We reached out to Amanda "rain" Smith to ask her about the ongoing season, how the practice is going, how are they adapting to being the only CS:GO team under the Team Dignitas banner once again, and the addition of the MP5 to the game.





Hi Amanda. So, the final half of the season is already underway. How have been these first few weeks?

rain: Our first few matches didn't go too bad. Even though our record is 3-3, the losses were close and it was mostly simple mistakes that cost us those games. I think we can definitely bounce back and finish out the season strong with some solid wins!





What do you have to say about the matches up until now? Regarding the amount of team practice you have, are you satisfied with the results so far?

rain: For the most part yes, because we played pretty well overall and can also improve a lot from the games we did lose. Obviously, it's nice to have a flawless record for seeding but I'm not worried because we can take on any team in our division especially with more practice under our belt.





And what about practice, how is it going?

rain: Our practices the past few weeks have been going well. We've mostly been going over our maps and revamping some of our strategies/plays as well as looking at other aspects of our gameplay to improve, whether that's on an individual level or as a team.

Personally, I usually DM for a minimum of 20 minutes before practices and sometimes even get a few PUGs in if I stream that day. Once we start practice, we do a quick recap and play scrims for a few hours with some review in-between if needed. We do this 4-5 days a week!





How is the transition between scrims and practices to official matches? Do you feel that you’re playing better in scrims than in officials, or the other way around?

rain: Our scrims are purely practicing strategies/plays and for us to try new things so that doesn't mean we're always "winning" them, but we are learning from them. Now we just need to transition it more to our overall gameplay in matches as well, which we have been for the most part but still have lots to work on.





You’re now the only CS:GO team playing under the Team Dignitas banner. You used to have issues with ESL competitions not allowing more than one team from the same organization playing in the same tournaments. Can we expect more participations in Open Qualifiers for bigger tournaments now that the rule does not apply to you anymore?

rain: We love playing in all the open qualifiers we can and have been competing in them for years now! It was unfortunate we were limited to playing in them for a while there but we're happy to be able to get back into it because it's good practice outside of league matches, where teams actually take the game seriously.





Does that change make you reconsider, or at least change, your current and primary team goals?

rain: For now, my goals are definitely to make ESEA playoffs this season and qualify for advanced, and I would also love to win the WESG regional qualifier coming up.





What is the next important LAN on the horizon for you and the girls?

rain: We don't currently have any LANs coming up, but Cath and I are going to Toronto for the WESG regional qualifier with our Canadian team at the end of October, which is unfortunately nationality based or else we would be competing with our full Dignitas squad.





What are your thoughts regarding the classic MP5 being added to the game?

rain: I think Valve bringing back the MP5 was a nice nostalgic touch! Although it doesn't have much impact on the meta, because it's technically worse than the other SMGs available, it's still fun to use.





You are acclaimed as one of the best CS:GO female players by the fans. How does that make you feel?

rain: I'm happy there are people out there that support me and have been since the beginning! I still have a lot to work on in CS, but I hope to continue to make my team and fans proud!





Are there any final words you would like to say to finish up this interview?

rain: Always got to give a shoutout to the Dignitas & Sixers fam, and a warm welcome to one of our new sponsors Champion! Much love to all of them and of course to all of the friends, family, and fans that support me and my team day in and day out!





I want to thank Amanda for taking her time to answer my questions! Don’t forget to follow and keep up with her and the team in her social media:

Twitter

Twitch

Facebook