Interview with CNB e-Sports Club, Brazilian server opening event champions

This week, I had the opportunity to talk to the team who won the League of Legends Brazilian server opening event - CNB e-Sports Club. On this interview you will get to know more about the team and the national competitive scenario.

More info about the event can be found on this article.

CNB receiving the trophy - image courtesy of mycnb.com.br

First of all I’d like to congratulate you for your victory on Brazilian server opening event, you played really well against one of the strongest Brazilian teams. I’d also like to thank you for sharing with us a bit of your time. For a start, I’d like you to introduce yourselves to our readers! Names, nickname, age and role?

Jonathan Nascimento, CNB Jow, 19 years old, Captain and AD Carry.
Roberto Grangeiro, CNB Anjinho, 23 years old, Support.
Leandro Ferreira, CNB Fox, 20, Solo Top.
Vinícius Henrique Alves, CNB Loky, 15, Jungler.
Kenji Hirota Gabriel de Mello, CNB prZo, 17, solo Mid lane.

Tell us a bit about your team.

Jow: The team was formed one year ago by the name of Wolf Pack. After many changes in the lineup only Anjinho and I stayed; the current lineup has been together since prZo joined the team. We are practicing hard to increase our level, sponsored by CNB for 2 months, our only big achievement so far was the Riot’s opening event.

So, how did it feel to participate in such an important event for Brazilian League of Legends? How was the event?

Jow: Unique feeling, to see the audience screaming our name, screaming when we achieved a kill.
Anjinho: The happiness we felt at the time has no explanation, it was great, but when the game started, our team incredibly reacted very calmly, nobody was nervous.
Fox: It was something different, a unique feeling, never thought a game could proportionate me such a moment. Seeing people cheering for my team was awesome.
Loky: It was very good, we stayed in a high quality hotel and there were no problems with the flights. The event itself was also great; there were several interesting attractions, giveaways, drinks, not counting the match vTi versus CNB.
prZo: It was very good and we did not expect to have so many people there screaming for us. It was an unforgettable experience; I hope events like this happen more often. We were treated really well by the event’s staff.

Now, about the tournament itself, the qualifiers and the finals. CNB e-Sports Club is a team that exploded into the competitive scene, for many your team was a big surprise. How did the team react to all of it? Were you under pressure?

Jow: We have always played at high level tier, however we were not recognized by league fans. After the entry with the CNB which is a major sponsor, our name began to appear more often and started getting more known. Our team remained really calm, even calmer than we expected!
Loky: I am not the type of getting nervous, I always go with the flow, for me it was very calm, I was with my friends, win or lose, at that time did not matter, I was happy and not nervous. I'm pretty sure all the other members will answer almost equally, we were very comfortable.
Fox: Well, the team was taking it calmly, devoting itself, seeking to win all the championships, I always get a little nervous during a match against top rated teams, but it is something I am getting the hang of.
prZo: We were fine, without any pressure or nervousness. We know our potential.

Talking about matches, I guess I speak for everyone who watched the games: What was that Gragas prZo? Where did that monster come from? Have you trained with it or is it a Champion that you naturally play well?

prZo: I actually do not play many games with him. It’s a champion I have always played well and always liked too. It’s my favorite champion in the game, but I don’t train with him often. In Brazilian server, I think I've played only 2 or 3 times with him.

CNB e-Sports Club logo

Are you guys used to watch international championships? Is there any specific team you follow and learn from their strategies and gameplay?

Jow: Yes, TSM, CLG.EU, M5 are the teams I always follow and learn how to improve.
Anjinho: I've long followed the CLG.NA but I stopped doing it about 1 year ago, I learned a lot of stuff with them, but I think that to be a good player you need to have a sense of the game until you have your own ideas.
Fox: Yes, I particularly watch a lot of TSM and CLG games, paying more attention to their Top laners.
Loky: Yes, we always watch major championships such as MLG, we discuss and learn from the teams out there. I really like CLG, for me Doublelift and bigfatlp are the best LoL players in the world, but when it comes to Jungling, I follow Saintvicious, ex-CLG Jungler, which in my opinion is much better than HotShotGG.
prZo: I keep watching international championships because, like it or not, they are still in front of us, after all they live off of League of Legends and train all day. They also have a really low latency. I really like the play style of Azubu Blaze and TSM.

About Brazil, what do you say about its competitive scenario?

Jow: The Brazilian competitive scene is increasing its level, many strong teams joining and training hard to be the best. We are at the pinnacle of competitive League of Legends.
Anjinho: The scene is still growing, developing, however I feel that LoL will start to give us better conditions to act on it. We have very good teams, maybe not as good as in NA and EU, but once Riot provides us conditions to grow, we will.
Fox: At the very moment, Brazil’s competitive scenario isn’t too big, being a country that does not invest much in games, but many teams are still in a very good level.
Loky: We're very apprehensive, it is growing at an extreme speed, and tournaments with high prizes are to arrive. We are really happy about it because we know our potential and know we can win those. For me it was very interesting to have won the opening LoL event, I’ve got some fame, several people consulting me, looking for tips on how to jungle. It’s very satisfactory.
prZo: It is growing more and more. Teams are getting stronger and increasing their level, new and good teams coming up. We are going the right way.

IEM Guangzhou is giving Brazil a chance to show its potential internationally by giving a spot on the American qualifiers. With the new Brazilian LoL server, some doors start to open for the national teams - are they prepared?

Jow: All teams are preparing for when the chance to prove ourselves arrive. I am sure when it happens we will be steady and ready to show the World that Brazilian folks are not all trolls and feeders.
Anjinho: Sure, all teams are fighting with all their forces to grab this chance and no one will miss this opportunity.
Fox: I think the teams are not at such a high level. Sadly at our country, our own parents and family think it’s not possible to live off of an e-Sport such as League of Legends. Therefore we don’t have that much time to train or play professionally, having to pursue other goals.
Loky: We are training for this, I am hunger to find the 'old-school' teams and face them equally. I have a goal: to show the world that we are not just “HUEHUEHUE”, but competent people, great players and with the ability to overcome them!
prZo: Surely many opportunities like this may appear. At the moment, I do not think we can win against big international teams. But within months, I believe we will be able to go toe to toe against teams like TSM, Curse, CLG, M5, Dignitas, Azubu, etc..

Does CNB have any future tournaments in mind? Which ones?

Jow: At the very moment the team is focused on Brazil Game Show Qualifiers to guarantee a spot for the grand finals. We are training daily and really hard.

Finalist teams: CNB e-Sports Club and vTi Corsair - image courtesy of TobocoTV

Now I’d like to ask a few quick questions!
What is your favorite champion?

Jow: Caitlyn
Anjinho: Janna
Fox: Nidalee
Loky: Lee Sin
prZo: Gragas

What is the best player for each role in your opinion?

A champion you hate to face on lane or jungle?

Jow: Soraka
Anjinho: Blitzcrank
Fox: Yorick, Purely anti-fun champion!
Loky: Shyvana
prZo: Yorick

Best shoutcaster?

Jow: Joe Miller and Phreak, Toboco as for Brazil
Anjinho: Phreak
Fox: Toboco
Loky: Phreak, Toboco as for Brazil
prZo: Joe Miller

Best Brazilian, American, European and Asiatic teams?

Hehe, thanks a lot for your time guys, It was really nice talking to you. Do you have any shoutouts?

Jow: I’d like to thank our line up, everyone that supports us and the CNB crew: Panssa, Fuzi and Junior. Special kiss for Yulia!
Anjinho: Thank you CNB crew, organizers and players, my family that always supported me, and Stellinha!
Fox: Thanks everyone who is giving us all this support, thank you CNB and everyone who watches my stream.
Loky: I’d like to thank my fellow teammates and, of course, CNB staff. Everyone that supports this team and cheer for us inside or outside the tournaments.
prZo: Thanks to my mother who supports me a lot, my fellow teammates, the members of the former vG and all the fans that support CNB together with the whole organization.

This interview was formerly made in portuguese and translated to english by me. It was appropriately edited for better visual, but no original information has been changed.

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Interview with CNB e-Sports Club, Brazilian server opening event champions

Shad

Fri 31st Aug 2012 - 6:18pm

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