Meet the French Champions, Mock-it Esports

The team consisting of Panix, Enemy, RevaN, Voy, Alive and Gimliiiii (their coach) found limited success recently as they finished 5-6th in Season 7 of the Pro League, only managing a lonesome victory over Team Oplon during the whole season. Following this, the team was invited to DreamHack Austin 2018 as one of only five non-American teams in attendance, however once again achieved a disappointing result after failing to win a single map.

 

Since these results, however, Mock-it has seen one significant change in the form of Alive entering the team to replace sNKy. This change has obviously treated them well, as they managed a series of upsets by eliminating both Millenium and Team Vitality -- the two favourites to win the Cup -- to take the title for themselves.

We spoke with Mock-it’s team captain, Dimitri "Panix" de Longeaux, to discuss these upsets as well as other recent changes to the team:

Your team managed to beat the French teams of Vitality and Millenium upsetting many people’s expectations. What changes have you made since last season to achieve this?

Between French Pro teams, we know each other in game very well. The arrival of Alive can bring some surprises even though we didn't change absolutely everything. The biggest change though, is that we're able to change from a structured playstyle to a teamplay/skill based game style. It can change within the match if we need it or simply to counter the playstyle of a team.

Alive recently joined your team to replace sNKy, how did you come to this decision and how did this affect your team?

sNKy is a loveable little guy, but he's too young and he misses maturity about being a professional. In pro league, you need to take scrims seriously, learn strats, learn callouts, dry run strats etc. If you don't do this at least focused 100%, it will impact your in game performance in matches. That's what happened in the qualification of the French cup for 1st seed against Vitality and versus EG at DreamHack Austin, [where] he totally disappeared in game.

Finally, he took too much energy from Enemy who had to micro manage him every time in game. Alive on the other hand, is a [silent]hard worker and an ex-IGL for Supremacy, plus a very skilled guy. Now Enemy is taking the final decision and just showing a direction at the beginning of the round, but everyone else can lead, find ideas, unlock situations and find the right path to victory. It allows Enemy to focus more on his in game style and he can perform better.

 

“In certain casts, there's been errors regarding our roles. Enemy is the Lead In the Game. He is mainly helped by Voy, and even Alive who is fond of making strats. Enemy launches the main call and makes the final decisions. But we all give ideas and calls.”

You are now a two times French Champion; as a Swiss yourself what does this Cup mean for you?

As I am bi-national, it still feels good. Plus, it's more of a battle between Europe's French-speaking countries. It feels good, but being the best at a national is not enough for what we want for the team. The spot for the Paris Major is way more important and our appetite is now directed towards winning an international event.

Which teams most surprised you in their performance?

Mock It Academy definitely put on a show. They're the one who unlocked our potential. We were stuck to one playstyle and when we were losing 5-1, we just switched and got the better of them. They have a more mature game than older teams. We wish them the best.

Last year you won this Cup while under the Team Vitality organisation, the same org which you just played in the final. Did you have something to prove in this matchup?

Not really. We play for ourselves and nothing else. If you play to prove something, you may be in the wrong mentality. People can speak, orgs can take decision, but they are not there once on the server. Once we win, there's no salt joy, which allows you to truly enjoy what you accomplished.

You played DeathroW twice in the tournament, losing 2-0 on Saturday and then winning 2-1 on Sunday. What adaptations did you make between games?

First, we didn't have time with our roster changes to focus on other teams. We never knew before any non-pro team games, how our opponent will play. We had two full maps to understand it. Once we were starting to lose on the second day vs Mock It Academy, we [understood] we had to switch playstyle.

On the second match vs DeathroW, we just did the same. We knew they were heavily [strat] based and we had to play a more structured game in defense with a lot of counter stuff. And in attack, to not spread ourselves on the map, but focus the important zones together and cover each other. Finally, clutch, skill and experience made the difference.

Going into Season 8 of the Pro League on Thursday, your first game will be a rematch against Team Vitality. Can we expect another strong victory for your side?

We can't count on surprises anymore this week. We'll have to work on our flaws and expect them to have more hunger than ever. We'll see then!

Thank you to Panix for the interview; you can read more about the tournament here and about the cup results here. You can catch Mock-it Esports’ next game against Team Vitality this coming Thursday at 19:00 CEST with them playing again on Friday at the same time against i don’t know.