Souma Profile Blog Joined May 2010 2nd Worst City in CA 8905 Posts Last Edited: 2015-07-21 00:45:04 #1



After a bit of delay due to (rumored) prolonged contract talks, Kenny "kennyS" Schrub and Dan "apEX" Madesclaire are finally now a part of Team EnVyUs. The biggest questions the community has now are, "Between Titan and nV, which team made it out better in the shuffle?" and, "Will nV's new players be able to perform in Vincent "Happy" Cervoni's looser system?"



The answer to the latter question is an astounding, "Yes." But first, let's analyze the trades themselves.





Did nV get the better players?



After months of the community praying for the world's (former) best AWPer in the world to join EnVyUs, the deal is finally set in stone. But now that it turns out that Titan and nV have engaged in more than a simple one-for-one trade, with Richard "shox" Papillon joining Edward "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux in their return to Titan and nV landing apEX, the French "dream team" that many hoped for—referring to shox and kennyS on the same team with the rest of the nV crew—will not be a possibility any time soon.



What did nV gain and what did they lose? In shox they lose their main entry fragger and a great all-around player who has proven to be one of the best closers in the world. In SmithZz, they lose a situational (and in recent times, secondary) AWPer and a player that has developed valuable chemistry with Fabian "kioShiMa" Fiey. Both teams will require time to polish their roles, tactics and coordination, that much is for sure.



If kennyS plays to his potential, nV will find themselves a highly consistent and poignant AWPer, something that they have been direly lacking. While apEX, when playing up to par, makes for an incredibly explosive entry fragger himself, shox's ability to close out rounds for the team will be missed. The hope for EnVyUs here is for kennyS to pull himself to form to fill in the hole as the star AWPer has shown tremendous clutch potential in the past.



As one can see, there are a lot of "if"s surrounding kennyS and apEX, as their recent struggles are a cause for worry. As such, it is difficult to say for certain who got the better players as of right now. The one thing that can be said, however, is that nV secured the players with the combined higher ceiling, and that can pay off in spades.





Why kennyS and apEX Will Thrive in nV



Since a handful of months ago, as the community theorycrafted kennyS's potential impact in a team such as nV's, many in the scene felt that the AWPer would not be able to perform up to par in a loose system that did not cater to his every need.



To that I say: What?



To make things clear, kennyS is not a product of Kévin "Ex6TenZ" Droolans' system. Before kennyS's introduction to Titan in the first half of 2014, where he replaced shox due to the latter leaving the team, the coveted player had already found himself to be a megastar on Clan-Mystik, in which he put up consistent numbers with pure individual ability against teams of all levels.





Credit: HLTV.org



To further this fact, kennyS, even during his tenure with Titan and in his peak, was simply a player that made waves regardless of his team, clutching one-versus-Xs and opening sites with nothing more than his own ability. No system in the world can be credited for the last remaining player's decimation of the opposing team.



Though he ultimately did not perform well at EMS One Katowice 2014 (and the following majors), kennyS's struggles in major tournaments are nothing new. Suffice it to say, star players that are the sole playmaker of a team are easier to counter with proper preparation. A close examination of kennyS's matches during major tournaments will clearly show that opposing teams rarely provided the AWPer with room to make plays, a tactic that for some bewildering reason was not as prolific in non-major tournaments.



But this is why kennyS will thrive in nV. Even without shox, the French squad is still packed with stars, from Happy to kioShiMa and Nathan "NBK" Schmitt. Combined with the hope that apEX will rediscover the imposing form that took the world by storm during LDLC's run at ESL One Cologne, opposing teams will no longer be able to account for just the AWPer—they will be required to focus their attention across the map, and in simple DotA terms, space will be created.



apEX will be reunited with his former leader in Happy, whose system allowed the enigmatic rifler to play at what we can only assume to be peak potential. After several months of underperformance and inconsistency in the more rigid system of Ex6TenZ, apEX will finally be able to shine once more. Much like kennyS, apEX will have more room to maneuver to make plays, but most importantly, the rifler simply seems more comfortable in a looser team that allows him to make the most of his own judgment, rather than patiently waiting for the in-game leader to make his calls.





Titan Has More Questions



While there are many ifs surrounding kennyS and apEX, Titan has more questions to address. After being knocked out in the group stages of three major tournaments in a row with three different lineups, will Ex6TenZ finally adapt to the meta with better mid-game calls? Can shox and SmithZz work in Ex6TenZ's system if he doesn't? Can Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez and Cédric "RpK" Guipouy step up to the plate to match EnVyUs's overall skill? Can this team develop the proper chemistry going forward?



If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on nV to come out with the better results.





Writer: Souma

Graphics: DearDave

Photos: ESL After a bit of delay due to (rumored) prolonged contract talks,Kenny "kennyS" Schrub andDan "apEX" Madesclaire are finally now a part ofTeam EnVyUs. The biggest questions the community has now are, "BetweenTitan and nV, which team made it out better in the shuffle?" and, "Will nV's new players be able to perform inVincent "Happy" Cervoni's looser system?"The answer to the latter question is an astounding, "Yes." But first, let's analyze the trades themselves.After months of the community praying for the world's (former) best AWPer in the world to join EnVyUs, the deal is finally set in stone. But now that it turns out that Titan and nV have engaged in more than a simple one-for-one trade, withRichard "shox" Papillon joiningEdward "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux in their return to Titan and nV landing apEX, the French "dream team" that many hoped for—referring to shox and kennyS on the same team with the rest of the nV crew—will not be a possibility any time soon.What did nV gain and what did they lose? In shox they lose their main entry fragger and a great all-around player who has proven to be one of the best closers in the world. In SmithZz, they lose a situational (and in recent times, secondary) AWPer and a player that has developed valuable chemistry withFabian "kioShiMa" Fiey. Both teams will require time to polish their roles, tactics and coordination, that much is for sure.If kennyS plays to his potential, nV will find themselves a highly consistent and poignant AWPer, something that they have been direly lacking. While apEX, when playing up to par, makes for an incredibly explosive entry fragger himself, shox's ability to close out rounds for the team will be missed. The hope for EnVyUs here is for kennyS to pull himself to form to fill in the hole as the star AWPer has shown tremendous clutch potential in the past.As one can see, there are a lot of "if"s surrounding kennyS and apEX, as their recent struggles are a cause for worry. As such, it is difficult to say for certain who got the better playersThe one thing that can be said, however, is that nV secured the players with the combined higher ceiling, and that can pay off in spades.Since a handful of months ago, as the community theorycrafted kennyS's potential impact in a team such as nV's, many in the scene felt that the AWPer would not be able to perform up to par in a loose system that did not cater to his every need.To that I say:To make things clear, kennyS is not a product ofKévin "Ex6TenZ" Droolans' system. Before kennyS's introduction to Titan in the first half of 2014, where he replaced shox due to the latter leaving the team, the coveted player had already found himself to be a megastar onClan-Mystik, in which he put up consistent numbers with pure individual ability against teams of all levels.To further this fact, kennyS, even during his tenure with Titan and in his peak, was simply a player that made waves regardless of his team, clutching one-versus-Xs and opening sites with nothing more than his own ability. No system in the world can be credited for the last remaining player's decimation of the opposing team.Though he ultimately did not perform well at EMS One Katowice 2014 (and the following majors), kennyS's struggles in major tournaments are nothing new. Suffice it to say, star players that are the sole playmaker of a team are easier to counter with proper preparation. A close examination of kennyS's matches during major tournaments will clearly show that opposing teams rarely provided the AWPer with room to make plays, a tactic that for some bewildering reason was not as prolific in non-major tournaments.But this is why kennyS will thrive in nV. Even without shox, the French squad is still packed with stars, from Happy to kioShiMa andNathan "NBK" Schmitt. Combined with the hope that apEX will rediscover the imposing form that took the world by storm duringLDLC's run at ESL One Cologne, opposing teams will no longer be able to account for just the AWPer—they will be required to focus their attention across the map, and in simple DotA terms, space will be created.apEX will be reunited with his former leader in Happy, whose system allowed the enigmatic rifler to play at what we can only assume to be peak potential. After several months of underperformance and inconsistency in the more rigid system of Ex6TenZ, apEX will finally be able to shine once more. Much like kennyS, apEX will have more room to maneuver to make plays, but most importantly, the rifler simply seems more comfortable in a looser team that allows him to make the most of his own judgment, rather than patiently waiting for the in-game leader to make his calls.While there are many ifs surrounding kennyS and apEX, Titan has more questions to address. After being knocked out in the group stages of three major tournaments in a row with three different lineups, will Ex6TenZ finally adapt to the meta with better mid-game calls? Can shox and SmithZz work in Ex6TenZ's system if he doesn't? CanMathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez andCédric "RpK" Guipouy step up to the plate to match EnVyUs's overall skill? Can this team develop the proper chemistry going forward?If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on nV to come out with the better results.Writer:Graphics: DearDavePhotos:

Writer