Ex6TenZ about old Titan: ”The more we practiced, the worse we got”
avAs the French shuffle of 2014 came to a close, Titan won Dreamhack Stockholm and seemed to have a bright future ahead of themselves.
But then an avalanche of setbacks came tumbling down, starting with Hovik ”KQLY” Tovmassian receiving a VAC-ban.
Recently they reformed the lineup and are now they are looking to prove themselves at the major tournament ESL One Cologne.
– If we can play relaxed right away, and with a focused mindset, we have a chance to do great things, in game leader Kévin ”Ex6TenZ” Droolans tells Aftonbladet Esport.
The roster changes in the French CS:GO scene, hardly came as a shock to anyone. Both Team EnvyUs and Titan had shown lackluster performances and nothing seemed to be going in their favor. Most of the focus was targeted at the major winning team, EnvyUs, but now the in game leader of Titan, Kévin ”Ex6TenZ” Droolans, tells his side of the story.
– We had big hopes when we created the team. We set the bar high in terms of goals, but as the months went past we could see that we were not going to achieve them. There was always something missing or something not quite clicking. I won’t go into details, but overall the chemistry was not there and our biggest problem was the preparation. The more we practiced, the worse we got, Ex6TenZ tells Aftonbladet Esport.
”I think we’ll rise to the occasion”
For Titan, the shuffle meant the addition of two new players to the lineup. As the superstar Kenny ”KennyS” Schrub and Dan ”apex” Madesclaire moved to EnvyUs, Richard ”shox” Papillon and Edouard ”SmithZz” Dubourdeaux became a part of Titan. Although the new roster have not played together for very long, they are eager to show what they’ve got.
– We’re all hungry for it. The ESL-qualifier went well, and we showed the right level of plays for only having had a few days of practice. After bootcamping, our results have been mixed, but I have confidence in the team and I think we’ll rise up to the occasion.
Looking back at the old Titan, would you have done anything differently?
– There are many small things I would change if I could go back and do it all over again, but I have not big regrets. The only major one would be to not pick up Hovik ”KQLY” Tovmassian .
”We have a chance to do great things”
If Titan were looking for a chance to prove themselves, they’ve sure got a major one up coming up in the biggest CS:GO-tournament of the year, ESL One Cologne. And already in the group stage they get to challenge the elite, facing off against Fnatic, Na’vi and newcomers eBettle.
– We have a very difficult group, but if we can play relaxed right away, and with a focused mindset, we have a chance to do great things, the Titan leader says.
You have more or less been described as the possibly best in game leader there is. How are you working to get this team together?
– I play for the benefit of the team, I try to put my teammates first, to let them shine and make the most of their talents. I think one of my strengths is being creative in the game, I am able to adapt to most opponents’ style of play and to win rounds through on the fly calls, like most good in game leaders I guess. During practice and preparation I also insist a lot on attention to detail, so that errors can be prevented.
How do you feel it’s been going so far?
– I think it will all work out. I realize how lucky I am to play with a team of this quality and although things might not be perfect right away, I know the importance of being patient. Eyes on the prize.
Between you and EnvyUs, who do you think are the strongest team right now?
– It’s hard to tell at the moment, we’ll see in the coming months. But they looked very strong at IEM Cologne, so I’d say they have the advantage, for now.