When Team EnVyUs went up against world champions Counter Logic Gaming they showed the world that even CLG bleeds. Although nV were not able to close the series, they will get another chance this weekend. We had the privilege of sitting down with Sal “eL TowN” Mohanan to ask him a few questions about nV’s series against CLG, and what nV is doing to prepare for their rematch.
ESL: Alright, tell me about this season for Team EnVyUs. You've seen a lot of ups and downs but seem to be getting into a rhythm. What is causing your recent success?
eL TowN: Sticking with it. At first we lost pretty much every scrim. We lost extremely close games and just didn't seem to be on the same page. Eventually we made improvements by finally winning a scrim here and there, but it still wasn't what we wanted, especially right before Pro League started. Once the HCS Pro League started, we started performing extremely well. It didn't make sense at first, but eventually we all figured out what the problem was. Our mindset during tourneys and pro leagues was far different from our mindset in scrims. We tried harder, communicated better, and listened more. As well as never getting down or upset. Knowing this, we applied our tourney vibe into scrims and have been performing much better.
ESL: To say you've been performing better is a bit of an understatement. You guys are sitting in second place and traded blows with the best team in the world. What was that series like for you personally?
eL TowN: Ah, thinking about it still makes me a little upset haha. It was a real nail bitter as well as really fun. We took it game by game, and when it went to Game 5 we had a comfortable lead. We slipped up and made a few mistakes which allowed CLG to tie the game and bring it into overtime. Going into overtime was real troublesome because they had all of the weapons, giving them a huge advantage. We talked about those mistakes as a team right after the loss though, so we'll be ready next Game 5.
ESL: Was there ever a moment during that series where you thought, "Man, we have a solid chance at actually handing them their first loss?”
eL TowN: Right after winning Game 2 I knew we had a real chance. The gametypes we had were all types we wanted to play CLG on and we all wanted that W real bad.
ESL: What was it like watching E6 hand them their first loss the very next night?
eL TowN: It was really cool to see, especially since CLG hasn't lost in forever. It also showed me that giving CLG a real close series wasn't just a one time thing. It sucks we couldn't give them their first loss, but I am happy E6 were able to.
ESL: Your series in Week 4 Day 2 against EG was a close one too. They're starting to find their groove as well. The last time you played them, you swept them. What was different this time around?
eL TowN: Well the second time we played them, they were all at the EG house, which is a huge advantage for them. We knew we had to play them even better than we did last time. The difference this time was that we didn't close out Game 2, and during Game 3 EG played it extremely well and dominated us. Last series we won 3-0 and this series we were down 1-2, so them being at the same house definitely helped them. We clutched up Game 4 with a close win, and then in Game 5 we had a real dominating win to close out the series.
ESL: You're set up for what should be an electric rematch with CLG in a couple of days. what does preparation for that series look like?
eL TowN: Making sure we practice everyday, going over games or film after practice, and making sure we get a good amount of time before our match with CLG to warm up.
ESL: The last time you met was a nail biter. Willing to share any predictions on how you think this series will go?
eL TowN: 3-2 EnVy. Game 5 50-49
You can catch the rematch along with the rest of the HCS Pro League action this weekend on the Halo Twitch channel at 5PM PDT this Thursday and Friday night. Be sure to follow along on Facebook and Twitter for all the updates and head to the HCS Pro League official website for more resources.