“What is your state of mind before entering this Club World Cup (Wednesday at 11 a.m.)?
Lucas “DaXe” Cuillerier: I can’t wait to go there, to play… It’s been a long time since we did a physical tournament, two and a half years for me. So of course I’m looking forward to it. It’s also going to be the first big two-on-two tournament I’ve done, so it’s going to be a great experience. But the primary goal is to have a lot of fun, so that it helps us perform better.
Corentin “Rocky” Chevrey: The Covid has affected all of esports, but the scene Fifa even more. We had no face-to-face competition until a few weeks ago. There was an online circuit, but both World Cups have been canceled. We are two experienced players, accustomed to these big competitions, so it’s sure that playing online is less motivating. That’s why we were all set to qualify for this eClub World Cup, especially since the one-on-one circuit was not going very well for us. We hope we will go far, we have our chances.
Your year has indeed been complicated individually, without convincing results. On the other hand, you shone as a duo. How do you explain it?
DaXe: We’ve been on the scene for years, whether it’s Rocky or me, so we know each other particularly well. We started playing together a long time ago in the French team in particular, where we were the titular pair and we often had good results. Both on and off the pitch, he’s got to be one of the people I get along with best on stage. Fifa. These are things that are important and that make the difference, because we communicate a lot, we know how the other thinks, we have no trouble telling each other our mistakes. We move forward together.
“I was used to big tournaments and knowing that the competitions were just online, it made me lose the desire. »
We also have a particularity, it’s that we struggled in our careers, either because of a lack of self-confidence or because of personal concerns. It was really important to us to perform together. So qualifying for the World Cup was an absolute joy, because it was the fruit of all our hard work over the year and we deserve it.
Rocky: We were lucky that there were two well-separated circuits this year: one against one and two against two. DaXe, like me, would also have liked to participate in the one-on-one edition, last weekend, but there will be others. It allows us to concentrate better and prepare better than some, who are qualified on both counts. It’s a small advantage, it may be useful to us.
What did your preparation consist of?
DaXe: It was mostly individual, because personally I felt the need to breathe for a few days, then weeks. Then, we met at the Stade de France, which allowed us to rediscover sensations as a duo, to put ourselves in the bath of competition.
Rocky: I left a little earlier in Copenhagen, I have a slightly longer trip than him (laughs). I have a phobia of airplanes, so this is the train for me. Instead of putting 1h50 like him, I put 14 hours, it’s going to be a long trip. But I preferred to make the choice to leave a day before, to be able to rest on the spot.
With the Covid-19, the sports scene Fifa has really lost interest, for lack of major tournaments. Was it hard to stay motivated?
DaXe: Honestly, I’ve lost motivation over the past few years. I took the time to ask myself and try to understand why. I think it’s because despite my age (he is only 22 years old), I am one of the most experienced players on the scene. I was used to big tournaments and knowing that the competitions were just online, it made me lose the desire. Especially since Fifa is not one of the scenes who handled the Covid period the best. I’m still proud that I didn’t give up, because I asked myself the question several times. Fortunately, this year, we managed to qualify for the eWorld Cup. That means everything, it shows that when there are big events, we respond present.
Have you thought about retiring at some point?
DaXe: Not especially but… I don’t like failure and I was wondering if I still had the level. I have a romantic relationship, to which I attached a lot of importance, which ended badly and I had lost confidence in myself. It happens to everyone. But at a high level, on FIFA, it has a big impact: offensively, I tried fewer things, defensively, I felt like I was getting goals at every opportunity. I worked on it a lot this year, I started to meditate, I took a mental coach… Qualifying is the result of all that and I’m very happy not to have given up. These trials have forged my mind.
Rocky: Me, what keeps me motivated is that I have the chance to do a lot of Twitch lives, YouTube videos. It’s something that I really like, which allowed me to continue playing the game, to have fun even without competitions. Having a lot of people who support me, it gives me motivation, I want to give my all for them too… Without that, I don’t know how it would have happened, I don’t know if I would have continued the circuit online.
“If there is a mistake in one of the first matches, I know very well that we will never blame ourselves for it, we will always talk about it calmly, there will be no trouble between us. »
You have known each other for a very long time, which is one of the strengths of your duo. How was your meeting?
DaXe: I think the very first time we saw each other at a tournament was Gfinity in 2016. We were quite young, the “rising stars” of the French scene. We really started to know each other over the years, we played each other several times in competition, including once in the final of the French Xbox Championships (in 2016)…
Then, there was also the passage by the France eFoot team, where we started to play together in two against two, to wear for two years the jersey of the Blues. Rocky also spent a year at PSGat the same time as me (between 2018 and 2019). Our game fits well, we have a somewhat similar vision of FIFA and competitions.
After PSG, Rocky, you signed for Vitality… And DaXe joined you two years later. How were these meetings organised?
Rocky: I stayed a year at PSG, it didn’t go very wellso Fabien “Neo” Devide (the founder of Vitality) offered to come back. When I re-signed, there were several players under contract. So the question of recruiting someone else never arose. But this year, for the new season, Vitality and Dylan “Dylo” Gozuacik have not agreed to an extension.
The club therefore asked me to provide them with a list of names that I wanted to see happen, knowing that there was going to be a two against two this season. I had three or four names in mind, then I spoke to Brian “Brian” Savary (team coach and manager) and we thought DaXe was the logical choice. Because, as he said, we get along very well and we have already played together in the France team, so we know that it works. It was a choice that paid off in the end!
DaXe: Vitality it remains one of the big teams on the European scene, then the project interested me a lot. It’s one of the teams that I imagined the best for the rest of my career, it seemed logical to me and it allowed me to find Rocky. I hope it will last a long time.
What strengths and weaknesses do you see in your duo?
Rocky: Compared to other duos, we have a lot of experience in offline tournaments. Several players have arrived during these years of confinement and will participate in their first tournament at the World Cup. If there is a mistake in one of the first matches, I know very well that we will never blame ourselves for it, we will always talk about it calmly, there will be no trouble between us.
DaXe: I don’t know if it’s a weakness, but we may have a lack of serenity on the other hand. Because it’s been a long time since we performed on stage. But since qualifying, it has given us a huge boost in confidence, at least for me. I’ve calmed down a lot, I have more confidence in my game. We’ve been super consistent all year, so we’re confident.
What is your objective at this World Cup?
Rocky: If we don’t win, it will be hard to be satisfied. Now, there are tournament scenarios that will satisfy us more than others.
DaXe: I’m not particularly aiming for a top. My primary goal is really to regain a taste for the sensations of the LAN, to give the best of ourselves. I don’t put pressure on myself to win, because I know that if we play at our best level, we are among the best. We have to focus on ourselves, our qualities and the victory will come by itself. »
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