Interview with ioStux, former Head Coach of XL2 and Uprising Academy - Tier 2 Overwatch, Role Lock and ioStux Academy
Ridouan 'ioStux' Bouzrou is a German Overwatch coach. His Overwatch career started back in May 2017, competing for 'LuCkER dOG'. In 2018, he decided to take up the role of coach for 'Bye Week', setting him on this path for the rest of his career. His most notable teams include XL2 Academy and Uprising Academy.
On XL2, his coaching led the team to a 2nd place in Contenders 2018 Season 2 North America, where they lost to the undefeated Fusion University in the finals. On this team, he worked with now Overwatch League talent Jeong 'Nenne' Yeon-kwan and Liam 'Mangachu' Campbell.
Afterwards, ioStux moved onto 'Toronto Esports', which later rebranded as 'Uprising Academy'. As head coach, ioStux helped the team achieve a 1st place at the Beat Invitational, where they took a 4:2 victory against 'Last Night's Leftovers'. Players on this team included: 'Nero' (later to join Guangzhou Charge), 'Swimmer', 'Asking' and many other strong players. He then remained with the team for Contenders 2018 Season 3 and Contenders 2019 Season 1.
From his time in competitive Overwatch, ioStux gained experience with mixed-culture organisations, something which is highly valuable in a professional Overwatch coach. Alongside all this, ioStux has ran a YouTube channel ('ioStux Coaching Overwatch'). On this channel, he's created 109 videos, focussing on improving the individual player, with series such as 'Aim Secrets' (covering topics such as sensitivity, accurate crosshair placement, visual acuity and mouse sensor position). Additionally, he looks to grow players outside of the game by helping them develop a more professional attitude, with videos covering tilt, humility and rationalisation. This carries over to his recent endeavour, 'ioStux Academy', a project started by Ridouan himself which aims to provide players with the mindset and skills required of a professional Overwatch player.
I was lucky enough to interview ioStux and ask him some questions concerning the state of tier 2 Overwatch and his team as a professional coach:
(Abbreviations and other meanings:
- Tier 2 - Contenders
- Goats - a composition involving Reinhardt/Winston, D.Va, Zarya, Brigitte, Lucio and Zenyatta/Ana
- OWL - Overwatch League
- DPS - "damage per second", usually a synonym for "damage character" )
Do you feel the 2/2/2 role lock will help create a healthier Tier 2 environment?
"It won't have any direct impact on the health of the Tier 2 environment. The game will be a more enjoyable experience for players, and we get to move on from the Goats meta, but this change won't incentivize OWL teams to come up with Academy Teams (Houston, Valiant, Justice, etc.), nor will it help fund third party tournaments."
What has been your favourite meta to coach?
"Goats. Most other compositions rely on individual mechanical skill, while Goats rewards players for learning about the more complex concepts in the game. Teaching those concepts is very fulfilling and makes you feel impactful as a coach."
What are your plans for the future? Will you continue to pursue Overwatch coaching or do you aim to transition to another role?
"I don't intend to transition to another role or leave the game until I sign a coaching contract with an OWL organisation. I am currently working on my own endeavour, "ioStux Academy", an international talent development project with an emphasis on foreign talent scouting and working with our players on skills outside the game, like healthy social media presences, punctuality, diligence and initiative when it comes to improving as a player."
What is your favourite memory from your time in esports?
"My entire time with Uprising Academy after the ownership transfer to Andrew Fiori. Wonderful house, unforgettable experiences with the players (I still have that blanket!) and, most importantly, a plethora of lessons learned as a coach outside of game theory. Player interaction, roster decisions, talent scouting [and] the inner workings of a team house. The Kraft Group [the organisation which owns the Boston Uprising and Uprising Academy] has allowed me to develop as a coach and a person and I am grateful, especially the Uprising staff who have always treated me as an equal despite the lower title I had compared to them."
Is there anything you would like to see Blizzard do to further support the Tier 2 scene?
"No. The staff behind the Path to Pro are working hard every day using the resources they are given to create a great product. The additions of the Gauntlet and Showdowns this year are fantastic[;] incentives for OWL teams to field Academy teams are growing. Some of the community's requests are incredibly unrealistic or fail to take into account some of the behind the scenes factors present in their decision-making process. I have no reason to believe they aren't doing all their can to make the Tier 2 scene the best it can be."
Finally, who is your favourite hero in Overwatch?
"I enjoy playing Ana personally. She is the most mechanically rewarding non-DPS character in the game, and she can be incredibly impactful even in uncoordinated environments. That said[,] I personally don't play the game much if at all anymore[;] outside of coaching I focus on socialising with others in the scene or playing music."
If you'd like to see more of ioStux, follow him on Twitter and subscribe to his YouTube channel:
@ioStux
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBPCmP5El1BqpItqCswvMkw/featured
If you'd like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles, YouTube videos and Twitch streams.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBPCmP5El1BqpItqCswvMkw/videos
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/IoStux
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Bye_Week
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/XL2_Academy
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Toronto_Esports
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Uprising_Academy
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Overwatch_Contenders/2018/Season_3/North_America
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Overwatch_Contenders/2019/Season_1/North_America_East
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/BEAT_Invitational/Season_5
https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Overwatch_Contenders/2018/Season_2/North_America