World Cup Spotlight: Team Greece - Interview with Ilka, Kendar and Drunkenpony
After being absent for the last two world cups, Team Greece are looking to make a resurgence in 2019 as 'The Trojan Horse'. After an arduous trial process, they announced their seven-man roster:
- Main Tank: Sezsama
Formerly of 'Adamant', Sezsama will lead Team Greece and serve a crucial part of their frontline. Additionally, he was previously an analyst for Winstrike so he will have a strong theoretical understanding of the game.
- Off Tank: Jobin
At 20 years old and with a peak of 4450SR, Jobin will fulfil the duties of D.Va, Roadhog and potentially even Zarya for Team Greece.
- Hitscan DPS: Kyuubi
A top 500 Tracer play with incredible mechanics, Kyuubi will be terrorising squishy targets with his aggressive play.
- Flex DPS: TheCook
TheCook is known for his strong projectile play, most notably on Genji, Hanzo and Pharah. He has previously played for Team Wavy.
- Main Support: Kailor
As the main support, Kailor will be expected to play heroes such as Mercy and Lucio for Team Greece.
- Flex Support: Mcjohn1
Having recently topped the rankings of Gameathlon 1v1 Overwatch Tournament, Mcjohn1's mechanical ability is unquestionable, able to duel enemy DPS consistently. Outside of Overwatch, he is a computer science student.
- Substitute Flex: Fable
Backing up this roster of players is a certainly capable committee. Their head coach is Ilka, who has recently coached Angry Titans in Contenders. With his tier 2 experience, he'll be the strategic mastermind for Team Greece. A twitch streamer and a Wrecking Ball main, Kendar serves as general manager for the team. Additionally, Drunkenpony, CEO for Prophet, is the team's community lead.
I was fortunate to interview all three members of the committee concerning their introductions to Overwatch and the upcoming world cup:
Drunkenpony (Community Lead):
What are your goals for Team Greece?
Personally[,] my goals[,] being the community leader of Greece[, are] to have a consistent branding, and do my best to promote my country to the outside world.
On the gaming aspect, I want Greece to get recognition for their effort and I want us to have the best possible showing we can have. Being realistic I'd say our top goal would be reaching groups. Last but not least I want to showcase the skill level of some of those Greek unknown players!
How did you get into Overwatch?
A dear person of mine bought the game for me[.] Then I started being a manager for an org[anisation] named Eternal Eclipse, and then made my own org since I got hooked with it. My idea was to give our family business (a fashion brand) exposure through gaming and hence Prophet SKG was made.
Is there a particular team you're hoping to face? Maybe a rematch against Team South Africa?
I would totally want to have a rematch against South Africa for sure, their community is really nice and enjoyable! Aside that I'd love to play against teams that my players play for[,] so Italy [and] Austria. Last but not least I'd want to face Ireland and Portugal because they have great communities as well!
What's your opinion on the new age restriction?
[On] a personal level it doesn't affect team Greece a lot .But I know it's hard for other countries[.] In my opinion World Cup would be better to be showcasing talent unproven on top of that, although I understand that popular players should be playing and also owl players as well since they are at the top level, and everyone wants to watch their country's best players.
What does your role as a community lead consist of?
I think every country has a bit different definition and a role even if technically it's the same role[.] I am currently doing all the social media work along[side] my assistants, also planning scrims, show[-]matches and streams whenever possible. Generally[,] the main point for me is to have a consistent and powerful branding which will give exposure to both our players and our sponsors!
Who's your favourite Overwatch hero?
My favourite hero is Zenyatta[.] I just love the fact that you can do pretty much everything with him, while you are a healer you can technically "pop off " and frag [.] I play a very aggressive style as well[,] which helps a lot. I think the skill capacity of the hero is superb since you are squishy and very essential with your discord you can't afford to do mistakes, kinda like the work of a community leader, you cannot do mistakes you have to have everything under control and do your absolute best.
Kendar (General Manager):
What are your goals for Team Greece?
My goals for the team are few but very important. Build the best possible roster, sign a deal with sponsors willing to support us, get the team to Blizzcon and finally make Team Greece a guaranteed competitor in each World Cup!
How did you get into Overwatch?
I was part of the original hype train before the release, I loved how unique and fun the gameplay was and up to this day i do not regret it!
Is there a particular team you're hoping to face? Maybe a rematch against Team South Africa?
Instead of hoping to face specific teams, we will give our best in every single match we will take part in! We have a great relationship with Team South Africa, we would really love to arrange another friendly match against them or anyone willing to do it.
What's your opinion on the new age restriction?
It might be unfair to young talents but I believe the decision to not include them in this year's World Cup is correct. Having an underaged player in your team, especially in such a big campaign, can lead to a lot of issues.
Who's your favourite Overwatch hero?
My favourite Overwatch hero is Widowmaker, always loved snipers, always will!
Ilka (Head Coach):
What are your goals for Team Greece?
Goal for Team Greece is to have a good showcase of our abilities. As I have said before in other interviews, the team is inexperienced. Not many have had the opportunity to compete on high level outside of ranked. So[,] preparing and showing a strong performance, is what our goal is so that the players can hopefully get better opportunities in the near future.
How did you get into Overwatch?
I got into Overwatch a tiny bit after its release, me and my friends thought we should give it a try. I was a LoL/DotA - Dota 2 player and I liked the MOBA part of it but I also enjoyed first person MMOs and Overwatch kind of reminded me of that style. I never really played shooting games before, outside of CS 1.6 back then, so I decided I wanted to be a support player like I was in League so I can focus on the calling aspect of the game since I had experience moving from shotcalling in MOBAs.
Is there a particular team you're hoping to face? Maybe a rematch against Team South Africa?
The teams I would like to face are team Netherlands and team Portugal. Team Netherlands has many friends and people I know such as Casores (Head Coach), Brussen, Vizility, JVP (General Manager) etc. I think it would be a fun game for the both of us.
Team Portugal has 2 of my players from Angry Titans, Phatt and AFoxx, so I hope we get to play each other as well. Should also be a fun one.
Any rematch is welcomed as well, I haven't had the time so far to commit with Team Greece due to being with Angry Titans this season of Contenders. Now that this is done with, having rematches would be nice so I can be there and prepare the team for better results.
What's your opinion on the new age restriction?
The new age restriction kind of limits the possibilities for teams (I know some countries that relied on upcoming young talent). I wouldn't say it hurts the scene[.] I just believe that there is a reasoning behind it. Perhaps Blizzard is more into showcasing current, OWL-ready talent rather than the younger ones. I assume that this is the direction World Cup is heading towards but that's simply my speculation.
I would still like to see young talent on stage, brings up the hype for upcoming individuals and it's helpful for the kids to showcase their talent in a bigger audience and have the eyes of the scouts on them.
Who's your favourite Overwatch hero?
My favourite hero is Genji. I just love the skill ceiling of the character and the mechanics he offers. He's fun to play with and pulling out dash resets or clutch.
If you'd like to keep up with Team Greece and see more of their content, follow their official page (@TeamGreeceOw).
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