Author Topic: EGS | Interviews  (Read 23753 times)

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EGS | Interviews
« on: August 11, 2021, 04:09:43 pm »






This thread is focused on finding out different opinions on different topics from within the competitive community. We shall find out about EGS related topics and questions and ask interesting questions about each interviewee specifically, to find out more about them and their general opinion on major topics. We are open to any suggestions on who may have good questions and a good story, so feel free to leave suggestions down below. Also feel free to discuss the interviews in the replys.




Python
MarxeiL: Hello there Python, first of all, I would like to congratulate you on coming second for the tournament's MVP the last 6v6, truly one of the best performances from the one player this year.
 
Even tho, there's the open video on EGS' YouTube channel of the last finals with Poosy TeamSpeak, we all would love to know your opinion, what made you lose the first 8 rounds so hard, and how you almost lost a match against ProudBoys in Semi-Finals, nevertheless you were the favorite there?
(For people which didn't see it, Poosy team was losing 6-2 and made a huge comeback with DOMI and Python winning their flank each round).

Python: In the Semi-Finals vs PB, Not too sure exactly what happened to be fair. I think we just didn't have our footing, and I remember some pretty bad teamkills influencing rounds. I know some PB players had bad issues with the server/lag which almost definitely changed the final result. They could have easily beaten us on that Sunday. Later in we started to stabilize and the team stayed composed throughout, preventing the mental game from besting us whilst we started to get some great picks and we played like how we should have from the beginning.

Maybe it was a recurring theme throughout that tournament for Poosy - a rough and underperforming start that stabilized into our proper play as rounds went on. I saw this vs Snappers, proudboys and then the final. I think this is the reason for losing 8 rounds before we found our footing, simply through getting used to how the enemy play and the ideal lineup. Despite this I think it won't be this bad in future tournaments (hopefully), as last 5v5 we got off to a great start in all our matches, especially the final. Poosy still has stuff to work on, especially some individual decision-making from everyone which led to some thrown rounds, whilst I feel Amaterasu played more solidly and safely which allowed them to exploit those poor decisions and win. However, I know Poosy has the potential to do better if we are at our strongest on the day, which I don't believe we have been just yet with some absences and internal issues.

MarxeiL: What's your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Python: I think it's the most organized and planned out groupfighting tournament group yet, and there are plenty of ideas that are really good, although some people who like to play more casually have some restricted opportunities (new teams, players, etc throughout the season), there's still space for other tournaments so it's not really a significant issue at all.

MarxeiL: I've spoken to you directly about it a few days ago, but I think for EGS readers it would be also interesting to know, why in the last final of the 6v6 you were playing Hypno (which is in Romania atm and has 50+ ping), Hertz and not Herishey (which is TOP-20+ player on each community list)? You've got some internal problems or it's just simple miscommunication?

Python: Hypno is a great picker and player, but with his situation, yes, I think Herishey should definitely have been played although internally there was some miscommunication during that tournament.

MarxeiL: What do you think about the upcoming 7v7 tournament? Who do you think has got the most depth in terms of the roster for such format? Seems like another 2 horse race and an amazing 10-9 final.

Python: The largest format yet for this season, I think it will be a close final again between whoever gets into it, most likely Poosy, Amaterasu, or ProudBoys.
I think Amatersaru has the deepest roster in a 7v7 as many of them are on the same, relatively high level compared to most other teams and they have good chemistry, and so switches can easily be made. I feel Poosy's roster won't be as in-depth until some problems are fixed (People away, like Hypno)

MarxeiL: Who in your opinion are favorites to finish in the top 3 of EGS?

Python: I think most people would agree with my opinion - Amaterasu. ProudBoys and Poosy.

MarxeiL: Who are the most improved players during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Python: I think Achilles & Chuckster are a definite 2. 3rd one has some contenders - Jakob, TheDeaD, Oneil, but I'd go with MarxeiL.

MarxeiL: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?

Python: From EGS there are a plethora of brilliant 5v5 lineups. Judging off the 2 tournaments played and excluding myself I'd go for DOMI Golden Rikkert Zeyden Achilles.
DOMI is a fabulous wall player and has great teamwork whilst Golden can complement this. Rikkert has some great picks and middle control whilst Zeyden is once again a great picker and can teamwork with his partner Achilles from Amaterasu, another great flank player.

MarxeiL: Who do you think will be a "dark horse" to reach the playoffs?

Python: Fluss played well in the 6v6, so I'd go with them for now.

MarxeiL: Do you have any advice for upcoming players? Since you are the TOP-3 without any doubt for at least 2 or 3 years, it should be quite interesting for many players.


Python: Play around your team's strengths and listen to commands. Also trying to force plays is risky (but fun tbf), so do the right plays when the right opportunities arise, especially if the round is even or you are up players. It takes experience and time to learn the game so definitely be patient.

MarxeiL: I think many people have heard about Ivan coming back to a game, but since you've got a full EGS roster, what are the chances of him being added during this season?

Python: Not too sure what Ivan wants to do at the moment. I know when he played he was undoubtedly at the very top level, but he never cared that much and maybe that's the same this time. It's definitely a low chance of him replacing someone else in Poosy in this season unless someone goes pretty inactive.
[close]


Tardet
Voluble: Who in your opinion is favorites to finish in the top 3 of EGS?

Tardet: Not much surprise there but I would favor Amatarasu, Poosy, and Proudboys to make it to the top 3 by the end of the season. Now, what would be the final ranking? That’s a good question. The beauty of the European Groupfigthing Series in the way it was built is that you can literally win the first 6 editions and still, you will eventually only get a better seed in the playoffs final by finishing first of the regular season. Given how close every semi-final and grand-final match has been thus far, I could totally see a world in which Poosy and Amaterasu keep facing each other for 6 consecutive finals, only for Proudboys to win the last edition and be crowned champions. You could even make a case for Virgins or Enigma to overperform at the perfect timing and upset the final win which, as much as a choker it would be, isn’t something you can rule out completely.

Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?

Tardet: Thus far I believe the rankings accurately reflect the power level witnessed at the beginning of the season. But the margin being extremely small between the 6 & 10th spot (30 points, no more) shows that the skill gap is extremely thin between many of these teams and will depend a lot on the upcoming editions. Before last weekend, I would have considered BlackNight, NPP and my own team, 13e Academy to be potential outsiders for the playoffs. Unlike some people, I wasn’t sold out completely on the Misty Moutains’ line-up and despite their solid performance in the first edition, the follow-up EGS tournament comforted the opinion I had on them. However, I have been positively impressed by the German lads from Fluss who I believe are seeing their constant training finally starting to pay off. Them and the Gordon team (which gained two extremely solid additions in the form of french duo Faisan & Dayboul) are two teams that I can totally see making the playoffs if they can capitalize on their strong recent performances.

Voluble: What's your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Tardet: I have been positively impressed by the standards developed for this second season of the EGS. I believe the admin team is strongly committed to producing a lasting series of tournaments for the competitive groupfighting scene and its members willing to outdo themselves in order to make the EGS remembered as one of the best events in a decade of competitive tournaments. Many of us will remember the various leagues hosted in the past that failed to bring the high level of standards promised or were unable to be properly concluded and I can only praise the EGS admins for not only coming up with a better system that is undoubtedly better fit for our (current) scene but also being able to deliver it in the way they did. This is the proper competitive environment we have been waiting for decades and my only regret is that it didn’t happen before. Yet it’s still not too late to enjoy it and put every resource possible behind it to make it as great as possible.


With that being said, it is certain there are areas in which the EGS can be improved & polished since it’s only the second season after all. I believe content (video & written) are being pushed in the right direction and as a sucker for these kinds of things, I will be always willing to see more of them. I also liked the discussion surrounding the point system for the regular season and the fact there seemed to be a real dynamic of listening to other people’s ideas from both the admin team and the people taking part in the discussion. Coming up with a system that’s fair, entertaining and competitive is not as easy as it may seem and to see those in charge willing to adapt such a system if it makes sense is a reassuring prospect from a player standpoint. The only thing that I will personally always find missing in a tournament of such stature is detailed individual statistics delivered for each tournament. As someone who has been actively trying to find people capable of doing something similar to what Yamipirate has been producing for the past years on Native, I will be positively impressed and grateful if someone manages to replicate something similar on NW. I know it’s probably one of the most ambitious things you could be trying to produce for a series such as this but if there is one tournament where it’d be worth it, it’s probably this one. I don’t think I will deem a single competitive tournament of this calibre, no matter how good it is, complete, without a proper stats tracking module that truly allows us to back up everything we say or play for.

Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Tardet: I have been away from the scene two out of the last three months so my opinion on the subject won’t be of the most relevant however I have been positively impressed by a lot of players from Amaterasu. Since I can’t name them all, I will mention Achilles, whose MVP performance in the first edition, and high-level displayed in the second, caught me completely by surprise. I knew the guy had become good, I had just no idea it was ‘that’ level of good. Chuckster is also another player who positively impressed me as of late. I don’t remember someone in recent times who went from just decent to extremely solid in such a short time span. Some will say he always had it within himself and just needed the correct team environment to perform at such a high level but regardless of what you think of the guy, it’s hard to not respect his development as a player in recent times.


There are certainly other players who I believe are worth a mention for their performances in the EGS (and overall willingness to try hard in recent months) such as Skaenn, Ciomcio, Narrow or Flo to only name a few and generally speaking, I believe the EGS’s influence has pushed more players like them to try and become better versions of themselves.

Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?

Tardet:

- Zeyden & Shadey for their unmatched firepower and capability to carry on any given day.
- Achilles for the rising star potential and thirst for success.
- Bunter_Igel because you need someone who can stand his ground against anybody.
- Rikkert because across ten years of NW, I don’t think I have ever seen someone as balanced as him (personality-wise) within the top and you will always need a guy like him to keep your load of egos in check.

Voluble:  How do you feel about the 13e Academy's first two tournaments in EGS Season 2 (Personally I feel you have done exceptionally well and adjusted to the team very well merging with the 45e boys)?

Tardet: I think our performance across those two tournaments has been very solid and at the moment I am satisfied with where we stand in the rankings. Kennedy and Gontran were extremely easy to incorporate within the team and proved to be two of our most solid players thus far. D9sh got me speechless quite a few times since we started the EGS as I had no idea he could play at such a level and hold his ground against players arguably 4 to 5 times better than him and Vladd & Darkk, our two ‘rookies’ have been making immense signs of progress in the span of two editions only. I think Nock is finding his ‘old self’ more and more each day and Narrow has proven thus far why he is arguably the best player in our line-up. Up to that day, it’s been an extremely pleasing experience to play with this bunch and you can feel there is a real synergy in and out the playfield.


Result wise, the first edition was a roller-coaster of emotions. We went from almost getting upset by GVT in our second match to beating Virgins in the third, only to get absolutely battered by the germans from Enigma in the last match of the group stage. We obviously would have loved to qualify for the quarter-final directly but were overall satisfied with our performance and despite Snappers playing better than us in the first round of the playoffs, we felt there was a real chance to progress at least one step further in the tournament.


The second edition was a bit different in the way it unfolded but equally intense. We had from my perspective the best occasion to qualify as the second seed of our group (with only Amaterasu as an unbeatable opponent) but at the same time, we knew each other match would prove difficult. Unfortunately losing our opening to Gordon quickly sealed our chance to get an easier opponent in the playoffs and made us fight for survival in the group stage instead. Our matches against SF was way too close for comfort and eventually highlighted more nervousness compared to the first edition but we eventually prevailed against NPP (a team I would deem of a similar skill-set) in an ever-difficult match and with Gordon also managing to beat them, we got the chance to progress once against to the playoffs and prove our constancy. I have no regrets against Virgins who showed their true faces in that rematch against us and were at least two or three levels above ours, however, I can’t help but think we could have beaten Gordon and would have had an actual chance to make it further than the last edition.

Voluble: How do you feel your personal skill level is at this moment in time compared to the skill level in the community, also do you feel your skill level is at an all-time high?

Tardet: I believe I am perfectly average compared to the rest of the community. I can name you on the top of my head at least 60+ players who are all far better than me recently but at the same time, there are also as many who I believe to have outperformed quite consequently in recent tournaments. I would also put myself in a tier of players that’s a mix of aspiring good players and old veterans who do not care too much about their own individual performances and thus, my own definition of my individual skill level compared to the rest of the community can vary a lot from one week to the other. With that being said, I am fairly satisfied with my performance at the second edition of the EGS. During the first one, I was clearly out-of-form after not having played for quite a long time but the recent practice between tournaments has helped me get back into shape greatly.


It’s hard, however, to estimate where I feel in terms of skill level compared to my previous years. I do not believe to be at an all-time high at all but my ‘all-time high’ compared to so many other players would not be that high anyway. I never had a ‘prime’ era because I was never a top player and always belonged to this group of players who ‘played with top players in top teams without being top themselves’. I had numerous surprising peak performances throughout my career but it never lasted long enough for me to consider them an all-time high. The only exception would be during the 85e’s miracle run in RGL S4 where I had the second-best ‘Profitability/Efficiency Ratio’ of the regiment, according to Tibérias’ own statistics he had kept track of throughout the event. This was probably the best event of my whole career as a player and at the moment, I do not believe to be there quite yet nor do I think I can ever get back to such a form.

Voluble: If you had to highlight one player in 13e Academy who is very underrated, who would this be and why ( I would personally say Kennedy as he has been around for ages and has settled into a regimental team, rather than a groupfighting team and limited himself although he has great skills)?

Tardet: I believe the answer to this question is going to surprise a lot of people but that would be Nock. From the very beginning, he gave his heart and soul to the 13e and the reason why it has lasted throughout an entire year is partially due to him. It was no different with our academy team and the moment we started playing in the EGS, Nock stepped up his game even more, not only by giving us the best practice environment possible but also by training hard every moment he could to progress on an individual level. I know he shares with me this sentiment that the 13e Academy was what we wanted to do with Grouped but couldn’t because we didn’t have our place in a line-up that was too damn good not to play for titles.


As a player, I believe Nock is still extremely underrated and from my perspective, there is no doubt he has been the most pivotal element for the 13e Academy. That’s saying a lot considering Kennedy, Narrow, D9sh or Gontran would have all been worthy candidates for such a title as well.

Voluble: 13e Academy is expected to finish around the 7th-11th mark in EGS Season 2, which teams would you say are direct competition and share a similar skill level that is 50/50 on the day?

Tardet: It’s more than a fair estimation and I imagine such a statement applies to quite a lot of other teams as well. As a matter of which team would have a 50/50 chance against us, I would say NPP & BlackNight. When it comes to direct competition, however, you could also include Fluss and Gordon. The first one, we never faced them in an official and I don’t think I have ever played them in practice either so I don’t know what would be their chance against us but there is no arguing they are at least of a similar skill level to us, if not better. As far as Gordon is concerned, I believe we can show a better face against them than we did last tournament but with Faisan and Dayboul additions, I reckon they might be a bit better than us at the moment. I fear neither in the slightest however and will be aiming at beating them if the occasion arises next tournaments but I also believe our faith in the EGS will be closely linked to how we all do when going against better teams such as NSS, Snappers or CCCP, which we will be in direct contention to steal the playoffs spot of.

Voluble: How do you feel the teamwork of 13e Academy translates from regimental practices and tournaments, over to the groupfighting scene? Do you see added benefits of chemistry and player relations that help you play better?

Tardet: This is an excellent question but I feel that the teamwork and time played in the 13e Academy is going to translate in the 13e regimental practices and tournaments, not the other way around. You see, in the 13e regimental line-up, all the academy players beside Nock and Narrow are expected to perform vastly under the standards of our top players, who makes for a good half of the line-up. We play in positions and occupy roles that are sometimes super ungrateful and will often aim at putting better players in position to perform. The 13e regimental practices matches are perfect to warm-up before an EGS tournament or just keep us in form but they do not directly help our synergy as far as the academy team is concerned. However, by constantly playing with the same people in a 5v5 to 7v7 environment, we will automatically develop mechanisms and team play that will be directly applied to the regimental side of things. If the 13e Academy continues performing well, I can see it be one of the factors that influence the 13e RGL line-up greatly.
[close]


ExTaZz94
Voluble: Who in your opinion is favored to finish in the top 3 of EGS?

ExtaZz94: Unsurprisingly I would say Poosy, Amateratsu, and Proudboys. The virgins had the potential to join this top but decisions were taken at the management level of the team from the start of the EGS which means that it will not go beyond its glass ceiling which confines it to the place of the nice 5th or the chocolate 4th.

Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?

ExtaZz94: 13e, they have a solid team with some potential players and good communication.

Voluble: What is your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

ExtaZz94: I can't think of anything in particular that I would like to change, except and this is almost a commonplace to say - so much so that the opinion is shared by all, that the tournament is extremely well organized, that it implements good ideas and that personally, it's nice to see this kind of initiative emerging from the community.

Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

ExtaZz94: For that you have to look at the Amateratsu, in terms of raw evolution I would certainly say Chuckster, but it's a close call with Achilles and TheDead. They have become very good players. Nevertheless, the adversity is not necessarily very high. The Proudboys have just come back from retirement and the Poosy play an old-fashioned game that only works against teams with smaller individual skills. There is no serious team behind them to pick up the slack. They are extremely strong players in what they do but in my opinion very deficient in certain areas. The latter are not exploited by the teams that are able to introduce different problems to the Amateratsu. I will stop here, my will is not to give keys of comprehension to beat them but simply to transmit the idea to these players to remain on their guard because as they already know, in the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?

ExtaZz94: Unfortunately the players in my dream team are not playing in the tournament, so I don't know if it's worthwhile to pick them. I'm going to do it anyway with Drake in the middle, LeBrave Tiberias on one flank, and Maharbaal and I on the other. A 100% French team that would manage to combine skill and teamplay. It's the latter that French players, in general, lack most. As opposed to the English, who have players who are less skilled in absolute terms but who combine their skills much better. You only have to play against the Poosy to realize this, most of the differences are brought about by 2 v 1 moves. Beyond being my dream team, I think that with the players at their prime, they would destroy any other team. So it's a real dream team and it's also a team that can get friends to play together. If I had to make a dream team with the players who play the EGS, I would certainly put Voluble middle for the communication he brings to a team and the cancellation of his opponent's game, Zeyden Shadey on one flank and Golden TheDead. Both flanks are balanced with aggressive and versatile players who can play clutch situations. There are probably other dream teams out there with players who deserve to be in them, but this one seems to me to be the most successful - because it is the most balanced.

Voluble: How do you feel you performed in the 2nd Edition of EGS Season 2 personally? More specifically the Semi-Finals of the Tournament on Sunday 8th of August?

ExtaZz94: I think I did my job. I tried to bring movement and opportunities in a team that plays on the opponents' mistakes. I applied the team's tactical scheme, trying to adapt and trying to generate errors. I have encountered several difficulties, already in each match, I have to deal with players in front of me who pretend to play and do not contest the range. It works because we have so far played in small formats with narrow arenas. The reason for this is very simple because at the range the players are so tightly packed together when you throw a range you are usually not facing one person if you throw a move, but often two or three. Therefore, even if you don't have an effective presence in the game, the player applies block pressure, can beat his opponent, and is anyway secured by his teammates. At this point, the only thing left for the player to do is for his team to make the right tactical changes and generate a new dynamic in the game. In the case of the virgins, it is very difficult to do so because the game strategy is focused on the opponent's mistake by waiting passively, thus static. The problem is that when the mistake does not come from the opponent, it comes from you.

Voluble: How do you feel Virgins addressed the issue with the 1st Tournament finishing position, compared to being Bronze Match Winners this tournament, any key changes that were made? Did anyone, in particular, stand out?

ExtaZz94: What is incredible about this team is that they have managed to put in a good performance with a leader who consistently makes the wrong decisions in the administration of his team. Which I think is a performance in itself. Being a good leader is not just about begging other players to join your team. The roster had some weaknesses that could be addressed by intelligent recruitment. This team lacks players capable of being decisive in the typical "hot" rounds that we systematically lost to PB and Amateratsu. I won't talk about the way of leading, which is one of the stupidest I've ever seen, no tactical hindsight, always adapting, never initiative, rotating the roster against teams that can beat us in ft5 etc. The biggest flaw of virgins is his leadership, but also his biggest strength because he is literally the one who manages to maintain a losing team for several years now if you count animals. On the other hand, the patterns were full of this type of player, that's what made us beat a lot of big teams and win tournaments. I include the 55th victory, largely made up of players from the patterns and who have proven their impact. We can expect an egocentric reaction from them in the next tournament which may result in over-performance, for the next tournaments they will quickly return to their usual standard.

Voluble: As probably the most experienced active player to date, who has stayed at the top of the scene for more than 5 years, what advice would give to people trying to take that next step towards becoming a top player and improving?

ExtaZz94: I have a rather special background, in that, I performed quite quickly when I entered the competitive nw scene. I can mention my first 2v2 tournament in 2015 played with my friend Haze (Drake), where we won the tournament by beating Evanovic and Eddie, two top players and two legends of the game. Now, you can certainly perform, but not necessarily maintain your level of play throughout the years. The key is to adapt. I don't play the same way as 2015 extazz, 2016 extazz doesn't play the same way as the 2017 extazz etc. My desire to perform naturally led me to adjust my game to the metas. Before adapting, you have to give yourself the means to do so in terms of individual skill, which is why I put the emphasis on my 1v1 level, which is the main skill vector for me. That's where you learn to perfect the mechanics of the game, then it's up to you and your intelligence to integrate them into your gf play style. Also, you have to focus on range, having a good range is to ensure that you perform at a minimum in gf. I'm lucky enough to have a timeless range. We are soon in 2022 and I see a lot of people trying to copy it, like we were copying my runner-up style in 2015-2018, in a way it is very flattering. Nevertheless, I would advise these people not to apply one type of range stupidly. My success lies in the fact that I am a versatile player, capable of everything. This generates impressibility in my movements. I can play one way one round and play differently the next. Sometimes I vary my range style according to what I define as the different phases of a round (beginning, middle, end). First, it makes the game more interesting, then it makes you perform very well. I could go into much more detail, but I think I have given you the main elements.  For the most critical of you, you can simply look at my performances in tournaments since 2018, when I launched Warband only to play tournaments, and see if they have dropped despite a pronounced lack of training. And yes it's been 4 years since you got destroyed in tournaments by a guy who is rusty to the bone.

Voluble: What happened with disbands of MHO (Season 1) and Patterns (Season 2), more specifically what happened to your long time team-mates Drake and LeBrave in recent months?

ExtaZz94: A lack of players. I would have liked to continue this season with Patterns but unfortunately, our already small squad had to deal with the departure of Elsse and Drake who stopped playing. Maybe they will come back, but in the meantime, we can't play tournaments anymore. The patterns would certainly have caused a lot of trouble for the top 3 teams. An unstacked team that could beat the top teams without being eliminated by seemingly weaker teams is the kind of team that is missing from the EGS. As for Lebrave, for the moment he is taking a short break.

Voluble: What player in the community would you say is overrated(controversial but interesting to know!)?

ExtaZz94: There are so many overrated players in this community that to name a few would be a disservice to the others. Some people tend to confuse a player's teamplay level with their individual level. Teamplay is one of the characteristics of a player's level, it is not what defines him. That's why if you make players who don't play teamplay, i.e. their usual game partners, they quickly go negative. So killing someone in 2v1 does not make them a Warband monster. Besides, there are already several lists of overrated players on the game. For that, you just have to look at the performance of the current top players in 1v1 tournaments. Beware, some may not be used to it, but these lists are not biased. It's not about making lists based on 1v1 tournaments, but to go to the opposite extreme, i.e. to deny their results - as is currently the case - is to go to another extreme that is just as grotesque.
[close]


Golden
Voluble: Who in your opinion is favorites to finish in the top 3 of EGS?

Golden: It’s going to be ProudBoys, Poosy and Amaterasu, I don’t think Legends can reach us at this stage but their impact will be interesting in the play off final.

Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?

Golden: 13e Academy, they have been playing very well and I can only see them improving more especially with the recent minor tournament win.
 


Voluble: What's your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Golden: So far season 2 has been running very smoothly from an admin stand point, as usual we have had a few minor issues but have been working to improve them in every addition.
I can't think of anything we would change at the moment, but there is a lot more to come next season.


Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Golden: I would say Achilles and Jakob for sure, I always knew both of them were good but they lacked confidence in tournaments, looks like that has changed. Hopefully they won’t make the same mistakes as some players and refuse to adapt their playstyles.

Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?

Golden:

Dream Team?

Python DOMI Shadey Zeyden Elsse

5 hard hitting heavy fraggers, an overwhelming amount of agression with a nice statue to top it off.

Voluble:  How do you feel ProudBoys has performed so far this Season and why?

Golden: Terrible, it’s easy to bring up different excuses about lag or missing players, the reality is ProudBoys is lacking a lot of faith amongst our guys.
 
It’s possible for us to perform a lot better than we are. I would say we are not even playing at half our normal level at the moment, but I expect that to change very soon.

Voluble: Personally, do you feel you are at an all time high in your skill level, or do you feel you have “peaked”, is there more to come?

Golden: I don’t think I've reached my best or that I can peak. I don’t think you can peak in this game, there are lapses in time where I have been very strong or pretty mediocre, it really depends on the team i’ve been in and what the competition has been like.
 
Recently i’ve been stepping up a little more every tournament , i’ve hardly played any matches vs Amaterasu and still don't feel comfortable facing them as it takes time to learn and adapt to their new playstyles but it will come, i’ve not had any new competition since DOMI, Ivan and Elsse started to enter the top which was a long time ago, you get pretty good at facing the same Frenchies and Poosy guys every tournament final to the point you forget how to play differently, give PB a chance to adapt and I think there will be a lot more to come.

Voluble: Which “top players” would you say are overrated in 2021 and are way past their best?

Golden: I couldn’t say anyone is overrated, if you look at the top 10 in 2018 I would say it's only me and Python still playing at that level, anyone else has definitely dropped out of that number by now.


Voluble: In your opinion what does it take to reach it to the very top and be established for years and evolve with the “meta”?

Golden: The only thing it takes is the ability to comfortably change your playstyle, if you sit playing the same way you will only last 6 months at the top level, even if you master it. You’ve got to learn every play in the book and be able to counter anybody you are facing. If you know exactly how they play, you know exactly how to beat them.

Voluble: In your opinion, what are the best teams you have ever faced at their peak skill as a team (in order)?

Golden: FrenchTouch number one had the longest running reigns as a team and had totally changed the meta after they were gone. Poosy number two for basically the same thing. I would also like to give a shout out to Virgins\Animals, simply because they totally mastered some key team play aspects especially finishing 2v1s quickly.
[close]


Bazgins
Voluble: Who in your opinion is favorites to finish in the top 3 of EGS?

Bagins: It’s going to be ProudBoys, Poosy and Amaterasu, no particular order, though ProudBoys will probably be third.

Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?

Bagins: No dark horses. It will be Virgins or Enigma. Though Enigma are weaker in larger formats and bunter doesnt have calender, so probably Virgins.
 


Voluble: What's your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Bagins: Everythings been good so far, though I'd like to see something or someone that gets teams in the arena to start their matches on time. i.e at 8:05 gmt all matches for all groups on both servers get called with their arenas. Captains from those teams then decide who refs and gets on with it. Rinse and repeat for the knockouts.
Other than that I've made clear what I'd hope to see though :)


Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Bagins: Probably Achilles based off of tourney results. Whether that lasts see my previous answer ^. Zenon has also gotten better though still dies when he tries to stab someone looking at him.

Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?

Bagins:

Fwuffy, Hokej, Zenon, Shogun, Higen

It would be interesting to see what the other team does when they do not receive a single stab


Voluble:  What’s ur opinion on the state of the community?

Bagins: The general skill level of the community as a whole is higher than it has ever been. Whether that is because people have wised up and realised the only way they can compete against the better long term players, is by playing slowly and reactive, as appose to attempting to learn the older more enjoyable/skillful styles is up for debate however.

Pb should disband, what a mess of a team.

Voluble:  Who in your opinion is the least skillful top players in the “top 4 teams” and why?

Bagins: Golden: Good player, but quivers against a real old gens, pretty much turns into a slightly more aggressive Zenon. Not had impact since ChimpZ and original ProudBoys changed him, what a shame.
Fwuffy: It's like having a player without having a player (love you bro). 
Achilles and Jakob: Finally found their confidence and are playing well atm, no shade there. However, it's just another Zeyden case where once people wise up to it their playstyle, their effectiveness will drop off a cliff (love you too Zayden).
 

Voluble: Which teams would you say have an exciting, attractive style of play?

Bagins: Amaterasu are probably the fastest playing team other than Poosy (That will make it into the playoffs), however with certain players in the their lineup being weaker, or brain dead, they still have to slow down and bait when it comes to the crucial moments.
Who else is there to talk about atm?


Voluble: Would you agree that the new generation of players coming through in teams like Amaterasu, are really starting to catch up to old players such as yourself?

Bagins: No, although I'm also not as good as I used to be at this point (Maybe make sure finals arnt so late :) ). The new gens pop up and drop off again in a matter of months, the only real players you see consistently at the top of the game are the ones that have been around a long time. Prove me wrong, just look at the top 10, ish.

Voluble:As an experienced member who has experienced many different game metas and different unique levels of skill, who would you say excluding your close immediate circle, has left a lasting impression on you for you to regard them as an all-time great?
Bagins: I always rated Tiberias and Maharbaal. No-one from the current top scene though (other than those who have already been there for some time).
[close]


Zeyden
Voluble: What do you believe are the main factors as to why Amaterasu have started of EGS Season 2 so strongly?

Zeyden: I think it's because of a level of seriousness above the other teams, from the beginning I was very strict with my players and I had high expectations of them, I often took breaks between rounds to explain things and I did a lot of "personal coaching", you combine that with motivated players (so more likely to maintain that level of seriousness) and very skilful players and I think we have the answer to that strong start.

Voluble: Which members are you most suprised by within Amaterasu as to how there performances have reached such a high level compared to before hand?

Zeyden: I'd say Achilles & Jakob, there's also Chuckster but he had already done some big performances before Amaterasu.

Voluble: Seeming this is your first time as a leader, how do you feel you have transisitioned from player to leader, and what has been the most challenging and beneficial things you have come across and why?

Zeyden: The transition was difficult because it adds a layer of focus and i have now to focus a lot more on my environment and making the right calls and that was the biggest problem because I couldn't find a balance between focusing on leading and playing the statue or playing at my usual level and leading badly. As time passed, it made me better in every aspect of the game, I redesigned my playstyle and made it more teamplay and cerebral, but most of all it made me less egotistical. People who have played with me know that i am someone who likes to be the centre of things, because I learnt very early on in this game that the people who bottom/middle score will never get anything and that the recognition for players comes 90% from their score and not their performance as a whole. Have you ever seen a list maker give a wall player a top 10 rating because they held their position well in a tournament and were vital to the push during the game, I have never seen it. However it is undoubtedly thanks to him that the match was won without him and his push the offensive players would not have been able to make as many kills, it's always the players who make a few double/triple kills during a match that get praised. With Amaterasu it's different as long as I see the name of this team and the word gold next to it I'm fine even as a spectator and it's a nice feeling to belong to a project that goes beyond my ego.

Voluble: You recently recruited Steinmann  to Amaterasu, what do you think he can bring to your team and why?

Zeyden: Having a player like Steinmann  who doesn't have an ego and is mature/experienced was just what we needed, he doesn't care about being the superhero of the tournament and it's good to have a player who isn't going to jump into the ennemy line because he may have thought he was going to take 4 kills and become MVP, more seriously without him i had to put players like Chuckster  or RedFire  on the wall and that wasn't good at all.

Voluble: Which teams within EGS  do you think have not yet reached there "peak" which you expect them to do so within the next half of the Season?

Zeyden: As I write this it should be the ProudBoys  but before that they need to realize several things, your leading is incompetent go to Shadey's channel and take a video of the ProudBoys  tell me if you hear Movement  so much ? No. It's his players that lead most of the time, letting your players do all the work and tell them two or three times "push right/left" and "swap the flanks" is not good leading, I could add so many things like for example the 92nd comeback at the RGL was his fault while everyone blamed Vegi  who didn't say a word of the final. I will join my friend ExTaZz94 on his vision of things "Being a good leader is not just about begging other players to join your team."

Voluble:  Who in your opinion is favored to finish in the top 3 of EGS?

Zeyden: We're going to finish first with Amaterasu  that's the only thing I have control over, the rest of the ranking is not my responsibility so I can't predict it.

Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?

Zeyden: I would say the 13e  and that's all I wish for them as a french team.

Voluble: What is your opinion on EGS  Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Zeyden: I think it lack a bit of "spice", the tournaments are more or less played in the same way and we do not expect much at the end. What would be nice is some trashtalk we miss an Obelix  or an ExTaZz94  of 2019, what is interesting is the rivalry and therefore more generally entertaining for others and I think you should promote this kind of thing in the introduction before the tournaments. I don't think it's going to bother anyone except one or two FSE warriors who must really believe that we wrote this while being angry behind our screen.

Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players in EGS  as a whole during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Zeyden: Achilles  Jakob Chuckster  Zenon  & Quenouille are the ones whose improvements is easiest to see.

Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?

Zeyden: Amaterasu  here is my dream team, and there is not enough space in the number 5 to put them all.
[close]


Vegi
Voluble: Within Gordon, who would you say is your "carries" who can try get you into the Play Offs?
 
Vegi: Gordon gets mostly carried by Faisan and his sidekick Dayboul, that depends if they have the energy to actually try. Also who’s pretty consistent is EpicPizza who has great teamplay, but still has that little bit of rust he has to wash away.
 
Voluble: Who is the in game leader for Gordon, with alot of options available as many members are COs in a top Regiment?
 
Vegi: I’m the main leader of Gordon, hence why people consider it a top team and Dan supports or takes it over when I have to focus on my own melee or supports me when needed.
 
Voluble: You recently transfered Dayboul into Gordon, what do you stand to gain by transferring him in, compared to what Tomppa offered you?
 
Vegi: Faisan needed a fellow player of similar personality where he can teamplay with. Compared to Tompa is Faisan more consistent and punishes weaker players way faster. It’s pretty much the only thing Faisan is good for tbh.

Voluble: Being a completely 92nd exclusive team, how do you feel your regimental chemistry follows over to small groupfights like within EGS, is it a advantage for your team?
 
Vegi: I don’t really feel the a difference at the moment, since Gordon is a team with players from Centre and Grens. I see it more as a community thing where both companies brought together and have a good time with eachother. I think it will take more time to feel the actual difference, in the future I’ll try to include more Grens in Gordon, but we shall see in the future
 
 
Voluble: How do you currently feel about your personal skill level, is it better or worse than before EGS Season 2 started?
 
Vegi: I had the feeling that I improved a bit with the first 2 tournaments of EGS, but I always choke in the rounds where it matters. But my general performance is good enough for bench xd
 
Voluble: Who in your opinion is favored to finish in the top 3 of EGS?
 
Vegi: 1. Amaterasu: Zeyden finally Zeyden got a grip and started to lead! Good to see that people like him also can be a really good player, but also a amazing ingame leader aswell.
2. Poosy: Poosy is really strong imo, but I think it relies too hard on Python and Rikkert atm.
3. Legends: I think the choke will be fast with these guys

Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?
 
Vegi: 13e. I think that they keep improving like they do now since they not only play together with their GF team, but also in with their own regiment.
 
 
Voluble: What is your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Vegi: No, I think EGS is just simply the best. Everything goes smooth and a lot of people are willing to put effort in it . Maybe it would be nice to see smaller formats like 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4.
 
 
Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players in EGS as a whole during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Vegi: Jakob, Komar and Cammelbe are people that are popping off recently, some off them are also quiting their social life to fully commit on NW I have the feeling
 
Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?
 
Vegi: Extazz Tiberias Python Shadey and Zeyden
[close]


Tiberias
Voluble: After being gone for so long, what level of skill do you feel you are at compared to what you used to be at?
 
Tiberias: I would say that my level is Ok+ atm. It’s obvious that i’m nowhere near my prime but the most important thing that I lack of, is confidence.
 
This is a game where if you want to be a top player, you need that overconfidence to make great picks.
 
 
Voluble: Legends is formally made up of Patterns/Wish players who won 2 of the last tournaments in EGS Season 1, do you expect to be competing for every tournament remaining in Season 2?
 
Tiberias: From what I’ve seen, only 4 tournaments left, I’ll try to play in each one till RGL comes up then my focus will be on the RGL.
 
 
Voluble: Do you believe Legends will be able to reach the Play Offs of Season 2 with only half the tournaments remaining with lots of teams to catch up?
 
It’s gonna be tough, we definitely have the skill to be in the Play offs but yeah we have a lot of points to catch up, we will need to secure at least the the top 3 of each tournament and I’m not sure that will be enough.
 
And if we fail, no worries, we’ll make it the next season !
 
Voluble: Which players do you feel currently have styles very similar to you, which you have already seen?
 
Tiberias: Coco Ayala without a doubt !
 
I think each players have his own styles, some of them reproduce things that works and that’s fine, I did it myself 8 years ago when Rikimaru did crazy feints that brained 90% of the community. I tried to reproduce them but then I made my own feint. We reproduce what we like and then add our own touch to it to create our unique playstyle.
 
If I have to drop names, I would probably say Zeyden and Achilles from what I’ve seen lately,
They both create a lot pressure everywhere by moving a lot which is a thing I used to do great. Also both have good feints which offer them quick 1v1.
 
Voluble: Which player would you personally say within the community, retired or active, is the "best of all time", and why?
 
Tiberias: That’s a tough question !
 
The answer of this question changes all the time, some actual players have the skill to be among the best of all time but they don’t have yet the longevity that others have.
 
 
I think it is between Axiom, Bagins, Drake, Extazz, Ledger, Python, Stark and Troister
 
Axiom was the ultimate groupfighter back then, he had the whole package, we just can’t count how many GF he solo carried. But as every old players (by old players I mean players that was already top players when the game was centered around Linebattles so before 2015)
he suffers from the actual meta which benefits slow gameplay. I remember our match against prime FT in 2017, with our 2v5 in the last round, it was amazing, Axiom is a solid pretender for that spot for sure !
(https://youtu.be/5KaXq-Taiso?t=1033)
 
Bagins and Python were the next generation of great english players, they kinda grew with the GF meta. I played with and against both, It’s easy to say that they are probably with Ledger the most teamplayers of all time. I would say that Bagins was a top 3 player before Python because I remember some FRA vs ENG where Bagins was the most dangerous.
However Python is probably the most skilled between all the names mentionned above, he can do everything but he has not been on the top as long as Extazz.
 
Drake was unplayable at his prime, within the community maybe 2-3 people max could have handled him. We owe him the groupfighting meta that we know, the game was dead after a lot of great regiments decided to stop NW, he brought a new challenge into the game. But yet his skill for whatever reason has dropped. But still from his GF and Duel career, he is really high in that best of all time ranking.
 
Extazz is probably the answer of this question, the best longevity, grew aswell with the GF meta, since 5-6 years he is a top 5 player. Best Range player of all time without a doubt. The only thing where I can hesitate with another player is that he has less teamplay than the others.
 
Ledger is an old player that performed at a high level against every top players at each state of the game. His playstyle is smart, always looking to teamplay, also a great leader IG. But his raw skill is inferior compared to the others. But still I consider him as one of the best of all time.
 
Stark and Troister are probably the most aggressive players of all time no matter who they have in front. They are so efficient especially in 7v7 and more.
 
By reading this, which is too long btw sorry, I would say that the spot of number one is between Extazz and Python, anyway that’s close between all these names. I could have put Evanovic somewhere but we have not seen him compete enough in the GF meta.
 
Voluble: Who in your opinion is favored to finish in the top 3 of EGS?
 
 
Tiberias: Easy question right here !
 
(in no particular order)
Poosy ofc, great synergy in the line up, a great mix of hyper carry and strong players that don’t die easily with two great captain Hertz and Bagins,
 
Then there is Amaterasu, which is a team composed of new players with great talents, they perfectly understand the meta and how to move in groupfight, they also have a great mix of hyper carry and reliable players.
 
Last one is ofc Proudboys, this team has so many great players. I haven’t watched much tournament lately except the last one, so I don’t know where some players are in term of skills.
But this team has players like Golden, one of the all time great aswell. I still fear TBE_Golden :D, Shadey who proved to be one of the best player in the game since a couple of years now. On top of that there is Voluble ofc, a great lead IG, also one of the best teamplayer I’ve played with.
They have Marquez, also a top player with whom I had the chance to play in OldGuard, so yeah Proudboys has definitely his chance to finish top 3 at least.
 
 
Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8)?
 
Tiberias: I hope for my 13e brothers that they will be the dark horse of this season, the addition of blackbeard is great, BB always has been underestimated. What would be nice is to have another player of that level joining the line up to help them reach the playoff. Maybe Dren ?
 
CCCP and NPP can aswell be the dark horse, a lot of great players in both line up.
 
Voluble: What is your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?
 
Tiberias: That will be my first EGS event, and I wish we had this kind of organization earlier, EGS has his own board which is awesome such as Native events and I think it’s great.
 
Stats ! I don’t see a Statistics Board ! that would be awesome !
 
Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players in EGS as a whole during the last 3 months, in your opinion?
 
Tiberias: As I said the upcoming tournament will be my first, I just watched the last one, the 7v7 where poosy won.
But from what I’ve seen a lot of players have improved in a year, I did not know some of them such as Achilles, Jakob, sHype, Floris. They are really good, and I look forward to face them in a tournament.
 
 
Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?
 
Tiberias: I have so many dream teams that I want to play with but I’ll just drop one or two . As it is the EGS Tournament, I’ll only select players from the EGS but this line up might be the best of all time.
 
 
Wall Left : Wolpi (can’t think of better wall player, he can absorb all the pressure without dying, make great picks aswell, he also has an insane teamplay)
2nd Left : Python (possibly the Goat of NW so he has to be there, I think associated with Wolpi they both can play very smart by moving alot, playing around the mid)
Mid : Bagins (the best synergy is to have them both next to each other, Bagins will be able to take kills on both sides)
2nd Right : Ivan (Aggressive player, push every round, bring a lot pressure and make entries)
Wall Right : DOMI (One of the best side synergy I’ve seen with Ivan)
Let’s do a nostalgic one for fun :
Wall Left : Nosswill
2nd Left : Moskito
Mid : ClaSh
2nd Right : Rikimaru
Wall Right : JHS
Both sides were insane at their prime, same for the mid, one of the best player of his era.
 
 
Thanks to EGS for the interview !
 
Tib 😊
[close]


Ivan
Voluble:[/size] In your opinion, who is the best 3 Irish players of all time, and why (In order)?

Ivan: I have two answers. In terms of peak groupfighting skill I would say Ivan, Golden, Lonedoge. It's very close between me and Golden but i'd have to put myself above him in this as he was at peak strength in an earlier era which generally in my opinion has more to do with precocity rather than absolute skill. In general the players of this game tend towards improvement so I should rank myself higher in this as I was stronger than him in a later era. However if based on longevity I would have say my top 3 are Golden, Irish, Ivan. This really doesn't need as much explaining.
 
Voluble: Considering you have just returned to the game, how long do you think it will take you to be back to 100%, or do you feel you are already 100%?

Ivan: As a player I relied more on tricks and decision making rather than mechanics, so I would not say I am 100% again. For that to happen I need to play a few more tourneys and figure out just how everyone plays again.
 
Voluble: Having just returned, what is the most suprising thing you have found, it could be a team or a feature or a individual?

Ivan: What surprised me is the sheer amount of improvement I've seen across the board. Maybe i've gotten worse, but on returning there are many new mechanically strong players, which is always tough to play against. Something that is unsurprising though is my good friend big Z has continued his improvement and is now a serious player in his own capacity, rather than the Extazz/Golden clone he used to be.
 
Voluble: What do you think about Snappers current performances during the 7v7 Tournament and also what format do you think best suits Snappers and why?

Ivan: I did not expect to do well in a large format such as 7v7 with Snappers, so reaching the quarter finals as we did is good enough for me in that tournament, as I saw plenty of promise in that team. The best format for us is definitely 5v5 as our roster gets weaker the more players we put in, and its easier to control and co-ordinate 5 against 5. I also enjoy 5v5 myself as i've generally found if you play well in that format, its hard to lose with a little help from your teammates.
 
Voluble: Within EGS, who do you feel are Snappers biggest competition currently and why?

Ivan: There are no easy opponents for snappers, every match feels like its against poosy
 
Voluble: Who in your opinion is favored to finish in the top 3 of EGS?

Ivan: Poosy, Amaterasu, Enigma
 
Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?

Ivan: I think legends can clinch some strong results and gain enough points to reach the top 8 easily by the time playoffs come around, despite only having the opportunity to get half the points they could have
 
Voluble: What is your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Ivan: Its been a pretty standard but good tournament experience. I would give snappers another sub pls
 
Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players in EGS as a whole during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Ivan: I can't answer that properly as I've been away. But I do like jakobs playstyle. It reminds me of the playstyle python, bagins, and I share
 
Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?

Ivan: Domi Ivan Extazz Python Elsse. that team would never lose, and I've always wanted to see what its like to have extazz on my team. if this is purely EGS then swap Rikkert for me and Zeyden for Elsse
[close]


Elsse
Voluble: How do you feel the team complexions of Legends compares to Patterns at the end of season 1, is it better or worse?

Elsse: Haha, that's hard to tell I guess. First thing first because it is too early as we just formed one week ago and secondly because Patterns was something different overall, with different leaders, a different mindset ... Of course it is different, but I cannot say that it is any better or worse. I'd say we're on a decent shape and I am proud of what we achieved during the recent 5v5, we showed that we were a contender for the final and I wasn't having doubts about it as I told them before the tournament. On the other hand, with Patterns we managed to win some tournaments, it was probably the best team of that short period, I think it could be the case for us aswell if we practice more and learn how to play together, properly. It won't be easy as there are two amazing and strong teams that we are now looking at, which are Poosy and Amaterasu.
 
Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?

Elsse: That is really hard to say. Before my break I had a lack of motivation due to the fact that I have recently been in the two teams I have ever could have dreamed of which were Grouped and 10C, absolutely perfect (and some other things, of course). For me, those two teams are my dream teams. If it must be about grouped then :
 
ClaSh Troister Higen Axiom Red
 
ClaSh for his godlike clutch moves.
Troister for his experience and his ease.
Higen, my brother, as his wonderfull overall skill.
Axiom as our foreing cheerleader.
Red as my apprentice and his potential.
 
And if it must be about 10C then :
 
Shadey Golden Higen ClaSh Axiom
 
Shadey as my soulmate, the person I can play the best with in the whole game.
Golden as an extremly reliable teammate that, somehow, found repeatedly some picks in some desperate situations.
 
But if must be purely a dream team, from left to right then I'd say :
 
DOMI, Ivan, ExTaZz, Python Elsse
 
I'd love to see that team aswell, a condensed of fun and tryhard that could probably overcome anything. DOMI, Ivan and Python surely are some people I enjoyed to play alot with (and I still do) and regarding ExTaZz, I think that would be interesting to see him play with such players. But well, that remains a "dream" team yeah?
 
Voluble: Having just won Tournament MVP for the 5v5, do you feel your skill level is the same as a before you temporarily quit? Do you feel your skill is still at peak level?

Elsse: I feel weaker than how I was before my short break. But even weaker than how I was some months ago. I am definitely not at my peak. My "peak" level was during GodsHand and 10C, from early september to late december. I could litteraly do anything and never felt in difficulty during that time. But I'm far worse than how I was, right now, that's how I feel. Someone once said : To reach the top isn't the hardest, but to stay there, is. And this quote can be applied to any form of competitiveness, NW included.

 
Voluble: Considering Legends and Amaterasu both have very strong French contingents, Amaterasu with more new gen French players, do you feel the French community is on the up and stand a better chance of finally beating England in a NWWC for the first time since 2018?

Elsse:Last final was closer than ever, let's not forget this. But I'm glad Zeyden took Chuckster and Red under his lead, two players with some great potentials that can only improve under his teaching. If there is another NWWC and that most of us (affected french players) are still playing at that moment, then I'm looking forward to it. Who knows, maybe some diamonds could even emerge till then ?
 
Voluble: Who are the top 3 people in the community, past or present, that you have the most respect for with there skill level which makes you fearful or careful around them and why?

Elsse: It is obvious that ExTaZz94 and Python will stand there. Those twos, since I arrived in competitive, were always ahead of their time, maybe a little bit later for Python but his peak was terrifying. I cannot give a proper "top" as for me, those twos are definitely having the same value in that category. Then, for the third one, it might be Ivan. I think he was probably the best player at his peak, the ease he had to find a soluce or just to throwback some unexpected dodges and chambers was brilliant. There are of course some players that are coming really close behind, I'm thinking about DOMI or Zeyden.
 
Voluble: When you was up and coming in 2018/2019, which players did you most look up to and then develop your style off, you have a forward thinking aggressive style which is the opposite of what French legends had around that sort of time, so who influenced you?

Elsse: Due to my cold relation with the french players at that time, I indeed had to look somewhere else. But I've not only looked up at some people in order to improve, because some litteraly trained me.
And it was mainly three people that helped me in improving a lot, especially helped me in improving quickly. I'm firstly thankful to Cr3A, scorned by many, I consider him as one of the nicest person I've met, he is the one that not only inspired my playstyle but also the way I think through this game, he is the one that trained me, litteraly. Secondly, Alatriste helped me aswell, alot, as soon as he saw me he thought I had potential and did everything so I could improve. He taught me how to chamber in at time were I was almost losing 3-2 to Gi in duels ...Then, Bagins inspired me alot, as he recruited me in Plebs and then Poosy, I'm glad that he gave me a slot in their team and gave me his trust. The way he was easily getting picks, with his agressive playstyle, was surely at the opposite of the french playstyle of that time, which explains somehow a few things.
 
I'd say that is it for 2018-2019, but later on for example, in 2020, I had to look up at ExTaZz94 and try to get some of his moves obviously, just in order to follow the stream.
 
Voluble:  Who in your opinion is favored to finish in the top 3 of EGS?

Elsse:In the regular season it is obvious that Poosy and Amaterasu belong to the top 3 now. Then, normally, it should have been Legends, but we arrived too lately. I would have said Proud Boys but considering they disbanded, it won't be possible. It's gonna be a battle for the top 3 and I think that Enigma will make it, the bratans from Germany are really strong together and I think that they will outclass Virgins to go and grab that third spot. Unless they are facing some really tough opponents early in the final stages of the two tournaments, which would be really unfortunate. Regarding the playoffs, I'll swap Enigma with Legends.
 
Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?

Elsse: I have full confidence in the 13e Academy. Nock's will to provide his best can only be a good thing, he is hard working for it and completely deserves it. Moreover, they are possessing Narrow which is such an underrated player. I hope they will make it.
 
Voluble: What is your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Elsse:In the end I think this Season 2 is pretty much well rounded. Only two tournaments in for me, but I haven't met that many constraints. There are some great additions as the tournament highlights, previews, mvps ... It must continue that way. I don't know if I would change anything, maybe the play-offs rule but that deserves to be studied.
 
Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players in EGS as a whole during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Elsse: Achilles without a doubt. As he has now found a great team that helps him to progress, he now needs to consolidate himself within the top. Some other players such as TheDeaD and Quenouille  improved alot aswell.

[close]


Melyso
Voluble: Which players within NPP have most surpised you during EGS Season 2 and why?
 
Melyso:  Within NPP Flo has surprised me most this EGS, I hadn’t expected him to be as solid as he has been.
 
Voluble: Where do you expect NPP to finish this Season?
 
Melyso: I think 7-9, which is clearly higher than most people think(just look at the other interviewees’ opinions on dark horses). That doesn’t really bother me though, as I know our current capabilities and the potential we can still unlock. We’ve beaten higher seeding teams such as Virgins and Snappers, and gotten close matches against the likes of Enigma and NSS. Additionally, we could have logically had a higher placement in the last two tournaments and gone to the quareter finals in both. We got 2nd in the groups of the 7v7 but Enigma very surprisingly had lost vs Misty Mountains(thus getting 3rd instead of the anticipated 2nd), meaning we had to face Enigma in the 1/8th finals instead of Misty Mountains. Meanwhile in the last 5v5 we had a three-way tie with Virgins and Enigma but due to an interesting tiebreak rule we got 3rd in the group instead of 2nd, and had to fight NSS instead of GVT in the 1/8th finals, and got beaten 5-4.
 
Voluble: Which format size do you think currently best suits NPP to achieve a top 8 finish and why?
 
Melsyo: I think 7v7 is our best format, which was also apparent from the 3rd tournament, where we finished 2nd in our group. 7v7 was also JediMasters best format by a longshot, and I believe this format fits both my leadership style and playstyle best. If we as NPP want to reach the top 8, we will have to perform our ass off in all upcoming formats though.

Voluble: In the community, which single player would you highlight to have a bright future who is not currently regarded as a top player or a top prospect, and why?
 
Melsyo: Excellent but difficult question, people usually prefer answering this question in retrospect. I haven’t been as involved as I once was in this community, and thus very likely am unaware of the actual best candidate. Jakob, for example, joined Jedis around September of 2020, and I anticipated him to blow up eventually partly due to his strong will to improve and try new things, and partly due to the quick improvements he had shown in the months prior to joining me; in time he did prove to be one of those prospects. I am currently unaware which new player really has the will and talent to improve, though I can say it’s a player who actually takes risks to learn and try out new moves/agressive plays, fails continuously, but eventually learns, improves and perfects from that. Potentially it’s one of the upcoming Polish people in Blackknights( Ciomcio Naatsuu Trexons), who a while back started showing some very quick improvement. However, they might have stalled as I haven’t really watched them much this series, and as I haven't attentively watched a lot of other matches I'm likely missing out on a better candidate.
 
 
Voluble:  Do you feel your in game leading in the 15th YR, transfers directly over to small groupfight leading with NPP and do you think it is a positive for your team to have you as a leader, being as experienced as you are?
 
Melsyo: Yes, though my JediMasters experience has most likely contributed the most to my overall experience. Without question however, years of in-game groupfight leading in the 15th YR and JediMasters did initially develop the confidence, and eventually the skill to adequately lead groupfights. I definitely think my experience has a big impact on this team, both as a captain and as a player. Initially, before this EGS season, I was one of the few active members who actually had real competitive groupfighting experience, and a lot of it at that. This allowed me to help the guys get confidence in tournaments, while also providing them with call, tactics and advice. However, especially in smaller formats, a captain can only do so much once the round has started, and the vast majority of responsibility lies with the players themselves. I do feel my leading currently is definitely not up to the same standard as it was in JediMasters 2020 peak/15th YR tournament groupfights at times. The reason for this is mostly a lack of energy/time involvement in the game in general compared to in the past and a current lack of experience/understanding of groupfight commands of some members. 
 
Voluble: Who in your opinion is favored to finish in the top 3 of EGS?
 
Melsyo: Overall, in the regular season, Amaterasu/Poosy 1st/2nd, which I think could still go either way, and with ProudBoys departure I would probably say Enigma 3rd. However, in the 2nd half of the regular season/playoffs outcome I would definitely replace Enigma with Legends. In 5v5/6v6 I would definitely call it a three-horse race between Poosy, Amaterasu and Legends. In 7v7 I would favor both Poosy(with Rikkert) and Amaterasu just a little bit over Legends, though this of course is just a hunch.

Voluble: Who do you think will be a "Dark Horse" to reach the playoffs (Top 8 )?
 
Melsyo: CCCP, 13e and NPP. CCCP of course has some esteemed players and especially in 5v5 can bring a very good roster, even more so with the recent addition of Voluble. 13e and especially NPP might look less solid on paper in 5v5s but both teams have proven that they too can put up some good performances(in multiple formats), so it’s still all to play for I’d say. I hope my team puts an effort in trusting and listening to me as I do believe following some structure, along with some serious grinding, will help us get top 8. We can’t really influence what the teams around us do(besides when playing them), so we need to rely on our own actions instead of just hoping for other teams to underperform. Initially I thought Legends could even be a Dark Horse to reach the playoffs, due to their 0 point starting point halfway of course. However, with ProudBoys absence, and based on basic extrapolation, 330+(or more likely 350+) points should probably suffice to get at least 8th place at the end of this season, which is the minimum Legends would get if they were to obtain bronze the remaining two tournaments, which is probably at the very least what they will achieve.
 
 
Voluble: What is your opinion on EGS Season 2 & is there anything you would change?

Melsyo: It’s probably the best groupfighting series we’ve seen so far and good care has clearly been given to its organization. I have no major complaints as of now, though as had already been brought up by Voluble, perhaps dividing the series into two smaller series, would make it less time consuming for the better teams, and more fun and competitive for the weaker teams. The playoffs of course is also an area of debate, as it of course does diminish the value of regular season 1st/2nd/3rd places. However, I do feel it can really add to an additional level of competitiveness that a non-playoff having EGS season could lack. It also definitely motivates teams like mine, NPP, that are on the edge to really try hard to get at least 8th place, instead of perhaps settling for 9th/10th. I do feel that a team has won the majority of regular season tournaments (4+ out of 6), the playoffs should be scrapped for that particular season, though removing a playoffs spontaneously towards the end of a series could mess up scheduling of the next season. Lastly, I would again like to bring up that I think the next tiebreaker after match wins should be rounds won, not round difference. If, in a 5-team group, three teams are tied for first place, all having a 3-1 W/L record, then the team that got beat the hardest should logically be 3rd, not the team that won 5-2 or 5-1 vs a weaker team instead of 5-0.
 
 
Voluble: Who is the most improved player or players in EGS as a whole during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Melsyo: As many have said before, Achilles  and Jakob, some others that in my eyes have visibly improved recently are Flo and Narrow. I haven’t attended every tournament religiously after getting knocked out so I’m sure I’ve missed out on a ton of rapidly improving players though.
 
Voluble: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team, who would you pick and why?
 
Melsyo: If currently active players:
Achilles  Jakob Python Elsse DOMI
On one flank I would put Achilles and Jakob , who I helped rise a bit during the end of the jedi era, and whose mechanical skill and chemistry as a duo would provide some of the most efficient flank plays around. In the middle I would place Python, for his unmatched playmaking abilities and his overall vision, complimented by his insane mechanical skill. On the other flank I’d put Elsse  with his great range and impeccable timing, which I had coined the “poisonous” bayonet in the past. He would be one of the few that could keep up with DOMI's quick thinking and plays on the wall, resulting in a very lethal flank. Besides these players’ qualities when it comes to the game itself, in my experience they are also all good to handle and would not likely lead to frequent internal disputes.
For fun, my JediMasters all time longevity/skill:
DOMI Louisss Higen Lonedoge Melyso, which is mostly the 2018/early 2019 team, but with one of our only “long-lasting” mid players in mid.
[close]


Twister
Blitzkrieg: What has been your experience with EGS so far?

Twister: In my opinion EGS is the best thing to happen to competitive NW in a long time. Of course, like any other thing it has its pros and cons. Starting with the cons I'd probably mention the time a season takes. Making it less would be more dynamic, probably. I cant say that's a major one and I think it depends on the team and perception of the person But EGS also brought a lot of pro's. Amongst of which are: teams consistency, set tournament days, high levels of dedication throughout the tournaments and I also feel it affected the way players treat teams because now it's impossible to change teams frequently and players try to choose the team they would fit in the best mentally as they will be spending large amounts of time with those players. Id also like to add that the new league system allows for a decrease in skill differences and allows for more competitiveness across teams.
Speaking for the admin team, I would only say: "Thank you" for the amount of time spent on the organization. It has really made an impact on the group fighting scene.


Blitzkrieg:  Do you feel league 2 was a good addition or no?

Twister: I totally feel that league 2 was a good addition. Some players might not understand it but I remember playing for Agility Academy and TFO. And we desperately needed League 2 to feel what's like to compete and not getting slapped in 30 minutes. I believe League 2 will encourage more players to enter the competitive or simply start to enjoy tournaments more which will help keep the scene of group fighting alive.


Blitzkrieg: You played last season with CCCP, and are playing this season in Hydra, what are your reasons for this?

Twister:  After going for a break with TFO I was proposed to join CCCP to gather the best players CIS got. Unfortunately, we did not get all the players we hoped for to fulfil the goal but we had enough to compete and show good results throughout EGS. At first, everything was fine and I enjoyed it a lot. But with time things started to change and some people started to give less dedication to the idea we had as well as we had some disagreements. So eventually I just stopped enjoying playing in the team.
For me it's important to have good relations with the members. TFO (current Hydra) has always been a standard of good atmosphere and good people for me. I'm not saying that was me who created it as that would be a lie. Everyone made his effort to achieve what we have now. I like the motivation of our team and the motivation everyone has to improve not only in terms of personal skill but teamwork in general. It has been a slight shock and a relief for me that I managed to gather everyone from TFO into a new team and I believe it shows our connection and desire to play together which is the greatest motivation for me.


Blitzkrieg: Why did you enter Hydra in league 1 instead of league 2 considering hydra is one of the weaker teams in league 1?

Twister: This question was one of the hardest for our team. At first the teams opinion on this splitted into three groups: "League 1", "League 2" and "I don't give a shit"
I personally wanted to go to the 1st League as I believe if we spend time on the game - we should improve and I feel fighting stronger opponents is the way to do this.
Some members wanted to go into the 2nd League. They justified it by keeping the good and chill atmosphere as a priority. Which I respected a lot and still do as this is one of the core principles of my team. Eventually we faced lots of good teams in practises and everyone saw that we can compete with them. The main thing we lack now is consistency. Timlef was a really good addition to the team, he fitted in the team perfectly, it feels like we have always been playing with him. He brought along some experience, consistency to the line-up which is why we all chose to compete in league 1. Even though we are considered as one of the weakest teams in League 1, we are improving with every gf. I personally don't know what to expect from us as we haven't played tournaments together in a while. But we are determined to give a good fight.


Blitzkrieg: Within Hydra, who would you say is your "carries" who can try get you into the Play Offs in a league where your team is weaker than many?

Twister: I personally think that we don`t have a defined "carry". Almost every gf there is a different player top-scoring and doing the right moves in difficult situations. I would just use the moment to mention J3wels which is literally an unknown player but he improves a lot and carries us from time to time


Blitzkrieg: Being a relative new team with new players, how do you feel that contributes to your overall skill of the team?

Twister: I believe it affects us positively as everyone is motivated which in its turn affects our morale. We have less egos which helps us to improve during the gfs as people are more dedicated to do it. We try to consider every team as a decent one. But at the same time our main principle is not to be afraid of anyone especially the more experienced players which surely helps us to perform better and to do right decisions


Blitzkrieg: What are your hopes and goals for hydra this season of EGS?

Twister: I hope we show everyone what we are really capable of and that we won't get tensed when facing stronger opponents


Blitzkrieg: Who are the most improved players participating in league 2 during the last 3 months, in your opinion?

Twister:I would mention UnRealTime and Angel from Amigos. I was pretty surprised by UnRealTime improvement and Angel performance. Krembit from Crappers has definitely improved. Rayme from Elements too from what I've seen. I was also surprised by Lopette and Harper_Lf from GoodFellas. I think its also Worth mentioning Deadwulf from 33rd, he's improved a lot over the past months.


Blitzkrieg: In your opinion, who are the top 3 strongest teams right now in league 2?

Twister:  I would say GoodFellas, Crappers and Amigos.


Blitzkrieg: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team of league 2 players, who would you pick and why?

Twister: Hmm, that's a difficult question as I rarely play with someone from the League 2 but from what ive seen when playing against league 2 teams I'd go with Maximou, EpicPizza, Angel, UnRealTime and Specimen. Id choose Maximou and EpicPizza for their experience and patience, Angel for a overall solid performance and UnRealTime for potential and with Specimen as he is an experienced player with good spamming ability which will definitely mean a lot in League 2

[close]


Blacktham
Wursti: What’s your opinion on EGS?

Blacktham: So far I really enjoyed all three seasons of EGS and especially the second and third one. In the past I always disliked the fast and frequent changes in the group fighting scenes with teams and stacks getting formed and disbanded from tournament to tournament and tournaments with sometimes low quality from the hosts. But now EGS kinda forces the participating teams into a structure of steady existence and only small roster changes throughout the whole season, and delivered sets of toruments that went through really smoothly. It's really nice to see how much time, effort and work is spent by the organizers and admins to maintain and at some points even increase these high and serious standards that EGS has set so far. But really one of my favourite things about EGS is that it involves the whole community and not only the top players or top teams. Our community is really small already and the player base is getting smaller and smaller every day, so it's really important and good that there is chance for the newer players to get introduced to the competitive scene in a proper way, were they just don't get 0:5ed and knocked out in three group stage matches in a row. Especially the two league system is a big improvement to the already really successful last season because it not only makes the EGS much bigger in terms of the player base, as well as it’s a solution for the big skill gap there was between the teams of last season.


Wursti: What are your Highs & Lows personally and from your team in EGS?

Blacktham: I think for me, my personal highlights where the first 5vs5 and the second 6vs6 of season 2, even though thought we ended up as 4th; got knocked out early vs snappers, I was able to deliver good and to some points even surprising performances and ended up with team mvp in both tournaments. But even more important and memorable were our highlights, which we surely had as a team in the Play Off Finale of Season 2 and the first 6vs6 of Season 3. Even though we achieved our best placing so far in the recent 6vs6 our highlight as a team was surely the play off finale of season 2. After underperforming the whole season not getting a top 3 placement in any EGS tournament of season 2 we were finally able to pick up some good form and achieved the third place of season 2. Especially the win against Snappers, which knocked us out two tournaments in a row felt like a real riddance and beating Poosy in the third place was a pleasant way to end season 2. My personal and the team's lows were probably near the end of season two were the overall motivation to play warband and performance reduced which nearly led to a disband of the team after season 2.
 

Wursti: What was the situation in ENIGMA at the end of Season 2 and what was the reasons for this and why didn't ENIGMA eventually disband?

Blacktham: Before the play off finale of season 2 we were really struggling to motivate ourselves to keep playing, especially the practice gfs we’re hard because the majority of the team lost (at least for a short amount of time), the motivation or time to play nw regularly and we were really struggling to be 5 players at a gf. Some of us thought about disbanding the team to be free to form a new one with some players of ENIGMA and some additional ones and 2 others already stated that they might leave after the season. We were meant to have a team meeting to discuss the future of the team, but even before this meeting Darktemplar told us that he already signed us up for Season 3 of EGS and that he would like to keep the team. We came to the conclusion that we shouldn’t take any final decision before we played the play off finale of Season 2. And then after we finished Season 2 with a from our perspective really successful play off finale and ended up as third place we decided to not disband and to keep ENIGMA for Season 3, one of the two players who thought about leaving actually stayed and with the rejoining of Wursti the team got completed again.


Wursti: In your opinion, what were ENIGMAs problems which caused you to not reach many podiums and what’s different this season?

Blacktham: I think that our problem, to reach a top 3 placing last season had two major reasons. And these were the lack of consistency of our teamplay and performances. In many situations and matches our poor teamplay got masked by great individual skill, which saved rounds and matches. But this alone isn't enough to compete with the other top teams in EGS. But we were not lacking teamplay and consistency, we were lacking our full roster in some tournaments as well or went really unlucky with players not being able to play. Bunter Igel and Wolpi, arguably our two most important players, missed one tournament each and I had to sit in spec for a whole tournament because of a constant ping of 150 for 3 hours straight. This may have been our major problem last season but it shouldn't really be an excuse because we still did pretty bad and should have done better, even if we missed one of the key players. But especially near the end of season 2 our overall motivation and fun went a bit back which probably caused even weaker performances.
But now we were able to pick up some good form, are motivated again and have a new and better vision of our strengths and weak points, our game plan and just the vision of how we want to play. Obviously the comeback of Wursti “the supersub”, who left us after the first tournament of season 1 is causal for our improvement. Not only did he play two excellent tournaments so far but he really strengthens our mid and keeps it together but this position was really one of our weak points because we were lacking someone who really keeps the mid together.


Wursti: what are the Under-/Overperforming Teams in Season 3 in your opinion

Blacktham: In my opinion CCCP and Animals who I see as successors of Virgins, have underperformed so far. It’s obvious that there are many other strong, maybe even a bit stronger teams in league 1 and that both teams lost some strong and important players but since both teams reached the top 8 and therefore the playoffs last season, I expected them to take up on it.
Since nearly every team in league 1 is strong and are expected to do good, it’s really hard to tell if someone has overperformed especially because most teams already had good as well as bad tournaments this season.


Wursti: What is your opinion on your personal performance so far?

Blacktham: Even though we got really good placings in the first two tournaments, I am not completely happy with my performances and I think that I can still take a step up. The first tournament was okay, but I still had some problems with my internet (a problem that I carry with me all of the time because my internet is just pure shit) and my ping was spiking to 100 in some rounds, forcing me to play really defensive or to go spec. Due to a failed update of Razer software I use for my mouse, I had to reinstall it at the day of the second tournament and after it the complete same settings felt 2 times faster than before, so I was a bit insecure, switched my dpi 3 times during the tournament and felt a bit insecure and uncomfortable. Even though we got knocked out in the quarter finals, the third tournament was better for me personally and I even earned Team MVP but I am not really happy with it since we still got knocked out a bit too early in my opinion.


Wursti: In your opinion, who are the top 5 players at the moment?

Blacktham: I don’t really like to rank players so I just list the 5 players, I think it’s the hardest to play against in no particular order:
Python
Shadey
Elsse
Extazz
Achilles


Wursti: Who do you think will win EGS Season 3?

Blacktham: I think this season will be really really interesting and probably really close as well with 10c looking even better and more stacked then Poosy last season, and Envy seeming a bit weaker then Amaterasu. Even though they brought in Extazz, the departure of  Zeyden as their Captain  seems to hurt. But I don't want to exclude us from the top, I think if we can keep our good form and improve our playstyle a bit, we will be able to compete and be a real danger for the likes of 10c and Envy. But this season will be really interesting because at nearly every stage of every tournament in league 1 there are other good teams waiting and ready to cause an upset.


[close]


GI
Ilypa: How do you feel about Snapper’s performance so far?

GI: I don’t think our performances have been quite as good as they could be. Our first tournament was decent enough however we haven’t really improved upon that performance. Our aim for this season is to push on and keep improving, and hopefully we will manage to get some decent placements/upsets in the upcoming tournaments.


Ilypa: What was the idea around Crappers, how do you feel about their recent success in League 2?

GI: The 15thYR has quite a mixed player base of older veterans and newer less competitive players. The goal of Crappers is to improve those newer players in a competitive environment, high level captaining from myself, Melsyo and Rikkert, alongside providing a decent level team for older players like Porkins, Valley and Strawhead to compete for tournaments. Already we’ve seen significant improvements from some of the newer guys like Krembit, Plamper and particularly Rikus, who I recently moved to Snappers due to how well he has played. There are many great prospect players in Crappers, and I think people will be surprised about how good they can become.
Regarding their recent success, I think it's inevitable that Crappers will do well in many of the tournaments, captain and player wise we have a significant advantage over many of the other teams in league 2. Looking at our performance in the 6v6, after we had a shocking performance in the group stages, to bring it back and eventually win the entire tournament is a testament to how strong mentally the players are. The reality is though, you are only as good as your last performance, so everyone in Crappers will have to keep up the hard work if they want to continue performing well.


Ilypa: Do you think league 2 was a good addition to the EGS series or not?

GI: I was a big supporter of league 2 as it gives weaker teams a chance to really figure out their issues on a level playing field, but from our perspective in the 15th, it also gives us the opportunity to improve our own regimental players without them having to get steam rolled by L1 teams.


Ilypa: Who would you say are the most consistent players in Snappers?

GI: The standout performers week on week in Snappers would be guys like Firefly, Anubis and Irish. And if you were to ask me who the most consistent players in Crappers are, I would say Strawhead and Valley.


Ilypa: Which players have surprised you already this season?

GI: Well for my own teams, I would say Mike and Rikus, they are both obviously great players but to play the way that they have has been a pleasant surprise. Outside of my teams I would say players like Sticky, who has massively improved over the past few months. I’d also like to mention the Hydra guys, particularly people like Ciomcio and Twister who have turned into very impressive players, and finally Nightwing, who I think is quite underrated for the performances he delivers.


Ilypa: As being one of the veterans of the community, how do you think groupfighting has changed over the years?

GI: It’s undoubtedly that the skill levels now are higher than they have ever been. Groupfighting team tournaments are as much about tactical performances as they are individual, and for regimental gfs you simply cannot afford to play people that play as individuals rather than for the team. I think for a lot of NWs competitive era the top end of the scene has been dominated by teams stacking all the best players to both ensure victory and kneecap their rivals, I think this is changing. You still have “stack” teams of course, but I think there is a lot of opportunity for teams and captains to develop their team tactics and beat these traditional stack teams.


Ilypa: Which team(s) do you think has yet to spread there wings this season?

GI: The League 1 teams that I believe are yet to spread their wings would be teams like;
Hydra - Like I said earlier, I’m a big fan of what they are doing in Hydra, and if they continue their improvement as individuals and as a team, I believe that in the future they could be one of the top teams. This season may be too early for them, but I think in the future they will really push to another level.
Animals - I think Animals have quite a strong roster, however much like always they appear to suffer on a captain's side.
Snappers - As I touched on earlier, we haven’t exactly had the greatest performances so far, but we are working on our playstyle and I think the last tournament showed some promising signs.

For League 2 i would say:
DWC - I think had one of the strongest rosters coming into the tournament, but I think their performances have been poor,I think with a few more tournaments though we will start to see them at their best.
Gordons - Once again, another strong roster but lacking performances, I think much like DWC though they will come into form. I think there are quite a few teams like this in League 2 so I will only mention those two.


Ilypa: Do you have any ideas/thoughts on how to improve the league?

GI: I think the addition of League 2 was a good one, however, I’m not a fan of reduced group sizes in League 1, ensuring all your players get game time/experience is very difficult when every match is a tough one.
I would also like to see some form of system in which League 1 teams are pushed towards starting B teams in League 2, since for the average newer player it is very difficult nowadays to improve naturally on their own, so having a system in which League 1 teams/captains assist these players either in B teams or some other form would be beneficial for all.


Ilypa: What is your top 3 prediction for this season?

GI: League 1 would be 10c, Envy and Enigma. League 2 I think will be close but most likely, Goodfellas, Crappers and Amigos.


Ilypa: If you had to pick your 5 man dream team, who would you pick and motivation?

GI: I think for my dream team I’m going to have to go with people I’ve played with before regimentally/gf team wise that I know I could achieve something with.
Rikkert, Python, Mike, Ivan, Anubis. (not in order)


Ilypa: How big do you think the difference in skill is with League 1&2?

GI: I think there is obviously a huge difference between the top of League 1 and the bottom of League 2. The differences between the top of League 2 and everyone else in League 1 though is really one of confidence, captaining and awareness. The vast majority of us all playing now have anywhere from 2000 hours to 6000 hours + and for most people the issue isn’t really with their own individual ability past a certain threshold of hours. This is where I think more B teams would be a benefit to the community as a whole, to give some of these players confidence and coaching to improve upon the weaknesses that perhaps they don’t even realize they have.

[close]


Janne
Ilypa: How would you describe DAB’s season so far?

Janne: Bit of a mix of ups and highs. We really can’t expect to get deep in tournaments if we’re missing more than 1 of our stronger players, but when we have a good line up, it’s very possible that we can get top 3.


Ilypa: What are your feelings about just missing 3rd place in the 7v7?

Janne: It was quite shit people were silent for a solid 2 minutes after the loss. Obviously we would’ve won if I wasn't seriously sleep deprived ( stayed up for 20+ hours ) but it is what it is.


Ilypa: Who are the players in DAB you can trust the most on the battlefield?

Janne: I don’t trust anyone, I feel like that is a bad mentality to have. Last tournament Lonedoge “trusted” people to trade him when he just ran in and just ended up getting picked. Some players like Loui, Ilypa and The Dog have higher expectations, but I don’t really trust them to perform every tournament. One thing I DO trust in is Shypes ability to top the most dmg taken chart.


Ilypa: Do you think DAB could rejoin the top 3 after the Christmas break?

Janne: Of course.


Ilypa: How are your thoughts about League ½ and how do you feel it can be improved?

Janne: I think egs is working out pretty well, hard to find anything to criticize. It’s obviously the best organized tournament format in nw’s history although that by itself isn't saying much.


Ilypa: In the history of NapoleonicWars players who would you say you look(ed) upto the most?

Janne: The more interesting question would’ve been who do I look down on, but whatever. I’m the most self learned player in nw, I never looked up to anyone. I came up with my own playstyle. There’s a couple players whose mechanical skills I do respect.


                          
Ilypa: Do you think there are any players in EGS who have been on top of their game lately?

Janne: Not really. The competition is pretty shit but we’re worse. It looks like Zeyden’s little dog’s are running out of steam. 10c Is borderline winning lately despite being stacked to the max. Enigma obviously has Dog shit players like Nightwing ready to throw. Snappers have just been tragic all around pretty much.


Ilypa: If you would have to make your 5v5 dream team, who would be in it?

Janne: Chuckster, Achilles, Extazzz, Elsse, Python.  Say what you want about Chucksters and/or Achilles's individual ability, that flank duo is the most dangerous one i’ve played against in all my time on nw. Extazz is just a solid mid player idk who would do a better job than him. Not sure about the other flank, I think Python is just the best player period so obviously he’s going to be somewhere and I think him and Elsse play a lot together so that’s that


Ilypa: Do you feel there are any teams underperforming in recent tournaments?

Janne: Honestly every team has had a pretty shti tournament. I don't know which one was more tragic, dab losing against eyefucks or 10c losing against dab. Obviously Envy losing against Enigma was quite nice to witness. I hope to see more upsets in the next set of tournaments.


Ilypa: In your opinion which position is the most important during a tournament?

Janne: Depends on what type of team you are. Aggressive teams benefit from strong flank players and more passive teams from stronger mid players. Recently I’ve seen flanks being a lot more impactful than whatever dumb shit is going on in mid.


Ilypa: We think of you as spammer Janne but how would you describe your playstyle?

Janne: I don’t think people really call me a spammer anymore, at least I haven’t heard it in a long while. I personally don’t know how to describe my playstyle, I just click and try to hit chambers a lot. Basically I have no clue what I’m doing. 0 thought.


[close]


Achilles
Blitzkrieg: What's your opinion on EGS Season 4 & is there anything you are looking forward to?

Achilles:The new update of EGS S4 seems interesting. This time it's only going to be played for 2 months which may reduce teams losing motivation and disbanding mid way through the tournament. The new addition of FOV Sliders will be interesting as well, it might even change the meta.

Blitzkrieg: If you had to pick a 5 man dream team from all of NW’s history who would be in it and why?

Achilles:Chuckster Achilles Zeyden Python DOMI

Chuckster and myself on one flank: No one ever stood close to us in our time of domination, completely destroying every opposition we had against us except Python and DOMI making it the only tough competition on the flank.

Zeyden in middle : Because of his unmatched confidence and groupfighting IQ coupled with insane mechanics. He is one of the most dangerous players you can ever find yourself against in the middle.

Python and DOMI on the other flank : Here we have another super dominant flank, having the best chemistry and mechanics in the game as a duo. They would bring a lot of pressure running down that line with sheer confidence and skills.

Having two of the best flank duos of all time in one line-up combined with a strong mid player like Zeyden would make it a truly unbeatable team. I think no other team would be able to defend against that sort of aggressiveness.

Blitzkrieg: In the history of Napoleonic Wars players who would you say you look(ed) up to the most?


Achilles:As I am a very humble individual, I have to say Python and ExtaZz94. They both use extremely unique styles that they've alone mastered which I respect. They also inspired me to experiment with different playstyles into making my own style consisting of different bits and pieces from a lot of players. But in reality no one… I am the goat.


Blitzkrieg: What are your hopes and goals for RT this season of EGS?
Achilles:Our goal is to win EGS S4 with a comfortable victory. We also strive to improve our teamplay in hopes of becoming a much better team than what we already are.

Blitzkrieg: Out of all players that have competed in EGS in the past year, who do you think has improved the most and is there anyone else who you think has improved a lot recently?
 
Achilles:From what I’ve seen there are a lot of players that have improved this year. The few players I've especially seen are sHype, Fietta and Giorno. But I am mostly surprised by Narrow and Gibby who's alway been around top 20-30 but really improved these last couple of months in terms of their individual performance in tournaments. You could really tell both players have been putting in the work in practice matches and learning through watching other players. It's going to be interesting to see how good they will be during and after EGS S4.

Blitzkrieg:You have risen very fast over the last year, even to No.1 ranked in the game, what would you say has contributed the most to this


Achilles:My confidence was the main key for my improvements and that’s all I needed since my mechanics and game sense was on point.

Blitzkrieg:Who is the player you hate fighting the most and why?


Achilles:I don't really hate playing against anyone but I do find it tricky playing against top players like Python and Baginswho are both very technical with good game sense, it kind of turns into a chess match of who will stab first and make the first mistake. I like adapting to different playstyles so I wouldn't really call it "hating". It's more of a challenge for me to overcome.

Blitzkrieg:Do you feel your main competition renegades will be weaker or stronger with voluble added to their roster?


Achilles:Voluble is a very solid player but he wasn't able to perform for ProudBoys while being active in EGS S2. Now he is a bit rusty after recently coming back to the game so I don't  think he will add much to their roster except supporting Bagins on the leading and call-outs. But I won't underestimate him if I ever go opposite of him because he can be a dangerous player on his day.


Blitzkrieg:What is your strongest skill as a player and why does this contribute to your team?


Achilles:My strongest skill in The Round Table would undoubtedly be my confidence and pressure. I would also consider my patience at times would benefit my team into not making mistakes and staying composed.

Blitzkrieg:Do you feel you are at an all time high in your skill level, or do you feel you could grow and become even better?


Achilles:As controversial as it may sound I do believe my peak in all sorts of melee is at an all time high, perhaps even top 3 all time. During both EGS S2 and S3, I was able to destroy most players in the top 10 without any difficulty and quickly made it into the top of lists and statistics. I alongside a few other players managed change the "mid-meta" and focus more on aggressive flank plays which was not a thing until recently, that's why a year ago captains would almost always put the best players on a team in the middle but nowadays you don't see them there too often unless they are too much of a one-trick pony like Bagins.
Do I believe I can become better? Absolutely, It depends on how much I want it. I know I can become better because I have the mechanics and game sense for it, but the motivation to become better is the only thing holding me back. With EGS S4 we might see a different RT and a different Achilles (3x Champion Incoming!!! [54] - achillesmeleeacademy.com)

Blitzkrieg: Which “top players” would you say are overrated in 2022?


Achilles:Bagins : Although he is a very good mid player, I do believe he needs to prove himself to be in the position of being a top 3 player. His cockiness and arrogance has been a reason for his many chokes you have seen in tournaments. Not only that he also baits his teammates way too much for his personal satisfaction. This is not a player close to my level.
Golden: He is better than Bagins.
Gibby: Didn't put me 99p/100p in his list.

Blitzkrieg: Would you say the new upcoming players of the last year are as skilled as players have been in the past or do you think they are worse or even better?

Achilles:Of course, it's delusional to argue that the top 10 players from 2020 would beat the top 10 players of today. I may agree that the skill ceiling has dropped since a lot of the top players quit but the skill floor has risen so much and the average player nowadays would destroy many top players of the past. I would unironically 1v5 the top 5 players from 2017 without any difficulty.

[close]


Bodya
Blitzkrieg:What's your opinion on EGS Season 4 & is there anything you are looking forward to?



Bodya:I've waited incredibly long for this season. Honestly - I thought it would never come. I've never participated in a global tournament like EGS, especially one that lasts this long. This tournament was the first one that brought me such an experience and such a range of emotions.
I'm looking forward to starting and opening. Honestly, I wish the season lasted at least 4 months, if not 6, because a season of two months is not memorable and not comparable to the previous ones.
I am very curious to see how the teams who have applied for the first time in the second league prove themselves, and I look forward to the start and the start of the second league. I can't wait for the opening and the first games.



Blitzkrieg:Who in your opinion are the favorites of league 2 based on the current teams?




Bodya:It's a little hard to answer, because it seems to me that the composition of teams in the second league may change three times before the start of the tournament itself. We still do not know exactly who will participate in the second league, and who will not.
For example, in my opinion: Crappers, Kamikaze - should be in the Second League, instead of the First.
And on the other hand: from the Second League should be in the First League teams such as GoJp , Impact , and possibly Jordans . The line-up of these three teams is incredibly strong, and these three teams in my opinion will be the unconditional favorites of League Two and they will not be equaled. Let's see how it will work out for the team organizers: who will be added to the second league, and who will be in the first, but in my opinion I have voiced that I think that some teams do not play in their leagues.
At the expense of the current line-up of teams in League Two I can say that the unconditional favorites with a huge advantage in close combat skills are such teams as GoJp with their incredibly strong composition for the Second League, and Impact. These two teams I think will be at the top of League Two if they don't get relegated to League One.



Blitzkrieg:If you had to pick a 5 man dream team from all of NW’s history who would be in it and why?




Bodya:I really thought long and hard about this question. This question made me rewrite my answer twice, if not three times, doubting my answers and the players I chose. I rewrote the players over and over again, changing my thinking and my final answer.
Now is the time that players who played well literally 3-4 years ago, in today's realities of the game play at an average level, if not below average. Players that were at the top a few years ago, like Tiberias, Shadey, and other players that I was passionate about and thought were incredibly strong, are no longer as strong and by 2022 are performing relatively poorly.
In this regard, it seems to me that the best players now are active and young players, that young and more active players will play better than the old players who played a long time ago and left the game - so it makes no sense to take them into the team.
I would take Achilles , Zeyden , Jakob , ExTaZz94 and Python to my team.
Achilles is in my opinion the player who has achieved the biggest and loudest results in the competitive community, in the shortest possible time. In my opinion, he is one of the most talented, if not the most talented player at the moment.
Zeyden is a great leader, incredibly skilled player, great captain, strategist and a phenomenal player. I am amazed by his skill and knowledge of game mechanics, psychology and other things.
Jakob is also like Achilles, a very talented and very capable player. Guy chiseled high results almost by himself, and is ready to compete with anyone in the competitive arena. I also admire him very much as a player in terms of his mechanical skill, reaction, skill.
ExTaZz94 - In my opinion this player does not get worse over time. No matter how much time has passed, I haven't seen him get any worse, or anything like that. He has a huge baggage of experience, achievements, awards, prizes. He is the greatest player of his time, who even at this moment can show a very strong game and high quality results, no matter which team he is in.
And finally Python. I didn't really want to add him to this list to be honest, but there is no alternative. I've seen many recordings of his games, watched him play a lot on youtube, I'm not sympathetic to his style of play, but it's silly to argue that he's one of the strongest and shows a very high level of play. Not to take him to his team is a huge mistake. This guy, in spite of his, in my opinion, nasty and unpleasant style of play, can, like ExTaZz, almost single-handedly pull his team to victory. Incredible player.

These players didn't make the list, but I'd really like to get them and think they're worthy of a mention : bunter_igel, Chuckster, Elsse, Shadey, Muha, Red, cr3a, lonedoge, Voluble, HiReaper. Every one of them deserves to be here. Every one of them I think is an incredible player and I respect them immensely as powerful players.



Blitzkrieg:In the history of NapoleonicWars players who would you say you look(ed) up to the most?



Bodya:It's hard to say.
When I first started playing, I watched a lot of Tiberias videos. I literally watched his videos for months, years, he was my first teacher with his videos, his movements and his style of play. I learned from his videos, parodied his style of play at the beginning, and some of them I even saved on my phone. He was my first idol that I wanted to be like.
As time went by, I discovered other players, other gaming channels with their videos. But I didn't really like anyone as much as I originally liked Tiberias.
Now, I don't think I look up to anyone. When I played the way I knew how, without pushing anyone, I played better. When I started imitating and copying other players styles by asking them dumb questions on Steam - I started playing much worse. It's better to play your way - but worse, than to play someone else's way - but better, I think. Imitating other people's style of play, other people's tricks and styles of play - made my personal style of play and my understanding of the game ten times, if not twenty times worse. I deeply regret that I started to study so deeply the theory of the game, its inner game mechanics, started to spend so much time with professional players, asking them about the mechanics. I was more interested in learning the game on my own, rather than asking professional players about it and not getting clear answers.
Answering the question of who I look up to, or would like to be like - I can not say exactly, I took a little of each. In the last two years my last players were: Elsse , Achilles , Zeyden , maybe Shadey and HiReaper , and that's it.



Blitzkrieg:What are your hopes and goals for your team this season of EGS?





Bodya:I have to be honest - I didn't want to do this season at all without my guys. I'm ashamed and disgusted to say that - but it's true.
After the Mumenta tournament I had a huge fight with my team members, left them in the middle of the tournament, and left the team on the grounds of quarrels, personal grudges, and understatements. During these 2 years of managing a team made up of the same players, there were a lot of "misunderstandings' ' Conflicts, secrets, and other things. When you play for about two years in the same team of people, people start to treat you worse, or at least it seemed so to me. Players from my former team started insulting, not appreciating and humiliating me. Because of this and internal conflicts we had a very bad performance and played poorly in our last tournament together - the Movement tournament. And so it was clear to everyone that everyone is tired of each other and the team is bursting at the seams, due to internal quarrels, disagreements and different vision of the game.

After I left in the middle of the tournament from my own team, its members left the team and left the game, or moved to other teams. Then I thought to delete the game and never come back to it, because my players are not there, and I disbanded the team on my own initiative due to "internal disagreements". But when the new season of EGS was announced - it was a blow to the heart.


I'm without a team, without players, and soon the new season of my favorite tournament is coming up - it was a blow below the belt.


I wanted to play in the new tournament so badly that I started asking other team captains if I could join their teams. I asked Ruler, Spooky, Coco Ayala and others. Having been refused everywhere, I did not come to anything else as to assemble a team of "volunteers" and with my own team to play in the tournament.


My hope is to show the best result that we can show. I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist, but I don't know if we can beat anyone at all. We have a very young and "untrained" squad, just to play in this tournament.


Our task initially, to be honest, is at least to get out of the group - no matter how hard it would be, if we get out of the group - to me that would be part of the achievement, which I would be glad, but against such powerful favorites in the Second League - to win and prizes I do not count. We just want to perform with dignity and show the result, which would not be ashamed to talk about. That's all.





Blitzkrieg:What is your opinion on the current community’s top 10?




Bodya:To be honest, I've never understood the point of these lists, why people make these lists of players, compare opinions and find out who is stronger. I never saw much point in it, and it always seemed silly to me. I never understood it, and I never wanted to be on someone's list of best players or anything like that. This is a bit like children's games, where children try out their toys and see who's cooler. It's like adults, but it all sounds so childishly insane that it's hard to believe.


About the current top ten players I can say one thing - that would be completely different faces, would be completely different or new nicknames, if the players who in the past abandoned the game - would not abandon it. For example, I am very sad to hear that such talented players as Red, lonedoge, Cr3a and others have abandoned the game and do not play anymore. The current list of top ten players is a forced measure, in my opinion. Some players are the best from year to year - that is unchangeable, but because the game is dying out, fewer people play it every year, we see on the lines of the top ten players absolutely not the people we would like to see, I think.


In my opinion , these top ten lists are occupied by people who don't deserve and are not worthy to be there at all. If the game had at least the same asset as in 2017-2018 the list of top ten players - would be enormously different, but now, alas, we have to settle for what we have - and it's sad.


My opinion on the top ten players in the community is as follows. I think that it is meaningless and stupid to create any kind of lists with points, or ranking personal skills, based on and based on the opinion of other people. This is stupid in my opinion. To consider someone a strong player just because someone else thinks so.


I think if we're going to create such a sort of rating point or something like that - we should try to be guided by things that are clear, not subjective opinions of people. For example: start with the number of tournaments won, the number of kills this player has at tournaments, perhaps to calculate the amount of damage caused by each player in a tournament, and so on. A similar system was at NWWC, and still exists at WBMM, although no one is seriously considering it. But depending on accurate numbers and parameters, such as damage caused, ratio of kills to deaths and other parameters - it makes sense to create some sort of tables and lists of best players, not relying on subjective opinion . That's all.
Conclusion. I don't understand why there are no new talented players on these lists, even in the opinion of the community. I do not understand why no one anywhere mentioned: Blitzkrieg, Natsuu, Komar, Zenon and other fairly talented and strong players. This is very sad as these players are very good compared to some people who are placed at the top, this is the bias of the community. That's all.

[close]


Gibby


Blitzkrieg: What's your opinion on EGS Season 4 & is there anything you are looking forward to?

Gibby:I think another season of EGS is well overdue. EGS Season 2 really cemented the series as the premier in NW; a consistent competitive environment is always fun to take part in. I do think the scene is relatively bleak at the top level, compared to where it has been in the past, but with recent changes to RT and Renegades, as well as the return of some French players in Regrouped and the bolstering of Snappers, the stage is set for an interesting couple of months. I’m really looking forward to seeing how 5v5 lineups play; I have never seen a tournament lineup as strong as what RT ought to be able to field, so playing against that will be a fun challenge. I have also never competed in a 5v5 tournament, so it’ll be new for me.



Blitzkrieg:If you had to pick a 5 man dream team from all of NW’s history who would be in it and why?

Gibby:Well, all one need do is turn their mind back to the formidable Mages roster of 2019. Though my dream team obviously consists of my most esteemed teammates from that era, I sense that is not quite what you’re getting at. In the sense of the team I would feel best playing with, so naming 4 teammates, I’d pick Python, Bagins, Achilles and HiReaper. Removing myself, I’d add Rune into that; two unbeatable wall players, two demon 2nd-ins and Bagins mid.



Blitzkrieg:In the history of Napoleonic Wars players who would you say you look(ed) up to the most?

Gibby:This is an interesting question, because what I look up to can change. In terms of outright prowess in all fields of the game, Python is clearly the best to ever do it. In that sense, there’s a lot to learn from how he plays, but other players have cracked the code in different ways. For instance, Achilles is quite formulaic but so efficient is his formula that even knowing how it works he is difficult to play against. I think there’s a lot to admire in the simple efficacy of his playstyle. NW is a mental game, and I think Bagins makes a lot of plays that others would be quaking in their boots at the mere thought of attempting in a tournament environment. That sort of boldness is admirable in another sense.



Blitzkrieg:What are your hopes and goals for Renegades this season of EGS?

Gibby:I hope Renegades will win EGS Season 4. We are capable of it, having easily dispatched of the square table in the PTK and the classic 6v6 in ATS, but we are untested in a 5v5 setting. I’m looking forward to playing with the new flexibility we have with our lineup, particularly getting to play in different positions with new people in a challenging setting. Though we are up against what is on paper the strongest stack since All-Stars, we are also up against the least effective stack since Mickey House Oven. TikTok or a table, it’s pretty clear to me.



Blitzkrieg:Out of all players that have competed in EGS in the past year, who do you think has improved the most and is there anyone else who you think has improved a lot recently?

Gibby:Referring solely to EGS, Amaterasu’s meteoric rise and subsequent success is what defined season 2.Achilles, Jakob and Chuckster were the three big improvements there, really coming into their own as top players and outcompeting almost all of the established top scene. To a lesser extent, either because their base level was already high or they simply didn’t flourish to the extent of the aforementioned three, so too did TheDead, Zenon, Higen and Red make progress in Amaterasu. It’s difficult to look elsewhere for EGS examples when Amaterasu is the success story in terms of improvement. Recently, Renegades is the best example. When the team was formed, and certainly when we lost Zeyden, Chuckster and Maximou, I don’t think many people expected us to be able to stand up to RT’s lineup. Yet, we dispatched a TZ0 lineup consisting of Zeyden, ExTaZz94, Chuckster, Red, Higen, Elsse and Maximou on two occasions, defeated RT twice and won three tournaments. I’m very happy with what we have achieved, but I wouldn’t be so self-aggrandising as to say who I think has improved the most recently :)



Blitzkrieg:Who is the player you hate fighting the most and why?

Gibby: Darkiis my hard counter. Among the top level teams, I wouldn’t say there’s anyone I hate fighting. Every time we face RT I end up against Achilles so, while once upon a time I’d have said him, I feel quite confident in the matchup now. Maybe Python instead? I wouldn’t really say he’s someone I hate fighting against, more-so someone that’s difficult to play against because I can’t just gigastab and outplay him.



Blitzkrieg:Who do you love to play with the most and why?

Gibby: Giorno obviously #Slayflankie #Renegades #Renegaders #CharliD’Amelio. We had periods where things really clicked and, while RT was always difficult because of the weight of their lineup, we were able to just run through a lot of strong opponents. Although my esteemed flank partner has now departed the team, there are others I’m confident playing a flank with. I don’t know how much internal Renegadery I should reveal, but it’s not too hard to imagine. I haven’t really played outside of Renegades while I’ve been at a level close to this, so I can’t offer much insight in terms of who I’d like playing with in the wider scene.



Blitzkrieg:Do you feel you can beat RT now that Giorno, a longstanding renegades player has left?

Gibby:Yes.  Giorno was a core member of the team, a founding pillar and a constant source of productive feedback and discussion. There’s no way I would have been able to switch from mid to 2nd in without his advice and input. Learning to play with someone else will be different, but I don’t think the overall level of the team has decreased with the addition of Voluble. We still have the means to beat RT.



Blitzkrieg:Which “top players” would you say are overrated in 2022?

Gibby:The answer to this is relatively uncontroversial to those not sitting around a certain circular table.



Blitzkrieg:Would you say the new upcoming players of the last year are as skilled as players have been in the past or do you think they are worse or even better?

Gibby:I don’t see why they wouldn’t be as skilled as those in the past. Whether the “peak” of the scene, or of certain individuals, is at an all time high is a matter of debate, and in reality individuals go up and down all the time, but in general there’s nothing to indicate a substantial decline or increase. Most players around now were also playing back then, so can probably give better insight on this question. As I think I am relatively uncontroversially a part of those “upcoming” players, I don’t think I can give particularly good insight compared to the past.



Blitzkrieg:As the No.1 native player of all time coming to NW what would you say (to the best of your ability) is similar and different in terms of teamplay and playstyle at the highest levels

Gibby:Flattery will get you nowhere! Or everywhere. Native is like when the line breaks down and things get messy, except all the time. That was definitely my greatest strength for a while, making good decisions and target switches in chaotic moments. Native players tend to struggle with the pace of NW and how attacking can get them in trouble. In a Native match, you are often trying to use quick cheeky moves on enemy infantry in the intervals you get when you are not being harassed, while constantly maneuvering yourself to keep your opponents between yourself and the other team’s cav and archers whilst trying to expose them to your own support classes. It’s a bit of a dance, but for infantry it’s about the fight being engaged and then having 10-15 seconds of lightning combat where your second-by-second decision making is paramount. Hence, coming to NW, I struggled with the lulls in combat, moving around doing nothing and not being able to attack for prolonged periods of time. The fundamentals, like blocking, chambering, reaction times and some elements of gamesense transfer well, but so too do many habits which are bad in NW. The base starting level for a top Native player is relatively high in NW, by virtue of a mastery of the basics, but getting better means breaking those habits and understanding how NW works.



Blitzkrieg:What annoys you the most about NW and what do you like the most about it? (comparatively to native)

Gibby:Initially, I’d have said the slower pace. In reality, now that I am at a level where I can understand and participate in the maneuvering, I understand that there are lots of factors at play. It’s not uncommon for two 2nd ins to be staring at each other while their wall players trade stabs, aware that if either of them goes in and their attack is blocked their flank will lose. Some matches can be super slow, but fortunately in the time I’ve played I haven’t really experienced that. I like that everything is more predictable. Native matches have a ton of factors, a ton of players making decisions that are all impacting on the same small area all at once, whilst being split between different classes that can have different levels of impact in different parts of the map, with different factions and team compositions. In reality, these layers make strong teams almost impossible to upset, as many members of a weaker team all have to make decisions and plays beyond their level to defeat a better opposing side. In NW, a single overperforming player in a weaker team can be enough to secure an upset. This is because the players are not all fighting each other at the same time, there’s a line and people are engaging 1-1 or 2-2, sometimes 3-3. I enjoy that things are constantly in your hands in NW.



Blitzkrieg:Why have you taken a shine to NW in the past year whereas in previous years you have barely touched the game?

Gibby:I have gone through periods of playing NW actively since 2019, while being a sword mercenary for various top teams since 2017. Mages was my first proper foray into NW, and I had a great time with those guys, but what I found was that the longer I played NW the worse I got at it. When I would come from Native just for the odd tournament, like I did with CCCP when we were fielding myself, DOMI, Ivan, Herishey, Irish, MarxeiL and others, I played well because I was unencumbered by trying to play like an NW player. When I played NW for weeks or months at a time, I’d get worse because I’d try to play like an NW player without really understanding why certain things were done or how to play it properly. I got a better understanding when I made the Pattern Academy last year, which led into Legends where I had a few good performances at the top level, but I still lacked some crucial understanding and range ability. Really, I’d say it’s my experience in England this year that has solidified NW for me. Bagins showed me how to play mid properly, and why certain things worked while others didn’t, which really helped me understand NW. Moving into Renegades from that, my understanding of other positions and of the game as a whole has grown alongside the level of the team. On top of that, I really just enjoy something new. Native got boring because I could show up to a tournament match with a couple hours in the past 2 weeks and put out a top level performance, while many of the top players I looked up to in my formative years of 2014-15 were no longer around, replaced by new players I didn’t have much interest in playing against. It was too easy to play at a top 3 infantry level which, combined with the slow bleed of old rivals, made the competition wholly uninteresting to me. NW is something fresh for me where I feel like I have to put some effort in.



Blitzkrieg:What skills that you learned in native have transferred the easiest to NW and helped you grow and become the player you are today?

Gibby:I have touched on this a little already, but primarily the core fundamentals. My blocking and reactions are probably worse now than they were when I first switched to NW, but my range, movement and gamesense are leagues better now than they were back then. Those fundamentals carried me over in the interim. Really, I’d say my habits from Native held me back from breaking into the upper echelons of the scene for a while.
[close]

TBA
!!
[close]

TBA
!!
[close]





INTERVIEWS & THREAD BY Voluble & Chuckster

« Last Edit: November 04, 2022, 09:51:55 pm by Blitzkrieg. »

Offline Tw1sT[eR]

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2021, 04:45:27 pm »
Quite an interesting format, always nice to hear some insights  8)

Online Vegi.

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2021, 04:46:11 pm »
I'm happy it is Marxeil interviewing
« Last Edit: August 11, 2021, 04:50:27 pm by Vegi. »
Stop looking at my posts Fietta #RentFree

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Offline ONeil_

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2021, 08:11:43 pm »
guys ive improved and free agent great pickup for team that wants to win egs

Offline Steinmann

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2021, 08:52:52 pm »
When is the upcoming watch out for player Vegi geting an interview?

Online Vegi.

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2021, 08:54:12 pm »
When is the upcoming watch out for player Vegi geting an interview?
I only do interviews when it matters
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Offline Ambiguous

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2021, 12:01:38 am »
Have you heard about the up and coming new player Vegi? He shows a lot of potential considering he's quite new.

Offline Tardet

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2021, 12:11:48 am »
Cool initiative and a good read from Python ;)

Edit: I would still remove the flags next to the player's name as I believe it clusters the reading quite a bit and it's not super necessary considering most people reading interviews already know where players come from.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2021, 10:18:00 am by Tardet »
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.




Offline Alf

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2021, 01:58:45 pm »
Marxeil most improved but I pocket Marxeil makes me tier 1 right?
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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2021, 02:14:06 pm »
Cool initiative and a good read from Python ;)

Edit: I would still remove the flags next to the player's name as I believe it clusters the reading quite a bit and it's not super necessary considering most people reading interviews already know where players come from.

I like the Highlighting of Names & Flags tho

Offline Tw1sT[eR]

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #10 on: August 15, 2021, 02:16:43 pm »
Cool initiative and a good read from Python ;)

Edit: I would still remove the flags next to the player's name as I believe it clusters the reading quite a bit and it's not super necessary considering most people reading interviews already know where players come from.

I like the Highlighting of Names & Flags tho

Offline Tardet

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #11 on: August 15, 2021, 02:28:53 pm »
I tried doing that on native for interviews/write-ups a few years back and I wasn't really convinced it added anything. Obviously, it's personal preferences though, back then most people I showed it to didn't fancy it neither did I but obviously, if more people think the opposite, then it should be kept like that. I still believe the overall layout of the interview could be slightly improved to ease the reading, although the current one doesn't take away the quality and interest of the reading itself, it's just some polishing which imo could make it look slightly better.

Solid work regardless.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2021, 02:37:25 pm by Tardet »
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.




Offline Rikkert

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #12 on: August 15, 2021, 02:41:28 pm »
Golden's flag seems to be Irish for some reason???? Please fix! Ty sir mr adminman!

Offline Golden.

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #13 on: August 15, 2021, 04:07:01 pm »
Golden's flag seems to be Irish for some reason???? Please fix! Ty sir mr adminman!

Im the admin here.

Offline MarxeiL

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Re: EGS | Interviews
« Reply #14 on: August 17, 2021, 11:17:18 pm »
Tardet <3
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