dboorN: "As prepared as we can be"

We sat down with compLexity member Derek "dboorN" Boorn ahead of Arbalet Cup Europe and posed him some questions about the coming tournaments.

compLexity have been confirmed as one of the 14 teams on show at Arbalet Cup Europe, which will take place from 14-16 May at Inferno Online in Stockholm.

The American team, who recently confirmed a total of three changes to their roster, were crowned CEVO-P champions last month after thrashing Evil Geniuses 2-0 in the final, with 16-5 and 16-3 the map scores.

In this exclusive interview with HLTV.org, Boorn discusses his team's chances prior to a very busy month, in which coL will be involved in three different fronts in Europe.

Looking back at the old compLexity team, what do you think that was wrong with it and lead to its release after a fourth-place finish at ESEA?

I would say our placings had little to do with the disbandment of our team as much as our inconsistency with rosters did. Replacing hero had to of been one of the poorest decision we could have made. That's not a knock on impulsivE as much as it is praise about hero. Not only is his skill top notch but the bonds we had formed with him and the chemistry, along with teamwork, we had gained playing alongside him for such a long period of time was something you were just not able to mimic. With such a short time-span between our roster change and these tournaments, our team wasn't where we wanted it to be. We were all on different pages in-game and it really showed. There was a lack of motivation and just an overall feeling that things weren't quite right.

Soon after returning to coL and switching three players, your team went on to win CEVO-P in convincing fashion against EG. Did you expect such an easy final?

Not in the least bit. EG flipped the script and has had our number for quite some time now to the point where the matches weren't even close and I'd say quite uneventful to watch from a spectator standpoint. Going into the CEVOp finals we relied a lot more on the teamwork and chemistry we developed because we had gone over very little tactics hoping not to script our game before we got accustomed to each other.

After that victory, would you rank your team above EG in the United States right now?

Being the best team in North America is a title that earns you little to nothing. I can speak for EG as well when I say that being in the top spot in the USA is microscopic in proportion to our goals of placing well consistently internationally. Not to downplay it to a point where we don't care about it, but we just have higher aspirations in more of a global sense. The EG and coL rivalry will always be there but I'd much rather both teams make a bigger splash overseas. If trying to rank us in North America, three online matches definitely doesn't move us to that top spot but it's definitely nice to recreate the rivalry as it wasn't much of one there for a bit.

Your team will have a very busy month in Europe ahead, competing in Arbalet Cup Europe, IOL Finals and DreamHack Summer. What are your thoughts on these tournaments?

What a relief it is to finally be able to compete in tournaments as well as bootcamp. This is something we've been looking forward to for quite some time. We're also hoping for an ESWC invite (hinthint) so that we can possibly schedule another "tour" in Europe as I believe it's the following weekend after DreamHack. This Arbalet circuit is something every Counter-Strike player should be applauding. He is solely responsible for reviving the game worldwide out of his own pocket. This is something we should all be beyond grateful for.

The first one, Arbalet Cup, will most likely pose itself as the hardest of the three. What are your goals for this event?

I'd agree with your ranking for the tournaments but we have the same goal for all of them. That goal is to play to our potential and control what is in our power. As long as we go out and play our game, I think we'll be just fine.

How has your team been practicing for this tournament?

Although it's unfortunate that we weren't able to bootcamp prior to the event as I had to take my finals early to even go to the tournament itself, we'll be as prepared as we can be coming in. A little bitter sweet that we're getting the bootcamp AFTER one of the biggest tournaments of the year to fix our mistakes and not prior, but beggers can't be choosers! All of us have had experience in European tournaments now (even if I'm still a newb) and I think our confidence and overall bond as a team is going to pay dividends for us.

The first real test for your new team will come now, against European sides. How do you think that your team will fare?

I think we're all extremely excited for this opportunity and looking forward to it. This is one of the more skilled lineups that I've been on in my career and I think each player improves when it comes to LAN. No matter the outcome, I know we're going to enjoy ourselves and learn as much from this experience as we can because it is impossible to replicate a European environment here in the states.

compLexity have been picked as one of the candidates for estars Seoul 2010, but as we speak, your team has picked up just 6.45% of votes. Do you still hope you will be one of the three most voted teams?

Do I hope? Of course but, I'm a realist. The actual chance of us getting voted in with those prestigious teams is very slim. It would be an awesome feat but I don't think we've proven our worth enough to validate us getting voted in. Maybe our fan base will be as dedicated as emuLate's once was and get us a spot, guess you guys will just have to wait and find out! ;)

Are there any other events that your team plan on attending in the coming months?

Arbalet Dallas, ESWC Paris and WCG USA are three events that I know of that are outside the "normal" LANs here in the USA. Obviously the WCG and Arbalet events are held here in North America but they're not the average local LAN type setting. We're looking to attend and compete at every LAN over the summer and throughout the year so if any of the tournament organizers are reading, we'd love an invite! :D

I'd also like to thank and bring light to all of our great sponsors who make trips like this, and trips in the future, a possibility. Much appreciation goes out to Creative, QPAD, G8 Clothing and XFX. Also a huge thank you to all of our fans and supporters, it doesn't go unnoticed. Also, of course, the usual shout out to Ally :). Thanks for reading and I hope I didn't bore you to death. Tune into the following weeks to come and hopefully we won't disappoint!