This week I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking with Tamas "tomzeY" Bordas. As the vocal leader and support player formerly for Hammers Esports, he was calling the shots. Focusing on the leadership aspect in games, I wanted to know how he went about becoming a leader and some of his hardships.

Let us start with a lighthearted question, if you were stuck on a boat with one other professional Overwatch player, who would it be and why?

It would be Nesh, I think with him, we would get [along] super easily. He is one of the nicest guys I had as a team mate and he also doesn't get scared of problems that come up.

Now, you as a vocal leader within the team, was Nesh someone who helped you or maybe assisted you in leading Hammers, or was there someone else you'd like to give kudos to?

It was mainly ChrisTFer that helped me lead the team, especially [in] the latter times, after the meta changed to dive.

Like you said you’ve been a long time shot caller and leader dating to the early days of EU Overwatch. What has been one of your biggest hurdles as a vocal leader for the Chavs and for Hammers Esports? What is something that you as a leader really had to work on throughout your career so far?

The biggest thing I had to overcome as a shotcaller [was] to not get affected by team atmosphere at all. I always had to be vocal and energetic no matter how bad things were going. This is the thing I guess I'm most proud of, being able to always focus on the next fight, and forget the bad fights that happened in the past.

Let’s conduct a small thought experiment. If I gave you a choice between the strongest mechanical player or a player who fit more within a team atmosphere, who would you choose as team captain and why?

I personally would choose the strongest mechanical player, because I think I could facilitate him even if he had personality issues, but I think both kind of players are needed in a team, especially in Overwatch where you need six players to synergize.

Now, from that - would you consider yourself a more structured, authoritative leader or are do you play more on feeling? Where exactly does this leadership come from? Did you play sports as a child? Where does the drive to lead come from for you personally?

I used to be fairly authoritative when I started leading in Overwatch, then the better the team got the less authoritative I was, because I wanted to let my players have their space to make plays. I guess I make calls based on feeling sometimes, but mostly I just try to play the ultimate economy game, and i guess that's more structured. I think the natural leadership just comes from the fact that I’m older than most players. I'm 26 and I have always been confident and really enjoyed leading when my teammates had faith in me.

What are your views on having a solo leader in an Overwatch team? Is it viable to have a single shot caller or is the game too hectic for one man’s shoulders?

In [the] tank meta I was able to do 90% of the shotcalling and leadership, but since dive came in, the game changed so much, and there [were] so much more options in terms of what kind of plays you can do as a team, that I think it is necessary to have more voices on the team. In [the] dive meta, I could still do pre-fight planning and track all the ults, but it was way harder to make mid-fight calls, or call the dives. I think in the current meta, you kinda need one of the divers to be a main voice as well.

Speaking of shotcalling, how did that exactly work within Hammers? Were you the macro and micro leader or did someone else assist you in dealing with the strategies and tactics that you guys might use?

Strategies and tactics were something that most players and both our coach and analyst took part in. It was more of a team effort.

Could you share a story from the early days of Chavs? Was there anything that was interesting or funny that you could share for some of the fans of your work?

I guess it's pretty funny that Shaz used to be a dps player, and I convinced him to try support. After the first day of him supporting he said he would rather quit the game than keep playing support. So, I told him it's fine, just play support for us until I find someone else, and he stood our support for almost a year and turned out to be one of the best Zen/Ana player in the West.

Recommended: Muma on the Overwatch metagame, his past in gaming, and Team Fortress 2

Funny that you mention that because that was a big narrative going into the most recent APEX finals, as well. In your eyes, could more support players make a transition to a more DPS focused role within a team, or are their talents and skill sets more valued than DPS?

I guess that's something that depends on the player themselves, but I think a lot of top-tier support players could be really good dps players as well, I know lots of examples from EU like Zuppe, Shaz, Dante, and Neptuno. Some players have more of a supportive and team oriented mindset though. I guess for them it would never work that well if they changed to dps, even if they are really skilled.

Talk to me about TakeOver. How was your experience? Did you met anyone that surprised you or impressed you at all? What did you guys have to work through after that first day of play?

TakeOver was super fun overall, everybody was really friendly, and the organizers did an excellent job. We did pretty well overall  even though we couldn't really focus on the event; of course we had to qualify for NA contenders at the same time as the event was going. We ended up beating misfits and drawing with C9, and only lost to movistar riders, so I was kind of happy with the results, especially with all the contenders shenanigans going on. Nesh impressed me the most I guess, because it was his first lan event and he was probably our best player at the event.

Something that I was personally excited about was when you all signed your head coach. Could you talk to me about your opinion and thoughts on your coach, Kirby? What were some of the things he helped you all with? Where was his strong suits?

We signed Kirby at a time where we really needed some help, transitioning from tanks to dive, and without him I think the whole process would have been way slower. He's one of the best guys I met through esports, and I think he's a good coach because he isn't afraid to speak his mind, and he is good at fixing issues. So, he is just a really dedicated hard working guy who is a good aspiration for younger esport players.

So, now that we know the fate of Movistar Riders, what is next for you? I know that you’ve been actively looking for a new home, have there been any leads or anything promising coming in the near future?

I am not sure what i'm going to do yet. I’m open to offers right now, but I’m also thinking about retiring. Honestly I really enjoyed the experience with the Chavs/Hammer's coming from nowhere and getting to a really high level. I was building this team since day one and the progress we made was really enjoyable to experience, but I'm not sure how much I would enjoy playing with a new team, where I dont have the same voice. We will see what happens; I'll keep practicing, and I guess I will decide in a month or two depending on my offers if I want to continue or not.

Alright, that is it for me, any shoutouts or anyone you'd like to thank? The last of the comments for this interview are yours.

Shoutouts to everybody I met through esports, I wish the best for all of them.

Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLG’s of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at @Volamel.

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment and TaKeTV.