What has been an open secret ever since GGnet lost Puppey as their captain is now official. Rene 'Kebap' Werner joins the ranks of team GosuGamers and will represent the website as well as its community in all prospective matches alongside KuroKy, Miracle, Pajkatt and Azen.
The relief about the fast and fitting replacement was clearly visible in the last conversations with the team and management. Kebap debued in yesterday's match versus the Romanians from sTurtle and supported the team to two convincing wins.
Team GosuGamers DotA manager David 'NiNCOMPOOP' Bossan finds concluding and promising words, regarding the latest roster changes:
“I am happy to announce that GosuGamers was able to fit the gap Puppey left in our team with such a motivated and talented player such as Kebap. He already played a couple of matches for GGnet showing good team communication and nice moves. I wish Puppey all the best with his new team and we are looking forward to seeing you in the upcoming events. A big thanks goes to all our supporters and fans!”
Team GosuGamers contains from now on:
Kuro 'KuroKy' Salehi Takhasomi (c)
Nikola 'Azen' Belyakov
Pelle 'Pajkatt' Olsson-Lille Jesper 'Miracle' Nyhlén Rene 'Kebap' WernerShortly before the team's next official match against FEARZ, we sat down with the 21-year-old German support specialist, to talk about his current state of mind and first experiences in the new environment.
Kebap, first of all welcome to GGnet. We didnt hear much from you until your name appeared in Germany's MYM PN3 roster as well the new TheStrangers roster a few months ago. How is it going in your life and your game at the moment?
Hello and greetings to all readers; after I left LOST.eu, I had to take care of several things in my life, like getting a job and other stuff. Concerning my game, I'm feeling very well as of late and try to constantly improve.
You do know KuroKy very well, given that Germans usually stick together in the Inhouse leagues. What about the rest of the team? Did you get the opportunity to get to know them better and if yes, please describe your experiences a bit.
I've known Pajkatt for quite some time as well, as we hung out on Ventrilo a lot, either playing fun maps or league-games. Azen and Miracle I do not know that well yet, since we haven't been played together in any teams before. At the moment, I'm playing a lot of Dotalicious with Miracle, so we are talking a lot right now. Azen I have yet to get to know a bit better.
Since you just joined us, how are the players, especially KuroKy, taking the departure of Puppey, is the mood in the team alright?
Actually, I can say that everybody got a huge motivation-boost after his departure. The mood is good and we want to show everybody that we will get along fine without Puppey.
I got that impression as well, especially after you told me that you set up a training schedule, which mostly contains eight-hour-sessions. How does such a period look like in detail? Is it just about playing and whatever works out well gets focused further, or do you actively discuss and try out lineups?
We not only have a schedule where we determine the times, but also keep a record of every player from which I won't disclose any information however. We sit together on Ventrilo, talk about DotA and watch replays. We spend about four to five hours playing.
How does it feel to be part of an international top team again?
Well, after I departed from LOST.eu and took care of my private life, I did not expect to play internationally that soon again. It feels awesome to be part of such a top team, especially together with Kuro and the others.
When did your connection to GGnet start to develop? How long and how well does one player need to play as standin before getting accepted officially?
About one and a half weeks ago, Puppey approached me, asking wether I would be interested in trying to play with the team.
That seems quite short dated to me however; on the other hand you are a well-recognised player. Did the European pro scene become that flexible and fast moving? I mean is it not that big of a deal, to switch between teams, once you reached a certain level?
Hard to say, I dont know wether that is due to my skill level or the comparatively low pool of actual top players. I do play solid, but I would say, it's mostly due to the low player pool. In my case, I also think the good relationship with both Puppey and KuroKy was decisive for my joining; I spent quite some time on Ventrilo with them throughout the years.
Since you mentioned the player pool, where would you draw the line, that seperates top players from regular high skilled players? Would you consider the whole player base of the MYM Champions League as top for instance, or would you draw the line closer?
I would say closer. I can't give an approximation but I would say it's pretty small.
Back to GGnet; it seems that you will share the support duties in the team with Miracle now. To partly avoid that, do you think we will see you in the jungle or roaming in the upcoming games, or will one of you even switch? You seem to like Chen and Enchantress quite a lot.
We basically ruled out who plays what after the drafting phase. Out of Crystal Maiden and Vengeful Spirit, I would always choose maiden and Miracle Vengeful Spirit for instance and so on. In many cases you run two support heroes, so I dont see the need of anybody switching roles. I will mostly be seen as Earthshaker and Tidehunter, whereas Miracle will play Batrider or Ancient Apparition. Should we run a Jungler, then it will mostly be me who plays it, if it's not Lycanthrope.
Speaking of which, that hero is getting more and more popular now. Did GGnet try him out yet?
We did about once or twice in training matches and we talked a lot about him.
Is he worth banning for you? Or do you base that decision on your respective opponent?
Time will tell.
Your match schedule is quite full this week. From today onwards, you have one match per day and always against ambitious opponents (FEARZ, nevo, NE.PENTIA, DRz). The direction in which the team will head, will to a large part be decided this week. How big is the pressure for you and the team, especially when we take the response from the community into account, should you not be successful (aka 'the team lost its character' or 'the team couldnt handle the departure from Puppey')?
We promised KuroKy to give everything we got, regardless of how hard the future will be and I think we can handle it. About the pressure, we don't feel it in any way and despite the fact that we know it's gonna be tough for us, we decided to go this direction with and for KuroKy.
How is he doing as the new leader from your perspective?
He is doing his job very well and takes it serious at all times.
Nice to hear. Thanks a lot for the interview then; you will face FEARZ in a few hours. After how many minutes can we expect the Swedish throne to fall?
25th minute
I will challenge your word. Any final statement?
Yes, I would like to thank KuroKy and the other team members for putting the trust in me to play in such a big team. Furthermore I would like to thank all GGnet supporters who stayed loyal to us despite Puppey's departure and throw a shoutout to the Germans.
Hello and greetings to all readers; after I left LOST.eu, I had to take care of several things in my life, like getting a job and other stuff. Concerning my game, I'm feeling very well as of late and try to constantly improve.
You do know KuroKy very well, given that Germans usually stick together in the Inhouse leagues. What about the rest of the team? Did you get the opportunity to get to know them better and if yes, please describe your experiences a bit.
I've known Pajkatt for quite some time as well, as we hung out on Ventrilo a lot, either playing fun maps or league-games. Azen and Miracle I do not know that well yet, since we haven't been played together in any teams before. At the moment, I'm playing a lot of Dotalicious with Miracle, so we are talking a lot right now. Azen I have yet to get to know a bit better.
Since you just joined us, how are the players, especially KuroKy, taking the departure of Puppey, is the mood in the team alright?
Actually, I can say that everybody got a huge motivation-boost after his departure. The mood is good and we want to show everybody that we will get along fine without Puppey.
I got that impression as well, especially after you told me that you set up a training schedule, which mostly contains eight-hour-sessions. How does such a period look like in detail? Is it just about playing and whatever works out well gets focused further, or do you actively discuss and try out lineups?
We not only have a schedule where we determine the times, but also keep a record of every player from which I won't disclose any information however. We sit together on Ventrilo, talk about DotA and watch replays. We spend about four to five hours playing.
How does it feel to be part of an international top team again?
Well, after I departed from LOST.eu and took care of my private life, I did not expect to play internationally that soon again. It feels awesome to be part of such a top team, especially together with Kuro and the others.
When did your connection to GGnet start to develop? How long and how well does one player need to play as standin before getting accepted officially?
About one and a half weeks ago, Puppey approached me, asking wether I would be interested in trying to play with the team.
That seems quite short dated to me however; on the other hand you are a well-recognised player. Did the European pro scene become that flexible and fast moving? I mean is it not that big of a deal, to switch between teams, once you reached a certain level?
Hard to say, I dont know wether that is due to my skill level or the comparatively low pool of actual top players. I do play solid, but I would say, it's mostly due to the low player pool. In my case, I also think the good relationship with both Puppey and KuroKy was decisive for my joining; I spent quite some time on Ventrilo with them throughout the years.
Since you mentioned the player pool, where would you draw the line, that seperates top players from regular high skilled players? Would you consider the whole player base of the MYM Champions League as top for instance, or would you draw the line closer?
I would say closer. I can't give an approximation but I would say it's pretty small.
Back to GGnet; it seems that you will share the support duties in the team with Miracle now. To partly avoid that, do you think we will see you in the jungle or roaming in the upcoming games, or will one of you even switch? You seem to like Chen and Enchantress quite a lot.
We basically ruled out who plays what after the drafting phase. Out of Crystal Maiden and Vengeful Spirit, I would always choose maiden and Miracle Vengeful Spirit for instance and so on. In many cases you run two support heroes, so I dont see the need of anybody switching roles. I will mostly be seen as Earthshaker and Tidehunter, whereas Miracle will play Batrider or Ancient Apparition. Should we run a Jungler, then it will mostly be me who plays it, if it's not Lycanthrope.
Speaking of which, that hero is getting more and more popular now. Did GGnet try him out yet?
We did about once or twice in training matches and we talked a lot about him.
Is he worth banning for you? Or do you base that decision on your respective opponent?
Time will tell.
Your match schedule is quite full this week. From today onwards, you have one match per day and always against ambitious opponents (FEARZ, nevo, NE.PENTIA, DRz). The direction in which the team will head, will to a large part be decided this week. How big is the pressure for you and the team, especially when we take the response from the community into account, should you not be successful (aka 'the team lost its character' or 'the team couldnt handle the departure from Puppey')?
We promised KuroKy to give everything we got, regardless of how hard the future will be and I think we can handle it. About the pressure, we don't feel it in any way and despite the fact that we know it's gonna be tough for us, we decided to go this direction with and for KuroKy.
How is he doing as the new leader from your perspective?
He is doing his job very well and takes it serious at all times.
Nice to hear. Thanks a lot for the interview then; you will face FEARZ in a few hours. After how many minutes can we expect the Swedish throne to fall?
25th minute
I will challenge your word. Any final statement?
Yes, I would like to thank KuroKy and the other team members for putting the trust in me to play in such a big team. Furthermore I would like to thank all GGnet supporters who stayed loyal to us despite Puppey's departure and throw a shoutout to the Germans.
