Interview

With
Justing

Written by: Midseasons

It seems hard to believe now that Team 8 was considered NA’s underdog at the start of HGC. Initial rankings of the teams, including our own, put Team 8 at the bottom. Brought together by popular streamer Jaehyng “chu8” Park and then abandoned by him after qualifying, Team 8 looked to many to be out of place among the other teams. Just listen to the skepticism in Dreadnaught’s voice right before Team 8’s very first game in Week 1.

But the confident young team opened their season in convincing fashion. By Week 3, when the still-undefeated Team 8 played against reigning North American champions Tempo Storm, people were already anticipating the series as a contest between equals. As one of the earliest teams to clinch their spot in this weekend’s Western Clash, no one is doubting Team 8 any longer.

Justin “Justing” Gapp has been a huge part of his team’s success. A tank player from the game’s earliest days, Justing’s strong play and impeccable statistics made him the darling of analysts and casters evaluating Team 8’s success. His lauded 100% winrate on Diablo was part of the narrative for the series against Tempo Storm as the casters drew comparisons between Justing and Fury. These two teams, along with Gale Force Esports, have been definitively proven that they are the three best teams in North America.

Gale Force Esports doesn’t have a dedicated tank player (see my earlier interview with GFE flex player Khroen for more on that), meaning that there isn’t much other competition to prevent Justing from being declared one of the best tanks in the region.

Ever humble and eminently approachable, Justing had to rush to catch a flight to Katowice this week but still made time to share emails with me for an interview beforehand. I asked him about his team’s eye-opening success, how he feels Team 8 compares to his previous teams, and I also tried to get a brief idea of where his mind is regarding tanks on the other side of the Atlantic.

Hello Justing! First of all, congratulations on qualifying for Katowice! I’ve become a huge fan over the course of HGC Phase 1.

Thanks a lot! It's really weird to me to hear that we have fans, and it's awesome to get recognition for the improvement we've all made.

Tell me about your early days. What was your competitive background before Heroes came around? What drew you to Heroes in particular, when you decided to focus on it?

I grew up playing Blizzard games starting with Warcraft 2 at a very young age and played Warcraft 3 and WoW until League of Legends came out. I got gold in season one then mostly just played for fun with my real life friends until I got an alpha invite for Heroes of the Storm where I was instantly hooked (maining Stitches of course).

This was the moment I fell in love with Heroes:

Myself and buds, who was a good friend of mine, played in alpha competitively but couldn't really pursue it since the scene was too small at the time. We made our first amateur team in October of 2015.

You started out with Team Higher Consciousness, which became Team Name Change. That roster did well in qualifiers, but it didn’t quite have the convincing dominance that Team 8 has shown. You guys have surpassed all expectations to reach the top of the NA region now, so…why is it your time now? What magic did you guys come across?

Myself and buds had never joined a team before making our own, so we literally learned the game from scratch. We made an amateur team which eventually became a top 8 team, and up until this current roster, I had never heard another person shotcall.

Justing playing for Team Name Change in the 2016 Fall Regional

We all play very aggressive, and we trust each other; we probably have the best team atmosphere at the Clash. Glaurung shotcalling allows me to focus much more on my own play, and I think that we've just caught up to the veterans by putting in more time.

buds and Prismaticism were also on TNC with you. Does Team 8 feel like a continuation of that legacy, or do you feel it has a distinct identity?

I definitely am happy to reunite with Prismaticism, as he's very aggressive in-game and we've always hung out at the past LANs, even when on different teams. I've been playing with buds since the beginning so there is always the trust between us in-game. I think our team has a very different identity now, but I'm enjoying it. I feel like it’s a great combination of what we learned on TNC as well as what Glaurung has learned on his previous teams.

Looking ahead to the Clash, is it mostly the EU teams that are on your mind, or are you still preparing for possible rematches with Gale Force or Tempo Storm?

We are mostly just focused on the EU teams because we already have a good understanding of how GFE and Tempo Storm play. I am really looking forward to seeing how the EU teams play and what we can learn from them.

For all of you except Glaurung, it’s going to be a new experience facing teams outside of the NA region. How does it feel to be facing your first international rivals?

I am extremely excited to see how we match up against the EU powerhouses. I am not too nervous about facing them, but I respect them a lot, and regardless of the outcome, I hope to learn as much as possible.

Between Misfits, Fnatic, and Dignitas, which do you think will be your toughest challenge?

I think Misfits and Fnatic are both very strong teams, but we absolutely won't underestimate Dignitas. I have watched Fnatic play quite a lot, and I respect Breez in particular quite a lot. I really want to see how I match up against him, and regardless of outcome, it will give me good VoDs to study.

Do you have any personal goals you’re hoping to accomplish or prove at Katowice?

I just want my team to learn and grow from this experience since we are a very new team with a lot of potential. I think we've already proven ourselves in NA by qualifying.

Among the teams in HGC Europe, Team expert had a similar storyline to Team 8, but in the end you qualified for Katowice while they didn’t. Does Team 8 have something that expert doesn’t?

I don't know their team well enough to answer with confidence, but one thing we have going for us is we all get along really well in and out of game, and we talk out all of our problems. Everyone is trying their best to help each other improve, and we all take/give criticism extremely well.

Early on in the season, you were praised for your Diablo play, but as the weeks have gone on, you’ve become one of the standout Varians in NA. What draws you to the tank role, and features does a Warrior need to make you to want to play that hero?

I believe the tank role is the most methodical role. Since I made my own team initially, I fell into the tank role out of necessity so I could call the engages, disengages, etc. The tank tends to control the flow of the game and is mostly decision making, not mechanics. I really like the warriors with high impact ultimates (E.T.C.) or the ability to punish people out of position (Varian).

If you weren’t the team’s main tank, what other role would you enjoy playing?

Melee/Flex would be my preferred role. I like making plays on melee heroes, and that role would allow me to play my one-trick from alpha, Abathur.

How do you feel about the state of the tank meta? Are there enough viable Warriors right now, or do some options stand out too far?

I think right now is by far the best meta to play tank. There are many viable tank options that are good with or versus specific heroes, on specific maps, etc.

Korea helped make Varian popular in HGC, and Europe is fond of surprising picks like Arthas and Anub’arak. Is there a tank hero that feels distinctly NA right now?

I feel like everyone in NA is forcing the E.T.C. pick all of a sudden even though they mostly hated him before his rework. He has been my favorite tank since the Muradin first pick every game meta, and even I don't think it's right to prioritize him every single game.

There’s going to be a nice long break in NA after the Western Clash. Win or lose, how is Team 8 going to stay sharp during the four weeks of off-time?

We are taking a little while off between the Clash and the start of normal HGC games so we can clear our heads and get rid of any bad habits we might have picked up. As soon as we get back, it'll be practice, practice, practice, and I know I will watch the Katowice VoDs more than once.

Lightning Round

Breez!
KAEL'THAS KAEL'THAS KAEL'THAS

Fury!
One of the nicest players I've met.

Equinox!
He does not follow the rules.

JayPL!
He owes me 30 Hero League MMR on HOTS Logs.

Khroen!
He's getting good at the tank role really quick.

Wubby!
I've seen him do really well on Dehaka and Tyrael.

Blumbi!
Super consistent.

Team 8 has no sponsor, but your team has made a lot of fans these past few weeks. What’s the best way for all these fans to support you and each other?

The best way to support us for now is to follow us on Twitter/Twitch. I respond to everything on Twitter and try my best to respond to the chat when I stream.

Here are the links to our Twitter accounts. I really appreciate all the support!

Interview with Justing: "...We've just caught up"

Interview

With
Justing

Completed

Ongoing

Upcoming

Interview with Justing: "...We've just caught up"

Interview

With Justing

Completed

Ongoing

Upcoming

With
Justing