This week Esports Heaven sits down with FNRGFE’s main tank, Austin "Muma" Wilmot. Known from his time in Team Fortress 2, Muma has brought his talents to Overwatch. We sit down and chat about his time in Team Fortress 2, his transition from TF2 to Overwatch, and his thoughts on the metagame.

Good evening Mr. Austin "Muma" Wilmot, how are we doing this evening? How have scrims been going?

Scrims are going very well. I've noticed a lot of teams are taking it a bit slower right now because of the lack of tournaments other than contenders and the World Cup going on right now. We've still been going pretty strong for the most part despite coolmatt being on Team USA for the World Cup.

Now, before we get into your Team Fortress 2 history, talk to me about your history in games. What games did you play as a kid? What are some of your favorite games in general?

I've always been super into FPS games. My first video game that I actually took seriously was CoD Modern Warfare 2.  I wasn't into video games at all until I was 15. I'm incredibly competitive. I played soccer for 10 years before getting into video games.

Now I am no Team Fortress 2 expert, but through my digging, I came to a team name that really stuck out at me; “Strawberry Mangos.” Can you talk a bit about how you guys came up with that name and your time with the team?

Strawberry Mangos was my first really competitive invite team. We missed playoffs by one match. The name was just an in joke between two of our players that got into a pretty heated debate about fruit smoothies. Sounds extremely silly now that I actually find myself typing it out. We had a bunch of close games against the top 4 teams but a few too many disappointing losses to teams that we definitely shouldn't have been losing to.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you played Demoman? Could you talk about going from Demoman to the main Tank role in Overwatch? What was the thought process behind that?

Yeah, Demoman was my main role. When I first chose Demoman, I chose it because he was honestly overpowered and I liked the impact that I had. After a pretty massive nerf, he became more about positioning and mind games. When I first switched to Overwatch, I was aiming to play projectile dps because I've always had good aim. After a handful of scrims, my eye was really drawn to main tank because he's the definition of mind games and positioning being most important.

Transitioning from TF2 into Overwatch, talk to me about the core of  the FNRGFE team being TF2 veterans. Are you personally more comfortable knowing these players from your past? Does that help with the communication in the team?

Boink stopped playing basically the season that I started. Clockwork and I were actually on a team together. If it wasn't for him going to eleague with Splyce, he would've came to my first international lan with me and the team. As for communications, in game there actually isn't many similarities between calling. Out of game, there is long term friendships that have been around before Overwatch that I think they have helped our team quite positively.

Speaking of the team, what do you think the biggest factor is in your success thus far? Is there anything that, as a team, you’ve been working on to perfect?

The mixture of closed beta players and new blood is something that I think really sets us apart from other teams. Every player also has history with at least 1 other player on the team so despite being a team for about a month now, we've been able to gel super well.

As a team that was newly formed, what were some of your expectation going into Overwatch Contenders? Were you fairly confident knowing that the core of the team could pull off such a deep run?

I was certainly impressed. I've had experience playing with enigma in Team Fortress and also on earlier teams in Overwatch. I knew the addition of him and a new dps player would help brighten up our lackluster results back on GFE.

One name that keeps coming up when you search for FNRGFE is the team Arc6, whom you beat to qualify for Overwatch Contenders Season 0, but also lost to during the BEAT Invitational. Is there a budding rivalry between Arc6 and FNRGFE?

To an extent. The addition of Custa might build to that also because of our two former Fnatic players. I know the recent loss in beat left a lot of us unhappy.

Something that has been incredible topical as of late is team’s opting not to resign their players. The most recent case was Movistar Riders having fairly great success and then being dropped. As a player yourself, what are your general thoughts about concerns or worries about Overwatch as an esport?

The concerns seem pretty justified but I'm focusing on keeping my head high. Being one of the two unsigned NA teams in contenders is definitely putting a spotlight on us that I know will help.

Jacob Wolf and ESPN have recently reported that some serious people have apparently started getting involved with the Overwatch League and with the recent success you’ve all been having as a team, I’m sure you’ve garnered some attention. What are your thoughts on this? Any announcements coming soon that you care to talk about?

There isn't a lot that can be thought about at this time. We're 6 people with a minimum amount of time spent together already turning this many heads with no plans on stopping. We look forward to having something to announce just as much as fans may look forward to hear those announcements.

Now, before we close, the metagame has been another topical point of contention throughout the community. What are your takes on this so far? Do you personally enjoy dive? Is there something you wished Blizzard would change?

I think the player base is going to end up complaining no matter what. This meta will come to an end just like any other meta has and then when a new one is found, a month or two will pass and there will be something new to complain about. That's just the way Overwatch is going to be.

In closing, I always like to hear the thoughts of players or just people in the scene talk about why they continue to play Overwatch. So, why does Austin "Muma" Wilmot continue to play Overwatch? What about it captured your attention? What about it drew you away from TF2?

Competitive TF2 was a game you compete in for pride. It was a way to spend 2 hours a few days a week to compete in a video game for fun. Overwatch is more than that. Overwatch is a new game that's giving me a chance for the limelight. Just watching these top players gets thousands of viewers on Twitch or fans yelling their names is what keeps me playing this game 8+ hours a day.

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.