Whether on Hammers Esports or a team like Bazooka Puppiez, Herman "Nesh" Kobrin has been a European mainstay since the early days of the competitive Overwatch scene. He now resides within the London Spitfire Academy team and the Season 1 2018 Overwatch Contenders champions, the British Hurricane. Riding off the back of a successful run through Contenders Trials after a lackluster second season, Nesh and the Hurricane now face a familiar opponent as they confidently march into the Season 3 playoff bracket. Nesh took some time out to speak with Esports Heaven about his teams upcoming Season 1 rematch against Team Gigantti, how the new additions to the Hurricane are working out, and how much he’s changed over the two years he’s played in Overwatch.

After that unexpected but deserved loss, we still felt really confident in beating Angry Titans. We worked hard on our mistakes from prior games and stepped up in the important moments which was needed to win and qualify for playoffs.

I am just as confident as my teammates. We are going to have a rough start since we are facing Team Gigantti first who improved a lot during the season but nevertheless, I am confident in winning everything.

Working with our new additions has been really great so far. Obviously, the biggest change with new players is synergy and sometimes the player's hero pool but Danned is mechanically a very good player and his hero pool is fitting as well. About Knoxx, he brings a lot of experience but also knowledge about the past and current metagames since he was part of one of the best dive (Rogue) and tank (EagleGaming) teams. He gives a lot of input in and outside of scrims, does a lot of individual coaching and added a new work schedule for us. I personally really like what he is bringing in to the team and how we improve with him.

No, not at all. Obviously, it's nice to be part of one of a few sponsored teams in Europe but that shouldn't affect your mindset and put additional pressure since fighting for your own slot works the same way as in unsponsored teams.

Team Gigantti is a tough opponent and we have some new strategies that [we’ve] practiced to surprise them, but we also keep working on known strategies. Can't say more than that sadly.

My favorite moments were all the LAN Tournaments I've played in but if I have to pick one then it's most likely TakeOver 2 my first LAN ever.

The biggest change that I noticed in myself is probably being more open-minded. In the past I had problems with it, I kept arguing about things which were unnecessary and it's not only exhausting for the team but it also slows down your improvement as a player and as a team.

Other other than that I wouldn't have imagined to be there where I am at now 3 years ago, but I gained a lot of experience in the past years and I want more and more.

Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLGs of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at

@Volamel

.

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.