— How did you meet, decide to team up, and how did you learn about the BIGPLAY platform?

TUBA: We started playing together with another roster, spent quite a long time with it, and then decided to take Switnes as a coach. At that time he was inactive. We played with him for a while, then our old roster disbanded. Only THEBEST and I remained, so we had to look for more players. We took Switnes already as a player-coach, and then endless roster shuffles began: Roma – LOUD, Seryoga – FUTBOL1STTT, and Hez1k joined us.

Switnes: We took Hez1k as a second captain, just in case the main one couldn’t play.

TUBA: We learned about the platform like this: we were sitting in voice chat, playing with our roster, when a familiar manager-player came in and asked why we weren’t signing up for BIGPLAY tournaments. We decided to try, and since then we’ve been playing. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.

— How often do you prepare for tournaments, and how do you combine gaming with studies or work?

Switnes: We usually agree on what time we go to warm up — for example, at 16:00 if the session is at 17:00. Sometimes we do reviews when everyone is free. We gather, discuss mistakes, analyze macro play. Combining PUBG Mobile with work is not easy since work lasts until late. The others are fine with it.

TUBA: It’s hard to combine with personal life. Most are students, only one works. Half of the day is spent in classes, the other half in games — no time for walks. Sometimes we take days off if the game doesn’t go well, just to rest.

— What does your training process look like, do you already have a base?

TUBA: The process includes TeamSpeak: entering the game one or two hours before start, not sitting in one voice channel, but playing in duos in different squads so that everyone communicates and understands each other. When TeamSpeak is good, focus on the game is strong, you play confidently. But if there’s chaos in chat, there’s distraction, mistakes appear. TeamSpeak is the main aspect in our game.

Switnes: Relationships in the team are important. If there is conflict, it must be resolved quickly, since even a small grievance can affect motivation. During games we don’t discuss much — we just play, and later analyze mistakes so it doesn’t affect the team.

— What were your most memorable matches?

Switnes: The most memorable was qualifying for LAN. Emotions were huge. It was PMGO EU online qualifiers where we took first place. Also, in the play-in semifinal we were in 10–11th place, 25–30 points behind, then got a 29-point game and overtook others by one point.

TUBA: For me it was the European online qualifiers this year — in the last match, everything depended on us. Either we scored zero and got nothing, or stable 10 points to qualify. We got top-1 on the last map, stayed three versus a full Azerbaijani squad, the zone shifted to them, but we outplayed them and went through in third place.

— Let’s talk about the role of the BIGPLAY platform. How does it help your development?

Switnes: Constant training sessions. As TUBA said, the lobbies are good, always competitive. Great practice with strong teams. Plus the rankings are very cool, I haven’t seen this anywhere else. So the main thing is quality practice.

TUBA: And the tournaments are regular. There’s always something to play, not like one week yes, one week no. These are not just small cups, but proper tournaments with progression. That’s motivating. You can always reach the top rating, get a slot in closed finals. And it’s just nice to see yourself in the top of semis or finals. It gives motivation.

— Name your top-3 teams and top-3 players. Which teams don’t belong at the pro level?

Switnes: Team Spirit is definitely top. Also Vori, they built a strong roster. Amix too, a great team with individually strong players. Top-3 players? Naomi — number one. Second, Obalduy, I like his style. Third, Foops. As for weaker ones — European qualifiers were weaker than CIS, so some teams from Europe are far behind.

TUBA: MVP from Azerbaijan got an invite but don’t match the level. Fache Gaming and BX are strange — not seen in tournaments but invite strong players just to get slots. From CIS, the only player who comes to mind is 4YDO. After leaving BF, he kept his PMGC “crown” but now sits inactive.

— What about cheaters and software? Is it still relevant?

TUBA: I’ve been in comp for 2 years, and I rarely met cheaters. But on Faceit, when they held a $200 tourney, there were many. That’s the only time I saw them. People say night leagues have a lot.

TUBA: Earlier, some Uzbek teams used software. They often pushed our positions without scouting, and organizers refused to show records, saying we wouldn’t understand their language. We lost points, they climbed rankings. Now they don’t do that anymore — they’ve grown. Even if someone used cheats before, now they have enough experience.

— Have you had conflicts with other teams, or dislike anyone?

Switnes: Dislike? No. Let them play whatever way. Some teams ruin games by KD hunting. But if they can do that, it means you’re doing something wrong. You can always find ways to counter them. Just calmly analyze and make conclusions to get points later.