With the transfer season officially closed we spoke to the Team Captain of PENTA Sports, Panix, and Mock-it Esports' newest player, BakaBryan, to discuss the changes to their rosters.
Summary of Changes:
Mock-it - Voy/Alive out, Hungry/SirBoss in, roster picked up by PENTA Sports OrgLess - AceeZ out, BakaBryan in, roster picked up by Mock-it Esports
Panix:
Firstly, with the pickup of these two new players Mock-it Esports has gone from majority French to a mixed-French/German/Hungarian team; has any communication issues came up and if so how have you dealt with them?
Yes, of course, communication has been a real issue, but it also lets us be calmer and throw only keywords, which helps to be direct and to have more in-game sound. The major issue is when calls are being made. We need to be absolutely clear when a strat is called and to say every step. Like, for an extreme example, on Oregon basement attack "Let's take west main" would not be enough. "Let's take west main so we can attack laundry site" would be clear. Apart from that, time and map callouts, code words fix most of the issues.
Why did your team decide on removing Alive and Voy from the team in particular?
Voy was our co-leader but the lack of propositions (calls or in-game moves) to unlock complicated situation was a major issue. He wasn't necessarily bad skill wise but, in major games, you can't just wait till something happens. Alive's lack of [diversity in] operators [from the] pool has been the main issue. We lost to Fnatic on Consulate from Yokai drones simply because the call "We need an IQ" at the beginning of the match couldn't be respected when only Ash was available to change. Also, his lurk would be an all or nothing. If he gets the kills, good. But if he doesn't, we're 4v5 and he wasn't used as a distraction for the main group to act on his push. I believe that a good lurker is someone that, with or without kills, he can let his team push on site if timed correctly.
PENTA Sports' Season 8 statistics so far
What factors led you to decide on Hungry and SirBoss to pick up over other, arguably more experienced players such as PARAA or Falko?
We wanted to be more constant in our game and not relying on a player's individual form or communication form. That's why we really wanted to play with Hungry, as he has good experience in calling and in building a game style. He would help to provide stable results to the team, as we won't fall off short of ideas in a game now. He also has a pool of operators very different than a lot of players. We had already enough players with propositions and experience. We needed a soldier. That's where Hungry mentioned SirBoss being a skilled player, but mostly a really good team player who you can count on when you need help or if you need something to be done. We didn't want to explore any French players, as we wanted to help include Hungry in the group and PARAA is a skilled player, but, similar to ENEMY in the past, he's making too much bet plays which are not helping to get constant results.
Other than losing two players, FiskeR, your coach, also left your roster. Why did this happen and are you looking for a new coach for the remainder of the season?
"I inform you that I have stopped my collaboration with the players of the Pro League team of mock-it from today. So I still have to think about my future as a player or coach. Wait and see..."
Fisker simply left because of money reasons. We had better players' conditions that can help us actually win, which is our primary focus. He wanted a way too high salary without doing analysis and without speaking English, which are the two things we are looking for. Indeed, we'll be looking for an analyst or coach analyst. Someone who knows the game at a Pro or Challenger League level and who is fluent in English.
Are you happy with how your team performed during DreamHack Montreal over the weekend?
We're kinda happy. We lost 3 maps of 4 on very close overtimes against C9, the eventual champion and EG which, even with a new player, are still better structured than us. We're starting almost all over again, everyone has new roles, comms etc. We only had 2 days of practice, since holidays after Paris Major were planned and we had 3 scrims testing SirBoss before that. We were able to switch ideas or to make strats on the fly when needed to adapt to win rounds. We are happy with how the team reacts in-game, but we wished for a better result still. Also, we got to meet each other at the beginning of the roster, which is really great and got us bonding already.
PENTA Sports' (then known as Mock-it) group results at DreamHack Montreal via Liquipedia
Finally, going into the remainder of Season 8 what are your aims for the rest of the season?
Going to Rio will obviously be our main goal. But we want to focus first on having a solid game style and having good foundations for the following seasons and especially for the next Six Invitational. Building a stable roster which can only get better with the months passing by is not an easy task to do, but it's the most important one. Being nothing less than Top 4 EU with those goals achieved would be already great for the team's future.
The current EU Pro League standings with PENTA Sports highlighted
BakaBryan:
Firstly can you introduce yourself to those unfamiliar with your history in the game?
My history with the game has been mainly ranked experience with good mates, first on NA, then on EU servers. I've also played a decent amount of A rank games on TMs, back when they weren't on Faceit.
How did you originally get into Siege as a player?
Before Siege, I've played SoloQ Global Elite games in CS:GO and basic Call of Duty with friends. Ever since I saw the first trailer of R6S I've been hyped about the game and wanted to pick it up.
Going straight into Pro League with such limited experience is almost unheard of recently, why do you think you were picked up specifically?
Not having any CL or PL experience doesn't necessarily mean that I am not going to perform well etc. I asked them for a trial and since I'm good friends with them and know what I'm capable of, they had no problem in giving me a chance after positive scrim sessions.
In OrgLess you are replacing one of the best fraggers in R6, AceeZ, do you feel this adds any extra pressure on you?
AceeZ statistics at the Paris Major
I feel no pressure replacing AceeZ, being top fragger doesn't mean anything to me; it's a team based game and everyone has their role. People might only look at the kills and stats in general but most of them are only able to reach those numbers with the provided support of their teammates. Of course, I'm going to give it my all in order to make myself and the people who believe in me proud.
Finally, what has been your career highlight in Siege so far?
I'd have to say my highlight in Siege so far has been the people I've met online and can call a friend, may they be just casual players or Pro players. A lot of love goes to TangyD, I've known him since Y1S1 and ever since it's been the most fun playing with him.
We’ll be able to see Mock-it Esports’ (ex-OrgLess) and PENTA Sports’ (ex-Mock-it Esports) new lineup in action on Thursday when Pro League restarts which you can watch on the usual rainbow6 Twitch account.
Tonight's EU Pro League games