BABYBAY Interview: Aero Made a Mistake by not Starting More Shock Players for World Cup

Andrej “BABYBAY” Francisty has become a San Francisco staple since he joined the team’s inaugural roster last season. An alum of teams like Splyce and Kungarna, he slugged through the pre-OWL era to prove he was worthy of the big leagues – and hasn’t looked back since. Now a grizzled veteran, his wisdom and experience are serving the Bay Area well.

Beyond his history in the scene as a player, BABYBAY has become something more – an influential social media presence, a smooth talker on camera and a generally cool dude. Those elements combined told us that he might make for a good interview candidate, and, well, here we are.

First things first – How have you been, man? What’s been up this off-season?

Honestly, the off-season went by pretty fast, and I feel like I didn’t do much. I feel like I was just playing Overwatch the whole time! [laughs] Just grinding ladder. Other than that I’m doing good, I think.

How has it been getting back into things with the team, as well? Now that the season is in full swing?

It’s cool! It’s an entirely different environment now. We have a team house where we all play, so I see everybody everyday.

And you guys are all living together?

We have two different houses, but me and Sleepy are the only ones who don’t live in the full-on team house, because we wanted our own space. For the most part, though, we’re there everyday. We just go home to sleep.

How are your feeling about your play this season? Confident that you’re gonna get in there and kick ass as usual?

Oh yeah. I have a deal with Crusty right now – basically, whenever they really need me, they can call on me. Kinda like a Big Boss Pine situation. I’ll just go in there and clutch it out, y’know? Thing is, we’ve only had two games. I have certain maps that I play, but they haven’t come up yet. I will play – I do scrim and all that – they just weren’t in the rotation this week.

Who are you looking forward to playing this season?

Man, I want to play Dafran. Last time I played him was forever ago, and me and him were pretty cool.

You guys played against each other a few times pre-OWL, right?

Yeah, a super long time ago. He was on Selfless – him and Sinatraa and dhaK. So I definitely want to play against him again.

Which team has surprised you the most so far?

Probably Boston, honestly. I mean, they’re in the same situation they were last season, right? Everybody thinks they’re gonna be trash, but like, Fusions? He’s really good. I wasn’t sure, y’know? We only saw a limited sample size of his play at the World Cup, so seeing him perform in GOATS against really good teams is pretty dope.

Has the Shock’s performance so far surprised you?

I wouldn’t say it’s surprised me, given the scrims I’ve been seeing. We know we’re really good. It’s more about doing what we do in scrims on stage, and having better teamwork and cohesion like that. You need to be at that level to do well in this meta.

As much as it hurts me to ask… how good did it feel to see Dallas get clapped so hard last week?

Oh my GOD. So good. I was supposed to come in for Map 5, but, y’know… that didn’t happen! It was a steamroll! I was like, “Damn, c’mon bruh. Come on.” I was really happy, and I know some of the other guys on the team were happy too. Sleepy and Super (and myself) didn’t make it to [the starting World Cup roster], so beating Aero is kind of our revenge. No bad blood, of course, but still. It’s like getting in his face and saying, “You made a mistake. You shouldn’t have done that.”

So we’ve seen a little more trash talk lately, with Carpe and Jayne and all that. Are we gonna see some banter from the Shock?

I’m not sure, really. I’m probably the only trash talker on the team. Sinatraa trash talks, but not publicly. He’s had a target on his back since forever, so when he says anything, people will really over-exaggerate it, which I think is pretty stupid. I’ll trash talk, though, I don’t really care. There just hasn’t been much to talk about yet.

So is this gonna be the season that everyone jumps in and joins you, you think?

I hope so! Trash talk is amazing.

Sinatraa and STRIKER mentioned that they’re not gonna say much – they’re just gonna teabag everybody. Does that count?

Yeah! That’s definitely a type of trash talk in its own way. I think once our team makes it to [Stage] playoffs and we’re performing there, then you’ll start seeing our egos flare up, and we’ll start smack-talking on everybody. Wait for that.

What’s a personal goal for you this season, beyond making playoffs or winning it all?

I want to be the best teammate I can be. Even if I’m not gonna start, I want to help the team and make sure they’re doing well, too. I want to be able to be there and give my input, and hopefully that helps the team be better overall. The way I think is different than STRIKER’s gonna think, or the way Sinatraa’s gonna think, or even the way our coaches might think. I feel like having another perspective is important. Every little bit helps.

And I assume that’s something you’ve been doing already? Who are you working with the most?

Absolutely, yeah. In general, me and Rascal will watch scrims together a lot when the team is playing, and bring our own analysis to the coaches regarding what we see there.

Any last messages for fans, haters, etc?

Definitely look out for us, we’re probably making playoffs every stage. I’m calling it right now; we’re gonna pop off. We’re gonna make the Bay Area proud. Thank you to all the fans – not only our fans, but every team’s fans. Without you guys, none of this would even be a thing. You guys are dope, and we appreciate you.

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