The defending (defending) champs are back with the same 5 and looking to make it 3 in a row. Multiple teams have made changes to try to stop that from happening, and lodging the title out of Bricked Up’s hands. Will it be enough? I sat down with Doug to learn more.

Bricked Up

dougski, 1ShoT?, myLo, dirty_german, polo

back to back. I know you’ve said there isn’t much pressure going into the LAN this time around, which makes sense. But how sweet would the trifecta be?

The trifecta would be absolute icing on the cake. LAN 1 – we really didn’t know what to expect, we just wanted to play well and enjoy the fact that our community was finally at a LAN. LAN 2 – we wanted to prove that the first win wasn’t a fluke, that we really were the undisputed champions. This time around, I don’t think we have to prove anything to anyone other than to ourselves. Despite the big season 2 win, we’ve pretty much acknowledged that we’re not the best online team, but now we want to prove to ourselves that on LAN we can beat anyone. New roster? New smoke? New map? Doesn’t matter. That’s what we want to prove. – doug

This group is still the last and only unchanged from LAN1. What makes you guys so good?

Chemistry, talent, leadership, and chaos. Anyone on this team can call a timeout and call a play. Anyone on this team can drop a 25. Anyone on this team can clutch a crucial 1v2. We don’t hinder ourselves with strats or exact timings. We don’t like it; it doesn’t work for us. We make hasty plans, mid match adjustments, and let the game come to us. We thrive chaos. The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan. – doug

You’ve been seen picking up the scope on a few maps, can we expect more of that, and are there any other potential surprises for you guys that we haven’t seen?

I’ve been on the scope a few sides of a few maps since LAN 2. Mylo and I have found that this tactic maximizes both of our strengths, and we’ve seen some other teams do it as well. I wouldn’t say that we have any surprises up our sleeves, but I hope it goes without saying that the bricked you scrim against is not the bricked you play matches against. That is by design. And in the wise words of Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that. – doug

During the broadcast you and Brian talked about a very close scrim record with Apes. Will that be your toughest test? Is it a map thing with them?

Yes, I think apes will be our toughest test. Their play style is difficult to play against, and they have the aim and the talent. Their roster doesn’t really have any weak spots. We have a close scrim record, but the real indicator that both teams are evenly matched is our 3x and 7x OT games in the season finals. I don’t have all the Brian data, but I am going to assume that we statistically perform better on certain maps and so do they, so it could come down to map picks and Day 2 seeding if we meet them in the bracket. If we meet them in the finals, it’ll just come down to who can adjust quicker and who wants it more. I’m bias, but I’m going to give us an edge only because of our expected LAN buff that we historically seem to get. But if they want it, they’re gonna have to take it from our fucking cold dead fingers, because we never quit. – doug

I think it goes without saying that there’s a group of teams that would be disappointed to not win. What have you guys done to make sure that it will not be Bricked Up going home disappointed.

We’re racking up as much scrim time with our 5 as possible and we’re following the formula. Hit your shots, win your 1v1’s, and study your set nades. We’ve won through the loser’s bracket gauntlet, and we’ve won in the upper bracket. We’re trying not to take ourselves too seriously and reminding ourselves that we’ve been there and done that. Show up, play with passion, talk some shit, and dominate. But don’t get me wrong, when you’re at the top of the mountain, the only measurement of success is staying there. We don’t have expectations of anything other than another ring. – doug