Curse: "[Skadoodle] is just a machine"

Today we catch up with three members of Curse's North American CS:GO squad, set to compete at the $36,000 ESEA Invite Season 13 Global Finals this weekend.

Curse.NA had to miss last ESEA season's finals due to one of their members breaking their arm, and failed to advance from DreamHack Winter's group stage one week later with a ringer.

They have continued to show strong play online as they finished with a 14-2 record in ESEA Invite Season 13, beating Dynamic in the process while dropping games against Quantic and WE ARE LIONS.

anger's Curse hope to build on their Cph Games finish at ESEA 

Since then the team has broken through internationally at Copenhagen Games 2013 three weeks ago with a 7-8th place finish that included upsets over teams such as Lemondogs and ALTERNATE.

With the team's main fragger and AWPer Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham now seemingly comfortable on LAN, the squad is looking to take ESEA Finals by storm and prove they can be a contender against international teams.

How have you been preparing since Copenhagen Games and what have you specifically been working on to ensure you can improve on your performance?

Curse anger: We took our experience from the lan and we're adjusting stuff that went wrong with our executes and mid game. Euros play a lot different then American teams mid-game so I guess we have to stick together more. That and our team is a lot more confident so I believe we can place well.

You had a solid performance in Denmark with Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham emerging as your team's star player. How important is his individual play to your team's success?

Curse anger: If Skadoodle is on I don't think I've seen a better player overall, he's just a machine. He plays a big impact on our team because he's our awper. If he's hitting shots I think we could beat anyone.

Can you elaborate on each of your player's roles in-game within the team? What type of players are they?

Curse anger: Michael3D is our team lurker and a very passionate player. He's got that passion. Ezpk is our in game leader and also our Hawaiian sensation. Skadoodle is our team's terminator we just send him kill commands and he gets the job done. Stan is one of our entrance fraggers and also our only way to communicate to Na'vi on lan (he is Ukrainian). I am our team's overseer, I just make sure things are going according to plan.

stan^ at Copenhagen Games

You will face n!faculty in the opening round, followed up by either NiP or FLAMING. How do you expect to do in those two match-ups? Have you prepared specifically for anyone?

Curse stan^: I think n!faculty have been on a downward spiral these past few months in terms of performing when it matters, but just like in Copenhagen with how we played vs the other European teams, we will go into the match with a clear mind and just try to feel them out at the start of the match. The NiP or Flaming matchup on the other hand, we obviously expect to play NiP, we don't have much to counter them we just hope we are hitting our shots and run our strats the way we run them in practice.

With that bracket in mind, how do you realistically expect to do in Dallas and what would you be happy with? Is it more important to place high overall or to be the number one American team?

Curse stan^: We don't care about being number one in America simply because America is not number one in CS. As with any international tournament our goal is to place as high as we possibly can to represent our awesome sponsor well and show to the fans we don't just come to have a vacation, we come to compete and we come to win.

With the All-Star game playing a huge part in all North American teams' success due to the advantage you can gain, have you practiced at all for it? Have you thought about playing a few scrims to better your chances versus the trigger happy Europeans?

Curse stan^: No we have not prepared for it but i'm sure the NA nightly 10-mans will have helped in some way or another in that match-up.

Skadoodle had a breakout performance at Copenhagen Games

Your team has two players representing North America in the All-Star game at ESEA Finals. Does that mean anything to you and if so, what?

Curse stan^: We have all the confidence in our players to represent us in the All-Star game, we don't expect anything but very good results from them. Anger and Skadoodle are both very adaptable players, they can be mashed up with any other top team in America and they are outstanding at their roles.

What do you make out of your fellow North American teams' chances in their first round matches? Can Quantic beat ESC, will Dynamic defeat VeryGames or could FLAMING upset NiP? Which one of those is the most likely in your opinion?

Curse Skadoodle: Quantic is a strong opponent, with the way they have been playing they can definitely defeat ESC if they really work together as a team. Dynamic has a very amazing lineup, if they can execute strats with precise timings and put everybody into their comfortable zone, this game can go both ways. Each team will eventually have a chance to knock out NiP, Flaming has their opportunity right now. Quantic would have to be the mostly likely in this situation.

Our readers saw Curse.NA and Quantic in Copenhagen, but Dynamic wasn't there. How does that team match up against the North Americans in your opinion? Do you consider your current team stronger than Dynamic?

Curse Skadoodle: As of now yes, Dynamic really needs to grind out scrims and tune up their strats. They're a very strong team with an amazing lineup, they deserve to place high in an international lan with their potential. Time is running out for them so hopefully they can put everything together in time for ESEA lan.

Outside of these four teams at ESEA Finals, are there any other strong competitors in North America who might compete for a Finals spot next season?

Curse anger: I'd say Mousespaz with the time they have been putting in compared to the other NA teams who don't practice at all.

Thanks for the interview and good luck in the tournament. Is there anything you would like to add?

Curse anger: I'd like to thank Curse for all of their amazing support and the opportunity to travel to international events. Also to our manager Ben "smokie" Robinson, our esports manager Michael Chapman and our director of esports Steve "Liquid112" Arhancet. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and make sure to check out the video guides here!

HLTV.org will be on-site in Dallas, TX to provide you with full coverage, including Dreamteam, interviews, galleries and more from the ESEA Invite Season 13 global finals.