Interview with nouns' Gunnar: "No matter the state of the game, Hector always stays positive"

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Gunnar!

Is the team on break, or are you at bootcamp?

The team is currently on break.

We have two more weeks of break, after which we will be back at bootcamp.

Where are you planning on bootcamping?

We will be bootcamping somewhere near New York or New Jersey.

Congratulations on making it to The International!

Youve been to TI as an analyst, but this will be your first TI as a player.

How do you feel?

Nervous, excited or both?!

I wouldnt say I am nervous.

Does it make it more special that the fight for the Aegis will be on home ground?

It is nice to see The International is back in Seattle.

We have US pride in our team!

Four of the five players are from the United States.

The decision to go for Hector is completely understandable, considering his experience.

But a lot of people were confused with the positional changes.

After the Bali Major, the team decided a change needed to be made.

We went into the qualifiers with a lot of confidence.

Even on the last day, Lelis was assuring the team that the NA spot was ours to lose.

I dont think I performed to the best of my abilities though.

The first two days of the qualifiers, I wasnt too pleased with how I was playing.

But on the whole, it went just as we had expected.

Was sticking pieces of tapes on the wall to count the number of wins a motivational strategy?

Yes, that was our sports psychologist Edwards idea.

Its interesting you mention the team is working with a sports psychologist.

When did he come onboard?

Are there a lot of teams that have a sports psychologist as a part of the roster?

Weve been working with him for a couple of months now.

He joined us before the Bali Major, and will be with the team at TI12.

A lot of the teams at the top who win the major tournaments have a psychologist working with them.

OG had one when they won TI9, Tundra Esports did as well when they won TI11 last year.

OG were the ones who brought it to everyones notice when they won their second consecutive TI.

Do you think eventually, every team will need to have a psychologist as well?

Its hard to say if it will be a necessity.

Lets get to the new player in nouns What does Hector bring to the team?

He has a lot of experience.

Does he take part in the shot calling?

Is he vocal in games?

Hector is really vocal in games, and he is also extremely fun to play with!

No matter the state of the game, he will always stay positive.

And whenever we are winning, he is vocal and makes sure the team knows what he wants.

That is always heartening to hear!

Dota 2 patch 7.34 was released a month ago.

Any big changes that you really like?

Has the game improved s compared to Dota 2 patch 7.33?

Overall, I like patch 7.34, although I am getting tired of seeing Pangolier in every game.

Can IceFrog kindly nerf him for a year straight?

I would be really happy if I didnt have to see Natures Prophet and Pangolier at TI12.

I would love that too!

But I doubt it will happen with TI12 being just a month away.

What about the mid lane?

We dont see as many Universal heroes as before dominating the mid picks.

Is there a bit more balance now?

This is more a personal question than anything.

He has been buffed recently.

What do you think of the Shadow Priest as a mid hero?

The buffs Dazzle has received recently are fairly significant.

Topias Topson Taavitsainen has played the played the hero a bit in the last couple of weeks.

I dont have my mind made up about the hero yet.

I wouldnt be surprised if Dazzle becomes a meta hero in the next month.

There are definitely a few heroes that are undiscovered at this point.

I havent discovered them either [so he says, until we see Gunnars mid Bane at TI12].

Any thoughts on the new TI format?

Both, the overall format and the one for the group stage.

The International will definitely feel really long with the new format.

From what Ive heard from players, it already felt long with the old format.

There will be multiple four day breaks.

It will either be fun just to be there, or stressful if youre still in the tournament.

As for the group stage, it feels a bit weird.

The day of bo3s that will determine which teams go where in the bracket is going to be crazy.

This year, it will only be against five teams before the playoffs.

Is that a disadvantage for teams in terms of playing against multiple playstyles?

In the previous format, you would learn a lot by playing against more teams.