The media day for the 2022 PUBG Nations Cup was held on June 15. In the press conference, held the day before the action begins, 16 players from 16 countries came together to speak about coming to PNC 2022, and shared their goals for the event.
First to take the stage were the APAC region players. Lachlan "Fludd" Thompson, Ridho "RDKboss" Dwiki Sena, Wasu "Ezqelusia" Surapakornniti, and Duong "Sapauu" Cam Hoa joined Clinton “Paperthin” Bader on stage, and after introducing themselves, the players answered pre-submitted questions from the media.
It started off with Fludd, as he spoke about how he felt playing in front of a big crowd. “I think the crowd completely changes the atmosphere of the event. There's more pressure, but there's also more pride on the line,” said Fludd, emphasizying how great it is to have a crowd again. Of his goals for PNC 2022, Fludd said, “Top 5, top 3.”
RDKboss talked about participating in the PNC for the first time. “I want to show everyone that Indonesia is not a weak team,” he said. “I want to show that Indonesia is a team that’s far above tier-C.”
Ezqelusia talked about players from different organisations gathering on the same team for PNC 2022. “Although we were enemies, now we're on the same team, we're like family. We have a very good relationship as friends and colleagues to succeed in this team.”
Sapauu was asked how the 2022 Vietnamese PNC team was different from the 2019 team. “The lineup is pretty much the same — they're all top players from Vietnam,” said Sapauu. “But this time, we'll be able to have better results than we did last time.”
The media day continued with the Americas. Hunter “hwinn” Winn, Pedro "sparkingg" Ribeiro, Nahuel "SzylzEN" Balseiro, and Nolan "Shinboi" Burdick made their way onto the stage.
Hwinn shared his thoughts first. "Obviously, the goal is to win. We would be happy with ending up in the top 3, but people are only going to remember who wins this event." He mentioned that they played a lot of scrims and had hot drop practice to prepare for the event. About Canada finishing 3rd in the last PNC, Shinboi said, "There's definitely pressure, but going to this event, we're definitely ready."
Shinboi talked about playing in front of a crowd. “Personally, I've never played a LAN event with a big crowd,” he said. “Going to this event, it's amazing. The feeling of being on stage and hearing that live feedback will feel absolutely insane.”
SzylzEN and Sparkingg talked about players from different orgs gathering. SzylzEN said, “Even though we were in different teams, we make a good team. We have good synergy and atmosphere among us, so I feel pretty good.” Sparkingg said, “We can see different perspectives of the game to share and learn from each other.”
SzylzEN also talked about representing his country for a second time at the PNC. “I feel very proud,” he said. “My goal is to represent the region in the best way, and I hope I can make my friends happy with good results.”
About what he was looking forward to the most for the competition, Sparkingg said, “I’m really excited to play in front of a crowd for the first time. It was one of my biggest dreams since I joined the esports scene.”
Next were the Europe representatives. Tugay "Quetpa" Demirel, Michael "Zoccer" Klug, Daniel "D1gg3r1" Luusua, and Michael "mykLe" Wake joined the stage.
MyKLe said, “We probably have the best chemistry among the teams here,” since they pratice together when they aren’t playing with their respective teams. He mentioned that he thought they had a good chance of top 3 or even an easy win as he said, “We're a super good team, so we have everything that it takes to win.”
D1gg3r1 talked about PNC. “The last PNC, I just had to watch, but this time, I get to play. It's more exciting,” and also discussed how players from different teams will head into the tournament. “We're from three different teams. We used to play differently, but we have to mix well as a team.”
Zoccer talked about how they bonded as a team. “We tried to spend as much time together as possible,” he said. “Whether in game or out of the game.” Zoccer also spoke about how he feels playing in front of a crowd. “I'm really hyped to play in front of a crowd. I just want to get out there, play the game, and make our nation proud.”
Quetpa also talked about how he feels in front of a crowd. “I've never been in part of an offline event before, so I'm just curious about how it'll be.” On which team he thought would be toughest to face, Quepta chose China. “China has really good aim, and they're a very experienced team.”
The last region to appear on stage was Asia. Na "Inonix" Hee-joo, Junpei "SHEVA" Ishikura, and Hu "Savior" Wei-Zhong joined Paperthin on stage, while Zuo "Aixleft" Zi-Xuan appeared remotely in from China as they discussed their thoughts on PNC 2022.
Inonix talked about what advice he’d give his teammates that haven’t been to PNC. “If they can play as we practiced without getting nervous, it’ll be good. If we can gather some momentum on our way, we’ll be able to finish strong,” he said.
When asked who he felt was the most threatening team, Inonix picked Finland. “Many players picked China as favorites, but I think it’s Finland. They’re smart players, and their plays are highly strategical.” Also, on how he could stay on top as a strong player, Inonix had a short and sweet answer: “It’s talent.”
SHEVA started off by talking about playing in an offline tournament. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m more excited.” About the strategies heading into PNC 2022, SHEVA said, “We'll try to get to the center of the map, and since we have good teamwork, things will work out well.” Savior picked China as the region he’s looking out for the most and talked about participating in the PNC. “Since it’s my first PNC, it’s very meaningful. I’ll do my best to do well.”
Aixleft was confident going into the tournament. “We’re always a strong team, so I believe we’ll win,” he said. “Heading into the tournament, we watched a lot of VODs and analyzed other regions’ playstyles, and we also practiced a lot to become a team, not individuals.”
PNC 2022 will be held from June 16 through 19 in Bangkok, Thailand, with an initial $500,000 prize pool that will be augmented with 30% of the revenue from PNC 2022 skin sales.
- David "Viion" Jang
- Email : viion@inven.co.kr
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