On Thursday, Fnatic announced their Overwatch squad and we got the opportunity to sit down with the team’s DPS player iddqd for an exclusive first interview. We talked about the game, moving to North America, his plans for the future and his secret to achieving the highest level of focus.
Hi iddqd, welcome to the Fnatic family! Let’s start off by introducing you to the fans out there. Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?
Hey there, and absolutely!
I’m André “iddqd” Dahlström from Sweden and at the age of 24. I’m a pretty laid back guy with a ton of humor. I’m in love with dogs, I have had them for my whole childhood, and still have four at home. General hobbies at the moment are obviously dogs, hitting the gym and streaming. Any time left over goes to practice and to spend time with the girlfriend. Beyond this I also used to be a cook, so I guess I’m on food duty at the team house :(.
Since Overwatch is still a relatively young game you must have played others before it. What are some games you played in the past and did you play any of them competitively?
My background consists of 10 years of Quake 3 under the belt and a ton of other experience from shooters such as Unreal Tournament and Counter-Strike. There’s also a bunch of mobas and other titles included but they’re too many to name.
You’ve started making a name for yourself since the Overwatch beta, can you tell us more about your history in the Overwatch scene before joining Fnatic?
Sure! I got lucky. I had a childhood friend who hooked me up with an early key for Overwatch. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but getting my hands on the game it quickly turned my opinion around. I wasn’t sure whether I should go pro or not, but it quickly became clear to me after I kept queuing into pro players who told me to go pro immediately, or I’d be wasting my time. I kind of took the bait and went in, and here I am. Who would have thought? Former notable teams used to be my own former project Impulse 1,1 which consisted only of Swedish players, then I got offers from several other projects but I ended up taking the offer made by Rogue. It didn’t last that long as we didn’t work on an atmosphere level. During my time on Rogue, even though short – we did win the first major post-launch for Overwatch. After my departure from Rogue I felt it necessary to make my own roster once again to get the caliber of players that I wanted. That’s where nubris comes in as it is once again my own project with players that I scouted for a long time before setting it all up. Again with huge success.
The team was playing under the nubris banner up till now, what led you guys to the decision of joining a big organisation such as Fnatic?
It was pretty obvious to us. Fnatic isn’t an organisation who treats it’s player like they are expendable. Fnatic is a family, and that is precisely what we were looking for. You take hits, but what matters is that you keep going forward, something that we believe Fnatic will be able to help with. Getting in contact with the managers whom were scouting the Overwatch scene, it became very clear to us that this would be a perfect fit, and hopefully our new home. And it sort of ended up being mutual between the organisation and us as a team. We couldn’t be happier with this opportunity.
Now that you have the support of Fnatic, what are your goals moving forward and have they changed compared to when you were a part of nubris? (Otherwise said: Is there anything you hope to achieve now that you didn’t feel was possible as a part of nubris?)
The paved road looks about the same. Our goals remain the same. We won’t stop until we conquer the very best, and we are going to work hard to maintain the position once it’s ours. We will give all it takes to get there, and I’m quite sure we will. As nubris we didn’t really know where to go. It’s uncomparable to having Fnatic behind us constantly pushing us forward and making sure that we, the players, have what we need to succeed and to continue the strive forward. It’s that big push in the right direction that will make us complete as a team. It’s everything we could’ve asked for.
Since you’re Swedish, joining Fnatic comes with a change in continent as you’ll be moving to North America soon. Are you ready for a change in scenery?
It’s very easy. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. To explore the world and to do so under the Fnatic banner is any esports competitor’s dream. The change is very mutual, I embrace it.
When you make it through the Atlantic Showdown’s main NA Qualifier you’ll be headed to Germany to play at Gamescom, Europe’s biggest gaming convention. What would it mean to you to play on a big stage in front of a live audience?
Nothing but excitement! That’s what you’re thinking about when you play at such a high level. To be able to meet fans, making sure their hunger is sated, to show what we’ve got in store at one of the biggest arenas there is for esports. It’s “the” dream and it’s closer than ever.
Do you think you’ll be able to adjust quickly to playing in that kind of environment?
Having been at LANs before, even though they have been remarkable smaller, I think the environment to play in front of an audience is pretty much the same no matter where you go. Adjusting to this won’t take long at all. We are there for a reason, and there’s no need to be nervous.
How do you feel about the current Overwatch meta game?
Finally a McCree buff. Is it the right one? That’s too early to say. But we as a team are enjoying it thoroughly. I think Blizzard is constantly improving and listening to the pros feedback in such rate that I strongly believe the game is in the right hands when it comes to developers.
What changes would you like to see to the gameplay of Overwatch?
That’s a tough question but I would really embrace melee heroes into this game. It’s something we don’t really have except Reinhardt, and he’s a tank.(I won’t add Genji, as it’s his ultimate that makes him melee.) I’d love to see an actual melee DPS fighter, and to see if Blizzard can balance it properly. It won’t be easy, but would make for interesting gameplay. In terms of other changes.. I’d like to see fights last a bit longer. Time to die in this game might be a bit too quick right now. The longer the fight is, the more enjoyable it is for the viewers.
Lately, you’re often seen playing McCree. Is he just that good of a pick right now or do you simply love the champion and his playstyle?
Haha.. yes, my boy Jesse McCree. It’s funny. The reason behind me playing McCree in the first place was because one of the pug teams I used to play in before going pro desperately needed a McCree player. I disliked him so much but I somewhat gave up on it and decided to give it a try. Boy am I happy. He’s THE hero for me. I love the playstyle, I love his skillset and I love the skill ceiling this hero has to offer for any player out there. We have played with McCree for quite some time, even before this patch went live with the buffs to his Peacekeeper. I feel like we have a huge advantage as we have tried to make him work even before the buffs. I’m just happy that he still gets to see the light of day at a pro level. At least now the team won’t get pissy when I pick him, they’ll embrace it instead ;).
Are there any other champions you would love to play in competitive if they were a viable option and what do you think is needed to get them to that level?
There aren’t a lot of heroes that aren’t viable but there’s one that barely has any spotlight on her. I’m of course talking about Mei. She’s so situational that you barely ever find a situation where she could “potentially” outshine another hero. Unfortunately, her kit is too weak for actual gameplay. I would love to see that change in the future, even though freezing abilities in an FPS aren’t much liked.
Where do you see competitive Overwatch going in the future? ELEAGUE and FACEIT have just announced an even bigger tournament for 300,000$ in prize money.
Oh, that’s a hard one. I think Blizzard might drop the bomb at Blizzcon. They are after all the developers of the game and they have such passion for it that I’m sure they’ll push it with everything they’ve got to make it succeed, both as a game and as an esports title. I know for a fact that Overwatch will continue to grow as it’s appealing to all ages and skill levels. There’s no stopping it now. And the bigger the audience, the bigger the scene.
For players playing Blizzard games, Blizzcon is often the ultimate dream. Would you like to see a tournament structure that eventually ends there?
Absolutely. Blizzcon is… insanity at a whole new level. It’s also one of my major goals. To be able to represent Fnatic with my team at Blizzcon? Goosebumps as I even think about it. I can’t wait to see what they have in mind for this game and it’s pro scene.
Thank you iddqd, let’s end the interview with a question you no doubt get very often. How does one get as good as you at Overwatch?
Hahaha.. Oh boy. You have to be dedicated, play up to 6-8 hours a day minimum. You have to be able to give up everything, to win everything. Have the right mindset; Never think that the player(s) in front of you are better than you are. To be the best, you also have to believe in it. And also – consume Monster energy drinks, it makes focusing easier! 😉
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