Cooper-: "Once we picked up Zellsis we felt an almost immediate boost in performance and teamwork"

HLTV.org caught up with Austin "⁠Cooper⁠" Abadir shortly after Swole Patrol scored a series win over Liquid in ESL Pro League to discuss the team's prospects going forward, as well as what happened between them and FunPlus Phoenix in Flashpoint.

Swole Patrol secured a last-minute invite to participate in ESL Pro League North America and are certainly making the most of that opportunity. The North American team, who have been on the lookout for an organisation to represent since being released by eUnited, were defeated 2-1 by 100 Thieves in their opening match before pulling off a shock upset against world No.6 Liquid.

In this interview, Cooper discussed the team's search for a new organization, the return of Jordan "⁠Zellsis⁠" Montemurro, as well as what occurred between his team and FunPlus Phoenix ahead of Flashpoint Phase 2.

How did the team take eUnited’s decision to part ways with the squad? Did you expect that, especially considering that you had lost your spot in EPL?

We knew the end of most of our contracts was coming up, and considering ESL’s decision to shrink their league there wasn’t too much incentive for eUnited to keep us. We had a few meetings but in the end decided to part ways.

The future looked grim for the team: no organisation, no spot in EPL. Did you consider going your separate ways and just disbanding the team?

It was a rather low point for us when we realized we weren’t involved in any of the upcoming leagues. Before Zellsis joined, we discussed all the options as a group of four and decided we would stick together and do our best to make it back into Pro League.

You were invited to play in Flashpoint under the FunPlus Phoenix banner, but ended up being replaced by Bad News Bears before your first match. What happened there?

We decided that what was best for our team was to stick with ESL Pro League only. We found out we would be playing under FPX through Twitter. None of us had spoken to anyone from FPX about representing them at that point, so I think it must have been some kind of misunderstanding.

When we were invited we definitely wanted to compete in Flashpoint because it’s obviously a very good league and we want to play as many matches and compete as much as possible; however, we felt that it would jeopardize our ability to find a long-term organization. Another small factor is that the matches are based on West Coast servers, while the majority of our players are Central or East so the ping disadvantage of playing these matches would have been severe. Regardless of this, we tried to come to an agreement with FPX, but it didn’t work out.

You and freakazoid separated for a number of months when you originally made the decision to join eUnited. Now that you two have been together again for a while, has the dynamic shifted at all in terms of how you play off each other in game?

I would say our dynamic has not changed, we are able to play well off each other and I think our synergy is really good. And of course it’s fun to play together because we’re brothers, especially when we perform well and win.

You had a really close series against 100 Thieves and pulled off a major upset against Liquid. How do you explain that upswing in form?

We have been dealing with roster problems for a long time now, and I feel like practice wasn’t yielding optimal results for a while, but once we picked up Zellsis we felt an almost immediate boost in performance and teamwork. I think that a lot of our problems before had to do with mental stuff rather than skill inside the server.

I’ve known Jordan for years, and he fits very well into our team not only role-wise but socially, and we are able to be so much more productive when it comes to fixing mistakes and implementing new ideas into our game. Also as of late we have been practicing much more, and we’ve added extra server time and scrims. We have fewer days off, and everyone is playing more on their own and improving individually.

You are the only team in EPL without an organisation. How’s everyone coping with this situation and what kind of an impact does this have on individual practice and on the team’s daily routine?

It doesn’t have any impact on how much we practice or our routine. We are working hard and focusing on performing and winning, and hopefully once we have some success, whether in ESL or future tournaments, we can be in a good position to find an organization.

Have you been approached by organisations? Are you optimistic about your chances of finding a new home anytime soon?

I am optimistic that we will find a new home, but we understand that in order to do that we have to prove that we are able to compete at a high level.

moose left your roster for Envy near the start of the year, and you picked up Zellsis to replace him, more or less recreating the Swole Patrol of old. What led to choosing Zellsis as your final member, and what does he bring to the team now that he may not have had when you played with him before?

Zellsis was always one of my favorite people to play with from my past teams, and as I said before, once he joined we felt immediate improvement. We played with a lot of good and experienced fifth players with many different playstyles, and Zellsis 100% fits our team the most. I think the most important thing is that we are able to get along well and openly talk about mistakes that are made, which has definitely been helping us improve. Zellsis has been really helpful when it comes to defusing arguments or any issues that may arise and keeping us focused on improving.

Do you anticipate any further changes to your team in the near future, or is there something special about the combination of players you have right now that you think aids in your success against teams like Liquid?

We don't plan on making any changes. We feel like this is a good group of players, and we are going to do our best to keep improving, so that we don’t just have occasional success but can consistently compete against all these other great teams.

You’re averaging a 1.19 rating this year. What do you attribute your recent individual form to, and would you say that you’re enjoying your best form ever?

I think it’s different for everyone, but what works for me personally is consistently playing and deathmatching, learning new things from everyone that I can. I think I have just been consistently learning and improving over time. Reaching the highest levels of competition takes time, and I’m still working hard every day to get better and better.

AWPers in other teams have been struggling in the current meta, where the SG reigns supreme. How have you personally been dealing with the increase in use of that rifle, and how much do you feel it has changed the way the game is played in the last few months?

I think that the SG meta definitely affects the way people are able to hold different angles confidently. I think it is a bit overpowered not only because of the scope, but because it has a higher rate of fire and more damage than the AK. Personally I don't think it's changed the way I utilize the AWP too much, but in some situations I may rifle more often because of how strong the SG is currently.

With your recent results, could the team become a victim of their own success if players are approached by other organizations, and what would your own approach be if a top team expressed interest in you?

Over my time on this team many of us have had offers from other teams that have fallen through, whether it was because the organizations couldn't come to an agreement or players didn't want to leave. We are at a point where we would love to play with the group we have right now under an organization that we can represent well, but we are not naive to the possibility that players could be offered contracts from other teams. We just try to be open about it with each other. Regardless of what happens, I consider these guys my close friends, but right now our goal is to find long-term success together.

All organisations interested in contacting the team can do so via email at [email protected].