FNRGFE has proven time and time again that they have more bite than bark. This team is formed from hardened veterans from other competitive titles, such as Team Fortress 2, Firefall, and Shootmania.Not only that but all of their current players, and their substitutes, have long histories in Overwatch’s relatively short esports timeline.

With all of this in mind, during Overwatch Contenders Season 0, FNRGFE took a surprising 3-4th placing after just forming weeks prior. However, Season 1 has been off to a rocky start, but things are quickly turning around. Most recently with a victory over the french powerhouse team, Rogue, FNRGFE is quickly regaining their momentum. Afte their victory, Casey "buds" McIlwaine sat down and talked with Esports Heaven about his recent play and much more!

First of all, congratulations on the win! How does it feel taking the win over a team with a pedigree like Rogue?

Thank you. I think both Rogue and ourselves have been in a small slump as of late, so to be able to close it out in the tiebreaker map was a huge relief for us.

The analysis desk was quite interested in your play in particular. Does the limelight take it’s toll on you or do you feel like you play better when the pressure is on?

There is definitely some pressure, especially as a match progresses. I try not to think about all the spectators that may be watching me and play the best I can.

Talk to me about what was going through your head on Ilios, because you were going crazy with the Widowmaker on Ruins. Did something just click? Were you in the zone? We’ve seen your Widowmaker before, but you came in seriously clutch.

I've played against aKm a lot in the Ruins Widowmaker match-up and he is actually very good. I think my performance might have been half of me being in the zone, and half aKm not having a great round.

Now, FNRGFE has recently added some interesting substitutes to your roster in the form of Mesr and Rob420. Is there any chance we could be seeing them come out anytime soon or are they more of an insurance policy?

They are only there in case of emergency. We are thankful to have them along with Enigma and Dummy as back ups.

Now something that has been on my mind is your team logo. Could you talk a little bit about why your mascot is a corndog? Haha, where did that come from?

Haha, I'm actually not sure about that one. I think it might have been a joke from the GFE portion of our roster and it just stuck. We all love seeing how people react to our team name and logo. People see the corndog and become instant fans.

When I spoke with Muma a few weeks back, he mentioned that he was certainly impressed with how the team performed in Season 0. Could you talk a little bit about how have you felt with this roster?

Everyone on our roster is great at the role they play. It's a great feeling to be confident in the abilities of everyone on your team.

Is there anyone who you’ve been impressed with recently? To couple that, is there someone who you think that has not performed as well as they could have?

You win and you lose as a team. There are so many factors within a game that to blame or praise one person would be unfair.

As a second part of that same question; do you think that the metagame has had such a drastic shift that team’s and player’s have a had a hard time adjusting?

I know that we as a team have had a hard time adjusting to Doomfist. However, I think the real drastic change in the meta is going to be "rolling" around the corner very soon.

To close things out, where do you think FNRGFE goes from here? Where do you guys have your eyes set on and what are some of your personal expectations for the future?

We continue on through Overwatch Contenders. We're going to do our best to continue learning and adapting and try to give our fans a team they can be proud of. Our personal team goal is to end Contenders in the top 4 of our region and make playoffs.

And last but not least, where can people find you, what's to come with Buds, and do you have a message for all the FNRGFE fans out there?

With Overwatch League getting closer, you never know what’s in store for your near future so I can't exactly say for myself. As for all the FNRGFE fans, we are incredibly grateful for your overwhelming support. Thank you so much. If you'd like to follow my Twitter it's @budsOW you can find my teammates handles there as well. Lastly, thank you for the interview.

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.