Joblife continue their run in the
VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-Ins. After defeating
PCIFIC Esports, the French team, like the other VCL representatives, have impressed so far and have avoided becoming one of the competition’s first four eliminations. However, a much greater challenge awaits them this Friday, with an elimination match against
Fnatic.
Having recently joined the team to replace Egor “chiwa” Stepaniuk, who was unable to travel to Berlin due to visa issues, Mohammad “Pa1ze” Khatib has made an immediate impression, once again putting together a strong performance against PCIFIC yesterday. Ahead of what promises to be an exciting matchup against Fnatic, he spoke to Sheep Esports.
What is your first feeling after the game?
Mohammad "Pa1ze" Khatib: “It was good, of course. It was PCIFIC and I really wanted to beat them for their last match. I didn't want to be their first win. I love the boys from PCIFIC of course, I just wanted to make sure that they went 0-15, that's what I did, so I feel good.
As you said, they didn't win a single match this season, so what did you expect from them before going into the game?
Pa1ze: I don't really expect anything from different teams. I respect all teams equally. I don't feel like, “Oh, it’s PCIFIC”, or this. Even though they’re on a 14th loss streak I wasn't going into the game like thinking about this. I just went into the game like, “okay I'm going to play my game”. Me playing my game is what is going to win us the game.
You recently joined Joblife in an emergency context for the play-ins. What was your first motivation when you joined the team?
Pa1ze: My first motivation was to succeed in my second chance. I lost to Joblife during the Stage 3. I was with FOKUS and we lost against them to qualify for this event. And then, they asked me to trial and I felt that it was a great opportunity, I really wanted to do it. And I feel like already in the trials, I'm not going to lie, I did smash them. After the trials, I was like, “Yeah, they're 100 % going to take me”. It felt nice. Of course, I feel bad for Chiwa because for the second time, he has no visa. So I want to just make sure that we keep winning for him. And I am of course a bit happy that I get the opportunity but I really think that Chiwa deserves to have a chance because he has proven again that he can come into a tier 1 event and he's just missing the visa.
How has your integration into the team been?
Pa1ze: When I came into the team, it was new for them to play Neon, at least in a double Duelist position. We were kind of adapting to each other, I would say. And I really like the synergy we have with runneR (Emil Trajkovski). I like being a head-on Duelist, and he likes being slower-paced, and he can always play behind me. So the synergy and the integration, as you said, are going really well.
What do you think about your team's run so far in the competition?
Pa1ze: “I believe we should have won against Eternal Fire, 100%. I really think that there were some issues from my side, both setup and being sick, and the same with UNFAKE (Bartosz Bernacki) who was sick. I really think we should have won against them, and we should be playing against FUT Esports. Now there are no more chances, there are no more excuses, and we go for the lower run, and even if I'm sick, I'm just going to do 100%. Even my voice, as you can hear, is still a bit sick, but I still want to give my 100% and scream to my teammates if I need to bring the energy back up.
There are no VCL teams among the first four teams eliminated from the play-ins. Is it a surprise for you that tier 2 teams are doing so well against these tier 1s?
Pa1ze: I wouldn't say I'm surprised because I really think that a lot of the top tier 2 teams are really good. We have young talents like Jamelinho213 (Ryad Bentot), Kachoww (Samet Arıcı), or kozzy (Denis-Stefan Aionitoaei). But there are so many young talents. Every team has a young talent going into this, and I really think all of them are playing well because I played all of them in tier 2. Especially SGE, a lot of people put them down, but I really think when I played against SGE, they were really, really good. And I'm kind of surprised they came through the Last Chance Qualifier, but for me, tier 2 teams are really good. If you compare the top tier 2 teams, I really, really think that they can compete against tier 1 teams, like the ones who have proven it.
What do you think about your own performances during the Play-ins? Are you satisfied with how you’ve been playing so far?
Pa1ze: I really think I fucked up a lot of times with my setup and how I was just playing. It was nothing to do with in-game communication or how I reacted. I was just feeling so uncomfortable on stage; I had some issues with my sense, but apparently it was changed, and also the way I was sitting, like I had to adapt. Before I was sitting with my full arm stretched and now I adapt to holding on the right side, which is new for me. So I had a couple days to fully spam ranked games, getting used to it. So I feel like the first two matches, I could have 100 % done better if I wasn't this uncomfortable playing on stage. And I fixed it, of course. And you can see the result in how I was playing. I was a lot more confident because I was sitting like how I was sitting when we were playing at the bootcamp.
How do you see your own future after this experience in stage 2, however it goes? Do you feel like next year and in the coming years you will be playing in VCT?
Pa1ze: Even before I joined Tier 1, I had a lot of self-respect. I'm not going to say ego because I don't want to be like “I'm better than these guys.” Evolving with FOKUS really helped me a lot. I learned so much on how to communicate and how to do plan-making and how to read the enemy so easily. And when I was playing with FOKUS, I would be definitely 100% ready if I were going to tier 1.
I already adapted to playing on stage, of course here there's no fans, which is kind of sad. But I definitely think that I have a great shot, especially when you come into this and you have a lot of motivation of course when you're going as a tier 2 team against tier 1 teams. That is like a lot more pressure. But I want to keep this energy I have, and I want to keep it even if I join a tier 1 team because my dream is not to play in tier 1. Who gives a fuck if you play in tier 1? I want to go to the international stage and play like Masters, Champions. I want to play on stage in front of a lot of people. That's my dream. Playing in front of no fans is a bit sad; there is less pressure.
Your next game will be against Fnatic. How do you feel about it tomorrow?
Pa1ze: I want to face Fnatic just because of Desmo (Casper Rasmussen). I want to have a fight against him. He's Danish, and he was my coach for some other tournament (Esports Nations Cup Qualifier) and I like him. He’s a nice guy, and I want to face him. I really want to face Fnatic, and I really think we have a good chance with this team and how we perform right now.
