[Interview] TL's LohaN, standing in for nAts: "I'm just glad I get to go back to retirement" — VCT EMEA Stage 2

Hotspawn: LohaN, I understand today was a very tough one for you. Even so — how did it feel to play on the VCT EMEA stage with the team? LohaN: Well, it wasn't bad. I was pretty lost. I found myself at a loss more than once. But I came out of retirement for a single match, so thankfully I get to go back to retirement. Yes — thankfully, Ayaz (nAts) is back for the next match. So I'm relieved right now. This was only a warm-up.

Hotspawn: Setting aside the challenge of you stepping in as a player today, it looked like Eternal Fire built momentum in the first half despite you starting well, especially on the first map. What do you think was the biggest problem they posed for you? LohaN: Yeah, it was tough. I think we ran into a lot of problems. Obviously, when I'm the one playing, it's very hard to set any kind of standard. Even playing the game myself, it's hard to work out what the main in-game problems actually were.

Honestly, I don't think we can take this match as the benchmark for the rest of the season, and it's important not to take this loss too seriously. We knew it would be a hard fight and we knew we were facing a team with serious firepower. Now we reset and go into the next match with our heads up. That's all.

Hotspawn: On firepower — you made some roster changes between the last stage and this one. How is the work of bedding Kicks and trexx into the team going? LohaN: Honestly, it's going well. Everyone has worked hard. It didn't show in the result today, but they really are putting the work in and I think something good is forming. It's just that with me playing, it's too early to show it. But bringing those two players in, the teamwork is good. I think we still have enough in us to fight for a Championship spot this split.

Hotspawn: Unfortunately the run of consecutive appearances in London ended, but you've been fairly consistent so far. You said you've worked on a lot of things — what do you think improved most from Stage 1 to Stage 2? LohaN: Well, we're basically a new team, right? When we had to change two players, we effectively became a completely new team. So we had to go back to basics and spend a lot of time on communication, tactical coordination and, well, learning from scratch.

It's hard to compare with the previous line-up, especially since we hadn't played a single match together as a team. I don't think today's match even counts as a match as a team, so let's look at the next one, see how it goes, and see what to fix in practice.

It's going pretty well. Practice doesn't always translate into official results, of course, but practice is going well. You can see real progress day by day. Now we need the mental strength to get past this loss, not take it too seriously, and look forward to the next match.

Hotspawn: One more thing I wanted to ask about is the meta, since there's been a big shift since Masters London. I imagine you're pleased about the Neon nerf. What do you make of it? LohaN: Yeah, right. Last time we spoke we talked about Neon likely getting nerfed. And I'm happy with this nerf. I think the meta is in a decent place now — the best meta since Champions last year, I'd say. I'm still not fully convinced about the initiator changes though. If they reverted the initiator changes across the board, I think the game would be in a very healthy state. Honestly, I like the Outlaw changes. I think the meta could be better than it is, but it's definitely better than the start of this year.

Hotspawn: Good to hear. And there are more duelist options now, and of course the map pool changed — what do you think of the new map? How does everyone feel about it? LohaN: It's interesting. Honestly, I like the new map. I think it's an interesting approach. I might not be so keen on the curved angles though — they feel slightly off for an FPS. But overall I like the map, and honestly I think there's a lot of depth to it.

Hotspawn: What do you like most about the map, and what do you like least? LohaN: I really like the design of the spike sites. On A in particular I think there's a bit of room for improvement. I'm very happy with the B site plant area — I think it's very well designed. And overall, the way you can manipulate the map with the doors is quite interesting. The only thing I don't like is the curved angles. Although, in a way, it's an interesting new thing to try.

Hotspawn: What do you think about the sites? It feels like they force players into on-the-spot play rather than the usual spray-and-play setups. Do you think it changes how teams play? LohaN: Well, you can anchor either site, but B is a bit different. I think it's more about setups than chokepoints — trading utility on main or on the edges. And the way you defend A is different from the others too. I think it's a bit like Corrode, but Corrode had a few more defensive lines and more lines you had to break through, whereas on A there's A main, but the A choke is a very wide open area with limited positions to take. In terms of playability, it isn't that certain positions are overwhelmingly strong. It's different. We'll have to see how it goes. Of course they've already started playing the map in China, and I think they have an interesting approach to it, but let's first see what strategies we build in Europe and go from there.

Hotspawn: On strategies in Europe — who do you think is the strongest team going into Stage 2? LohaN: It's hard to say. If last year's pattern holds, the schedule is quite packed, so some teams will drop off. Vitality should still be extremely strong, but there's a question mark over whether the schedule is affecting them. Hard to judge. As for NAVI, from what I've seen at least, they're playing pretty well. I'll be watching how they do in the group stage. Beating FUT Esports was a fairly impressive result for them. That said, I still think Vitality are top right now.

Hotspawn: What do you make of Cloud joining Fnatic? LohaN: I don't know the internal situation, of course, but I suspect they're already preparing a little for next season. The signing makes sense. I think Boaster's contract is also ending, and this is an interesting move. I think they're looking a bit at next year, not just this one. Boaster might stay at Fnatic, I don't know, but it's an interesting development. I'm not sure how it works out role-wise, but let's see.

Hotspawn: Your next match is against Team Heretics, and they seem to be getting stronger and stronger. What do you think is the hardest part about facing them? LohaN: Obviously I think koshmaras will play Neon. I still think he should play Neon quite a lot. He might not on some maps, but I'm not sure. Honestly though, I think our biggest opponent is ourselves. How well we can reset from this loss, whether we go into the next match with the right attitude and energy, and put into practice what we've been sharpening in scrims. That's all it is.