Sean "seang@res" Gares, alongside his former French teammates, is without a team. It's always unusual to see a veteran IGL without a home, but Sean has been in this situation before and flourished with the challenge





DBLTAP's Nathan Fusco had the opportunity to talk to seang@res about his time as an analyst and his plans for the future.





Nathan Fusco: For the Major, this wasn't the first time you've commentated. Was it simply about having the time and wanting to continue exploring analyst work or did you just want to be at the Major in some capacity?





Sean "seang@res" Gares: Yeah, I get an offer every couple of months, but it's so difficult to do it while the competitive circuit is in full swing. I always have a good time hanging out with the talent crews, so I knew for a fact it was something I wanted to do when ELEAGUE asked!





NF: We spoke to ShahZam about the past couple of months with Misfits, had the deal already fallen through when you decided to work the Major?





SG: When I accepted the major position the only thing that was certain was that SicK would be playing with Rogue, thus leaving us with four players. Honestly, there wasn't much communication in WhatsApp while I was in the major. I think everyone was exploring what kind of offers were out there.

We are excited to reveal the talent roster joining us for the ELEAGUE Major: Boston playoffs! Welcome, @seangares and @GoldenboyFTW. pic.twitter.com/Hzn8ubhGTb — ELEAGUE (@ELEAGUETV) January 23, 2018

NF: How frustrating was it when you guys seemed to finally be clicking and you run into contract issues?





SG: It was disappointing, but I also understand the reasoning behind SicK and the Frenchies wanting to enter different projects. Also, we had a lot of underlying problems due to personality conflicts and communication, so it wasn't that much of a shock to me.





NF: It sounds like the plan was for you to find another organization to buy out the French players contracts and sign the rest of you guys. After Francois and David backed out, what was your initial response? How about after Shahzeeb and Hunter found new teams?





SG: Yeah, we were in talks with a few organizations who were all willing to buy out the Frenchies, one of which actually had contracts created for us and had negotiated everything with Misfits. The main organization that we were in talks with had everything planned out and hours before the roster lock deadline, the Frenchies informed us that they wanted to play in a French-speaking team. I completely understand their reasoning for wanting to play with a French-speaking team, I was just bummed because it caused us to lose the EPL spot. I wasn't too shocked that SicK left the team and obviously I can't be upset at Shahzam for taking such an amazing offer.





NF: A re you now considering analyst work in the meantime or are you looking for a team?





SG: As of now, I'm just streaming/Y ouTubing and accepting analyst work on the side. It's a weird time since most teams solidified their rosters going into the new EPL season. I'll likely have to wait sometime before changes occur!

Our wedding video finally arrived! @JenaGares and I wanted to share it so I just uploaded it to my channel. Such an amazing day! 😍 https://t.co/XyVtmQInli — Sean Gares (@seangares) February 6, 2018

NF: There are a few pros scattered throughout CS:GO that are married or have kids, how has it been balancing that style of life with being a professional gamer?





SG: It’s actually been quite easy for me! My wife is on the business side of the industry and has a pretty good understanding of the time necessary to be a pro, so she’s always been very understanding. Even for others, if you communicate and organize your day out, it shouldn’t be a problem!





NF: We've talked to n0thing about whether he would ever return and it's always about finding the right team and the right experience. Players like Jordan and yourself have immense experience and it can be daunting to try to start over with a fresh-faced team, new to the scene. Do you feel that you are in the same boat as Jordan?





SG: Well, I've actually made that start-over twice since I stepped down from Cloud9, and it is indeed very difficult. I always enjoy a challenge, so I'm definitely not above joining an existing team, or group of players, that haven't reached the top yet. I understand that the perfect scenario will not fall into my lap.





NF: Y ou've dabbled with taking breaks before, is it different this time around or do you still have the competitive fire?





SG: I believe that I will always have a competitive fire inside of me, so I don't think much has changed there!

NF: As someone that has been in the North American CS scene for a while now, what improvement has stood out to you the most from other NA teams?





SG: It's pretty evident to me that the top NA teams have a much better understanding of teamwork and supportive play than prior years. In addition to this, Cloud9 and Team Liquid have really experienced players that know when to take risks and how to react if that risk doesn't pay off.





NF: When Cloud9 won the Major, did that change anything for you? Does it push you knowing that guys you play against all the time are Major champions?





SG: Even though I predicted them to win, it was still a shocking thing to witness! It doesn't change anything for me as a competitor playing against them, but I definitely respect such an amazing accomplishment!

Photo Courtesy of DreamHack

