ShahZaM: "We have a lot more experience now, so we will be more comfortable in these further stages of the Major"

Shahzeb "⁠ShahZaM⁠" Khan believes that Complexity will be better equipped to compete at IEM Katowice than they were at the FACEIT Major.

The North American team have secured direct entry into IEM Katowice's New Legends Stage after finishing top eight at the previous Major, where they were one of the tournament's surprise packages.

Complexity will travel to Poland with just three of the players who were in London after benching Jaccob "⁠yay⁠" Whiteaker and Bradley "⁠ANDROID⁠" Fodor. To replace the duo, the team brought in veteran Jordan "⁠n0thing⁠" Gilbert, who will be standing in through the Major, and Australian AWPer Ricardo "⁠Rickeh⁠" Mulholland, formerly of Renegades and CLG.

And ShahZaM believes that his side will greatly benefit from the vast experience of the two new players, admitting that the team "had kind of a lucky run" at the FACEIT Major.

"We went through playing Inferno, basically," he said in a conference call with members of the media hosted by ELEAGUE. "We did not have a really good map pool at all, and it hurt us throughout the tournament, even in the best-of-three stages.

"Going into this Major, we will have another bootcamp. We have a lot more experience on this roster, so people will be more comfortable playing in these further stages of the tournament."

iBUYPOWER Masters was n0thing's first LAN event since standing in for MOUZ at last year's ESL One Belo Horizonte, where he helped the team to reach the final.

Questioned about the experience, the former Cloud9 member acknowledged that "it is fun to be playing again", though he stressed that he has not yet decided whether he will continue to play beyond the Major.

"It is always fun to compete, once you have been in the scene for a long time, you start thinking about things outside the game, no matter what," the 28-year-old said.

"One thing I have realised from not competing is that it is so fun to do something where you have fans, whether it is like an ego thing or fulfilment.

"Part of the fun I like bring into a team it is not just because I like messing around, I truly love competing and bringing that energy. It is definitely fun to be back in here, and I am not forcing any decision on myself until after the Major."