Scoom: “I really believe we will cause an upset in Phase 3”

After a difficult start to their PUBG Europe League experience, Team Reciprocity faced the threat of relegation throughout Phase 2. The points deficit proved to be too difficult to recover from — especially when you consider the amount of skilled teams in the competition — and the roster found itself heading to the PEL Promo tournament to defend their place in the region’s top league.

Fighting through the Promo event, it was clear that Reciprocity had come prepared, easily booking their spot in PEL Phase 3. To get an insider perspective into the roller coaster that was Phase 2, Starladder staff spoke to Keiron “Scoom” Prescott.

Things haven't been plain sailing since you left Team Liquid. How have you felt on both a personal and team level from then up until now?

Leaving Team Liquid was obviously tough, at that moment we were the best team in the world, had accomplished so much, and were part of Team Liquid: one of the biggest and most popular organisations out there. It was not easy, but on a personal level it was definitely the best possible outcome for me.

Your team was in contention for relegation for practically all of Phase 2, what was your mentality throughout the phase?

We came into Phase 2 prepared to have to fight for our loot spots in both maps. We had practiced and scrimmed with great success leading up to the league so we were obviously super confident and did not really expect to have to go to a ‘Plan B’. As we all saw, that did not go as expected during the first few days.

From then on, our mindset was not only to improve our mistakes and communication, but also looking into playing a completely different loot spot and playstyle. It was definitely a tough road - being at the bottom constantly is not easy as PUBG is one of the most momentum and mentality-focused games out there.

Your team's performance got better as the phase went on, what did you work on to improve over the weeks?

We basically had to work a lot from the ground up. Initially we made a lot of mistakes, from not being fully focused and making basic silly mistakes, to team communication, to learning a completely different play style and learning how to rotate and play around certain teams. This all started getting slowly better week by week, and the results were showing.

How did the team feel when you finished Phase 2 in the bottom four and your future in the PEL was in question?

Initially we were very disappointed because we had improved so much and our last two weeks were our best all phase - especially the very last one - but at the same time, the teams just ahead of us had good weeks too so it was slightly frustrating. But after that, we were very confident going forward for promotions, knowing how much knowledge we had gained and all the  improvements we had made. Also, the fact that we had played in Contenders and done really well in Phase 1, we felt that promoting should be quite easy if we keep playing like we did in the last two weeks of PEL.

What was your mentality going into the phase 2 PEL Promo tournament?

Our mentality was just to keep playing how we had been doing at the end of Phase 2 in PEL, but with added aggression and confidence as we knew that we were a top team. Obviously we didn’t underestimate other teams but we were confident in ourselves and didn’t shy away from our strategies and decisions.

You made the Promotion event look relatively simple. What do you think are the differences between PEL and Contenders teams?

Having played Phase 1 in Contenders and Phase 2 in PEL, we knew exactly the different levels of play and styles between the teams. In PEL, getting circle control and being proactive can be tougher to do as teams like to capitalize on those that spread out a lot. The aggression and third-party engagements are at a much higher percentage in the league too.

Which team is most poised to cause a big upset in Phase 3 of PEL?

I think a lot of people might have counted us out due to our performance in Phase 2, but I really believe we will show up and cause an upset in Phase 3. I am not sure any other team will really cause any upsets in PEL. I think the teams’ skill levels and differences have been pretty much set, so I don’t see any teams shaking things up.

What's your ultimate goal for Phase 3?

Our goal is to do whatever it takes to achieve a PUBG Global Championship spot, depending how the points go, but definitely a top-five finish is in our minds.