nicoodoz on facing FURIA: “We’re not going to be scared of them”

Media day definitely was a busy one for us, but I got the chance to sit down with none other than OG’s Nico “nicoodoz” Tamjidi ahead of their first match of the LAN tournament here in Malta.

OG don’t have an easy road ahead of them by any stretch of the imagination as they’ll be up against FURIA as the very first game but it certainly looks like they’ll be bringing the fire for this tournament.

Sophie McCarthy: First off, obviously, we’re here on LAN in Malta. You guys have spent the last month or two attending various LANs, some in Europe, some in the States, chasing those VRS points. So how different have you found that compared to the usual online grind?

Nico “nicoodoz” Tamjidi: I mean, I would definitely say it’s way more exhausting overall. Like, 30 days away from home, you know, travelling to five different countries in that short span of time, you know, it’s really exhausting overall, but it was a really positive trip overall. We didn’t make the major, no, but we still got a lot of VRS points and we learned a lot on the trip, which is the most important, you know, so.

Sophie: Yeah, absolutely. Well, that’s a really good attitude to have. So you’ve been with OG for about six months now? I think so. And you’ve already had two new additions since then. Can you tell me what it’s like to be part of a team that changes players so often?

nicoodoz: I would say it’s obviously hard because we have to go through a lot of new stuff all the time with the new players, you know, like go through the whole set book again. But the only reason you change pairs is to become better, you know, and to have a higher ceiling than you had before. So you just gotta trust the process and keep grinding.

Sophie: Does it affect your own personal performance at all?

nicoodoz: Honestly? I wouldn’t say so, no. I think I’m a guy that has a lot to say, you know, in a team environment. So it’s fine for me, honestly.

Sophie: Okay, well, that’s good. That’s what we like to hear. So you guys have qualified for the Thunderpick World Championship through the closed qualifier. You took down M80 and BIG to get here. That’s not nothing! Tell me a little bit about the qualification process and what does it mean for the team to play this event again, even if you weren’t there last time?

nicoodoz: I mean, I think it’s a really great event for us because it has a really big prize pool. There’s a lot of good teams here. Four invited teams are really good teams, you know, so it gives us a chance to showcase ourselves on a higher level, you know, so that’s all we want to do, play against the best teams in the world.

Sophie: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you’ve got your work cut out for you there, I think! So, thinking about these top teams that you’re going to have to be going up against, when you look around at them, where would you place OG on this ranking? What are your expectations of this event?

nicoodoz: Hopefully making out of groups. Like as you said, we have a really tough group, you know, with Mongolz and FURIA, but I think upsetting one of them and sending one of them home early would be a really big result for us. And then just take it one game at a time.

Sophie: Yeah, absolutely. I think you guys are playing the very first game of the LAN event, right? And you’ve got FURIA up first. They’re a team that seem to be improving a lot lately. What kind of style can we expect from OG heading up against FURIA?

nicoodoz: I mean, we will for sure play our own style. You know, we’re not going to be scared of them. We’re going to show them, and we can also be aggressive, stuff like that, you know. So it’s just all about showing up and playing your own game and not being scared.

Sophie: Yeah, I mean, that’s a really good attitude. I think I would maybe be a bit more scared than that, so that’s great. So I just had one last question for you. So, you know, regardless of the result against FURIA, you’re going to have another tough match ahead of you, either 9Z or the Mongolz. Give me your take on those matchups and the difficulty level in Group A in general.

nicoodoz: I mean, the dream scenario would be us beating FURIA and then beating Mongolz in the second game. So I’m just praying for that one. But other than that, I think if we play against 9z, the lower, if that happens, then I’m confident that we’re also going to take that game and then have another fight for the playoffs.

Sophie: Absolutely. Well, I hope to see it. That was all I had for you, so thank you so much and good luck.

nicoodoz: Thank you for having me.