Young Blood: An interview with NAGA Zen and NAGA Cyrex
The start of the Pro Gaming Series’ Summer Split last May 22 brings the heat back into Summoner’s Rift as the best teams in Philippine League of Legends battle it out to see who deserves to be called the best.
The top teams to finish the split will be eligible to compete for the P150,000 first place prize in Rampage 2015 and earn the title of number one in the country.
Prior to the start of the Summer Split, a number of roster changes occurred. Reigning champions GameX.Wargods brought in former Imperium Pro Team players Jyro ‘Efeek’ Pascual and Roybie ‘Light’ Segovia, as well as the return of the veteran Lance ‘Kaigu’ Hernandez to Mineski.Globe.
Another team that brought in new players is Naga eSports. They brought in rookies Danzen ‘Zen’ Balisi and George ‘Cyrex’ Daverveldt to fill up their roster.
In order to better know the new faces in Naga, I held a short interview with them about who they are and their experiences so far in the PGS.
Xaizen: Hello! Can you two please introduce yourselves to our readers?
Zen: Hi readers! I’m Danzen ‘Zen’ Balisi, the new jungler for NAGA eSports!
Cyrex: Hi, I’m George Daverveldt, also known as NAGA Cyrex. I play marksman for the team. Most people in the scene know me by the name Trace, as I’ve been under many teams with that as my alias.
Xaizen: Nice to meet both of you. So, this is your debut split in the PGS. Can you give us some insight on how you joined Naga eSports?
Zen: My previous team, Zen and Friends, were up against NAGA for the PGS Promotionals where we lost 2-0 to them. I thought my dream to compete in the PGS was over, but I saw Neep, the support of NAGA, looking for a jungler. I then packed my things, went over to Naga City and asked for a tryout.
Cyrex: Well, during the last split of PGS I didn’t get to play much because of personal reasons and decided that I’d quit PGS and League altogether. I didn’t pay much attention to League after that until it ended. After it did, my friend David “Neep” Viray told me that he had an opening for the marksman position and he said that he’d love to play with me on the team. I initially declined his offer as I didn’t find league to be fun anymore but after a few days of persuasion and negotiation I finally gave in and decided to play again.
Xaizen: Okay, so last May 22nd your series against Pacific eSports was your very first match in the PGS. How did it feel to compete? Did you feel any pressure?
Zen: Of course! It was my very first match in the PGS! I was really nervous during the first game and it could be seen in the first game such as with my early dragon play that I wasn’t totally focused. After that loss, I tried to focus harder and play the way I normally do so I was happy that were able to pull off a convincing win against Pacific and secure the 1-1.
Playing in the PGS feels great! What better way to learn and improve your gameplay than to compete against the most competitive teams in the country?
Cyrex: Coming in our first day of PGS I was actually really excited to play again, but after a really crushing defeat the 1st game that’s when I started to feel the pressure. I really did expect us to play better the 1st game, but it just didn’t go our way. I started to tilt the 2nd game but thankfully my team managed to carry me through it and we managed to break even against Pacific with a 1-1.
Xaizen: Well, congratulations on your victory against Pacific to even your series! They’re just one of the many top teams you’ll face in the PGS, but which team do you think is the strongest at the moment?
Zen: It’s difficult for me to say because I haven’t played against the other teams yet so I’ll just be a team player and say Naga eSports is numero uno! But seriously speaking, Wargods is looking pretty strong right now!
Cyrex: Definitely Wargods. I’m pretty sure the other teams in the PGS will agree with me on that. Ever since their huge roster change, nobody wants to play against them. All of the players on the team have a huge reputation and are strong individually.
Xaizen: So you both see Wargods as the strongest team in the Philippines right now and they have proven that through winning the Spring Split. What do you think makes Wargods such a successful team and a force to be reckoned with?
Zen: While I don’t know the players of Wargods well, I believe there are a lot of factors that can affect the success of a team such as the players’ skill and attitude, how the management handles them, and the current metagame. They must be doing great in these categories which is why they’re beating a lot of top-tier teams.
Cyrex: I don’t think there’s much to say about what makes them good. Everyone on the team is strong individually and after numerous roster changes within the team, their acquisition of Efeek and Light just turned them into a super team.
Xaizen: I see. Another top-tier team that went through roster changes during the pre-season was Mineski, where Zen’s older brother Yume plays for. They’ve reacquired Kaigu, a veteran player in the Philippine scene and a member of the Mineski squad that competed in the 2013 World Championships. How do you think this change will affect Mineski this split? And an additional question for Zen, is there any sibling rivalry between you and Yume that will manifest on the Rift?
Zen: I think they have a pretty good chance of winning this split. We shouldn’t forget that they went 14-0 in the elimination round last split and that showed just how strong they were. I can’t say if the addition of Kaigu as support is an improvement or not because I think he’s relatively new to the role. Knowing him though, I bet he shouldn’t have much trouble adjusting to it since he’s been hailed as the best mid laner and the best jungler in the country when he played those roles. Who knows? Maybe he will become the best support too! I think Kaigu’s addition will make the team stronger in the long run, but they might be weaker in the earlier parts of the split.
As for a sibling rivalry with my older brother, I’ll be right back. I’m setting up my tent since I’ll be camping mid lane!
Cyrex: I don’t think it will make much of a difference since Mineski was already a really strong team. Having Kaigu play support for them was a shocker for me though, since I’ve never seen him play support before. Given time, I think he’ll be as good a support as Tgee was. Come to think of it, Kaigu did play really well against Pacific the other week so I’m not worried about them. They’re still easily top 2 or top 3 in the Philippines.
Xaizen: Okay, so while majority of people who follow PGS are already familiar with Wargods and Mineski, your team Naga is relatively new to the competitive scene. What does your team have that you think sets you guys apart and will help you succeed against the other teams?
Zen: I don’t really know the other teams very well but I guess what sets us apart is that we speak english in our comms! That will win us the split! *laughs*
Cyrex: I don’t think there’s much that separates us from the other teams. I guess we probably trust each other more compared to the other teams, we always talk about our games and we are open to criticism whenever we do something wrong so we can fix our problems. I don’t think that’s an advantage over the other teams but I guess that’s what makes us different from them.
Xaizen: Okay so now let’s talk more about you as individual players. What sets you apart from other players in your role?
Zen: What sets me apart from other junglers? My dashing good looks and pleasing personality! *laughs*
Cyrex: Hmm, I don’t see myself different from any of the other marksmen in the PGS.
Xaizen: Do you see any other player as your rival? Who do you think is the strongest player in your role at the moment or is there anybody who could give you a difficult time?
Zen: Well, I’m new to the PGS so I don’t see myself as having any rivals nor do I have any plans of having one. I just play every game with the mindset that I’m up against a great player that I’m going to take down, I guess.
As for who I think is the best player in my role, I heard that NAGA Zen is pretty strong and I agree.
Cyrex: I don’t see myself as having any rivals. If there’s one player I wouldn’t want to face, it’s definitely Efeek. In my opinion, he’s the best marksman in the Philippines at the moment.
Xaizen: Well that about wraps it up! Thank you for your time, but before we officially end this interview do you have any words for our readers?
Zen: I’d like to thank my friends, fans, family, Naga eSports and my girlfriend. Oh shoot, I remembered that I don’t have a girlfriend, #sadlife.
We’re aiming to win it all and you can expect that we will try our very best!
Cyrex: We did it mom! And thank you everyone!
See Zen, Cyrex and the rest of Naga eSports in action as they strive to become the very best like no one ever was by tuning in to the PGS every Friday and Saturday, 6PM onwards!
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