Joey “Nubzy” DiGiacomo on Seattle’s Performance, Week 2, and Kobe

Image courtesy of the Minnesota Rokkr

By Sunday of Call of Duty Week 1, Seattle had completed their two matches. They lost both matches 2-3, showing a huge flaw in their Search and Destroy. During Sunday Seattle Surge coach Joey “Nubzy” DiGiacomo decided to watch the Challengers League finals. After the series concluded, Nubzy was able to take some time to answer a few questions.

Jose: Now that the Surge has finished their 2 matches, what are your thoughts from what you saw?

Nubzy: I think so far we demonstrated some pretty decent Hardpoint gameplay. We kind of threw a couple maps away. Our Domination looks very strong, even with the patch. Prior to the patch, we still looked pretty good in Dom. Our Search and Destroy is obviously something we need to work on. We threw some maps and some were just not close. So we are going to go back and work really hard on SnD and just perfect the Hardpoints too.

Jose: We didn’t see Seattle get dominated entirely. Since Search is a key flaw, will you guys be depending more on Ted “Teddy Recks” Kim (SnD Analyst) for his expertise?

Nubzy: Teddy is super important to our SnD right now. In-game, when we are scrimming, he helps a lot, gives a lot of tips, and provides games plans to improve our game online. It is now all about translating those experiences to a LAN performance.

Jose: Was Seattle’s struggle more of an execution issue or lack of reps issue?

Nubzy: I think it is a little bit of both. We didn’t get a ton of reps in because we were focusing more on respawn. I think we are trying to play too perfect sometimes and trying to play the strats too much, instead of accounting for unique variables or making mid-round adjustments.

Jose: A lot of people created their preseason rankings coming into Minnesota, did you guys have any opinions on what many were putting Seattle in?

Nubzy: The power rankings were whatever to be honest. If people placed us at the bottom, then it probably would have gotten to us. Most people ranked us in the middle of the pack and so it did not have much of an effect on us. At the end, we have to know what this team is capable of. We have 5 rings and over 50 championships earned by our team members.

Jose: When will you guys fly out to London for week 2?

Nubzy: We will be landing the Wednesday prior to event, I believe.

Jose: Lastly, the tragic news of Kobe just happened hours ago, what are your thoughts as an esports player perspective?

Nubzy: It is really sad news. My family and I grew up watching basketball, so Kobe was a household name. There was always a competition for people to argue who was the best but on a day like this, it is more about remembering someone who has done so much for sports and the entertainment industry. My prayers go out to anyone else who was involved and his family.

Image courtesy of the NBA

Sunday had a very serious vibe by 1 pm. Everyone was on their phones and reading the news. If people were not informed by someone in the venue, their phone would ring and then someone would break the news to them. The news hit the CDL in a huge wave and the longer the day went, the more people would be aware. By the time the Nubzy interview started, the tragic news of Kobe had been known by everyone. Whether the esports community knew about basketball or not, they knew about Kobe. People knew about his work ethic and his ability to win at everything. That mindset is something that many people will incorporate into their craft, including in esports.