We managed to catch up with LDLC's versatile star Nathan "NBK" Schmitt, who told us how the French squad are feeling going into DreamHack Winter 2014.

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt's LDLC have proven to be the number two team in the world, quite conclusively, in the past months when the only team capable of stopping them has been fnatic.

The French have also dropped a few games to fellow countrymen Titan, but they will not be present at DreamHack due to Hovik "⁠KQLY⁠" Tovmassian getting VAC banned and his team replaced.

NBK's LDLC go into DreamHack Winter second best in the world 

How well prepared do you feel for DreamHack? Did you change a lot of things in how you play or simply focus on refining your current style? Will you be taking part in the official Inferno Online bootcamp, considering the problems having all teams on-site might bring?

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt: I think we're prepared in the way we wanted to. Very few teams will be able to claim "we're 100% ready", because you can always tweak your game and improve it.

Regarding our gamestyle, we're staying in the same shape I think. No massive change but definitely some new surprises that are working well.

We're not at the official bootcamp, because we prefered to stay in our "bubble" prior to the tournament. Having a good spirit and mentality while coming into the tournament is probably one of the most important thing.

What’s your stance on the stickers? Were you surprised at how much money teams made from them for ESL One Cologne? Do you think more of the money should be allocated towards prizes? As things stand, the Legends capsule pays (per Cologne) more than winning the event.

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt: The amount of money generated by the stickers is just insane. The community is supporting the game in a crazy way and the scene can only be thankful for that. However, it definitely raises questions about how they should be defined. As you stated, it is not normal by just being in the top 8 of the last major, you get as much money or more than the 1st place. I don't think they should help making the tournament bigger, as VALVe already offered different ways to do so (eSport cases). So I don't have a real answer for this debate, but there's something to adapt.

How do you expect your group to play out? Can you talk about each of the teams in your group in detail, what you expect from your potential match-up against each of them, and how do you expect to fare?

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt: Well, my expectation will always be the first place. NiP recently replaced Fifflaren but I don't know if it will be enough to change their gamestyle that was completely out-dated. I still expect a lot from them, because they're always coming in strong at such events. I would rate ESC and Planetkey on the same level. Both are able to surprise in BO1 matches, thanks to their map pool. They're ready on unusual maps, and can upset both NiP and us. However, I don't see it happening ;p.

Our recent article “Major problems” brought up multiple issues such as the online qualifiers (cheating, DDoS), inconsistent format (best-of-one groups) with very few matches, etc. What is your stance on the qualification system and the tournament format? How would you like to improve the majors?

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt: The international (Dota 2) system is probably the best, but can't be made every three months, as it is way too exhausting. Regarding how CS:GO is working, I'd like VALVe to invest money that way: one big major, international-like ($1M cashprize), and 2-3 smaller ones (250k$).

Then, I will always dislike BO1 qualifiers online, and it should definitely be prepared more, in order to have "real" games to prove which team deserve their slot. Either BO3 online, or several qualifications on LAN.

Concerning the DDoS issue, I think it is a problem that hits every league and match exactly the same way, and is therefore a problem for the whole game, instead of just one qualifier.

LDLC hope to break the second place run in Jönköping 

Another big issue for debate right now is the CZ-75. Suggestions for it have ranged from altering its rate of fire and damage, to even making it an SMG while upping its price. Do you think it should be changed, and if so, how would you recommend Valve do it?

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt: I think the CZ is indeed a bit too strong. I find myself opening some zones with a CZ, instead of an AK, that will give you an edge thanks to the firerate et the mobility it provides. Also, you can not outplay an aggressive sniper and punishing him by a simple "revenge-game", as he'll have his small bazooka in hand.

Moving it as a small price SMG or lowering the fire-rate would be viable solutions I guess. But I didn't study the subject too much at the moment, as I had an event to prepare :D 

Obviously going into the event the favorites are fnatic and LDLC, but so far the favorites have never won a major. Is there someone else who you think could surprise us and win it all? Who do you expect to place in the top four? 

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt: Sadly, the favorites never won a major... yet! Regarding the teams attending, NiP will probably come surprising some teams. I really see HellRaisers coming in strong although their group is tough. I don't really know how iBP and Cloud9 have been playing lately, but they definitely have a shot at the top4 as well.

The top4 will probably be something like Virtus.pro, fnatic, LDLC, NiP. But I expect some underdog teams to surprise in BO1 and reach the Round of 8, after playing some of them online.

What do you make of this cheating scandal? Were you surprised players might have been cheating at tournaments, or did you expect it? Do you believe the players caught cheated in LAN tournaments, and do you believe more players cheated who simply weren’t caught, yet?

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt: We've been joking around about KQLY for some time within the team, but never really seriously. And all of a sudden the news shocked everyone. I guess it had to happen at one point sadly, no competitive place can be 100% clean as people will always try to have an edge, and the next level will be to check the blood of every player :D. I trust VALVe into doing their maximum to make the game cheat-free, but the villains are always a step ahead, right ? 

You’ve placed second to fnatic at nearly every event since your team was formed. What is it about fnatic that makes them so hard for you to beat? Considering your strong record against other teams, are you putting in extra emphasis on figuring them out for DH?

Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt: I think it was pretty much the same problem against NiP back in the VeryGames day. They're an excellent team, and they're all extremely confident in their game style, making them almost unbeatable. However, they're very strong thanks to the fact that the almighty pronax knows how to counter almost every-team. He will need to stay at his A-brain level during the whole tournament. And what's harder to counter than a team creating a new game? That's where we can probably get the edge against them this time, not necesseraly by analyzing their game exactly.

As a preparation for DHW, we just did the classical thing. Regarding how every team is playing, preparing the match-ups and preparing individually for our opponents.

LDLC's campaign at DreamHack Winter will begin on Thursday at 18:30 when they will take on ESC in the group C opener. They also share the group with NiP and Planetkey Dynamics.

Nathan 'NBK-' Schmitt Age: 20 Team: LDLC Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 458 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.64 Time is adjusted to your selected timezone Hovik 'KQLY' Tovmassian Age: 24 Team: No team Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 227 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.66