[CFCL Elite August] Serenity eSports Exclusive Interview

RiceTurtle · August 2017

Hi, everyone!

[MOD]Weiwei here. In my opinion, whether you're involved, follow, or even if you've never followed the pro-league, CFCL is kind of a big deal. As eloquently said by our CFCL hosts, CFCL involves teamwork, skill, and strong determination. Only few are up to the challenge.

We are currently in the second month of CFCL Elite, and I think it's about time we learn a little more about some of the teams representing CFNA. For the next couple of weeks, [MOD]Abel and I will be interviewing some of our top talents. Since there's only so many weeks in a month, yet there's more than 10 teams competing each month, unfortunately, not every team will be interviewed.

Don't forget to support your favorite teams every Saturday on Twitch. For more information on the teams and match times, check out the official CFCL homepage.

As you probably already guessed (the topic title wasn't a dead giveaway or anything), the first interview is with Serenity eSports, our current #1 Elite League August team as of Week 3. They just played their final two matches this morning. Were they able to maintain their #1 spot? Are they the CFCL Elite August champions? Unfortunately, the final CFCL scores are still being tallied, so you'll have to wait until scores are officially announce, but regardless of results, let's give Serenity eSports a big round of applause for all of their hard work this month and congratulate them on their victories thus far!

Without further ado, let's get on to the interview! Ladies and gentleman, I present to you:

Serenity eSports

vizee

Jin

pew

Forty

Kooper

Color key: Team Responses / vizee / Jin / pew / Forty / Kooper

QUESTION
ANSWER

Please tell us a little about Serenity eSports.
Serenity eSports is an international e-Sports organisation. We created this team in June, so we are still a pretty new team. Our team includes three experienced players, kooper, Jin and myself who have played in several international tournaments. We have also we picked up two new exceptional talents pew and Forty. Our goal is not only to compete internationally, but to represent Europe in China.

That's awesome, sounds like you have a great team here. Please tell us a little about yourselves.
vizee: My name is Patrick 'vizee' Lainka. I am 21 years old and I've been playing Crossfire for 7 years. I started playing competitively 4 years ago. I have already played in international tournaments such as WCA and CFS. Currently I am the team-captain of Serenity Sports. I help out with ingame strats and ensure structure in the team. My main weapon is the AK-47 and my position is Attacker.

Jin: My name is Yannick “Jin” Gemp and I am 22 years old. I was born on the 10th of June 1995 in Hamburg. I live in a house with my mother and I started my professional career back in 2012 where we played the European Major’s during a time when Crossfire was becoming more and more popular in many regions. Regarding my role on the team, I would like to copy a great analysis written by Tom Stöwesand (a CFS 2016 Supporter) who has previously interviewed me:

"Jin is rather the player who has the control and functions as Leader with good map overview.” - http://www.crossfirestars.com/en/supporter/view?groupNo=1476160916"

pew: Yo guys, my name's Niklas Streit, also known as Nick or pew. I'm 21 years old and I started playing CFNA back in 2009. In 2015, I switched to CFEU in order to play competitively. Unlike most of my current teammates I have not played any big tournament yet, but I am looking forward to doing so. Forty and I fill in as attackers in the team, our job is to get entry frags with the AK-47.

Forty: My name is Marc "Forty" Wallocha and I am 19 years old. After play casually since 2011 on CFNA, I switched to CFEU in order to play competitively in 2016. I haven't participated in any big tournaments yet but I am looking forward to doing so. I'm using the AK-47 and my position is also Attacker.

Kooper: I am Felix Hermenau also known as Kooper. I started playing crossfire in 2010, but have played competitively since 2012. I usually use with the AK-47 as an Attacker, but depending on the map and situation I will also use the AWM.

You probably get asked this question quite often, but I have to ask. What are some things you guys do to prepare for matches?
Of course like every team, practising against other actual teams is the best way to get better at teamplay. Everyone of us also attaches importance to individual practise, so we make sure that we are well prepared for matches. We also get together in a room to discuss new strategies, flashes, smokes etc. We try not to focus on analyzing other teams because we think we should concentrate on our mistakes and playstyle in order to improve so that we can adapt to every enemy.

Which team would you say has been the most challenging to face in CLCL thus far?
So far the most challenging team we played against in CFCL has been ruLegends. They are known for really good teamplay and individual skill. It goes without saying, especially since they placed 4th in CFS 2016. They have always been a strong opponent. However, we think it was our individual skill that we managed to win against them. From this match, we also learned that we needed to continue improving our teamplay and structure. If you win because you have great players, it’s definitely great, but not amazing. We believe it's better to win because the team strategies worked out.

And what has been your fondest memory of CFCL so far?
The fondest memory was probably the match against rulegends. They lead 7-2 on the first half and somehow we came back and made it to 8-10. After this comeback, it really boosted our morale on the second map and we were able to push ourselves. We managed to win 10-6. It was definitely a victory worth celebrating.

Another nice memory was when we won the qualification for the CFS Qualification playoffs in Cologne, at Gamescom. On some days we, we are paired up to play against F3, Penta and Exotic on a stage there. Considering our team is new, it is really nice to know that we managed to participate in a LAN after only 2 months.

Since CFCL is only limited to CFNA, are there any teams you look forward to competing against in the future?
Of course, we look forward to facing many international teams. Chinese teams are very strong, so getting to play against them just helps you improve no matter what. There’s always potential. So I would say teams like AG, SV, HG, Pacific Macta are good practise enemies.

I've always wondered, do you guys have someone you wish you could play with? It can be a specific player or a team.
Actually, we are very happy and confident with our current players and have never thought about such a situation. Every pro player has his ups and down and thus picking up one of the most experienced player from NA/EU won't have as big of an effect as you might think. So rather than think about who we'd like to play with, we will say that we will continue to focus on improving our own skill.

Wow, that is very insightful. Do you have any advice/final words for your fans?
vizee: Thank you for your continuous support and help. It is always a pleasure to see our Fans cheering for us.

Jin: We are very confident and determined to show the other competing teams, the community, and the lovely fans that we are for sure a tough opponent in the qualifier for CFS and of course in CFCL. We all wish that Crossfire is getting more and more popular and that CF 2 will give a us great change.

pew: First off, I want to thank you for the amazing support. I also want to answer the question I get asked the most, which is "how to get better at CF?". Just play the game a lot, it's the only way to get better.

Forty: Thanks for all the support and greetings we receive from you!

Kooper: Never give up and keep practising. Thanks to all of you for your support.

Oh! Before we conclude the interview, where can we find you guys on social media?
vizee: If you have any questions feel free to contact me on my Facebook, Youtube or Twitch.

Jin: You can find me on Facebook, or on YouTube for a sub, or twitch in the future when CF 2 shows up.

pew: The only social media I actually use is YouTube. So if you'd like to support me, feel free to sub to my Youtube channel.

Forty: I would appreciate a sub on my YouTube channel :]

Thank you. Lastly, I think I heard there's some great news for Serenity eSports. Do you mind sharing?
Yes! The owner of Serenity has partnered up with the owner of FreshFox. Stay tuned for more info on what this means!

For now, you can find information on FreshFox on their home page or on Twitter.

Thank you, as well!

M1600wner · August 2017

Nice to see the Interview Trend continuing, for fans and/or people who are interested in them, this ought to be pretty neat.

Kudos.

RiceTurtle · August 2017

M1600wner wrote: »

Nice to see the Interview Trend continuing, for fans and/or people who are interested in them, this ought to be pretty neat.

Kudos.

Thanks, Preset. It's was awesome working with a veteran interviewer (Abel) for this project. He'll be doing next week's (next couple of weeks, actually) so please look forward to it