The 7th Man: An interview with mousesports lirreboss

It is only recently that Liban "lirreboss" Aden has made himself known, emerging from a brief stint as coach for REUNITED as their painful roster shuffles concluded.

I had chatted with him for an hour or two online and I was intrigued by his thoughts on and obvious passion for the role of coaches in Overwatch. We agreed to meet on Friday for an interview, but he was a no show…

FeelsBadMan

As it turns out he had bigger fish to fry and was later announced as the coach for the new mousesports Overwatch roster currently under development. I guess I could forgive him for that! So we met up again today - a sleepy Saturday afternoon for me after another late night of watching North American Overwatch tournaments – and the guy is so keen that he skips the preamble and launches into the interview without me! I love it!

What I can tell you about this game and being a coach in this game, is that it requires the prerequisites... game understanding in Overwatch is the alpha and the omega. I have a unique role where I give input and improve the flow of synergy during waves, I also ensure that the teams communicate during stressful moments like wipes and stuff. I'm trying to be as objective as possible too, as a person, about any critical decision being taken. In Overwatch, you need somebody who can criticize decisions based on the flow of events. That's why 6 men aren't enough, there is a need for the 7th that can keep the team in line with the goal, winning, and that's where I have entered this game in, the person who can take the team to the next level in moments which requires retrospective and when calm/communication is needed. That was what I was trying to do in REUNITED, trying to assist them in keeping them calm and ensure that they put 100% focus to the game only and put all the differences aside during matches and so forth. And I did improve that, they are thinking more critically of what they perform and do, they air the views in mistakes they do more often than previously, so it's going good for them even after 2Easy's departure.

OK! OK! We'll get that that, but let's rewind a little bit, you speaking of flow of events, maybe you can tell us a little bit about your background in eSports and the events that lead you to become an Overwatch coach?

I come from a previous competitive background in Firefall, played loads of pugs with some of the current professional players in Overwatch. The events that led me to become an Overwatch coach was pretty simple, REUNITED contacted me with the vision of solving all their internal issues which I clearly in the end wasn't the fitting person for the job they required.

What was it the made you decide to transition from a playing role in Firefall to a coaching one in Overwatch?

The decision was quite simple, the competition in this game is simply needing people like myself to ensure that the teams perform even better than what they currently do. As a player, I would not be able to self-critically think. However, as a coach I'd be able to judge others performance and not only my own, and therefore I could improve any team I would be working for. That's what a coach role is about. A playing role in Firefall, given the competition was quite simple, didn't require the level of necessary thinking. It was more play-and-play type of approach unlike Overwatch, which has a totally different mindset and dynamic. I felt the coach role, analysing performance and player inputs, would fit me better than a playing. I would be more valuable to a team as a coach than a player because of it.

We came to an agreement. mouz Overwatch has a coach! Welcome @lirreboss https://t.co/j6hGsIBQ6L — Klaus Wiedemann (@followfragm) July 8, 2016

When elite Overwatch teams have been playing 8 hours a day for a number of months now, is there a limit to what can you offer to a team if you have not played or competed as extensively as the teams you are coaching? What do you bring to the table?

I bring the calm to a team, the ability to self-critically think and asses. I work kinda like an audit that keeps tracks on the performance and what went wrong/good. And the analytical part is always rendered as useful as I keep track on the performance. I also point out the flaws of the opposite team, by always questioning what the opponent does during the round, what changes they make and so forth. I don't believe there's any limit to anything I do, there's a saying that the "sky is the limit" I believe in that philosophy and that's what I intend to stick to. Regardless of how much time others have spent, there'll always be that someone who can view things in a much different fashion and offer a different perspective.

Just to hone in on the idea of bringing calm to a team, do you find that part of your work is almost like group therapy? What do you enjoy the sports psychology aspect of coaching?

I try to bring the unnecessary details out of the picture during matches and practice. I also try to take the pressure off by mentioning how well things are going. You could see it as someone who is trying to keep the momentum and focus up. Someone that always questions the performance and tries to amplify the team's state of mind when the flow of events is in line with the outcome, winning. So I'm trying to improve the communication flow, and try to amplify the need for steady communication. Always keeping the communication under steady flow. So whenever things heat up and the players feel the pressure, it's important that they keep up the momentum by communicating what they intend to do and what they intend to perform and what's a good or bad idea in the situation.

So you try represent an island of neutrality in the choppy seas of team dynamics which have developed over hundreds of hours playing together. What difficulties do you face in trying remove potentially destructive habits and emotions from high level competition? In your most recent experience with REUNITED, it appeared that problem was an intractable one, in that the team decided to remove 2Easy rather than resolve their issues?

The biggest obstacle I'd say is when people mix up results with personal matters. In REUNITED, they had a friendship outside of gaming as well. It made the decision tougher on them I'd say. The problem was that the players themselves had an emotional tie to 2Easy, which made them not able to self-critically think about their performance until they stopped growing. It's important to be able to take critical decisions for what is the best outcome for your team. The difficulties I faced the most was the fact that the players grew emotionally together. I only face personal difficulties as I had to waver views about respective individual with what is good or bad. The players have to motivate themselves personally into what they do also, that's also something that is a difficult thing. People get motivated in different ways, some by money, some by results, some by friendship. That's what is tough with eSports.

Is the approach you took working with a longstanding roster like REUNITED going to be different than that you might take with mousesports where you are building a new team? Which scenario is preferable for a coach?

The preferable scenario for a coach I'd say is when the team is not developing in the pace of what is anticipated from them. Having great obstacles creates great solutions, and that is something that creates a better sphere for the teams that got a coach. The tougher the challenge, the greater outcome. My solution in mousesports would be completely different, as I've taught myself valuable things as a being, coach and student of this game. I've really taught myself through the view of REUNITED that the best approach to things is to wholeheartedly believe in your own ability. All of the players I'll be working closely with in mousesports share my visions, and all are likeminded in the sense that hardwork and development is really important. The most important thing is to learn as much as possible and be open-minded about new adventures. Not having the "arrogance" of previous success, and always looking forward to things, even if they are tough to face.

What specifics can you tell us about mousesports plans for Overwatch? The only information in the public domain right now is that fragm is scouting for talent and that you have joined in a coaching capacity. When are we going to hear about the players? What input do you have in the scouting and selection process?

Mousesports take a very thought-out approach to the team composition. They brought fragm to lead the future team as his history has shown great perseverance and dedication to anything he enters. The scouting/selection of players is an interesting composure, as there aren't enough metrics to judge a player as carefully as in other games. The organization is not entering this eSport title on a high horse position, there are great challenges and obstacles to be realized at first. Hopefully, they are solvable in a not too distant future, but to be realistic, I believe they can be taken on very well. I carefully propose players based on their dedication/mindset, not on words. I reckon that there are a lot of people interested in playing for mousesports given our reputation, but it's important to stress that this is a long-term composure. The players will be brought forward to the public domain once the initial steps is taken. The organization needs to first establish the infrastructure, such as the team having a platform to stand on, and a person working with them closely. [Coach] and this is something that mousesports themselves see value in as well. As most Overwatch teams aren't having suitable people as coaches yet, there'll be more and more coaches entering the teams I believe. We will see within a not too distant future, how the formation of mousesports overwatch will look like. As I mentioned, the selection process are carefully planned and developed in this very moment, if players are interested to represent mousesports, it's important to note that we are open-minded to questions. If you [who reads this] feel that you've what it takes to represent mousesports, then bring it forward and we'll take it from there.

Have you considered picking up any pre-existing Overwatch rosters or is the goal to build one from scratch?

We have several options to enter if so, I'd definitely not rule out the possibility of obtaining a pre-existing roster. As things look like right now, the ideal goal is to actually create a team composing of players from pre-existing teams. So, the latter is our ideal state of mind and approach as of now. Building a team that is possibly a future frontier team that is. As we know that eSports and Overwatch is a dynamic and ever evolving branch to work in, changes occur. But the vision is to establish a team consisting of handpicked players that are sharing mousesports values and my visions as a player. I only got the focus on performance, not on words. It's important to stress during this interview that most bland interviews state words and mindsets that are only words. We take a different approach. That's why we aren't opting the usual way of recruiting players but rather incorporate data/mindset in the decision being taken to select players. We are here to stay, to put it in this way. How well we stay depends on how much work we put into this.

Where do you see Overwatch coaching going? Are you going to be the 7th man on voice comms standing behind your team on stage at stadium events? Are you surprised by how quickly Overwatch seems to be escalating?

I hope, that Blizzard eSports management understands that the 7th man is needed in such an even plain field. A 7th man would be able to see details in the opponent which the team wouldn't have the eyes for. As Overwatch is a really fast paced game, a 7th man could potentially snap up details that the players themselves aren't realizing until it's too late. The ideal situation would be that I'd be the 7th man to observe the opponents movement and maintain the calmness. If this is not going to exist in a near future, I'll still be responsible for the team's momentum and confidence during the matches. Just like others, the changes in Overwatch are all growing in an unbelievable pace. I'm hearing new details every day, about things that haven't crossed my mind yet. Just like everyone else, we're all equally trying to snap up to the changes in the current meta. We are trying our best daily to understand new innovation shown by the frontier teams. I think that just like everyone else in this eSport that Overwatch will become a huge phenomenon. The data being presented regarding the amount of active players in example Korea is something that I still have a hard time grasping. This game connects both East and the West, hopefully there'll be epic showdowns not just between NA vs EU, but also NA vs KR and so forth. Overwatch has connected millions of people already together in intense moments filled with emotions.

Yeah! The potential is absolutely massive, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. What is on your wishlist for Blizzard right now? I'd personally love to see stats or logs from custom games so teams can start drilling in to the data. What kind of features would help you as a coach?

I share the idea of having stats available to the players even in custom games. I'd like to see a coaching system implemented into the game, also hero limitation becoming a practice. Hopefully, with ESL and GosuGamers taking the right steps such as enforcing a hero limit on their end, this will put an end to it. I'd also want to see improvements overall such as more metrics, providing e.g. over.gg with APIs to implement statistics from live matches. Besides coaching systems and improved metrics, I'd like to have a circuit of events where the frontier teams could compete in. More events from Blizzards side would be the ideal kick-start I'd say, besides upcoming hero changes/improved competitive mode/metrics. And a better platform to communicate directly with Blizzard amongst frontier teams. I know from the hard work that Jeff Kaplan puts in, that they're at least trying to improve this compared to other eSport titles. I think that an open discussion platform besides Battle.net forums established by Blizzard themselves would be ideal to enable further motivation to play this game. In the Overwatch scene we are all dedicated to see further changes, and will also rant about our views on future changes. Some of the professional players expresses views at a constant rate and I believe that they could do so on a platform where Blizzard snaps up to some of the rants.

Finally then, what do you think about the current state of Overwatch coaching? It seems like there are a significant number of top teams with coaches on their staff, but you are the first one I have actually spoken with! Have you had many interactions with other coaches? Has their impact been visible in the game at this early stage?

Well, I've noticed that some of the teams do have people spectating their matches. I haven't dived into people just yet, but one manager that sticks out is WindZ. He puts a lot of hours into actually spectating Misfits matches, and further on. I do not know how much he himself put in working wise, but I have a good feeling about him doing a good job in Misfits. I know that Creation eSports and some other organizations have expressed their desire to pick up analysts or coaches, but I think that they feel, just like many other teams, that the available personnel just aren't there yet. And it's hard to tell whether they do have a significant impact as of yet, the competition is ever-evolving. It'll take months or years to realize the importance of a coach overall, but I believe that a coach, regardless of time, is a valuable asset to a team. A coach is dedicated in player questions, and to further improve the team overall. It's a morale boost to have a coach, because it benefits the players to handle stress with a person solely dedicated to you and your team's improvement. The current state of Overwatch coaching is hard to say. I believe that the very frontier teams already have a certain person who they can dive into things with, but I'd say that the way that I coach is an innovation, as I keep track on performance/focus mid-match and always keep the communication alive. Regardless of state in match, the players keep a steady flow in their communication. It's not such a surprise that I'm the very first acknowledged coach you speak to, as most of the coaches generally are people who are friends with the players and not having it as an official role if you want to put it that way. They are mostly people who are attached to the players on a personal level, which is a totally different approach compared to the usage of me as a coach. With me, it's strictly focus on being in alignment with the goal, and that is winning.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I'm excited to see what the months ahead hold for you, mousesports and Overwatch at large. Good luck!

Means a lot to be handpicked by a world champion. Thanks to fragm and those who supports @mousesports https://t.co/UZfTmYw77H — Liban (@lirreboss) July 8, 2016