The Overwatch World Cup is back and this year's roster for Team Spain looks quietly impressive. Leading the charge at tank is Esteban "Helv" Fernandez. He spoke to Esports Heaven about Spain's preparations, what some of the roster changes mean for the team, and what this Overwatch World Cup means to him. Since I caught you in a scrim before, tell me Helv; how's practice going? Is Team Spain grabbing as many blocks as they can before the World Cup kicks off? Feeling confident about the meta going into the event?Practice sessions are progressing smoothly, and I'm confident and excited to show what we are worth at the event. Meta will be interesting that’s for sure.Veteran fans of Overwatch Contenders will remember your name from teams like Obey Alliance and Ex Oblivione and older heads will recall your previous Overwatch World Cup appearances alongside Team Switzerland. All those years have to rack up some lessons learned, so what does this year's Helv bring to the table that maybe he hasn't shown in the past? What's something you think you've improved on as a player that you're ready to show?This year, I’m bringing some serious leadership and experience for my team.I’m not as performant as I was in the past mechanically but I think my game sense is on point.Speaking of; do you feel like you're playing for two countries this year? Obviously, the Swiss team didn't make it out of the Wild Card qualifiers but are they in your corner this year cheering you on in the hope that a former Team Switzerland representative makes a statement this year? I don’t feel like playing for two countries this year at all.I would say that I don't really expect anything like the former players I used to play with back then are all retired now so it’s just some old memories that are great.The Swiss scene had a ton of LANs so it was enjoyable to playYou and Team Spain qualified out of EMEA's Group A over nations like Denmark and the Netherlands. Was advancing from such a competitive group the expectation? Were you worried about any teams in particular?I told the players from the beginning that it was possible to qualify and that some teams would have too much ego coming up to the tourney.Overall I would say that we were the most worried about the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.At what point did it feel real that you guys would be going to California to compete on LAN? As in; which victory made it all seem 'real' that you guys were going to make it?The first win against the Netherlands I knew we had to win it as it was the first match and probably the one that we feared the most because of their Ramattra composition but also because they could have become the underdogs just like us. This resounding success has to give you guys a ton of confidence heading into the World Cup group stage, right? Are there any concerns now with the roster moves you guys have undergone?Our new players are fantastic, but I won't deny that losing some of our players has been a tough challenge. We were the first World Cup team to invest time in scrims and that became recognized in Europe.Losing those months of practice and familiarity with multiple metas was a setback for us. We're determined to adapt and come up with something special. Spanish bull mentality.Rounding back to those expectations, Team Spain has been placed in Group C alongside Team China, Team Hong Kong and Team Thailand. With only two teams advancing and Team China looking packed with talent, what do you think your chances are that you guys take that second seed?I’m really confident that we can secure the second seed in our group, but you never know we might just surprise everyone and end up in first place.The Overwatch World Cup has always been a breakout event for a number of names to market themselves outside of Overwatch Contenders to reach the league. With questions surrounding the health of the Overwatch League, what does this World Cup mean for you?For me, this World Cup, it's really special. I had this entirely new role, different from before. I was the guy making the big decisions, and it took a lot of patience because, you see, many of these players didn't have much experience.It was like a big gamble, but I don't regret it. I got to meet some amazing people and up-and-coming players and had some really great moments in our scrim sessions every week.In that same vein, the World Cup also has been where nations put their pride on the line. For you, what does it mean to play for Team Spain?Playing for Team Spain carries a lot of pride and a lot of responsibilities. I've always had this desire, even from a young age, to represent Spain in sports rather than Switzerland.Images via Blizzard Entertainment
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Volamel
2023-10-26 01:20:06