Hafþor "Hafficool" Hakonarson has been around the block once or twice. Coming from a background of Team Fortress 2 (TF2) he has been in and competitive gaming for around three years. After Hafficool’s win at Insomnia 58, he retired to Overwatch full time. This season veteran sat down with Esports Heaven after Team 123’s final game of the Overwatch Contenders Season 1 regular season. With a convincing victory over Gamers Origin, Hafficool shoots on his growth as a player, Control maps, and making the Contenders Season 1 playoffs.

Thanks for sitting down and chatting for a bit Hafficool and congratulations with your solid 3-1 win over GamersOrigin! Talk to me about what your thoughts on the game, were you concerned at all?

We had a lot of counter strategies for different maps versus their Doomfist and McCree comps, they really surprised us on Nepal with their quad tank and it threw us off balance. But overall we felt confident going in and once we got the ball rolling we did well.

You mention quad-tanks, is quad or even triple tank something that could be coming back or was that just a one-off strategy?

I think it was just a one-off strategy for Nepal Village where they stand on the point and make us come to them. It's easily counterable, we just didn't do the right switches. I think triple tank is making a small comeback, a lot of teams have been playing it on Kings Row and some Control maps, it counters D.Va comps pretty well.

If you had to change something, what would you have changed about your game on Nepal? In your eyes, what were the right picks in that situation?

On Village, we really didn't know what to play. Tonic and Snillo wanted me to go Genji but I thought Pharah was good, I think something like Reaper Mei Zarya would have been a great counter to that. On Shrine, we had a pretty big argument about what we should play. I was being told to go D.Va but I thought Zarya was a way better pick which resulted in us not really focusing on the game and we got rolled. But after Nepal, we focused up and decided Zarya was the best pick vs D.Va and McCree compositions.

It definitely showed that you guys buckled down and focused, it seemed like the other three maps were night and day differences in comparison. What are your thoughts on Control, as a map type, and how it sits in the professional scene? Is it a tool variable currently?

I really don't like how Blizzard changed it to a Bo3 on Control; it gets too random. The first fight is too important. If a team blind counters the other accidentally and rolls the first fight then they have a really good chance of winning the round, but it's still good to have. It gives teams that have really good mechanics but not the best teamwork a chance to win a map off smarter teams.

Now, as you were already qualified, this win over GamersOrigin does allow Cloud 9 EU to qualify for playoffs. What are your thoughts on Cloud 9 EU as a team? Are you concerned at all with them now attending the LAN playoffs?

I'm not really concerned with C9. They will be playing Misfits first round and I really doubt they will be able to pull out a win there. I think they have really solid players but they haven't had the best success—maybe because of poor team synergy. I'm glad I get to meet my boy MikeyA on LAN as well; we've known each other for a very long time—since the TF2 days

Hahaha! Just briefly touching on TF2, what were some of the mechanics that you think Overwatch could take from TF2? Is there anything you’d want to see added?

The movement system in TF2 is extremely better (sic) than Overwatch. It adds a whole new layer of mechanics to the game with air surfing and surfing explosive damage, I wish Blizzard had added a system like that instead of the basic air control system it has right now. Also, TF2 had a lot of flank routes but Overwatch pretty much only has linear maps where you always see your enemy coming way before they fight you. It would be nice to have additional flank routes that the defenders would have to hold. It adds more diversity in strats.

Now, you’ve been in esports for quite a long time. In your mind, what has changed you the most? Where do you think you’ve grown the most as a player over the last three years?

In TF2 I learned a lot about team play, my role was a defensive scout that protected the Medic kind of like D.Va. That taught me a lot about how to work in a team. When I got picked up for FNATIC, I thought it would just be easy from then on and I didn't really try super hard to stay on the top. I got a big wake up call after Korea. It really humbled me.

Will this be your first time in the US? Anything you're excited to do in the states?

It will be my third time, I'm just excited to get to finally play on LAN again and meet all the players. Esports events are always the best of times.

Before we round this out, walk me through the ideal scenario. What needs to happen for 123 to take the title home for Contenders Season 1?

Haha damn. I think we have a really good chance of beating Gigantti, we just have to not get nervous and play our slow and methodical style and then assuming we play Misfits in the finals, we will have a really hard time. All of them have played a lot of Lans. People like Tviq and Zebbosai always go huge on LANs, while we have a lot of inexperienced LAN players like Snillo and Tonic. If we manage to keep our backline alive versus their dive I think we can take them, but it will be really hard.

Again, thanks so much for stopping by Hafficool! Let the people know where they can find you on social media and what’s coming next for you and 123?

No problem, you can find me on Twitter.com/hafficool and Twitch.tv/Hafficcool. As for 123 we are all trialing for OWL teams and depending on how many of us get a spot you might see us again in Contenders season 2!

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.