A while ago, I had the opportunity to come down a LAN scrim team Singapore was having. While I was there, I went around and sat down with the players (and JohnGalt) for some questions. So here they are, accompanied by some cool pictures I took that day!

(Note: This is an extension to an article I wrote previewing team Singapore at this year’s World Cup. You can read it here. I also did previews of some of the underdog Asia-Pacific teams, so do check them out there too!)

Bubblekitty smurfing fools on Widow FFA lobbies

Azalea and Bubblekitty (I interviewed both of them at the same time)

Question: It is the first time for the both of you that you will be representing Singapore in the World Cup. What are your feelings about it?

Bubblekitty: I’m quite excited. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, so it’s now or never.

Azalea: Same.

Q: Are you going to feel nervous heading on such a big stage?

A: More excited than nervous.

Q: It’s going to be your one of biggest LAN stages, featuring one of the largest crowds you’d meet. Do you think the crowd is going to help or hurt you?

A: If I make a good play, then they will cheer for me. At the same time, we shouldn’t get disheartened if the crowd goes against us.

BK: We’ll be both excited and nervous. It’s going to be our first time on such a big stage. The crowds overseas are a mixed bag; while the crowd might be less supportive for you [as opposed to a home crowd] and we might get a bit discouraged, there isn’t that expectation and pressure to perform well without a home crowd. We’ll go there with an open mind, and try to do our best.

Q: How do you communicate together as the DPS duo, and with the rest of the team?

BK: I usually try to follow up with what has been called out. If there’s too many shotcallers in the team, communications will be messy with everyone following their own plan. So I’m more of a follower in the team.

A: I always communicate with my main tank, because I think we’re the most important [part to winning a teamfight]. For instance, if we’re playing Orisa and Doomfist, I will call for his Halt for me to Rocket Punch in. I try to shotcall most of the fights.

Q: Can you talk about experience about dealing with National Service?

A: I applied for deferment on a Wednesday, and two days later they called me up, so it wasn’t that long of a wait. But after that, there were many news reporters messaging me and asking me [about the deferment]. Most of the questions could be handled by Community Lead Caldoran, so it was ok [for me].

Q: So the deferment process was relatively smooth, and the biggest issue was dealing with the media?

A: Yea.

Q: How has it been transitioning away from GOATS to a 2–2–2 role lock? How does it feel being able to play DPS again?

BK: [Playing DPS is] so much fun. Because I was stuck on Brigitte for almost a year, and I almost wanted to kill myself. (laughter, also F in the chats)

A: I stopped playing when the GOATS meta happened, so I didn’t experience it.

Q: You played for Xavier Esports during Contenders 2018 Season 1, which was, barring yourself, a full Thai team. How were communications like on the team?

A: I spoke the directions (i.e. right, left, top right, top left etc.) in Thai, but I usually spoke in broken English so that they could understand.

Q: Do you think the language barrier affected how you played with the team?

A: I think it did a little bit. Sometimes in game I have many plans [on what to do in the fight] but they don’t understand when I try to explain. So my job was mostly to call out targets using simple language, more complex strategies wasn’t my job.

Q: Do you think there’s any difference between playing online and on LAN?

A: Oh yes. I choke on LAN. It’s the nerves I feel.

The first time I played on LAN I felt stressed. It’s different [from playing online]. At home, you’re comfortable. But on LAN, there’s a lot of pressure because there’s many people watching you on stage.

Q: What are your expectations for the World Cup?

A: Make it out of the preliminaries.

BK: Go in with an open mind. We just going to do our best. I think that’s all that matters, whether win or lose.

A: Cannot get out of the first round. Must win one match at least.

BK: (laughter) Obviously cannot get out in the first round.

Azalea giving his enemies the fist (ok that sounded better in my head)

Jervyz

Q: No one in the current roster has ever played in the World Cup before, so how do you feel about representing Singapore [in the World Cup]?

Jervyz: I’ve always wanted to represent Singapore in the World Cup. Last year we didn’t have a team in the World Cup, which was kinda sad.

Q: What do you think about the new World Cup format [compared to the one used in 2017 and 2018]? Do you think it gives every country a chance to play in the World Cup?

J: The new format does allow us to play in the World Cup this year. If the 2018 format was used this year, I don’t think we wouldn’t have gotten in either.

Q: Do you feel nervous playing on such a big stage?

J: I’ve played on a few LANs already, so I don’t get nervous when playing on LAN, nor do I have any fear of the crowds. Although you do get a bit nervous before the game starts, but afterwards, I’ll grow calmer.

Q: It’s a bigger stage than you’ve ever played on though. Do you think you can handle that kind of pressure?

J: I think I can handle it. I try to ignore the presence of the crowd, and focus on your own work with the team.

Q: Who is the biggest shotcaller on the team?

J: We all communicate to some extent, but I think the loudest voices are me, Bubble(kitty) and Sachokk.

Q: What are your roles as a shotcaller?

J: I set up plans before fights, ult-tracking, and ult management. I also have the overview of the entire team. As the Lucio player, I can control the movements (of my teammates and direct them where to go).

Q: What is your experience playing on non-English speaking teams (i.e. NovaMS, Lucky Future)? How is it like not communicating in your first language (in this case, Chinese)?

J: At first you aren’t used to it, because you don’t know what the terms are called in Chinese.

Q: So that was what you learned first?

J: Yea, the in-game callouts in Chinese. But beyond that, it’s pretty much the same (in calling as in English).

Q: How do you think the team environment differs between Singapore and overseas?

J: I think international teams have a greater sense of passion about the game than local teams. In Singapore, we have other non-game related commitments to fulfill, while international teams can put in a full-time effort into playing the game.

Q: What is the difference between playing in Singapore and playing overseas (e.g. at the Lucky Future team house, Contenders Pacific grand finals at Hong Kong)?

J: I think playing in LANs overseas helps us develop [as players]. In Singapore, we keep playing these local tournaments, and I don’t think they’re good exposure. Playing out of country is a very good experience, you get lots of exposure, and you get to meet and network with a lot of different people as well.

Living in a team house in China changes your perception about your team. You have to bond together in real life, and you can sort out your problems together face-to-face. When you’re living together, you will get comfortable with each other.

Q: What is your expectations for this World Cup?

J: I want to get into the group stage. At the very least I expect us not to lose the first round and beat at least two teams.

“Are you fuckin’ serious” — GM TCC (probably) (I didn’t have any photos of Jervyz unfortunately)

Yuris

Q: What is your feelings representing Singapore for the first time?

Yuris: I am feeling a mix of joy, elation, and fear that I won’t play to the team’s standards. I am coming into the team as the only player that hasn’t played in Contenders [Editor’s note: While Akame hasn’t played in Contenders either (yet), the interview was done before ZeonFlux stepped down] or in any semi-professional T2 setting. It’s going to be really interesting for me.

Q: How have you been trying to supplement the lack of experience in Contenders?

Y: (I’ve been conducting) A lot more scrim and VOD reviews. I used to play four hours of Overwatch a day, now I do 6–7 hours every day, on top of army. It’s a lot more work, but I feel it is necessary for me to keep up with the rest of the team.

Q: It will be your first time on a LAN stage of such a scale. Do you feel nervous or anything?

Y: Everyone’s going to feel nervous. I am, because I’ve never played in such an environment before. It’s going to be a whole new set of problems from what we have now.

Q: How are you going to get over [that sense of nervousness]?

Y: It’s going to be a lot easier when the game starts. The hardest part is to first five-ten minutes when you’re setting up. Everyone’s chanting your name, lights are flashing, that’s the hard part.

Q: How is the crowd going to affect you and your gameplay?

Y: I feed off the energy of the crowd and my teammates. I play a lot better when it comes to LAN environments so you can experience better gameplay from me then.

Q: How have you been balancing World Cup and National Service commitments?

Y: I picked up polyphasic sleep (a sleep pattern where one sleeps for multiple short periods of time in a day), where I sleep less at night but nap more throughout the day. This gives more time to work on whatever needs to be done. After finishing everything for the day at 2–3am, I take a 3-hour nap and go to the army to do my day-to-day tasks, then I get permission to sleep in the office, take 2-hour naps to recharge myself. Army hasn’t been easy, because I have not been allowed to travel out of the country during this period of time. I have to go through a long phase of applications, talking to higher-ups, just to get permission to fly out of the country. The biggest problem I faced was, they didn’t know about esports, about how big the Overwatch World Cup was. We were representing Singapore, but not in an official capacity like the SEA Games or the Olympics. It took a long time to convince them. Thankfully, I had a great superior that told me to take the leave and he will settle all the paperwork and convince the higher-ups on my behalf. I just got really fortunate.

Q: Who calls the shots in the team during games? How do you play a part?

Y: I think everyone plays a part in communication, but the most important roles for shotcalling in this meta is probably the DPS and main tank. But not to mention Jervyz, who is the centrepiece of the team. His calls have the most impact, and I think it swings the games. But there is no one dominant force, everyone has their role to play in calling.

I mostly play off-tank and main tank for the team, and they have different calling structures. Off-tanks usually call what the main tank isn’t calling, e.g. the Pharmercy fight or flankers if the main tank is focusing on shields.

Q: As the seventh man, you’re usually been playing off roles for the team. How have you been learning these new roles?

Y: A lot of these situations (where I play off-roles) aren’t planned and cannot be foreseen for a long period of time. So a lot of the time you have to learn to wing it. Before JohnGalt started coaching our team (note: JohnGalt wasn’t with the team at the beginning because of Overwatch League playoffs), we were busy getting our fundamentals down. So it wasn’t wise for me to be subbed in and out continuously. I spent a lot of time in the spectator’s lobby, and watching VODs and doing analysis. So I’ve been watching a lot of footage (of my teammates). But what you watch doesn’t necessarily translate well in-game.

Q: How have you been learning the mechanics for these new roles?

Y: I’m a decently good hitscan player, so when I played Orisa, I realized I had greater DPS than other Orisas, simply because I had better aim [than them]. Sigma had very different aiming techniques, such as corner peeking, so I wasn’t quite used to it. As for supports, I think my tracking could be good on heroes such as Baptiste or Moira.

With my DPS experience, it helps the rest of my main tank [to deal with the enemy DPS], because I understand what angles those DPS try to take, and I can predict and pre-empt them.

Q: What are your expectations for the World Cup?

Y: I feel that this is the best possible roster Singapore could’ve brought, as compared to previous years. I have high hopes for the team, and hopefully we can put Singapore on the map.

I swear to you, yuris and TCC can have their own emote bundle

Xenofly

Q: This is your first time playing in the World Cup. Any feelings about it?

Xenofly: I’ve played in many tournaments before, and I am a competitive player. So being able to represent Singapore on such a large scale is a really interesting prospect. I hope I will be able to impress both local and global fans. I’m very proud of representing Singapore, so I am grateful of the opportunity.

Q: The World Cup is going to be one of the biggest stages you’ve been on. Do you feel nervous in any way going up that stage?

X: It will be the first time that I will be going to such a large LAN stage (Contenders Pacific grand finals while also was a big match, it was played online). I do think there will be some nerves heading into it. I won’t be affected by it, however, because I’ve been through similar events in the past.

Q: How will the crowd help or hinder your performance?

X: It depends on the crowd. We usually rely on ourselves [for motivation], and sometimes the crowd does cheer for you if you make a big play, but other times they also discourage you. It’s a double-edged sword. We’ll try to ignore the crowd as much as possible, but the crowd can support you.

We’ll try not to feed off the energy of the crowd. While it can be encouraging, Overwatch is a dynamic game; one moment you might be winning and the next you might not be. It has happened to my Contenders team before. The crowd is also dynamic; they cheer for good plays [no matter the team], and players who make bad plays can sense a negative vibe from the crowd and be discouraged. We don’t need the crowd to support us, we’ll play our own game and encourage ourselves. While the crowd is helpful, we also need to support ourselves and play our own game.

Q: You’ve been known as one of the best D.Vas in the game. But more recently, you have been picking up other heroes such as Sombra or Sigma. How do you practice these new heroes after playing D.Va for so long?

X: I have to [learn these new heroes] as part of my role [as off-tank]. What I have been doing is grinding. I first grind them without my coaches’ input, playing them in Competitive and find out my preferred playstyle [on those heroes]. During scrims, I then try them out in the games, and I’ll get my coaches’ input, on how I should play them to fit the rest of the team. I try to learn these heroes without my coaches help at the start, because I get to learn them independently, and I’m not just following what my coach says. I try to learn what the hero does and how they contribute to the rest of the team, and I’ll reach an agreement with my coach and my team.

Q: How do you think your experience on D.Va translates to learning other heroes?

X: On D.Va, you have to track ultimates a lot, because Defense Matrix is able to negate ultimates as a non-ultimate ability. This can be similarly applied to Sigma’s Kinetic Grasp, which also has a similar function. Sigma’s Experimental Barrier (and the rest of his kit) can also block ultimates well, e.g. his Experimental Barrier, Kinetic Grasp, and Accretion can be used to stop a Reaper’s Death Blossom or Pharah’s Rocket Barrage. When you track ultimates, you can easily predict whether the enemy’s ultimates are online, and save your abilities for their ultimates. While playing D.Va, I’ve learnt to track enemy’s ultimates and position myself in such a way that I can negate them, so I think this skill is the most important to be able to translate well to other heroes.

Q: How do you lead in game, and also how do you synergize with your tank partner?

X: I used to be a very passive communicator in game, and usually follow other people’s leads. Because if there’s too many leaders in the team, there’ll be no one to follow. However, coach JohnGalt has encouraged me to give my input in scrims, and to call out new opportunities that I can see or new game plans that I think the team should follow. So I’ve been changing that aspect about myself and to become more vocal. I used to use push-to-talk [for communicating online], but now I use an open mic, so that I can talk during fights. But I do understand the need to balance between following calls and making calls. Achieving that balance is very hard for in-game leaders.

Q: How do you form synergy with your tank duo? Do you let him know what you have on cooldown?

X: I play with Sachokk a lot, especially during scrims. I don’t exclusively call out to him, but rather I let the rest of my team know. I don’t micromanage Sachokk, because he has his own role to play, but I will give him information that will be important to him. For example, if there is an enemy flanker but he wants to push aggressively, it’s my role to tell him not to and to back off [to deal with the flanker].

Q: What is your expectations for the World Cup?

X: I just want to go far. Realistically, we have a good chance to get to the group stage, so that is what we should aim for first. So my goals: get into the group stage, get out of the group stage, and then see how far we can go.

Xenofly looking boomed(?) (or maybe he wants to go back to D.Va)

Sachokk

Q: Given that this is your first time in the World Cup, what are your feelings about it?

Sachokk: I feel excited to represent Singapore in the World Cup. It’s my first time competing overseas, and living with my teammates, so it’s a new experience for me.

Q: The World Cup is going to be your first major LAN. Are you going to feel nervous heading on stage?

S: Not really. Before Overwatch, I was competing in other sports, such as soccer, rugby, and sepak takraw. In those games, there are crowds as well, so I think I’m used to the crowds. The World Cup is not the first time I’ve played in front of a crowd. I think I can handle the pressure from the crowd.

Q: Do you think it’s going to be any different from any other tournament you’ve been?

S: It’ll definitely be different. The World Cup is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the game.

Q: How have you been adapting to the new meta, playing a new hero (Orisa) when you’re more known for your Winston and Reinhardt?

S: Orisa is a new hero for me to learn. I’ve been grinding her in the Asia Competitive server. The mechanics of Orisa is not the same as for Reinhardt or Winston. The way you take space or approach an enemy is different as an Orisa as compared to a Reinhardt or Winston. While I am struggling with her currently, I’m confident I can overcome the challenges that I face when playing her.

Q: Who communicates the most in scrims?

S: I am the one who communicates the most, because I am the one calling the engagements.

Q: So you’re the one leading the charge, telling the rest of the members what to do?

S: I don’t tell them what to do. Someone else calls the game plan while I call the engages.

Q: You’re the one executing the plans?

S: Yup.

Q: How do you synergize with your tank duo?

S: Both of us are currently working more on our mechanics, because we are playing new heroes that we are not used to. Xenofly is relatively new to Sigma. Right now is when [synergy] is most lacking, because we haven’t started working on it yet. We try to do it in scrims by communicating what ultimates to use. But there’s still a lot of work [to do].

Before this meta, we had pretty good synergy, when I was on Winston or Reinhardt and he was on D.Va. We had played together in Pacific Contenders, and he knew what my playstyle on Winston or Reinhardt was. It was easier for him.

Q: Do you think you can transfer that synergy from playing Winston/Reinhardt-D.Va to playing Orisa-Sigma?

S: I think it’s possible. Our synergy is already improving in scrims, and Xenofly can react to what I’m doing in scrims. It’s just a matter of grinding.

Q: Do you [and Xenofly] play together in Competitive?

S: No. Xenofly grinds by reviewing a lot of VODs, and I don’t see him in Competitive Play often. Different people grind differently, he can watch his VODs and review his mistakes. For me, I have to play on the competitive ladder, and make mistakes to learn from them.

Q: What are your expectations for this World Cup?

S: I think it’s impossible for us to win, but I think top 8 is a good target.

Q: Who do you think will be your toughest opponents?

S: We won’t be facing the top 5 countries [in the preliminaries], so probably Australia.

I honestly don’t know what this emotion is supposed to be. pepeLaugh?

JohnGalt

Q: This will be your first time coaching team Singapore. How do you feel about it?

JohnGalt: It’s a passion project for me. I’m interested to see how much Singapore has improved. There is a big part of living up to the expectations of the previous World Cup teams. We want to do better than the Singapore teams in the previous iterations of the World Cup, and to set a good example for the team in the coming years.

Q: What have you been doing as coaching staff on the Los Angeles Gladiators, and how does your Overwatch League experience translate over to the national team?

JG: The Gladiators is a mixed team from many different cultures, and with that eventually comes conflict. So in comes the need for conflict resolution. That is also needed in the national team, as there are players with different perspectives on how they want to play the game. As coach, I bring everyone together, and come up with an overarching strategy, or to resolve disagreements. Team Singapore should be much closer to each other, not only as a team, but to also increase the camaraderie and mutual bonds between one another.

A big part of my role on the Gladiators was strategy. David [dpei] was more of a dynamic coach, who can fill in for what is lacking, or what cannot be done within the time frame. Between myself and the other assistant coaches, we cover most of the strategies, about 70–80%. I can say I have a very strong grasp on strategy. Also, perhaps due to my experience as a sergeant during National Service, I have some experience in resolving conflict and being an empathetic ear. When David has misgivings or when he is not sure about the course of action, we will often discuss about it, even at 3 in the morning. I think that plays a big part of my role [on the Gladiators]. Not only was my role about strategy, but also about mental issues, and about the issues the team will face throughout the season. That’s what I’ve been doing on Team Singapore as well, not just doing all the strategy, but also understanding the players’ issues and hopefully also serving as a mentor or big brother to them.

Q: What do you think are the differences between the Gladiators and the World Cup team?

JG: A lot of my work on the Gladiators involve scouting and coming up with counter-strategies. But that could be done because we know our opponents way in advance. On the national team, there’s a lot of unknown and uncertainty in which team you’re going to face. Often times, the main direction [of the national team] is to try your best, because you don’t know who you’re going to face first. I think the responsibilities are very similar [between the Gladiators and Team Singapore]. Perhaps the biggest difference is the fact that for the Gladiators, I’m working with them on the ground, face to face. So all the things I need to do is a lot easier when I’m on the ground. When I’m coaching Team Singapore, most of my work is done online, and that makes my job harder. The players also may be different in terms of culture and perspectives.

Q: You’ve known most of the team Singapore players for at least two years. How do you think they’ve improved since you first met them?

JG: They used to be very mechanically competent players, but a lot of them didn’t understand high-level teamwork. A lot of them didn’t understand how to work with a singular teammate, let alone when teammates are constantly changing. One thing they’ve learnt is the importance of strategy, and how important teamwork is. I think that was what was missing early on in the Overwatch scene, when top Singapore teams relied on sheer mechanical skill to defeat their opponents.

Q: On the national team, it’s more beneficial to put your best foot forward, rather than planning counter-strategies against the opponent. Why is that so?

JG: I’m teaching the national team not only to play specific heroes better, but also how to think about the game like how an Overwatch League player would. A lot of the Overwatch League players are very intelligent about the game. If I coach them a questionable concept, they would have a lot of questions [for me], and tell me that I might have been mistaken. Team Singapore, because they don’t have that kind of experience, they don’t look at the game the same way a coach does. Top players aren’t top players not because they can hit headshots, but also because they intuitively know the game almost like a coach. That is what I’m trying to teach the World Cup players, not just to play like a top player, but also to think about the game analytically like a coach. I need them to tell me how they lost or won a teamfight, because if they can’t, it means they don’t understand the crux of the teamfight.

Q: Are you helping the Singapore players to cope with being on a big LAN stage?

JG: It’s really hard to simulate LAN experiences. That’s why there are some teams that are considered LAN teams and others that are online teams, which held true even in the early history of the game, before the Overwatch League. I think a lot of [coping with the LAN environment] has to come to the individual players. I will help as much as I can, by talking about the problems they might face. But they will have to prepare themselves on the day of the match.

Q: Do you have any tips for them, on how to cope with the LAN environment?

JG: I will remind them to just focus on the game. Focus on the next fight. The only thing you should be focusing on in game is the next fight. Win or lose the fight? Think about the next one. That should be the only thing they are thinking about. I want them to tunnel vision, not in game, but in their mindset for the games.

Q: What are your expectations for the team in the World Cup?

JG: I think we are one of the underdogs in this tournament. We are improving day by day, but there are teams that have a lot more experience than us, e.g. team UK or team Finland. Another part is also hoping to be a little bit lucky in the single elimination brackets, that we don’t need to face the more experienced teams until later on in the bracket. But I really want the players to just try their best, to execute what they’ve learnt. But no matter win or lose, I’ll still be proud of them, as long as they’ve learnt and grow as a team.

Q: What do you think will be your biggest challenge at BlizzCon?

JG: Probably LAN nerves, and expectations. The players are young and inexperienced, so they might have expectations. When they take on a team with Overwatch League players like Finland, they need to be prepared not to be scared, but not to be overaggressive either. They need to go in and just focus on the game. I think that will be a big obstacle, the mental portion of playing at a physical venue, and also playing against players with much more experience than them.