Michael "MikeyA" Adams, God’s gift to Welsh Esports, recently stopped by to chat about Cloud 9 EU’s games this past weekend during Overwatch Contenders Season 1 where they took a 3-1 win over Bazooka Puppiez and Gamers Origin. This former FaZe Clan member is not only one of the best DPS players to come out of the United Kingdom, but he’s done so in two games. Overwatch and his native game, Team Fortress 2. We had a brief chat about his time during World Cup, what skills have transferred over from Team Fortress 2, and more!

Welcome MikeyA, thanks for taking the time to chat. How are you doing this evening?

I'm doing pretty good. I got a celebratory Nandos after the game (not that I need a reason to go there).

Ahahah, I must say, your Tracer play in Cloud 9’s 3-1 win over GamersOrigin, was quite impressive. Have you found it difficult playing Tracer on this new patch at all?

Thank you! I expected it to be harder this meta with the possibility of heroes like Doomfist, McCree, Junkrat and even Roadhog finding their way into the meta, but it's apparent that Tracer is still a superior pick 90% of the time. I feel Junkrat and Doomfist are very specific picks with regard to the current map/stage you're playing, and Roadhog is still yet to be fully tried-out since the recent changes. In some ways, it's easier to play Tracer with all the nice big tanks around to stick with Pulse Bombs.

You went absolutely crazy during the Hangar phase of Watch Point: Gibraltar securing 5 kills in one fell swoop. Walk me through your thought process during that play, was there anything that you noticed in that split second that caused you to explode?

I noticed they were all grouped up in the mega room and that their D.Va had been using her Defense Matrix for a while so I'd likely be able to get a sticky in, and after that it was just a cleanup, there also wasn't much time left and I knew they'd be easy to pick apart after the bomb.

Leaf has had an amazing showing on Doomfist, was there anything else that Cloud 9 was concerned about anything leading into the game with GamersOrigin?

We said Leaf is their primary playmaker and tried to track him as much as possible, we know they're mostly a team that plays for picks and goes from there and weren't concerned with much else. We were actually expecting them to pick King's Row instead of Numbani so that was surprising.

What are some of your thoughts on the new Doomfist? Were you at all worried when Leaf brought out his pocket pick in your match today? How much did you all prep for King’s Row over Numbani?

I think the reduced Rocket Punch hitbox is a fair but heavy nerf, he's still viable but you're going to have to be a bit more careful with your engages now as you're less likely to get those 1-shots and the additional shield with it. None of us were worried going into the match. We expected him to be playing Junkrat more, to be honest. We hardly played Numbani this week but it's generally been a comfortable map for us, although I think the lack of practice did show a bit.

Something that has been interesting to me has been the D.Va changes on the most recent PTR update. As a Tracer player, what are some of your thoughts with the change to Defense Matrix and the new Micro Missiles?

I haven't had a chance to try the new D.Va, but I think I speak for many when I say a reduction in her Defense Matrix can only be a good thing and I'm excited to try the Micro Missiles. I have a feeling she will be a bit OP at the beginning due to her raw dive potential. Shifting into a target whilst using primary fire AND Micro Missiles and then a melee on top could be an insta-kill on squishes, but I doubt she will be released like that onto the live patch. As a Tracer player specifically, D.Va’s Defense Matrix always feels like it lingers on a bit too long so hopefully less of my Pulse Bombs will get eaten too!

ChrisTFer, MikeyA, Kruise, and the boys from Team United Kingdom on the main stage in Santa Monica.

Now, I know you have an extensive history with Team Fortress 2, what are some of the biggest things that you’ve carried over from TF2 and applied to Overwatch?

My aim on projectile heroes carried over well for a start. I feel the teamplay aspects are quite similar and have helped me out a bunch. Calling where targets are by location and coordinating dives similar to jumping targets in TF2, but honestly, the biggest carry-over has been my game sense for flanking on a Tracer in a similar way to how I played roaming Soldier. I started playing more by this instinct during the World Cup and it works really well for me.

If I’ve got the account correct, you have at least one Steam account that has over 6.4 thousand hours clocked in for Team Fortress 2. It’s pretty obvious that you enjoyed your time with TF2, but is it possible for you to be able to grind that hard on Overwatch? Do enjoy Overwatch as much as TF2?

Haha, that is true. Albeit it was over many years, I did enjoy it but I play more Overwatch a week on average than I ever did TF2. The reward for the grind in Overwatch is much better and it is a game I truly enjoy, and it's becoming better and better on top of that. The talent pool in TF2 was much smaller and going to Overwatch has changed my feeling from a big fish in a small pond to a fry in the ocean, which is incredibly motivating and makes me want to reach the top once more.

Did you have any warm-up or training regiments that you’ve applied from TF2 to Overwatch? I know MGE (My Gaming Edge) was a mod that was frequented by many TF2 pros, is Deathmatch similar in a way?

MGE was the bomb in TF2 but there hasn't been an equivalent in Overwatch until recently. The new FFA is a godsend and is my preferred method of warm up unless I'm feeling particularly positive and go for a couple ranked games.

Is there any chance we get the ‘el classico’ MGE duel in Overwatch? Is there a chance we get MikeyA vs. ShaDowBurn in an FFA?

I mean it's already there in the form of the 1v1 arcade, however, I feel they should change it to work in the same way as FFA. Kinda like instant respawns and better arenas would be a lot more fun and of course, I'd enjoy playing against ShaDowBurn any day! But to be honest it's not really good practice with regards to actual competitive play, Deathmatch is a closer simulation to that.

You are apart of team United Kingdom for the Overwatch World Cup. Could you talk a little bit about your experience in the tournament and in Santa Monica in general? Was this your first time in the US?

I love team United Kingdom, all amazing guys, and the committee too! It was my first time in America and an amazing experience I'll never forget. Never thought a week of video games could be so fun but every day with the boys was a blast, and I think it showed in our tournament performance, which was a result of us just having a really good time.

I spoke with ChrisTFer last week and he mentioned that you guys already had all the game in your favor against Flash Wolves after the first point on Hollywood, is this true? What were your thoughts on the Taiwanese team in general?

We expected them to be stronger but it's impossible to truly tell how good a team is when they play in an isolated region. They won the last OPS, but now they are struggling with the addition of more experienced teams. Still, we thought they could beat the USA and I personally think they performed worse because of the stage and audience. Shame because we wanted to beat the USA, but Taiwan had to do ;).

Thanks again for stopping by, last but not least, let the people know where they can find you on social media and what's going on in the life of MikeyA?

No problem it was a pleasure! you can find me at @Mikeya_OW on Twitter and Twitch.tv! Thanks again!

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 @tempusrob