MW3: Interview with Jake from TCM

I sat down with Jake from TCM on the back of EGL7 where they managed to place 9-12th to discuss how the event played out for them and whats in store for the future. We also touch on the next big European event which is i46 and the highly anticipated Black Ops 2. See what Jake had to say below.

 

EGL7 concluded just a few weeks back where you placed 9-12th, how did the event go for you guys?

Jake: It was a slightly disappointing event as you can probably tell from the placement but due to playing with a last minute pick up we didn't feel too hard done by. The event itself was just as good as ever, the competition was better than ever and the LAN atmosphere was brilliant.

 

You lost Hammers due to illness so close to the event and as a result picked up SK gaming’s Mak a couple of days before, do you think that hindered your full teams potential at the event?

Jake: Using a pickup is always going to hinder your team's full potential, especially for us as we only had the chance to play with Mak for about an hour before we had to head off to the event. Mak himself also having only just come back from Ecuador and not played the game for 3 weeks only made things more difficult, but we're really grateful anyway as we probably wouldn't have been able to compete if not for him which would have been a massive disappointment.

 

A lot of people complained about the bracket due to FeaR going into the tournament unseeded, compared to OpTic who were given seeding points at EGL5, do you think FeaR should have been seeded?

Jake: I think EGL made the right decision in leaving FeaR unseeded. Any EU team attending an NA event for the first time would be left unseeded so why should NA teams receive a better treatment? It's hard to tell how good the NA teams are as well so it would've just been a guess if they had chosen to seed them.

 

i46 is just around the corner with you guys back to full strength due to Hammers’ return, what are your expectations for the event?

Jake: We're really looking forward to i46, after a few disappointing EGL's and missing out on 1st at i45, we're more determined than ever to try take this event. We've put more practice in and we're probably more prepared than we have ever been before. That said it will still be a very tough event with some very difficult competition to go against so I'm expecting us to finish in the T4 region, but hopefully we can finally pull off a win.

 

apeX.Collapse will be the third American team to be attending a European event this month at i46, who you managed to beat in the WGL tournament grand finals, how do you predict they will fare in Europe?

 Jake: OpTic and FeaR both have done very well at EU events so i'm expecting no less from Collapse, I feel they made a wrong decision in dropping Revan for Nameless who in my opinion was their best player but they're still a very strong lineup and a very definite top 3 contender if not i46 champions.

 

A lot of people believe you are the team that can beat OpTic, do you have the same belief as them?

Jake: Anyone can beat anyone on their day, unfortunately for us we just haven't been able to pull off the performances we make online at LAN. I feel we just need to get going at one event and then we can potentially become the team to beat. Hopefully i46 is that event.

 

Excluding yourself, what are your top 5 predictions for i46?

Jake:  1) SK
               2) apeX.Collapse
               3) dignitas
               4) Prophecy
               5) 4Kings

 

In the past you’ve been unlucky in terms of finding an organisation, now with that problem in the past, do you think you can finally go on and win a tournament?

Jake: If we play to our potential then that's definitely possible, but as I said at LAN the game is anyone's on the day so we'll just have to do our best.

 

Black Ops 2 looks very promising in many eyes from a competitive point of view, what are your first impressions?

Jake: I'm really happy to see Treyarch trying to push eSports and it looks very promising. I'm a little concerned about whether or not we'll end up having to play with killstreaks and other sorts of things that may bring more viewers to the game but will remove competitiveness. I'm all for the growth of Call of Duty but we need to compromise as to keep the game competitive.

 

If we see Call of Duty return to MLG next season, can we expect to see TCM in attendance?

Jake: Hopefully, MLG providence with infused was definitely the highlight of my gaming career so far and it would be amazing to attend again. We'll have to prove to TCM that we're worthy first however, hopefully we can start with a win at i46.

 

Jake thanks for taking the time out to talk to us, do you have any shoutouts?

Jake: Shoutouts to all of the TCM management who take great care of us, the team, our manager Swizz, TC and the heavenly blessed beauty that is Amy Oldfield.  Also all the sponsors: Coolermaster, CM Storm, Multiplay, CCL Computers and BenQ.

 

You can catch Jake and his TCM team at i46 from August 24th - 27th.