TEAM: Denial eSports
WEBSITE: www.denialesports.com
TWITTER: @DenialEsports
FACEBOOK: OfficialDenialEsports
ROSTER:
- SoLuRs Real Name: Brian Valenzuela
- Lava Real Name: Chris Anderson
- MentaL Real Name: Billy Putnam
- Xplosive Real Name: Gilbert Rojo
- Team Manager: Nicholas Ridgeway
Denial eSports, formerly known as GLory, was a team of great mystery during their early formation in Gears of War 3, as they would always perform remarkably well in online tournaments, but rarely traveled to competitive events. SoLuRs particularly had never been to a live event until the ESL Gears of War Pro League Season 1 Finals, where he played incredibly well individually to help the wolf pack take home the championship title. Denial have now cemented themselves as one of the top teams in competitive Gears of War with a title and pride to defend.
After dominating Season 1 of the ESL Pro League with a 13-1 record and coming out of the Finals as the first ESL Gears of War champions, Denial have been having a relatively hard time in the second season. “Rumor has it they did not scrim as much during Season 2 as they did in Season 1,” said commentator Jon “Falloutt” Kefaloukos. “They have been having issues online. Lava also attended college in the Spring semester and has been having connection issues in his college dorm.” Will Denial be able to dominate once again playing on LAN at Pax East?
ESL: How is your team preparing for the Season 2 Finals at PAX East?
We had some time off after the season ended while ¾ of the team prepared for MES, which payed off when we took first place. Now we are starting on a regular practice schedule, scrimming pro teams as well as some top amateur teams. We are focusing on developing our playstyle and controlling the game, forcing teams to play how we want them too, rather than just trying to run counter-strats. We are confident that despite our lackluster finish this season, we will be a scary force again at the Finals.
ESL: What part of your game does your team have to improve on most in order to win?
Our team has become predictable. We developed extremely fast when the game came out and took a commanding leap forward in terms of strategy and synergy. Now that the game has been around for a while, other top teams are catching up or even trying to pass us. Our complacency is partially to blame, along with internal issues, but none of that will affect our drive to win the Season 2 Finals.
ESL: What is your team most confident about coming into the Finals?
We are confident about our performance on LAN. When we are all together and can communicate each with each other, we are confident our mechanics and strategy are unmatched. People will underestimate us coming into finals because of our performance this season in the Pro League, but scrims are going well!
ESL: Which team are you most excited to play? Least excited?
We predict that we will play Team EnVyUs in the finals, which is really exciting for us. Last season was a really hype finals with our 3-0 reverse sweep. We want to clean sweep them this season. That being said, our first match against Notorious is going to be tough and we are going to be extremely prepared for that. We would be least excited to play DreamTeam simply because there is no rivalry or story behind them like between us and NV or NtR.
The Gears of War Pro League Season 2 Finals will happen live at PAX East in Boston on Saturday, April 23. The top four teams will compete for the championship title and a share of the US$60,000 prize pool. Be sure to follow the ESL Gears of War Pro League on Facebook and Twitter for all the updates!
