ESL One NA Quals: Fun interview with autimatic

Q. You just won against Noble Gaming after losing to Team Liquid, so tomorrow you’re playing Liquid again. What do you think you need to improve on to beat them tomorrow?

Honestly I think they were just hitting their shots. We were trying to play really aggressive and disrespect them but our game wasn’t on, so can’t really do that against them because they’re equally talented.

Q. You guys had a really good performance at CEVO doing similar things, running up to your opponents and outshooting them. Is that something that you feel is not consistent enough in the long run?

Yeah it’s not consistent, but in the long run as problems come up then we’ll probably fix them as they come. I don’t think it’s useful to try to fix everything before there are any problems.

Q. Yeah. So you guys are a pretty new team; how long has your lineup been together?

For like three weeks.

Q. And last week was your first LAN together. After leaving Nihilum, how do you feel you’re fitting in with your new team?

Yeah I mean, everyone’s like pretty skinny and socially awkward…

Q. Yeah? (laughs)

Yeah. (laughs) On Nihilum I felt really small because semphis was like, really buff.

Q. So how does stan compare to your previous IGL?

valens was in-game leading and they’re both pretty good leaders. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to win.

Q. All right, who’s your favorite teammate right now? It’s only been three weeks, but who’s your favorite?

My favorite teammate... I love them all, except ShahZaM.

Q. (laughs) Except ShahZaM?

No I’m just kidding (laughs). I like all my teammates; we all hang out.

Q. This is something I’ve been curious about. How do you guys decide who sits where on LAN?

Normally we try to do whoever plays sites together. So you know like, me and stan play sites together so I try to sit next to him. Ronnie (ryx) and Danny (roca) play sites together so they sit next to each other. And then Shahz just like, does whatever he wants.

Q. About that--do you usually know where ShahZaM is or does he just go off on his own sometimes?

He’s just kinda all over the place but he’ll call it. He’ll let us know what he’s doing.

Q. Okay, cool. So your role, are you playing the aggressive lurker?

Oh no, I’m just more kinda watching the pushes. More working the extremities, basically.

Q. Oh okay. Is that something you’re comfortable with?

Yeah, I haven’t done it recently on my old teams, but it’s something I’ll learn how to do as we go along.

Q. Have you played with any of your teammates before on other teams?

No, I haven’t played with any of them.

Q. How did you go about joining them? Did they just hit you up?

Yeah. Well, after I left Nihilum Shahz came to me with an offer and I said, “Yeah, let’s do it!” (laughs)

Q. (laughs) But you did play with them before in 10-mans right?

Oh yeah I hated all of them in 10-mans!

Q. Really!?

I hated Danny because he’d peek me with full confidence and I hated him (for that). I thought Shahz was a free kill. I thought Ronnie was super toxic, and stan I thought just cheated. So I didn’t like any of them until I joined the team (laughs).

Q. How are you liking your new org, Tempo Storm?

The org is great. They’ve done everything they could to make us comfortable, so I really appreciate it.

Q. Nice. One last question, and it’s a really stupid one. If your family was abducted by Somalian pirates, which four people would you take with you to get them back (no current teammates allowed)?

Oh, uh, Warden, valens, sancz and semphis. Basically my old team (laughs).

Q. (laughs) All right well thank you very much! Good luck tomorrow!

Yeah no problem. Thanks.

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Interviewer: Souma