moose: "Everyone is putting in 110% because nobody wants to get cut"

The biggest upset at IEM Chicago so far came when Natus Vincere lost to eUnited, whose Kaleb "⁠moose⁠" Jayne sat down with HLTV.org to talk about several topics involving the team.

eUnited were heavy underdogs going into the match against the winners of BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen, Natus Vincere, but the North American squad eventually came out victorious. Playing on Mirage, moose & co. dismantled the CIS team on the attack, winning 12-3 before closing the match out 16-6 on the CT side.

In the interview, which includes a cameo by NRG player Tsvetelin "⁠CeRq⁠" Dimitrov, we talked to moose about their opening match victory, preparation and expectations for IEM Chicago, how Pujan "⁠FNS⁠" Mehta is gelling with the team, and what is happening with the Austin "⁠Cooper⁠" Abadir move.

You just beat Na`Vi, the number two team in the world. Did you imagine this in your wildest dreams?

Not really, but once it started, once we started to get momentum, I knew it was possible. It was just a best-of-one and they just came from Copenhagen so they may be a bit jetlagged or whatever. Take it with a grain of salt, I guess, but It's still a nice win.

When you saw the draw, what went through your mind?

Thank God we didn't get Astralis, pretty much (laughs). Out of the top four or five teams, Na`Vi was probably the best one to get because they're just coming off of a win, jetlagged, and they probably underestimated us, whereas Astralis... it's just impossible to beat them. The draw wasn't good but not as bad as it could have been.

You got off to a good, fast start. How were you able to build up so much momentum?

We had a game plan going in and we stuck to it pretty much, it was a lot of fast A hits and then switch it up to B later in the half. It worked pretty perfectly, I would say. We just kept it fast-paced and scrimmy on them and it looked like it caught them off-guard a little bit.

Did you have to make adjustments at any point or were you going off of the game plan the whole time?

We did some stuff from the game plan and maybe we lost a round here or there, but a lot of stuff was working for us, so pretty much we stuck to it. I think that's a big part of the reason we won, and I think dazzLe was like 20-6 or something, he was owning them on the entries, and that really helped us as well.

You recently picked FNS up, who is now leading the team. Tell me a bit about him joining and how it's all working out.

We thought we needed an experienced IGL so we added FNS and we've been putting a lot of work during the couple weeks we've had. I had to go to WESG so that was a little bump in the road, but we've been doing a lot of server work. Our map pool is still pretty small, but I think with more time and practice we're going to be very good. Twelve rounds on the T-side against Na`Vi is really good, and FNS knows how to switch it up and adapt, so I think he's a good addition to the team and we'll be better moving forward.

Do you think his coming into the team could elevate you to the next level?

Yeah, I think before the change everyone knew it was going to happen. We kind of plateaued and needed a change. This brought the energy level back up in the team. The grind is back now and we need to start moving up the ranks.

CeRq and daps walk into the lobby where we're doing the interview and CeRq squeezes moose on the shoulders

CeRq: Great job, great job! Sorry for breaking the interview, I just had to...

CeRq's voice trails off as the NRG players walk away

Back to the changes, Cooper- will be coming in, a move that has had a lot of drama surrounding it. Let me know a bit about what's happening with that.

I can't say much right now because we're honestly still working things out. With everything that has been said... I don't think it's as clear as everyone thinks. People may be surprised. I don't think anyone knows exactly what's happening, everyone is just working as hard as possible and after DreamHack in Atlanta the team will consist of the hardest workers and the five people that want it the most, I think.

So it's not even a sure thing?

It's not sure who's going out. The only sure thing, I think, is that Cooper- is going to be playing.

Having that kind of weight hanging over the team, how is that affecting you?

I think it's good. I think it's really good. Everyone is putting in 110% because nobody wants to get cut or be replaced or benched, so everyone being at 110% is actually a good thing. I just hope that whenever Cooper- joins, if it happens, people keep playing at 110% and don't slack off because they feel safe. We made a good move right now and I hope it works out in the end.

So you could say it's kind of the opposite of a team disbanding and going to a tournament and playing the YOLO style of CS.

Yeah, with a dead team going into a tournament, everyone knows exactly what's going to happen and that you're not going to be playing with the same team so you're just playing YOLO or whatever. On our team, everyone is focused on this five until the change happens, so we're trying to become the best version of us five we can for the time being.

Have you prepared any particular way for this tournament?

Our coach and IGL watched a lot of demos and did a lot of work. The players, we've been watching demos to learn how to play our spots better, but personally, I didn't watch any demos of Na`Vi or anything like that. Our coach, osorandom, is making notes and telling all of us what they like to do on the side of the map we're playing, and that helps a lot. The preparation they're putting in is really helping, but me, not so much. I just focused on myself.

Did you set any goals, be it what you get out of it as far as gaining experience, or getting a certain placement or something like that?

Personally, my goal is just to use this as a bootcamp, since we get to play all of these very good teams. I think, also, as a tournament goal, making it out of groups would be huge. That's pretty much it, making it out of groups would be a hugee step in the right direction for us.