Hello Carl, How satisfied are you with the last split?
I think the team and I can be very satisfied with the first split. The boys have a great work ethic, are willing to learn and show commitment.
Thanks to them, I was able to learn a lot more in my role as Head Coach. I am very grateful for that!
You were promoted straight to Division 4 in the first split. Did you expect that before the split?
I only joined shortly before the split, but I immediately noticed that there was a special atmosphere and that everyone was working together. Pulling together. At the same time, everyone is at a strong individual level, so I was firmly convinced that we would be promoted. That made our first game on the first matchday, which we lost, all the more surprising. But fortunately that was just the wake-up call we needed, just like our first BO3 in the playoffs for DIV 4, which we unfortunately lost 1-2.
A few years ago, you were once the best player in the world, but then you were out of the picture for many years. Why did you decide to come back, this time as a coach?
I started coaching in the assistant role a year ago. This had the advantage that I only had to actively invest a few hours a week in coaching. This allowed me to finish my studies and then complete a full-time internship. As a player, with my own ambition to be one of the best, that would not have been possible.
In the meantime, coaching has really grabbed me and I invest a lot of time in this role. Thanks to my many years of experience in esports at a professional level, I have valuable knowledge that I can pass on as a coach. I’ve also gained some skills outside of esports during my studies and my internship, which I also incorporate into coaching. I think that’s also what makes me stand out as a coach.
You sometimes work with players under the age of 18. How do you see your role as a head coach?
In fact, I was mainly ‘just’ the head coach in this split. Thanks to the already very mature appearance of my team, I mainly focused on teaching the ‘basic’ concepts of competitive LoL play.
Looking ahead to the next split, that can and will change. The opponents will get better and we will have to step up a gear. In order to cope with this pressure, I will place a greater focus on the mental and physical balance of the players. It is very important to me that playing LoL, going to school/university, sport, nutrition and social balance are in harmony with each other. If I can achieve this with the players, we will grow even closer together as a team. I see that as one of my tasks as Head Coach.
If you had to describe the team in 3 words. What would they be?
A great team.
Let’s take a look ahead. What is your goal for the upcoming split, is the goal to make it into the 3rd division?
The goal is the 3rd division. Whether we succeed is entirely up to us. Thanks to the strong support of the epf, we have all the tools we need to achieve promotion.