LØS Ackerman on the CBLOL Promotion schedule: "It's bizarre"

advanced to the Upper Bracket Final of the CBLOL playoffs this Saturday (12), but had to work hard to overcome 3-1. Despite facing a team that played with Diogo "" Rogê in place of Pedro "" Seixas, LØS struggled throughout the series and once again showed some inconsistency, something support Gabriel “” Aparicio acknowledged in an exclusive interview with Sheep Esports after the match.

With two weeks to prepare before the next series, Ackerman highlighted the need to improve the quality of the team’s practice and eliminate habits picked up in solo queue. The player also discussed the possibility of facing in the next stage, Tatu’s absence against LØS, the Promotion schedule and the challenge of balancing both competitions while pursuing the CBLOL title and a spot at Worlds.

Gabriel “Ackerman” Aparicio: “I think we didn’t have the best week, so the game was becoming a little inconsistent. That’s definitely not what we want to do in-game. I think FURIA is a rival, they still know how to play as a team. They didn’t have their main player, which is Tatu, but I think we were a little inconsistent throughout the week. For me, it was about coming in, trying to talk a lot and speak for the others, talking about which matchup we wanted to play and what the team wanted to play. What we’re missing right now is a little more consistency in scrims, having a better week and practicing the matchups. I think we’re having a lot of problems in the matchups, mainly. I just think the wins will come with time as well.

Ackerman: The (Raí Yamada) situation was a bit unlucky. There wasn’t much we could do. We just had to wait for him to recover and give him space. In the meantime, I think we picked up some solo queue habits. When we came back to scrimming, those habits were still there, like fighting when we didn’t have the timing to do so. Those things slow us down a lot. The scrims were becoming weird. It was like we were winning, but we weren’t convincing, and we were losing because we were disrespecting things. That was basically how the week went, but I think that after this win today, if we want to stay on the path toward Worlds, on the path toward being champions, we have to change the way we practice. It’s not only about changing the way we practice, but it also comes down to mentality. Not being satisfied and trying to improve everything we can, taking all six hours of scrims seriously and making the effort count. I don’t think any team is going to win if they’re wasting time day after day.

Ackerman: I believe paiN will qualify, but it was a joke. I honestly don’t know who’s going to win that series. LOUD is the favorite for everyone, but I feel like paiN can win. So I posted it as a joke.

Ackerman: For me, it’s more about consistency, like I was telling you. It’s also very important to have a lot of confidence in the things we’re doing. Because we’re doing the same things in practice, so if we’re playing like shit in practice, the next day we’re going to play like shit. We know how to play the game. So it’s about focusing on that consistency, knowing that what we’re doing is going to work because we know a lot about the game. It’s about working during these two weeks and being as prepared as possible.

Ackerman: Honestly, when I saw what happened, I thought he crossed the line. I really like trash talk, I know it very well. When I played in the LLA, I looked at the CBLOL and saw a lot of trash talk, which is really fun. Yesterday, I even saw and FURIA trash-talking each other. I think his case is a simple one, but I do think he crossed the line. For me, a lot of things can be allowed when it’s part of the spectacle, as long as we know when the spectacle is over. That line is very thin. I like trash talk, but some measures have to be taken.

Ackerman: To me, it’s kind of bizarre. There’s no other explanation. Honestly, I didn’t understand this schedule. I knew we had to play Promotion, I played it last year and won, so I knew this path, you know? But now I’m preparing to play the playoffs and a final. In Promotion, I’m going to show picks to my opponent in the final, if we get there. So, to me, it doesn’t make sense. It’s not because we’re playing two days in a row. That doesn’t really matter to me. The issue is revealing information, and that’s what I didn’t really like. There will be three games a week. We have no choice but to play our best and win both championships at the same time. It’s bizarre, but it has to be done.

Ackerman: No, we’re still focused on the CBLOL, but we know and we know . I played for Estral, so I also know the organization. To me, it’s going to be really fun. We’re not talking about Promotion yet. We have the CBLOL, which is more important. To me, a good first-division team shouldn’t have trouble fighting against a second-division team. These days, it’s going to be like playing the normal game. We’re not looking at what the enemy can do.

Ackerman: For me, it was more about the meta changing. We’re playing different championships practically every week. The issue is knowing how to play the composition we want to play on stage. For me, the third game today was a clear demonstration of that. Our draft was pretty standard for me because it’s something we play every day. So taking that kind of game is not good. I was really pissed off after that game. The point is the meta change, but also the inconsistency we’re showing. These two weeks have to change our mentality. There’s no other way.”