| Q. Since some of we Europeans do not know much about the North American community, the first questions will be about it. Can you introduce yourself a little bit?
Blucher: I have been playing Napoleonic Wars for two years now. I have spent quite some time in the European community, since I have been a part of The Royal Hussars (TRH), the Nr.9 (a German cavalry regiment), and the 9e Hussards (an international but European one). I am in command of a regiment in the North American community, it is called the Nr.5. My main achievement with it was a third place in the North American Cavalry League.
Q. Is cavalry as big a thing as it is here in Europe? Is there a lot of regiments, and what does competition look like there?
Blucher: There are about 8 cavalry units in total in North America. Four of them are actual cavalry regiments, and two of them have been around forever: the PLG and the 1LH. Most of the rest is cavalry detachments, that are part of infantry regiments. I personally think it kinda sucks. Regarding competition, it is pretty tough and close between the very best regiments, but the rest has a much lower lever, there is a clear gap. Still, I would say a good European cavalry regiment would have a fair and close match with a regiment like the 1LH if there were to fight with an equal ping. We have a Cavalry League in North America. We had three seasons so far, which went pretty well for the most of it.
Q. This is your very first time leading a team in the Cavalry Nations Cup. How does it feel to be the Captain of a team? How do you and your Vice-Captain work together?
Blucher: I would say I like it, and I don't like it in the same way. There is a lot of pressure, I feel like I have to give my best in every match. We have a lot of really good players in the team, so I try to be on their level because I don't want them to be wasting their time with a Captain who's not up to expectations. But obviously overall it is a great experience, I get to spend time and play with some of the best North American cavalry players. About my Vice-Captain (SillyWilly), he's in the PLG. PLG and the Nr.5 are kind of rivals, there was a little bit of drama during the NA CNWL. But we both play together in TRH, so we have always been in good terms. He's a guy I really like working with, I feel that we're doing a good job together.
Q. The NA team is obviously going to be disadvantaged in an european competition, due to high pings. Do you and your team have an objective you'd want to reach, despite this disadvantage?
Blucher: Well I'd say our aim was to get to the semi-finals, but the ping is obviously going to make it difficult for us. We are taking the competition very seriously, and we will try our best at every match. We won against Turkey in a friendly match before the CNC started, so I am confident that, if we play the right way, we can put the european teams in trouble.
Q. Is there a match in your group that you are most eager to play? And why?
Blucher: Probably the match against the United Kingdom. I know their Vice-Captain (Cage), and I have played with many of their members in the EU communities I have been in. We'll definitely try our best against the Brits.
Q. And a match in any group that you are most eager to spectate?
Blucher: Probably Benelux vs United Kingdom. I think it'll be one of the closest matches, very tense as well. The result will impact us a lot as well, since Benelux has won against us, if the United Kingdom won this match we'd be somewhat back in the semi-final race.
Q. Out of four (including this one) CNCs hosted since 2014, North America has only taken part in two, in 2014 under Peppers, and in 2017 under you. Do you feel proud of being able to get this team back into the tournament? Did you get supported by the big players of the North American community?
Blucher: Peppers said that there was a lot of snobbery from some of the European teams, and to be honest I feel the same thing. We're not always considered as we should be, but this is fine by us as we want to show that there are more than capable cavalry players in North America. Some of the biggest NA players did not give us their support, but it was no big deal for me as I prefered to choose players with the lowest pings on EU servers. We're very glad to be back into the competition, even if it's much harder for us due to high pings and diffucult match hours. The team is as motivated as I am to show its worth. |
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