Comment 2: fifth gear engaged

TLR, under their various guises of Team-ND and aMenti have witnessed quite a transformation over the past few months, moving up a gear from EuroCup mid-table obscurity to CPC2 winners, a feat which propels them into one of the favourites slots for this new EC 15 season. But just what is the reason for this refreshing success, and what are the chances of it continuing into the future, as TLR kick off their campaign against Incomplete tonight?

The TLR story is more than simply swapping players around. Granted, the team has witnessed some considerable roster tinkering. Names like CrozZ, asd, gumiflex and EmoreJ have all come and gone, each contributing performances with their own style of play. However, top level teams do not achieve success or failure based on the individual dynamics of each player; that is dictated by their understanding, teamplay and coordination. When the team lost CrozZ, they lost more than just a player. CrozZ is a thinking player, he tidied up the spills, and most importantly in the words of Clown, "he pretty much led the game on ventrilo". It was this assertion of persona that largely goverened the shape and style of the team, one that was organised but reflected his defensive attitude. This was a team who crossfired rather than were in-your-face, using the idle pioneered spam techniques. "We are the most defensive team there is in ET", said Clown. It was a method the then aMenti team had mastered, the very same way they had risen to take 2nd place at EC 13 under ND. When CrozZ left, so to did this shape.

In came now Impact gaming and former Krea / team nl frontman m1lk, who arrived after a tiresome search to complete the lineup. Originally planned to simply rambo medic and make 6th slot, the team found his attacking agression an example to reciprocate rather than accomodate. "I guess you could say he didnt have to adjust to us, we took an example from him". Thus TLR went into EC 14 with a more determinedly attacking edge, a style which took them some time to control, but simultaneously drew the plaudits from those who watched them. This inspired TLR to two memorable wins, most notably against cdap pi (polar), a victory which raised confidence levels sky high. ZeroPoint may have taken the win in the loser's final, but it was still early days, and TLR had found a new direction. Though m1lk has now left, it is one which has now helped them claim both the ET Masters' and CPC2 crowns over the course of a single weekend.

These wins encorporated doktor, who after the tournaments' conclusion announced his retirement from ET. Czech medic and TLR stalwart marv is set to return to the lineup after not making the trip to Enschede. In a team boasting wonderful individial displays from Winghaven / mAus / aCoZz, doktor's performance still shone through at CPC2, and so the question arises if TLR will be affected by his departure from the lineup. The reintroduction of marv for doktor is a one-for-one, medic replacing medic. All eyes will be on marv this EuroCup, and if the results do not come as now expected, his name will be under scrutiny, regardless of his past performances. I caught up with marv to ask him just how he felt about this "pressure".

People could say if you that lose some games after such a strong CPC, maybe marv coming back into the team again is the problem..
I dont really feel any pressure, i just know i have to perform as best as i can but i've always known that and always tried to do my best.

Were you suprised by just how well tlr did at the CPC?
Not really, I knew they would do really well and i expected them to win both tournaments, I have been playing in amenti/tlr for over half an year so it wasnt a surprise for me.

But do you as a team genuinely believe you will win the EC, or is dignitas with Night back again going to be too strong?
Well, thats too early to say imo, dignitas will be better with Night without any doubts, we still have to work on new maps but i think and hope this season will be much more interesting than the last one.

marv has every right to be confident. TLR are now much more than individual players. Yes, they have Winghaven who himself admits he makes his team "put up with his rambo panzer", but it is their new style of play which now is the deciding factor in this renewed time of success. There is no doubting marv's calibre, and in coming back into the team, he will have little problem in complementing what must surely be seen as a serious EuroCup contender team. TLR have shown us they have the strength, the depth, and now the style to assert themselves as a real heavyweight in ET, a team no longer overjoyed at wins over polar, but carrying an air of expectation into games against the the likes of the Impacts and zeroPoints of this world.

For the first time, TLR can realistically claim possession of the gold, in a season which promises plenty of unexpected results and twists. They are a team who have evolved and who have finally found their best suited identity, in a way only found in, well, you guessed it, EuroCup winning clans.