When preparing for competitive matches, scrims are an important part of the practice routine for teams in all esports. The approach for scrims can really help the outcome of the games, and what you can learn from them. At Team Coast, here is what we do with Coach Saintvicious:
1. As a team we go over what type of game we will be trying to play. This determines our pick/bans, and guides us for setting up our comp. This helps us to understand comps really well, what works for us, and what order to make our picks to produce the right results.
2. During the scrims, we try to play to the strength of our team composition. We also try to play the game “the right way,” even if we might lose. Sometimes you can outplay your opponent and win, but not play the game properly. Practicing things that we may not be good at allows us to grow as a team, and improve in the long run.
3. Losses sometimes happen, and it can be a frustrating experience because you always want to win. As a team, we make sure to go over mistakes of the overall team on a macro level, and not individual errors. At this level, players normally know their individual mistakes themselves, and this is not really important to talk about as a group. Plus, it tends to put people on the defensive, and reduce harmony within the team.
4. Even when we win, we will not be happy if it was not a clean game. We want to be able to finish games properly, and as efficiently as possible. This allows the team to get better and be able to take on better teams. So we watch our VOD’s carefully to see what we can do to improve the WAY we win, not just if we win.
5. We try not to dwell on scrims – we play them to get better.
Regarding Team Coast placing first in the NACS, and beating Renegades and C9T convincingly in the last week:
Winning the Challenger Series with the tie-breaker over Renegades was very satisfying. As a team, we have been working very hard to improve, and I believe this showed in our last week of games against C9T and RNG. I was super confident going into the matches. We had a number of potential team compositions planned. I ended up on Jayce, and am very confident with a poke champion and composition. This works especially well versus mid champs that aren’t assassins. Non-assassin heroes can’t hard pressure me in lane. This allowed us to simply close all the doors to RNG, and finish the game. I am glad that the Jayce pick worked out, and I was able to land a ton of shockblasts on both of the carries, throughout the game. Even though the gold/kills seemed close, we were in complete control, and they had to react to the way we were playing.
I am excited to move into the house with the rest of the team. So far I have been the only person who hasn’t gone to the house. I think I will benefit even more once I can be part of the offline discussions!
When our team is on point, the games feel smooth, and applies confidence to everyone. I am extremely confident in winning playoffs, not because we won this week, but because the way our team has grown. It’s never easy, so we plan to work even harder to be prepared to play C9T in the semi-finals, and the winner of Imagine/Renegades in the finals. See you on Wednesday, August 5 at 6 pm Pacific!
Interview with Pekin Woof – Start from 00:00 if you want to watch the final game.
Pekin Woof – [Twitter] / [Youtube] / [Azubu]
Team Coast – [Twitter] / [Facebook] / [Youtube] / [Azubu] / [Website]
