TJB: Hello there Steve! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Steve: I'm an 18 year old guy that likes long walks on the beaches of lakeside and snuggling on badwater last. I've started playing TF2 around 1.5 years ago, a short while after I've moved from my home country of Poland, and into Britain. I started off as just a regular pub player, and through meeting some new people, got picked up for Max-Play's Highlander Team. At that point, I had literally no idea about anything involving the highlander scene, or even that TF2 had a competitive scene. So, it was quite a jump for me, to suddenly start playing with the best of my country, and later on what Europe had to offer. Nevertheless, I think I'm on the right path to becoming an excellent player.
TJB: Definitely sounds like a huge jump, indeed - do you think the entirety of Poland has jumped as much as you did for this Nations Cup?
Steve: So far, I am the only player I know of to make the jump from pub to etf2l's prem straight away. ;) As for Poland as a whole, the scene is still largely focused on 6s -- There's really not that many good highlander players to go around, when you think about it! But to answer your question, I think I've done the biggest progress, but the entire Polish scene is also moving up very quickly.
TJB: Do you think with the Highlander players from Max-Play and high level 6v6 players going into the playoffs, you can contest with the best of the best?
Steve: We certainly have the players, commitment and communication skills to compete. Let the best man win, I suppose. I like to root for the underdogs (not that I think we're the underdogs), so I try not to divide the teams into good and bad. It's better to just focus on the next opponent and how we're going to handle them, in my opinion.
TJB: Interesting. If you were to place your bets on who could change the game with one single play, who would it be on Poland?
Steve: Anyone has the potential to make a huge play. Right now, I'd say wonder and gameton (JHWH) have the best chances of winning a round on their own. Wonder has already proven himself when he wiped an entire team basically on his own in one of our gullywash scrims. Gameton is a beast when it comes to dealing damage. Phroblem is not at his best lately, but he certainly pulls through when you really need him, and he made some really clutch plays in the Nations Cup matches. But, as I said, any one of our players has the potential to win a game on his own.
TJB: With Poland beating Russia 6-0 back in Week 2, does that give you a boost of confidence as Russia are known to be one of the best teams in this competition?
Steve: I was confident in our ability to beat them. The most major source of confidence for me is the trust that I'm able to put into my teammates, coming from seasons we've played together as MPHT. Defeating opponents is not a priority for me. The most important thing for me is to be as useful to the team as possible, and I try to prevent the score from affecting this. You could say I'm always confident. In my team, that is. :)
TJB: Are you going into playoffs prepared? Are you scared of any teams you may come across?
Steve: I've been dedicating a lot of my time to tf2 in the last weeks, and I believe I'm near the peak of my performance. I wouldn't say I'm scared of any team. To be honest, I only feel excited and happy to be able to play against such talented players. In particular, I'm interested to see how our friends over from North America do things differently in comparison to us Euros. I've been playing with Hildreth lately; he's familiar with the American playstyle, which I hope will be a big help in our first playoff match, which will be against Canada.
TJB: Do you do any other preparation for a match besides scrim? For example, looking at POVs, how the opponents plays, demo reviews etc.
Steve: Demo review is definitely one of the biggest factors. I believe it was Frank West who said, back in season 8 I believe, that a couple hours of demo review is more valuable than a day of playing, or something along these lines. I definitely agree. It's vital to look back and think about your mistakes, for which there isn't always during a match. I also do colony hl mixes a lot (shameless plug).
TJB: Alrighty. Final question: do you think Polska can win? If so, why/why not?
Steve: No pewnie, ze tak, kurwa :D. What's the point of trying if you don't believe you can win, right? :) Even if we don't win, I believe this whole experience will help me grow as a player and as a person, which is, in my opinion, the best reward you can get from playing. The winner title sure would be nice, though.
TJB: Well, that's enough from me. Thank you for your time!
Steve: Ze pleasure is mine!
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