SR Contractz: “I dislike the way it was handled, and […] I feel like it’s very unfair to Sniper.”

Q: Why are you guys inting me in fantasy?

Contractz: I mean in Game 1, we were in a pretty solid position, to be honest. And then I kind of just inted like two fights in a row, and then that started to snowball from there. We’re finding ourselves a little bit onstage.

I think our last two matches have been pretty shaky, but I think we pulled out more solid gameplay this week than we did last week, which is an improvement in itself.

Q: Do you think the other top teams feel a bit ahead because they scrimmed through MSI?

Contractz: I mean, obviously, when you scrim the MSI teams, you’re gonna get a lot of good information. You’re gonna get a lot of good reads on the meta and just overall have […] the best way to practice in terms of just what you can scrim against them team-wise. 

But I’d say we definitely felt the rustiness within the first week or two — like, the first few weeks. And it was very apparent that, […] “Wow, we are rusty. We are just forgetting basic fundamentals and just losing games off just being worse players than the enemy based on an individual level.”

But once we started unrusting, and probably about after three to four weeks of scrimming and just playing solo queue and grinding the game, we kinda got back into the groove of things, started getting a good practice environment and just kinda [getting back into] the flow.

I think now, I wouldn’t say it benefits them too much in terms of practice. I mean, obviously, it’ll always be beneficial for them individually. But I think right now, we’re on pretty even grounds […] in terms of level. 

I think we’ve been pretty competitive with the upper half of LCS teams and [in] scrims, and hope to show it onstage as well. 

Q: How long ago did you feel you started hitting your groove? 

Contractz: We started scrimming around the 14th of July, [so] within the last two to three weeks, I’d say. Probably after Week 1 was when I was very comfortable again — things felt natural, and our communication flow was good.

Q: With how the current format works, it’s probably tough to set a clear goal. You’d have to make Top 3 against Brazil to consider making Worlds. Do you think Lyon and TL will be your main competitors for that spot?

Contractz: Obviously, that’s an expectation that everybody puts on themselves, and C9 and FLY have been the top two teams for the last two years.

To be able to break into that top two half — that is what we’re gunning for here. We hit top three before. We wanna just keep building on that and break into new heights. That’s our goal. 

Q: Who are you knocking down then?

Contractz: Obviously, I think C9 is a little bit worse than FlyQuest, but I think they both have their strengths and weaknesses. 

I think FLY is a very map-focused team with really strong fundamentals and decision-making, whereas C9 is a little bit more objective focused […] [with] stronger laners and […] better teamfighting. 

It’s some mix-and-match, but both [are] strong teams. I think C9 is just a little bit below [FLY]. 

Q: What do you think makes C9 more beatable? 

Contractz: I think [the] solid 10 to 20 minutes of early game [is] where I have the edge on most junglers in the league. Just my creativeness, the way I drive early game and the way I can get leads for my team.

I think if we can just build off that and then bring those leads into more solid midgame plays, because I feel like that’s where we lack a lot… 

Our rotations are weak. Our teamfight positioning struggles at times, so we just need better ideas on how to push our leads in the midgame so we can snowball and open up the game. 

Because leads are the easy part for us, at least. It’s just holding those leads, not overplaying it, but also pushing at the same time. Not being too passive, not being too aggressive. […] It’s been hard for us to find the fine line in between pushing and just playing too passive. 

I feel like if we’re on the back foot, our first mindset is just, “Okay, we can’t fight. Can’t fight. Can’t fight.” 

Which is, like, not the right thing. We just need to play off conditions and waves and numbers advantage and stuff like that, but we tend to tunnel a lot. And that’s just something that we need to work on still. 

Our mid-game is quite weak. 

Q: What did you think of Dhokla coming in? 

Contractz: To be honest, I’m friends with all the people at 100T, but I think it’s just such a questionable roster move. It makes no sense from an outside perspective. Obviously, I don’t know the intricacies of what they do over there and how they operate, but it just seems like they’re kinda scapegoating Sniper. 

You know, Dhokla is brought on as a coach, but then he’s getting subbed out in scrims and fearful for his job. It’s like he can’t build that coach-player relationship […], and it just felt like a fake title. 

Honestly, I dislike the way it was handled, and […] I feel like it’s very unfair to Sniper.

I don’t know. It’s just a lot of confusion. You know, I still have a lot of respect for everyone over there, but definitely don’t think they handled this one that well. 

Q: Do you think the sub helped 100 Thieves win today?

Contractz: I mean, I’m not saying that having a six man [roster] is bad. I’m just saying the way they went about it was poor. 

Like, if they wanted a sixth man from the start, instead of building this fake coach-player relationship, they should have just been like, “Okay. We’re bringing on Dhokla as our sixth man. He’s gonna stand behind Sniper [and] do all this.” 

But they just tried to butter it up with fake words, which for me didn’t really fit right. 

Q: Palafox told me Dhokla was stepping in for Sniper during scrims. That must have been much longer ago than I thought it was. 

Contractz: Yeah. It was, like, right when they got the coach title. Basically, it was the first week. 

Q: Did they feel stronger today with Dhokla? 

Contractz: Not necessarily. I think the way they play is relatively the same. I think Fudge handled Dhokla well today [and] just played better than Dhokla all three games, to be honest.

Q: Any shoutouts? 

Contractz: Just shout out to Shopify fans. Honestly, I’ve been getting a lot of love. We’ve been really appreciative of everyone’s support. […] It’s been a lot of fun, and I hope that we can go to Worlds.

It’ll be hard. Tough challenge, tough road. But, you know, that’s what we’re here for.

Transcription assistance from Sage, @eonmoons