amazingxkcd Profile Blog Joined September 2010 GRAND OLD AMERICA 15736 Posts Last Edited: 2016-08-24 18:45:49 #1 Introduction:



A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview Davey “Davey” Stafford, who runs the AWP on Team Splyce. We spoke about the newly formed team’s valiant success at the MLG Columbus Major Qualifier despite not being prepared to compete; Splyce squeezed into the tournament when the Mongolz from the Asian Qualifiers were unable to obtain their visas. Splyce came into the qualifiers labelled as underdogs and dismissed as competitors.Their matchups against the teams of Vexed, SK, and CLG were analyzed as unfavorable.



Splyce started the qualifiers on a good note by creating the first upset of the tournament, beating CLG 16-14 on Cache. Invigorated by their performance, fans of the North American scene gained some confidence in the newly formed team, but doubts still lingered as Splyce faced Vexed in the winners' match. Although the analyst desk tipped Vexed to take it, it would be a challenge for both teams as Oskar "oskarish" Stenborowski was standing in for Bartosz "Hyper" Wolny, casting doubt on the team’s chemistry. Splyce took advantage of this, and tore the Poles apart on Mirage. Their “Cinderella” qualification for the first North American CS:GO major, featuring the biggest prize pool yet of one million dollars, is the feel-good story of the tournament so far.



A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interviewDavey “Davey” Stafford, who runs the AWP on Team Splyce. We spoke about the newly formed team’s valiant success at the MLG Columbus Major Qualifier despite not being prepared to compete; Splyce squeezed into the tournament when the Mongolz from the Asian Qualifiers were unable to obtain their visas. Splyce came into the qualifiers labelled as underdogs and dismissed as competitors.Their matchups against the teams of Vexed, SK, and CLG were analyzed as unfavorable.Splyce started the qualifiers on a good note by creating the first upset of the tournament, beating CLG 16-14 on Cache. Invigorated by their performance, fans of the North American scene gained some confidence in the newly formed team, but doubts still lingered as Splyce faced Vexed in the winners' match. Although the analyst desk tipped Vexed to take it, it would be a challenge for both teams asOskar "oskarish" Stenborowski was standing in forBartosz "Hyper" Wolny, casting doubt on the team’s chemistry. Splyce took advantage of this, and tore the Poles apart on Mirage. Their “Cinderella” qualification for the first North American CS:GO major, featuring the biggest prize pool yet of one million dollars, is the feel-good story of the tournament so far. The Interview:



What was the team's first reaction when you found out you would be able to attend the qualifier?



Our reaction was obviously very excited. We were thrilled to get the chance to play at the qualifier after underperforming in the finals at the minor. It was pretty stressful though. MLG kept us waiting for 2 full days while they were making sure none of the other teams from the Asian qualifiers could go. It was pretty stressful not knowing if we were actually going to get to go or not. Once we found out we were going everyone was ready to win, we knew how well we could perform at our best.



What were the noticeable differences in the team before the qualifiers (Minors, and online matches) during, and after?



Well before the major qualifier and throughout the minor we were honestly still struggling to find our identity as a team. I had recently re-joined the team and we kept trying to make changes to our roles and CT sides to fix problems but nothing was working very effectively. Right before the major we decided we would make some pretty significant changes to the way we played to better fit the new meta of the game and it worked really well. We hope to continue our good form through our online matches leading up to the major as well as at the major.



How did it feel to be the first North American team to qualify, and qualify with an upset?



It felt very good just to qualify, it wasn't any more significant for us to be the "first North American team." All that mattered to us was that we did qualify, the sooner the better from a personal standpoint but we didn't really think of it in that sense that we are the first North American team. As for the upset, it definitely feels good when people doubt you and you prove them wrong. Almost all the analysts didn't think we would be able to get out of the group, and we showed them we were good enough to compete. We know how good we can play when everyone is focused and on the same page, and it felt very surreal to have it all come together at the most important time.



Now that you have qualified, what will you guys do to prep yourselves for the Major? Making it out of groups is one of the biggest challenges for NA teams, so how will you prepare yourself to face top European teams?





We have an 8 day boot camp going on in LA the week before the major that will definitely help us to fine tune what we have been working on. There's no excuses, NA has no excuses not to be competing with the best teams in the world, Luminosity is a testament to that. We have to put in the work necessary to succeed, everyone does. If we do that, and everyone stays focused and plays our game there is absolutely no reason why we can't compete with the best teams in the world and do well at the major. It's the first major in North America and we want a North American team to win. We play every match to win regardless of the opponent and we hope we can make our fans proud and know that at the end of the event we gave it everything we had and played to the best of our ability.



[T/N]: Davey just jumped straight into doing shoutouts



I would like to thank Splyce and all the management team for the overwhelming support we have received since joining the organization. I would also like to thank all the fans on behalf of the entire team and Splyce organization for the phenomenal support you have shown us. We wouldn't be here without you guys and words cannot describe how much the fans mean to us. Hopefully we will see many of you guys in Columbus!





Writer:

Editor: Lichter

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Graphics: DavidScott



Our reaction was obviously very excited. We were thrilled to get the chance to play at the qualifier after underperforming in the finals at the minor. It was pretty stressful though. MLG kept us waiting for 2 full days while they were making sure none of the other teams from the Asian qualifiers could go. It was pretty stressful not knowing if we were actually going to get to go or not. Once we found out we were going everyone was ready to win, we knew how well we could perform at our best.Well before the major qualifier and throughout the minor we were honestly still struggling to find our identity as a team. I had recently re-joined the team and we kept trying to make changes to our roles and CT sides to fix problems but nothing was working very effectively. Right before the major we decided we would make some pretty significant changes to the way we played to better fit the new meta of the game and it worked really well. We hope to continue our good form through our online matches leading up to the major as well as at the major.It felt very good just to qualify, it wasn't any more significant for us to be the "first North American team." All that mattered to us was that we did qualify, the sooner the better from a personal standpoint but we didn't really think of it in that sense that we are the first North American team. As for the upset, it definitely feels good when people doubt you and you prove them wrong. Almost all the analysts didn't think we would be able to get out of the group, and we showed them we were good enough to compete. We know how good we can play when everyone is focused and on the same page, and it felt very surreal to have it all come together at the most important time.We have an 8 day boot camp going on in LA the week before the major that will definitely help us to fine tune what we have been working on. There's no excuses, NA has no excuses not to be competing with the best teams in the world, Luminosity is a testament to that. We have to put in the work necessary to succeed, everyone does. If we do that, and everyone stays focused and plays our game there is absolutely no reason why we can't compete with the best teams in the world and do well at the major. It's the first major in North America and we want a North American team to win. We play every match to win regardless of the opponent and we hope we can make our fans proud and know that at the end of the event we gave it everything we had and played to the best of our ability.I would like to thank Splyce and all the management team for the overwhelming support we have received since joining the organization. I would also like to thank all the fans on behalf of the entire team and Splyce organization for the phenomenal support you have shown us. We wouldn't be here without you guys and words cannot describe how much the fans mean to us. Hopefully we will see many of you guys in Columbus!Writer: DavidScott Editor: Amazingxkcd CSS: FO-nTTaX Graphics: DearDave The world is burning and you rather be on this terrible website discussing video games and your shallow feelings