Dhokla #LCS #MSI #LYON