Hey everyone! I’m neko, and I’ll be working on ESEA coverage. I’m new to Community Fortress and I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with the Team Fortress 2 community, everyone at CommFT, and our affiliate eXtv.
With the playoffs just around the corner, we’re running an interview series highlighting the top team in each ESEA division beginning this week. We wanted to see how the big boys do it, and we’re getting a lot of good information about what goes into an effective team with staying power. I had a chance to watch some practice scrimmages and then to sit down with Lange, the pocket soldier and play-caller for the number one team in the Intermediate Division, LASER BEAMS, ending the season at 14-2 (w-l). Read on to see what he had to say about his team’s success.
Read on for more Words from the Top!
LASER BEAMS
Lange - Pocket Soldier
djc - Roaming Soldier
drdonut - Medic
ben - demo
PYYYOUR - scout
seanbud - scout
zbryan - backup
Could you start by telling me a little bit about your team?
We formed in the off-season with the core of seanbud, PYYYOUR, and myself. We picked up drdonutman, ben, and djc to fill the gaps and it’s been a whirlwind romance ever since.
Does that mean you've had a lot of drama this season?
Not at all, we have a lot of fun and we all really enjoy playing with each other. We of course have our frustrations just as every team does, but our mumble is definitely positive far more often than it is negative.
You guys sounded like you had a lot of fun in mumble during tonight's scrims. How do you feel the tone during your matches compares?
During matches it is definitely more serious. We focus much more and try to avoid talking about irrelevant things. The comms also become more intense; an outsider would probably confuse that intensity for pointless yelling. (He ended the sentence with a “:P”)
But it sounds like you guys understand each other well enough to stay focused and understand when a comm is urgent, etc. How important was that chemistry compared to other factors and talents when you were filling your roster?
Our #1 priority when building the team was finding people who were easy to get along with and enjoyed playing with each other. Everything else forms naturally. This is drdonutman's first full season of ESEA, ben's first season of demo, djc's first season since 2009, and both sean and brad have never scouted before this season, and yet we have good chemistry and everyone has learned their roles quickly because we enjoy playing the game and getting better as a team.
That is a pretty mixed group you have when it comes to league experience. It seems to work for you, so I have to ask whether you're finding any advantages to playing with teammates with such varied histories?
It’s nice in that for most of us it’s a clean slate. There are no old biases or bad habits to ward off, and with pure's guidance you can learn anything about TF2 quickly. I'd also like to add that we've been very lucky to have Zbryan as our backup. He plays every class well and is one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of playing with. Most teams dread having to bust out their backup because it messes with their chemistry. With Zbryan it’s seamless.
You also mentioned that many of you are new to the classes you play. Have you noticed whether the off-classing gives you any advantages/disadvantages against other teams?
The diverse history of pure, seanbud, and ben has certainly been a plus. It allows them to have a greater insight into more of the enemy team, rather than just their mirror matchup. Pure and Sean for example are both intimately familiar with medic movement, and it helps them when going for clutch picks.
Nice. Several of you do have experience in the Invite division, as well. Do you feel that experience affects your teamwork, practice habits, or any other aspects of your team's overall skill-set?
It absolutely affects every aspect of our team. Invite is a brutal crash course in how to get **** by every small mistake you make, and it forces you to become more critical of your play. And (as) a lower-tier invite team you have to scrim 3-4 times a night, five nights a week just to have a chance of staying competitive, so that gives you a better "work ethic" when it comes to practice. Pure is the only player on our team who has had success in Invite, and it’s nice to have the perspective that comes with that. He knows what it takes to win because he's done it.
What exactly does your weekly practice schedule look like, and how do you feel it compares to the competition?
We try to play Sunday - Thursday every week, at least 2 scrims each night. I think that's pretty average these days.
That sounds reasonable. Do any of you spend time outside of scrims trying to improve or sharpen your more basic skills?
Some of us DM (death match)/MGE (my gaming edge mod), and all of us pug (“pick-up game”) every now and then. Personally I try to avoid playing the game outside of 6v6. I get burned out if I overdo it.
Well, we don't want you burned out! Are you guys making any special preparations for the playoffs?
Nope! We are one of the few teams not making any big changes in our lineup at the last minute. We've done well so far and plan to continue doing so with what we've got.
I've always heard that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Best of luck in the playoffs! That's really about all I had to ask, unless you have anything you'd like to add?
Thanks to CommFT for sponsoring us, nvc for being team manager, and good luck to everyone in playoffs.
And thank you so much for sitting down with me tonight. Real quick before you go, though, can you tell me whether this lineup is a safe bet for next season?
We don't know for sure what all of us are doing next season, but a few of us have committed to sticking together. We'll have to wait and see what brews up in the offseason though.
I suppose time and life tend to keep moving, but at least we can look forward to another season of LASER BEAM pwnage! Thank you again and good luck.
Other Interviews in this series:
