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Era: “To me Fly and n0tail were my best friends in Fnatic. Ever since the fiasco I felt like I let them down. But after all it brought them to bigger success, so things did unfold better for them. I am happy for them”

KarY 2019-03-04 01:12:36
  Esports Heaven caught up with Adrian "Era" Kryeziu, captain of The Final Tribe Dota 2 division. He speaks about his transition as a player from Fnatic to NiP and TFT, DPC, upcoming WESG LAN tournament and much more. You can read the complete interview with Era below. Hi Era. Kindly introduce yourself to our readers. Hello, my name is Adrian Kryeziu, also known as Era. Currently captain of the TFT Dota 2 division. You started out in Dota 2 through Fnatic with whom you found considerable success in HoN. As a former HoN player, how do you feel that the game is coming to an end? HoN will always be with me in some ways, that's where I made friends that changed my path considerably, starting out with meeting Singsing and then Tal, Johan, Kai and Kalle. I haven't cared for the game since I swapped to Dota 2, but it does bring back a lot of memories know that it's soon to be done. Compare the Era from Fnatic to NiP and now TFT. What have you learnt over the course of your stints at the aforementioned orgs? How have you developed yourself as a player? I have learned a lot about myself as a player and as a person during the course of the seasons, from team to team. Starting out getting booted from Fnatic I learnt that I may have taken things for granted, and I got unsure that if the path I had chosen was the right one for me. I admittedly did not play as much as I used to do after that, I for some reason thought that things would solve themselves, but they didn't. I had to prove myself again. Coming in to NiP after that was a lot of fun, we didn't really have that much expectations since the squad as a whole was relatively new to Dota. But as we continued we found some success, and got higher expectations, and missing out on TI there was the turning point for us, we felt like we needed to change things around. In between NiP and TFT I was in Escape Gaming, together with Synderen, Yapzor, Qojqva and Khezu. During this time period I had some personal issues on the front in Sweden making things a bit difficult for me, and it showed in the game. I did not play as well as I wanted to and I got easily irritated and angry due to that. During one qualifier we had Fata coach us, and he noticed my problems and scolded me. I never really got to thank him for that, cause it did change me. So I'm gonna leave him a shout-out for that. We made it to TI, after qualifying through the opens in Seattle. We did come last that year, losing to Fnatic. Another disappointment. The team didn't feel confident enough to continue after that so once again I was left team less. Now in TFT I am way more motivated as a player and more decisive as a person. I'm in it for the long run, I want to make it to TI and have a good run, I want to have a successful season, and I feel like with the right group of guys and with the right work, we can make it. I feel more responsible, basically. You've taken over the captain role ever since your time at NiP. The same has continued at TFT. How do you see the game now from the perspective of a captain? How different is it from being a normal player (during Fnatic)? I've gotten more respect for the game after becoming captain, as it has fallen more in to detail than grind for my side. Being a captain can be the best and also the worst, as it is after all me that is some what responsible of the teams form. When I played in Fnatic as a carry it was pretty much the only thing I knew. So I feel like I've grown a lot as a player, from only playing carry and being sort of quiet and just playing, to playing different roles and taking more responsibility. Speaking of which, how was TFT formed? What is the whole idea behind joining TFT? It started with Ludwig (our CEO) reaching out to me, Handsken and Jonas to start this company. The idea was to change the work ethic, bringing in body workouts in to the mix as well as putting everyone in the same city with an office where we'd go to work. Jonassomfan was replaced by Xibbe a couple weeks back. What led to the decision of making this change in roster? I don't want to go in to too much detail in this question. But we felt like we needed to make a change, and Xibbe is an up and coming player that was impressing us. You mentioned in our talks earlier that TFT is doing better since Xibbe joined . What does Xibbe bring to the team that Jonassomfan couldn't? How different are they? Our results as of late might not show for it, but Xibbe brings a new chemistry to the team. He is extremely motivated and we feel that he is on the same path as the rest of us. As a player, you've been struggling to make it to top tier tournaments the past couple of years with NiP, TFT, etc. What do you think is lacking with the team that is stopping ya'll from showing your best? This is a difficult question... I feel like it has been different things at different times. For example, in TFT, I feel like we certainly have the potential, but we've been a bit behind from the start, but I feel like we're closing in that gap. The mentality we got in this team is healthy and we all got the same goals. Usually the hard part is just sticking together during the rough times, and seeing the bigger picture. Me being fresh in the captaining business has not really made it easier for us either. But I am learning, and I feel like I'm getting a better grasp at it. Time will tell. How does it feel when you see your former teammates like Fly and n0tail enjoying phenomenal success in their careers while compared to yours? Does it further motivate you to become better and better? To me Tal and Johan were my best friends in Fnatic. Ever since the fiasco I felt like I let them down. But after all it brought them to bigger success, so things did unfold better for them. I am happy for them. It motivates me to get as good as they are. Speaking of the new DPC season, TFT hasn't yet qualified to any Majors. However, your next true test will be at WESG. How do you feel going into the tournament? WESG will indeed be our true test. The first LAN of this current squad. I am positive going in to the tournament that we can place well. It will all go down to fundamentals and discipline. If we want it, we can make it. Is the new DPC season better in terms of the old one? What changes do you think need to be made or implemented to make the scene better? I feel like the point system deciding invites to TI is very good. But as times I feel like there's a bit too much going on. There's pretty much qualifier after qualifier, tournament after tournament going on all the time. Sometimes I feel like there's not enough time to prepare as well as I would like to. But that maybe changes when placings gets better. Anything you'd like to say before we wrap this interview up? Shout-outs to the people that still believe in me and TFT. We'll keep doing our best. Hope you enjoyed my interview, be well!
If you would like to know more about my work, you can follow me at KarY. You can head over to our Dota 2 hub for more content. Headline image courtesy: The Final Tribe
 

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