Now joined with paiN Gaming, CNB e-Sports is the second team to have participated in three editions of the Brazilian Championship. With relation to last edition, where they were runner up, CNB have only one "new player" in their line-up: Gabriel "Revolta" Henud, who was hired in February to replace Daniel "Danagorn" Drummond, who plays currently for KaBuM! e-Sports
Today we bring another interview with one of the participants of the Brazilian Regional. We talked wth Whesley "Leko" Holler, the Top Laner of CNB e-Sports Club, who is of the opinion that the Brazilian teams are the favorite to win against the Latin Americans and that the hiring of Kalec was necessary for the improvement of the team.
>>Check the original Portuguese interview Gabriel "gabrielpumba" Melo has done here.
Please introduce yourself to our community, talk a little about yourself and your career as pro-gamer.
CNB Leko: Hello, my name is Whesley Holler ^_^ ! I am 22 years old and I’m the top laner of CNB e-Sports Club. I started to play League of Legends in Season One when Brazilians were still playing in the NA server. I migrated from Dota to LoL by influence of my friends and I liked of the game. Even with a high ping, I got to play at a high Elo in the NA server and I ended up liking it enough to start playing at a slightly higher level. With that, I ended up affiliating myself with more Brazilian players in the communities of higher Elos and playing in the famous inhouses. After that, I started to search for a team to tryout as an AD Carry and I started my journey in the competitive scene there. By this time, I needed to change roles on behalf of the team itself that was in need of a top lane, so I moved there. After that, I went through a period where I was looking for a team because the internal issues lead up to the team disbanding, and it was quite funny because I was switching from team to team constantly before eventually joining the former Nex Impetus, the current line-up of CNB e-Sports.
The Brazilian Regional starts next week and it will be your third Brazilian Championship. In the last two tournaments, you reached the finals but ended as runner up against vTi Nox and CNB e-Sports. What are your expectations for the tournament and how do you you think you can come out of it as champion?
CNB Leko: Yes, I played the last two Brazilian Regionals where I arrived on the finals but without winning the championship. My expectation for this tournament is the best.We trained so much and we're solid with what we have. We know the level of other finalists but we also are aware of our own potential.
Your team was one of the participants of Brazilian League - Champion Series. In the league, CNB finished with a bronze medal and with a 60% win rate. How have you and your teammates analyzed the peformance of the team and what was missing for CNB to defeat paiN in the semifinal?
CNB Leko: We saw that we needed help in the more technical aspects of the team. We understand that some details that were making a difference went unnoticed. In the semi final against piaN I believe we lacked composure as well
CNB once again have a specialist to help the team with their strategies. Could you tell us a little more about the function of Kale in the development of the game’s strategy of CNB? Was the entrance of Kalec a "home-brewed solution" against the frequent importing of Koreans we see in Brazil?
CNB Leko: Kalec’s function within the team is to alleviate pressure of some of the work we were doing before so we can focus a little more on other aspects to improve as a whole. He takes care of analysing our opponents, helps us in the picks and bans and also organizes our training and sets up scrims. The hiring of Kalec was really a necessity. We saw that we needed some help to continue to progress.
The Brazilian regional will give the champion a spot in the International Wildcard, one of the qualifiers for the Season 4 World Championship. In this tournament the Brazilian champion will face a Latin American team. Given the latest results between the team of two regions, can we say that we will see a Brazilian team playing the World Championship?
CNB Leko: Yes, due to all the history between the teams, I believe that the Brazilian teams are favorite against the Latin Americans.
The first opponent of CNB in the Brazilian Regional is LegendsBR, a newly revealed team within the Brazilian scene. At WCG Brazil 2013, with ActioN TeaM, and the qualifier for Global Challenger IEM VIII, with SevenWars, we see lower teams winning against the powerhouses of scene. How does a great team, such as CNB-Sport, need to behave on an occasion like this to not get upset and already become eliminated in the first round?
CNB Leko: These are teams that are very strong individually even if their team play isn’t up to par. I've seen teams do not respect these teams and end up being amazed at the result. So, against them and any team which we will face in a tournament we prepare the same way for this not to happen.
In these past seven months the Brazilian scene has evolved greatly. A league like LCS already will be taking place and the Brazilians could have another, organized by BGL, in this semester. Besides that, three Brazilian teams fortified themselves with foreign players. How have you, an ancient and renowned player, analyzed the current state of Brazilian competitive scene? Are they already on-point or do improvements still need to be made? And what would they be?
CNB Leko: With the arrival of these foreign players the Brazilian scene has evolved quite bit, both ingame and out of game. The work that Riot is doing along with other businesses and sponsors is growing constantly. I believe that now the server just needs time to consolidate more teams and bring individuals together that can form those top-notch teams.
Six South Korean gamers currently play in Brazil. In what ways can a player of a more evolved region help one that is developing? For you, was this import really necessary? What would change if they left tomorrow?
CNB Leko: hey went through the same problems that developing regions are going through, so they have the experience to teach us to improve more swifly. I don't know if it was necessary, but in any case this was a tactic which presented an upgrade in the level of Brazilian scene. If they left tomorrow? HAHAHA, I don't know how the teams would continue without them at this point, but I think they would suffer a very great loss to be honest. I believe it would take a while to stabilize the teams and ,consequently, our competitive scene.
To finish, I would like to thank for the opportunity. I leave this space for you.
CNB Leko: First, I would like to thank you for inviting me to do this interview and I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Thank you also to all the sponsors of CNB e-Sports (HyperX, Philips, Avell, Nvidia, Coolermaster) and to all our fans for giving us the support and affection they continue to give, because it’s a very strong motivation to train every day and incentive to provide spectacular games for them. Also thanks to the guys who are specifically my own fans and are always supportive of me xD. No matter where I am, be it a stream, event, championship; it’s awesome to take photos or exchange ideas with fans. This is such a rewarding part of our work and we wouldn’t be where we are without you guys. We love you!
Interview & Translation by: Gabriel "gabrielpumba" Melo
Formatting & Editing: Michale "DreXxiN" Lalor
?Photo Credit: X5 Agency and CNB e-Sports Club
