Esports is one crazy train and for Jiri "LiNkzr" Masalin life is never going to be the same. Thanks to Overwatch Esports, he has been able to travel from his home country of Finland to the United States and all across Europe. From Creation Esports, to Team Dignitas, and now LiNkzr has brought his talent to Team Gigantti. Currently residing within the top 4 teams, Team Gigantti looks to improve their standing of 2-1 (6-6 in matches) when they face 123 and Cloud 9.EU this weekend. LiNkzr graciously stopped by Esports Heaven to discuss what he thought about the upcoming Overwatch League, statistics, and most importantly - what flavor of Doritos was his favorite. Enjoy!

First of all, congratulation on your win against Gamers Origin. How does it feel having a solid chance of making it in the top 4 of Overwatch Contenders Season 1?

I’m happy about it, we have worked hard for contenders and right now it’s looking like we are right on the track.

Overall, your stats in your most recent game were out of this world: 21% first kill, 1.06 kills per ultimate, and 16 kills per 10 minutes, just to name a few. Did you feel like you had a good game or do you still feel like you have more to show the world?

Mmm, I knew I was having one of the better games, but there are some fundamental stuff which when I improve on will make my performances more consistent, I can be much, much, much better still! ^^

What is your take on statistics in Overwatch in general? Do you personally use websites like Winston’s Lab? Do you think it’s something that coaches and analysts should be using?

Sometimes I use Winston’s Lab just to see if I did poorly on some aspects—things like ult efficiency, how often I charge up ultimates—so I go over the VODs for those things in mind thinking “okay, I had trouble building ultimates so why is that?” They are helpful. I don’t think you can derive too much valuable information but you can use stats like that as a guideline to work on certain things, stats vary a lot from game to game since Overwatch changes a lot depending which team you play against.

With your win over Gamers Origin, did you all feel fairly confident after you guys beat them at the ASUS ROG Tournament 2017?

They changed their players a bit since ASUS ROG and Leaf’s doomfist has really impressed me personally. I was confident, but in the back of my mind there was always a possibility for them to out-maneuver us with Doomfist.

Snillo mentioned in an interview I recently had with him that he thought team Gigantti was one of the strongest teams in Europe. Where, in your eyes, do you think Gigantti stacks up against Europe as a whole?

I think we have a solid foundation as a top 4 team in the European region right now. There are lots of good teams in Europe and we have yet to play against them in Contenders so that might change, but at least right now I feel that way.

What are some of the expectations that you have for yourself going onwards into Overwatch Contenders Season 1?

I think we can make it to playoffs, I think if we keep slowly improving like we do, work on our mistakes, figure out our opponents I think that’s reasonable.

Something I found interesting from a previous interview you gave thanks to “Doritos?” What's up with that? Do you just really enjoy Doritos?

I love Doritos… I haven’t had them in some time so I don’t feel complete. My favourite Doritos are Cool Ranch still. It’s kinda basic, but I just love the taste.

Within that same interview you mentioned that you thought that Mei could be “scary if played well.” Do you think we could possibly start to see Mei slowly crawl back into favor with some teams or will she always be more of a fringe pick?

It will take some time for Mei to show her true power. I personally think she could be played way more, but I think most teams still consider her as more situational pick to counter strategies. It’s hard to justify her over some heroes unless you have specific strategy in mind right now.

Could you talk a little bit about your time during the Overwatch World Cup Sydney Qualifier? Overall, how was your time at the event? Was it something you’d be interested in doing again for 2018?

Overwatch World Cup Sydney was amazing, everything was perfect there—crowd, people etc. It was amazing, I would definitely be interested doing something!

As someone who is easily in contention for the Overwatch League, what is your take on this: “what does success look like for the Overwatch League?” In your eyes, what does the Overwatch League have to bring to the table to become successful?

Oh dear :o I think key is good marketing and interesting storylines. Casting and production value is slowly getting there, spectating might need some improvements still, but right now it’s solid. Just market it well and it should kick off nicely.

Back to Overwatch Contenders, is there anyone you're looking forward to playing in Europe next?

I’m looking forward to playing vs. C9. Their style always intrigues me and the games we have are always quite fun!

Is there any player that you’ve taken inspiration from and added elements of their style into your own gameplay? Is there someone whom you highly regard and/or respect in the scene?

I’ve watched quite a bit of ShaDowBurn’s Genji and I used to play versus him when he was in EU, but now he’s over the seas and I miss our Genji duels. I’d like to know if i have improved in those. :>

In terms of Team Gigantti, what do you think the driving force has been leading to your team’s recent string of success? You all really seem to have gelled quite quickly.

We are really committed to Contenders and what it could mean for Overwatch League, so we all have a goal in mind and we are working together towards it. It’s a team effort to get there!

Last but not least, the final comment of the interview is for you. Where can people find you, what's going on in the life of LiNkzr, and do you have a small message for your fans and supporters?

Well, I don’t stream much but I’d still appreciate the follow at twitch.tv/linkzr and Twitter.com/linkzr. Right now I'm focusing a lot on Contenders and playing ranked off stream, so not many streams (I promise I start streaming properly at some point) and also big shoutout to everyone who cheers me on in Twitch chat on tournaments, always have a smile on my face when I rewatch the VODs and I just see the spams !! Keep it up <3

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, Team Dignitas, and @tempusrob.