Overwatch is a rather new game and you are regarded as one of the best players in the world right now. What made you start playing and how did it all begin?

— It was more of a coincidence, it just happened. I’ve always had the will to play professionally and Overwatch was the right game at the right moment. I’ve played a whole bunch of games: Counter-Strike, Quake, Heroes of Newerth and WoW. I just liked how Overwatch had elements from these games combined into one game. When the alpha-version went live in late November last year I was able to get a key through good friends and from there I was able to get to others who were as serious as me. I joined my first team Flatearth (later picked up by Dignitas) after a lot of Quick Play, Inhouses and reviewing VODs in both Alpha and Beta. I got asked by Kevin “TviQ” Lindström about joining Rogue, I said yes because we had been good friends since the Alpha and we had played a lot of CS and WoW togheter when the Overwatch beta was unavailable.

You’re playing in Misfits right now, can you tell us a bit about the team and how you found each other?

— It all started when I lost the motivation to keep playing i Rogue and wanted to try something new. I talked to TviQ and he felt pretty much the same. He had already been presented with different offers, but he had hopes of making an entire Swedish team because of the abundance of Swedish talent. He already had good contact with Zebbosai and Nevix from Misfits. Menneten and Zave had quite a good reputation from their time in Luminosity. We had a talk and it felt like everyone had the same mindset, motivation and a great personality. We just talked to the owners of the different teams and we ended up in Misfits after me and TviQ agreed on a trade-deal with Rogue. Now we’re here with a fully Swedish team. It feels great!

What's your strenghts as a team?

— When it comes to our strengths as a team, I think that it is all about our dedication to the game. All of us are really serious when it comes to scrims. We go back and review the VODs and are improving constantly and we all play a lot of ranked. Even if we're that dedicated as we are, we always have really fun together and we never argue. In game, our players are really good at their positions. TviQ, Nevix, Manneten and Zebbosai are some of the most flexible players in the whole scene which gives us the opportunity to play almost every hero in the game at a high level. And it's the same when it comes to compositions, we're never stuck playing only 1-2 champs all the time.

Which team would you consider as your hardest opponents right now?

— I mean, it's hard to say because of the fact that we haven't played that many games since our transfer to Misfits. But of course, EnVyUs is one of them but it's not any rivalry between us in any way. It would be fun to play against Rogue since me and TviQ left them and see who has the advantage after the transfer. But I don't see any special team being that hard over all. Maybe NiP - if you're beating NiP, then you've achieved a lot during this meta

Is there any other player you're looking up to and if so, who and why?

— Not really. Not in Overwatch at least. When it comes to other games i look up to MiSeRy from Dota2 a bit. He can play every position in the game because of his mindset. He's really dedicated to the game and has a winning attitude. What he succeed to achieve in his time with Digital Chaos in the latest version of The International was really inspiring!

How does the scene appear to you right now, from your perspective? Is there just a few teams in the top or is there a huge variation?

— I think that the Overwatch scene is in a pretty weird state at the moment. It feels like there's some pretty obvious teams at the top, like EnVyUs, Misfits, Rogue (at least now after the transfer). But in the west, it's like a rock-paper-scissor-game. It all depends on how good the teams are at countering each other. If you’re unlucky to face a team that plays a different game style that you have a hard time to counter, you can underperform pretty hard. But if you're playing against something you're comfortable with, it's much easier to succeed. To list the 4-10 best teams on a 10 team list is really really hard!

How much do you practice together and how?

— At the moment we're trying to practice around 6-8 hours a day followed by watching VODs which takes 1-2 hours. Between that we're all playing a lot of ranked. It's harder to find good praccs now during the holidays but we're trying. When the tournaments are starting to pop up during 2017 I think that it will be easier for us to show up in our best form.

And tournament wise, do you think that Overwatch is getting the space and prize money that it deserves right now?

— I think that there is a pretty good amount of tournaments right now, at least for the top teams. I would appreciate more tournaments in the west but that will surely come. Hopefully we will see more of MLG, ESL, ELEAGUE and DreamHack during 2017. Overwatch is growing all the time which means more tournaments in the future. We will surely be in a good position soon.

How do you as a professional player experience Blizzard? Do you feel that they care about your opinions and how's the communication between you?

— I think that Blizzard are treating us really well! They are always available for us if we need to talk to them, even if it's only a quick question or if we got some feedback about something regarding the game or the competitive part of it. It's a relief to know that there's always someone willing to listen to you. I mean, players and the developers often got different opinions about things, but as long as you treat them well they’ll treat you in the same way.

There was a loud discussion on social media a while ago when there was a debate about how maps are going to be decided for tournaments, but if you only take discussions like that in private, I think that the atmosphere would be a lot better. You need to accept the fact that Blizzard wants to do make Overwatch as big as possible in their way. They are the developers and that's how they make money. But they also respect us and our need to have the best conditions possible to be able to be the best in the world.

What defines a good player comparing to a bad one? How do you reach the top?

— To be self-critical. I've met a lot of players with a lot of talent but the difference is often that the professional players are able and willing to admit and recognize their mistakes and just to do it better next time. Before Overwatch, I never reviewed my VODs or wrote down a list on what I did wrong just to improve, but it really works!

What are you looking forward to the most next year? How will your 2017 look like?

— I don't really know what to expect to be honest. With Overwatch League just waiting around the corner, 2017 can be a really sick year, but I don't want to raise my expectations to high. I just want Overwatch to keep on growing and I'm really looking forward to be a part of it. It will be a fun year for Misfits and we will see if we're able to achieve what we believe in. We genuinely think that we can be the best team in the world, but there's only one way to find out.

10 quick ones with Reinforce:

Top 3 favorite heroes?
Reinhardt, Winston, Zarya. Reinhardt is number one for me of course but Zarya is a bit of my favorite hero. It's about the fact that you can do so much alone with the team.

Top 3 worst heroes?
Mei, Roadhog, Hanzo. Three heroes that you never looking forward to face due to their strenghts.

Easiest hero to play?
Lucio! I actually have a lot of respect for Lucio players that's just gliding around and still do meaningful things all the time. And if you want, it's just to boost up and slack around!

Hardest hero to play?
Sombra. People doesn't seem to understand how to play her, but I've faced some of them that wins fights all by herself based on good hacks or good ults. She has great potential when people start to understand her more!

Favorite map?
Taco-Dorado of course! *TRUMPETS*

Worst map to play?
TRAVELLING TO HANAMURA! Numbani is also really obnoxious, really hard to break the first point sometimes!

You get the chance to take one ability from the game and transfer it to real life - which do you chose?
Soldiers sprint would be nice to have, I think I've forgotten how to do that... Lol!
Ok more serious... Symmetras teleport!

Describe a hero that you think is missing in the game!
I've always missed some sort of Paladin in the game. Like a tank support. Now there's only tank heroes that do a lot of damage but I would like to have a more defensive one, like a Reinhardt that can heal up his team mates!

You need to move to one of the maps to live there - which do you pick and why?
Hollywood! Hopefully you're allowed to go out of the map when you feel for it, LA would be pretty awesome!

Lastly, it's you against six Bastions or Six Junkrats - which do you choose, which hero do you pick to counter them and why?
I think I'll pick a Pharah against six Junkrats. As long as they're not projectile gods!