The Chiefs ESC roster has not had much of an appreciable impact in APAC South for most of 2021, but it’s been far from a poor team. In Oceania, it has been a force to be reckoned with, winning the Oceanic Nationals in Stages 1, 2, and 3. But aside from a first-round exit in the APAC Playoffs in Stage 1, not much happened in APAC South for the team before Stage 3.
Chiefs were thrown somewhat of a curveball after Stage 2, when their captain Isaiah “Vast” Patterson decided to call time on his playing career and moved to become an analyst for the Oceanic Nationals.
But, in somewhat of a stroke of fortune, there was not only another IGL ready and waiting, he would also prove to be the exact piece of the puzzle needed for Chiefs to take the next step up.
“During my time off I was playing other games, ‘Warzone’, ‘Tarkov’, games I was just enjoying, just for fun,” said Ethan Picard in an interview with SiegeGG. The former Wildcard Gaming captain and IGL had left the competitive scene in Aug. 2020 due to “personal reasons”, with the primary focus to become “fit and healthy” again.
“I’m a qualified carpenter, so I was working (too),” he explained about his time away. “What enticed me back was…I was missing, like, just the competitiveness of playing Siege.”
After Ethan joined, the Chiefs shot to the top end of the APAC South table, and were set to go to the Sweden Major by finishing first in Stage 3 if they won their final-day match against ORDER. That did not materialize, but the team slogged through the APAC Playoffs and booked their tickets to Sweden anyway.
A new way of shot-calling and a new perspective on the game, alongside his vast international experience, explained Ethan, was the key to the sudden shift up in gear.
“Experience definitely helps,” he said. “But aside from experience, I think of the game in a different way to a lot of these guys in the scene and I think it’s helped them a bit.”
That difference in perspective, elaborated Ethan, is primarily regarding how he reads other teams and knowing how to shift his own team’s play style in response to his opponents. “[That ability] separates a lot of (good) teams that play the same pace every match (from great teams),” said Ethan.
Now that he is back, and now that the Australian and New Zealand governments are allowing their citizens to travel abroad and return somewhat freely, there is much lost ground to be made up, especially if Chiefs want to play the way they want -- “like Team oNe”.
But while Wildcard and Knights failed to attend SI 2021 and the Mexico Major, Ethan still believes that the Oceanic region has made strides since SI 2020 -- the last time Oceanic teams (and Ethan) attended an international event.
“When I left the scene, there were very few teams (in Oceania) that were… I guess, competitive,” he explained. “Now there’s, like, quite a few teams like in best-of-one formats, they will beat you if you play on certain maps.”
A wave of new talent joining, he says, may well be the reason for the change, aside from the fact that the Oceanic teams now get to play alongside the Southeast Asian ones. Playing against Invictus Gaming, for example, still helps the Oceanic teams. The Singaporeans went to SI 2021 and the Mexico Major, and brought their improvements back to APAC South, forcing the other teams there to improve as well.
But though Chiefs have been dominant in the Oceanic Nationals, their players are still learning what it’s like to fight with a lot more on the line -- specifically, the auto-qualification spot to the Major that they squandered on the final APAC South play day.
“I think it’s the first time these guys have ever played for [a Major spot],” explained Ethan, referring to his team’s 5-7 loss to ORDER that day. “I guess people were feeling the pressure a little bit. [...] I think nerves were definitely a factor in that game.”
Ethan himself took the loss hard, even though his Wildcard team had come within one round of knocking out eventual-champions Natus Vincere the Pro League Season 10 Finals.
“Honestly, like, the hardest loss I’ve had… period,” he said of the result. “That was so tough, man. ... After we lost, I got straight off my computer and I just went for a run. I just needed to get out.”
But don’t let yourself think that that and the Chiefs’ goal to “enjoy” their first international event means that they are not ready for the Major.
“We think it’s the best group,” said Ethan of the Group A opposition of FaZe Clan, Oxygen Esports, and Rogue. “We think the teams that we’ve got are the most beatable. ... There’s no pressure on our shoulders to perform. Everyone’s gonna consider us a freebie… and that’s where I wanna be anyway!”
Catch Chiefs next at the Sweden Major on Nov. 8, when they take on Rogue at 9:30 PM AEDT (UTC+11).
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