n1ce work

Three games, three wins. Thats the sort of form that gets you noticed, and n1ce have certainly proved they are no pushovers so far this friday. Despite this impressive start however, the mood in the camp remains distinctly calm, and certainly the team is not getting carried away. Nevertheless, they can afford to be pleased with themselves.

n1ce actually played the opening game of the CDC, which was expected to begin at 12pm, but ended up being delayed by up to 90 minutes. This was due to a multitude of reasons, ranging from general computer issues to driver problems, but for the majority of the time, n1ce was ready to roll. Talismanic Latvian medic Vinyl sat down with me to discuss the day's events and lend his opinion to the lan in general.

He tells me this initial delay was perhaps the worst thing which could have happened. Despite not carrying unrealistic expectations of success, Vinyl reveals the nerves played a major part in the run-up to the match. Such emotions were not helped by having to adapt to new computers and dimensions. In fact, sick had planned to bypass this by taking immaculate measurements of his home set-up, insofar as bringing a notepad and tape-measure with him to recreate his familiar environment in its entirety.

Surely there was no greater sign to the team's anticipation and excitement as the verberous clamour that was spat into six microphones in a row. "We were loud", Vinyl recalls almost proudly. Loud they may have been, but clearly confusion still had reign over their sovereignty. A quick flag grab by d&b on supply put paid to early hopes of a first stage defense, and immediately n1ce were being forced to answer questions they simply hadn't studied for. Perhaps all the more impressive then, that they did not allow this early mistake to play in the mind, and instantly set up a strong second stage crossfire-based defense: "The strong CP defense was a strong part of us recovering belief". 12 minutes later and n1ce had engineered for themselves an opportunity, and one which they would go on to take with relative ease.

So, first game, second map, and confidence building. Ironically, n1ce could take solice in Bremen, a map which history would tell you the team is weak on, but do not be fooled. n1ce are not proud of this, and have spent the past weeks determindly working on their weaknesses. Even though they managed to win the map quite comfortably, xet revealed afterwards he was upset at his stats. Indeed it is this attitude of striving for better, even in victory, which make n1ce such dangerous opposition to their rivals this weekend.

It isn't only attitude which has been helping. Unlike other teams, n1ce have not had to change computers between games, and have had relatively short periods inbetween as well. While some sides have had upwards of 2 hours between matches, n1ce's maximum gap was only 40 minutes. Not only this, but for the second game against iHero, exactly the same maps were played as the first game.

A gift? Perhaps. Truth be told, and something that Vinyl admits to is the fact the mistakes remained. Again the flag was lost early on supply. In fact, playing iHero was something akin to playing blind, having never faced the lineup before in either practice or official. I asked if the team ever prepare by watching upcoming opponent's demos, and the answer came in the negative. However, rather than focus on the negatives, the signs were improving again for n1ce, and xet this time picked up rather more impressive stats.

Vinyl admits the difference between a good team and a great team - and he cites TLR as the example - is the level of preparation put into these games. The example of TLR vs iHero is key here. With TLR dominating adlernest and defending after setting a fast time, they deployed Clown to stay camping at the documents permanently before the crane controls had even been planted, such was the anticipation of the defending champions.

n1ce are set to play TLR tomorrow, but having already qualified, are now focusing beyond rather than raising their hopes for an unrealistic win. Who would they hope for? Revealing really, when you hear the assuredness with which Vinyl chose v&e. But lets not kid ourselves. We don't run before we walk. There is a real prospect of dropping down into the loser bracket, and being only one game from elimination. Worried? n1ce won't hear any of it. "The loser bracket is more competitive, it will bring the best out of us. We've come to enjoy our play, and you can be sure thats what we're going to do".

So finally, the team's expected finish? "We'd be so happy with 6th", beams the Latvian. "Ït would be like a dream". Don't be suprised to find this dream going quite a long way.