Today's announcement that Team Dignitas have traded Matic "Zarmony" Mikec and an undisclosed fee to Natus Vincere for Simon "scHwimpi" Svensson and Jerome "JayPL" Trinh, while also parting ways with Adrian "adrd" Wojcik was not altogether unexpected.

More than the immediate change to both rosters, the move represented a major shift in the balance of power of Europe's competitive scene. The addition of JayPL and scHwimpi to the already impressive core of Joshua "Snitch" Bennett, James "Bakery" Baker and Lawrence "Atheroangel" Harper has created a roster with an incredible amount of talent.

The members of Team Dignitas' roster spoke with theScore eSports about how the move will shape their strategy, why the change was necessary, and how the new members will fit it.

How do JayPL and scHwimpi change the way the team will draft/play?

Snitch: I think JayPL coming in from Na`Vi is actually very convenient for us as he was the main influence in their draft and we've put him in charge of drafting since we began playing together. However, unlike before, we're all very active in draft with scHwimpi as well and as such we're more drafting as a team compared to before where we were led by just adrd.

In terms of gameplay, Athero at some point became our main shotcaller towards the end of our run with adrd and Zarmony so he has continued being the main shotcaller, but again we all communicate a lot and Jay and scHwimpi bring a lot of good ideas to our in-game calling and preparation.

Atheroangel: With scHwimpi and Jay we draft as a team and it feels more thorough when we are learning things in-game with them. We can now play Tyrande to a high level now that we have a dedicated Tyrande player in scHwimpi and we tend to win more early games now that we are communicating better.

In the semifinal games against Na`Vi, even though the games were close at times, you seemed very confident throughout. Can I get your thoughts on that series?

Athero: They left open Tyrael in Game 1 which was dumb and in Game 2 they picked Kerrigan even though E.T.C. is super good into it so if they didn't get a huge lead in the early game they would lose due to team comps.

Snitch: Yeah, I feel as though against Na`Vi we were confident since Prague, since we felt we understood why we lost and what they wanted to play. For example, when they first picked Blackheart's we immediately banned Falstad as we knew they were using it as a pocket pick on that map to get a huge lead. I think small things like this helped us out-strategize them and from there it was just mostly outplays.

The press release said you guys have been dealing with "severe disagreements on a strategical or personal level." What sorts of things specifically were you disagreeing about, and how was it affecting play? Did it affect your performance at the BlizzCon grand finals?

Bakery: Most of the issues were regarding our drafting phase and our shotcalling in games. We would struggle to effectively give input during the draft phase, and often our discussions would not result in the correct Hero being selected despite coming to the correct conclusion. In games where we had some difficulties or fell behind, our shotcalling would become almost non-existent, which made it incredibly hard for us to come back as a team when we were behind.

One of the other issues was the lack of cohesion in the way that we thought about the team, and the way to move forward. While no player was incorrect in their ideas, we needed to follow one. That is an issue that we have solved by putting me in charge of our practice and our approach to improving outside of the game. We are actively searching for a coach to fill this role, although we haven't found the right choice yet.

These issues definitely had an impact on our performance in the grand finals, although it would be unfair to use that as an excuse, as every team has their own obstacles to deal with, and we should have dealt with ours better if we deserved to win the World Championship.

[To Bakery] As the team captain, you've got a lot of responsibility. Both you and Snitch are pretty talkative. At an interpersonal level, how do scHwimpi and JayPL fit into this team?

Bakery: For a long time I've said to the team that somebody needs to step up and be a leader. I've taken this opportunity to do that. This is my dream team, under my leadership.

In regards to our latest additions, Jay is a really outgoing person, and I think his kind of uncontainable energy will be really helpful for the team. scHwimpi is much more reserved, but I think the composure that he brings will help keep us grounded during tournaments and in important games.

[To JayPL/scHwimpi] You've practiced against Dignitas for a while. When playing against Bakery, Atheroangel and Snitch, what specifically did you respect about their play?

JayPL: I think Bakery is for sure the strongest support in the European scene, he is consistent and sometimes can be a gamebreaker in a team fight with good ultimates. Athero can play every tank hero at a high level, and is a really good laner. Snitch has got a good pool hero and still, can be regular which is hard when you are swapping melee hero to ranged

scHwimpi: Athero is one of the few tanks that knows when to go in and go out, he has good knowledge of his limits.

Heading into DreamHack, what team do you consider to be your toughest competition and why?

scHwimpi: I consider mYinsanity to be our biggest competition at DreamHack, their playstyle is very aggressive and it can be hard to deal with if you are a new team.

JayPL: The toughest team to face is probably mYinsanity, they have a clear plan on the game, at least that's what we think when we are playing against them, their drafts are kinda strong and sometimes surprising which is really difficult to adapt to when you are a new team with less knowledge.

[To scHwimpi] How comfortable do you feel with filling the second warrior spot when needed? Do you have any favorite heroes at that position?

scHwimpi: I feel very comfortable filling this role, as it is the same as I had in NaVi. I really enjoy playing Anub, it is not played too much anymore but it's still my favorite

Anything else you'd like to add?

JayPL: I took the opportunity to join Dignitas to play with players I judged better to become the strongest team, I don't want any regret with my choices and I think I did the right choice and I will show you that we will not disappoint you. I would like to thank Natus Vincere personally, I probably would not be here without them.

scHwimpi: Big thanks to Na`Vi for all they did, they took me to my first LAN and my first bootcamp, I'm very grateful. As for my fans, I hope you will stick in there and continue to support me, this swap was needed for me personally and I hope you all understand.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Josh Bury is too much of a scHwimp to deal with cold weather right now. You can find him on Twitter.