I had the opportunity to sit down with the recently signed coL.Heroes team (formerly known as Barrel Boys) and talk about their origins as a team and what aspiring Heroes of the Storm teams should do to experience their same success. Pro sponsorship and a recognizable name are things most gamers only dream of, but the compLexity boys don't seem to be letting it get to their head. We spoke just days before the Sylvanas patch, right after their win at MLG's Titan Arena II.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! You guys have had a busy week.
Blinks: Thanks, we're happy to be here. It certainly has been a busy week for us.
McIntyre: A successful one at that!
So how did you guys all meet anyway?
McIntyre: Our original team started back in October with me, Blinks and Trummel, which at the time was right after the final beta wipe had happened. We were basically a bunch of nobodies at the time who liked grinding in quick match and one day decided to see what would happen if we played competitively.
Wow. A bunch of nobodies quick matching like the rest of us scrubs.
McIntyre: That is us.
Dying to Nova and Zeratul? Though you were probably the ones doing the killing.
McIntyre: Then after awhile as our team developed we picked up Erho and TigerJK later on while we were still constructing what we have today. Both players were free agents at the time and were strong players in Heroes League at the time.
Was the dream always to be signed by a professional sports organization?
Trummel: The dream was always to go sick at the game; this is just a by product of hard work and dedication.
What does this hardwork and dedication look like? How much do you guys practice?
Trummel: We pretty much just play this game every waking hour with occasional breaks in between for food and what not.
Blinks: Sleep is optional.
Always look for the door to victory, even when it seems like all doors are closed.
Haha, that is what it takes to be the best right?
TigerJK: Team que, study, scrim, eat, sleep. Rinse and repeat. With solo que in there sometimes.
Erho: Currently being the best is a difficult task in the NA scene. All of our tournament competitors are so good.
Yes, the scene has really started to grow lately and teams are just getting better. You guys are no slouch though. You have a very large fan following and your play is just as good as any of the other top NA teams. What do you think are your teams strengths?
Erho: Definitely our synergy in team fights is our strongest attribute.
Blinks: Attitude and Resilience, we know that even if we are down 0-2 in a series we can comeback and trust in each other to do so.
What is the biggest mistake a team can make in a match?
TigerJK: Being defeated mentally before a game or series is finished.
McIntyre: Stopping communication and getting down on yourself or your teammates. Mistakes will be made, but that doesn't mean that your team needs to shut down because of it. Always look for the door to victory, even when it seems like all doors are closed.
Do you guys have any examples of a time that happened to you and you bounced back?
McIntyre: Yesterday was a perfect example in our set versus Tempo Storm during Titan Arena II. We were down 0-2 in the best of 5, and were behind in game three. Fights were not going in our favor but we knew that if we could make it to level 20 then we had a chance, and sure enough we did. We went on to win the series 3-2.
Yes, that is a prime example. Even the commentators were being defeatist for you guys because it looked grim.
McIntyre: Grim yes, but it didn't mean that we had to give up, so we pushed through.
Nice.
McIntyre: But that attitude comes with a lot of practice, and a lot of losing.
TigerJK: The game isn't over till its over. We've proven that countless times in our games.
Anyone can do what we did all you have to do is PLAY!
Speaking of a lot of practice, the Sylvanas patch is going make us all re-learn some aspects of the game. How do you guys think the meta will change?
McIntyre: It's hard to say what exactly will change until the patch goes live, but we can assume some changes will be made to a few of our favorite supports as well as Stitches.
Erho: We have scrims planned as soon as the servers open up to start testing things out in a structured competitive environment. The rest of the week is much of the same, and replays. lots of damn replays.
You guys watch a lot of replays?
Erho: Mhmm, it's essential to our process of improving as individuals and as a team.
Who on your crew, if any, will try out Sylvanas?
Erho: Our assassin player and flex players most likely (McIntyre, Trummel or TigerJK).
McIntyre: It's hard to say if she will be niche or a must have pick, so it's hard to decide which role will play her.
Yeah, the silence Heroic seems potentially important.
Erho: It just depends honestly if she can dish out enough damage as other ranged carries, or if her kit provides a niche role basically.
Now that you are playing the compLexity banner, how will things change?
Erho: Being apart of the compLexity family gives us the opportunity to devote much more time to the game. With the support of our sponsors it makes our lives much easier, and we can focus more on improving.
Is there any added pressure to perform well?
Blinks: Its impossible for compLexity to put more pressure on us than we put on ourselves. They are an incredibly supportive team and we feel stronger than ever with them behind us.
What advice do you have for aspiring Heroes teams trying to emulate your success?
Blinks: Just keep playing, make friends, and play with people who you think are good. We started by finding people who we thought were good, trying out tournament competition, and then going from there. Anyone can do what we did all you have to do is PLAY!
Erho: Also, this game is 70% personal skill and 30% attitude/team skills. without a good attitude you will never improve your personal skill.
Any last shout outs you guys wanna give?
Blinks: We'd like to give a big shout out to our sponsors: Sound Blaster, Newegg, Creative, Twitch, Corsair, DXRacer, & Pwnitwear.
Trummel: Shout out to my mom and our manager Katia.
Erho: I'd like to give a shot out to my mom, and of course my good friend Dustin "s3xmach1n3" Johnson.
Blinks: Also I want to give a shout out to Tcgjin, and Mama Blinks.
Erho: Oh and of course, a shout out from all of us to our compLexity family! (We love you, Beef!)
coL.Heroes
Stafford Brent “McIntyre” McIntyre
- Twitter: @coL_mcintyre
- Twitch: mcintyrelol
Alexei “Blinks” Bazhenov
- Twitter: @coL_Blinks
- Twitch: theblinks
Drew “Trummel” Trummel
- Twitter: @coL_trummel
- Twitch: trummelll
Aaron “Erho” Kappes
Edward “TigerJK” Hong
- Twitter: @coL_TigerJK
- Twitch: seoulja_
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