GMX: "Our ceiling is higher with shox"

Stahmer's team parted ways with Clan-Mystik a few weeks back, shortly after recruiting one of the world's best players, former Titan star Richard "shox" Papillon.

The team were then invited to DreamHack Summer, which will be their first offline tournament with Papillon on the team. Read on to find out what to expect from the Frenchmen.

How have you prepared for DreamHack Summer; do you feel ready for the event? Have you only practiced online or also bootcamped? How do you plan on spending the remaining time before the event kicks off?

GMX: We've played as much as we could, almost everyday but not on the weekend since shox & Mistou joined the team. We've only practiced online. We want to be ready on the maps which we have worked on and on an individual level, and we will obviously watch some demos because we need to know what kind of gamestyle teams will use at DreamHack.

Do you believe the lengthy break from LAN competition since Copenhagen Games will affect the results at DreamHack in any way, or does constantly playing official matches online make up for it? Are you afraid of giving up your game plan too much online?

GMX: I don't think the break between Copenhagen Games and now will affect the results, big teams are more professionnal than before, and they all know that no teams are taking some time off from the game. Everyone keeps playing (and some of them even more than usual). I don't really like to play too many official games before a tournament, I mean we need to keep some of our tactics secret before starting an event like DreamHack.

Who do you think will be your toughest opponents at DreamHack? Any potential dark horses who have seemed particularly strong lately that you think might surpass everyone's expectations in Jönköping? Anyone who might disappoint?

GMX: Our toughest opponents in my opinion will be the teams who have played together for a long time and who are ready to counter everything that we are going to do in-game. But if I had to choose one I would say Virtus.pro! There are too many good teams so I can't pick everyone, but this team is the most difficult to play against I think.

I think London Conspiracy is a good underdog pick for the tournament, we didn't see them a lot in official games, so we don't know what to expect from them. We played them a few times in practice, and they have solid individual players. I don't have any idea of a team who can disappoint, but I would say HellRaisers (without any real clue), we haven't seen them that much in the last online tournaments, so I don't know  at all if they will perform well or disappoint... I have no idea about their actual level now.

Player	Age	Rating
Richard "shox" Papillon	22	1.21
Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey	19	1.09
Gordon "Sf" Giry	22	0.99
Robin "GMX" Stahmer	20	0.93
Valentin "mistou" Balbastro	20	0.76

What do you make of your chances at DreamHack? What would be a realistic goal for your team, and what would you be ok settling at? Is there any extra pressure for you to perform well at this particular event?

GMX: I think we can make serious damage to the good teams in Sweden. I guess a realistic goal should be top 5-8 and we would feel fine with that result, but it's not going to be easy for us, we have a new line up, and we need to show what we're capable of. There is no extra pressure at all. We're not expected to go far as top four for example, so teams don't watch out for us like they do for Titan, NiP, Virtus.pro, etc.

How has your team changed since recruiting shox to fill the void left by kennyS? departure? We have heard VeryGames players explain the difference between the two, how do you think they differ? Do you feel your ceiling is now higher with shox on the team?

GMX: Our team has changed a lot, we're playing more than we used to, we're working more on our tactics, everyone is working more on their own (individually, deathmatch, demos, etc). I think the difference between Richard [shox] and Kenny [kennyS], is that Richard is working more on the team's efficiency and in my opinion that's what makes him more useful in a team than Kenny.

Kenny helped us win a lot of games in the past, but it was by doing great individual actions. To explain that easily I would say that Richard is more efficient in the long term for the team, and kennyS is more efficient with his own skill. Obviously shox is a great player, but CS is not only about headshots, you need to be efficient as a player and as a team. We're now getting more consistent with our results. To conclude with your question, I think the ceiling is higher with shox, but we will need some time.

With HaRts gone, who is the new in-game leader of the team? He was known for having his teams play a very specific style, have you held onto that or changed completely? How has shox affected it, considering he was known to even help Ex6TenZ in Titan?

GMX: I'm the new in-game leader of the team so it's a bit new for me, I need time to fit perfectly into the role. We're still playing how HaRts was leading us back in the days he was in the team. But we have changed our gamestyle. As for how shox is affecting our game style, he's helping a lot in making new tactics, new things, etc. And the most important thing for me is that he's helping me call in mid round as well.

Titan are full-time professionals, while LDLC are part-time players. Where are you on the commitment to CS:GO scale? Previously you said HaRts could focus on CS:GO once school ended for him, but obviously he chose to retire instead. How much will you focus on CS in the future?

GMX: I think we're playing as much as LDLC does, maybe more currently, as they're on a break working on theirs exams. I said that HaRts will focus on CS:GO, but something unexepected happened and he had to retire from CS because of his girlfriend, not because of school. He had a good situation which was allowing him to play enough with us. We're still focusing a lot into CS, we have a lot of time to spend on it. And I think things are going well for the moment, and I hope it's going to continue the same way for a long time.

The team that just got picked up by Epsilon today find themselves in group A with NiP, ENCE and Berzerk, and will begin their campaign at DreamHack Summer 2014 on Saturday, with an opening match against ENCE.