303 Esports player Tobias “pyradice” Hellesvik: “There is much more variety in NA, I see fewer Caustics and Crypto’s which makes playing Gibraltar or even Wattson worth it.”
After a consistent performance in the Summer Circuit from Purge, the squad has found a new home in 303 Esports, under the new banner the squad has already managed to put forth some results leading up to the Winter Circuit, including a third-place finish in the NSG Winter Championship. Today Pyradice joins us to talk about their competitive journey so far.
First off, congratulations on the third place at the NSG Winter Championship, How was it playing in the event knowing that you were the only European team in the finals?
Pyradice: Thanks! I definitely felt some pressure! A lot of European teams and fans were gonna watch so we had to put up a good show to not let them down.
Did you come in prepared for the North American teams, or did you play how you usually would back in European competitions?
Pyradice: Yes, we were prepared for most of the teams. We have also been playing in the weekly Series-E games that are hosted in America. Which helped tons for this tournament!
What would you say about the level of the competition or even the meta, does it differ from what you typically see in Europe?
Pyradice: The level is definitely very high in North America and the meta is better than here for sure. There is much more variety in NA, I see fewer Caustics and Crypto’s which makes playing more Gibraltar or even Wattson worth it.
Now looking a bit back for the majority of 2020 you spend a lot of time with Wygers, although early on you had a successful start, the squad eventually moved on and you ended up joining Purge (now 303 Esports), how has that transition been?
Pyradice: The transition went pretty smooth. We as a team all agreed it was best to move on and look for new opportunities. After that, I found Askyy pretty quickly and we decided to work together to find a third player that would fit us. That was the hardest part!
Interesting, when looking for a third, what was it that you were looking for, and how did B4mbino fit that role?
Pyradice: The first thing we were looking for in someone was a good attitude. someone that doesn’t easily tilt and can lift the mood of the team. B4mbino was kind of a perfect package. Young, talented, good attitude, and still had something to improve on.
I see, so coming into the Autumn Circuit you guys to have a pretty solid start, placing consistently in finals during the circuit, and even qualified for the Playoffs, how do you feel about the performance you had during the Autumn circuit?
Pyradice: We performed really well with a lot of consistency which is what we aimed for. Our goal was to try and get the top 5 in every tournament we played. I’m very happy we made the playoffs the way we did.
During the playoffs, you had perhaps a bit of a disappointing, 18th place finish, what would you say was the cause of this?
Pyradice: There were multiple reasons for that. We had to change our landing spot a few days before the playoffs and with the practice being non-existent the weeks before, we didn’t get to practice the new spot or a new comp as the meta was changing, with more Crypto’s and Caustics being used. We were still running Wattson at that time as circles were still not that RNG. We also had a harder time rotating as people were playing more zone than usual. Overall we came into it a bit unprepared, but I wish that practice will be taken more seriously in the future.
Coming into the Winter Circuit then, do you feel like you’ve been able to adapt to these changes in the meta order to prepare for the coming tournaments?
Pyradice: Yes, we’ve fully adopted to playing a Wraith, Caustic, and Crypto composition and we are doing pretty well so far!
Good to hear, now looking ahead to the Winter Circuit, do you think you’ll be able to keep up the consistency from Summer?
Pyradice: Yes, I believe so!
With some small changes to the Winter Circuit, there was also the announcement of the Championship, making the Winter Circuit a lot more important with qualification on the line, do you think it will impact the level of the competition?
Pyradice: I definitely hope so. I’ve already seen more new teams playing in scrims and that’s always a good thing to see.
Obviously, I can imagine that the goal is to qualify for the championship, do you think you’ll be able to qualify?
Pyradice: I’m confident we will, we’re definitely aiming to finish top 5 within the Playoffs, I’d rather avoid being in the Last Chance Qualifier if possible.
Now assuming that you’ll be able to make it, would there be any players or teams from other regions that you’re keen on facing?
Pyradice: It would be interesting to play against teams from the Eastern regions as their meta is very different from Europe and North America. Teams such as T1 and Crazy Raccoon for example.
In the east, they have more diverse compositions with people playing more Revenant. I would say it’s a bit more aggressive than in Europe as well but not by that much. I think we will definitely see more Caustics being playing in APAC during the Winter Circuit if he doesn’t get nerfed though.
Going back to the Winter Circuit, do you think there are any favorites to have success in the European Circuit?
Pyradice: I will always mention Alliance when it comes to this question, but honestly it’s anybody’s game! A lot of extremely good teams are here to win, so it's gonna be exciting to watch!
Lastly, moving a bit away from the ALGS, is there anything that you would like to see happen in Competitive Apex for 2021?
Pyradice: I would like to see more advertisements for the competitive side of Apex, In-game ads, and possibly skins/charms for watching tournaments live! Other than that I hope we can get more settings and customization for lobbies. Generally, I think they don’t want to make the game boring by only balancing for the pro players, so hopefully, in the future, we can have a separate client with pro settings!
Do you have any last things to add before we end the interview?
Pyradice: Just a thank you to everyone supporting me and the boys! We really appreciate the support!
