Mia “aiM” Cooper, the only UK player currently playing in ESL Impact, has now joined NiP Impact, the female team of Ninjas in Pyjamas, having previously played with Flames Shieldmaidens. The international side narrowly missed out in Season 3 on the LAN finals even though they beat Nigma Galaxy, and will now be looking to improve on that result after seeking a replacement for Paulie “pauliiee“ Barazani.
Even though aiM will be playing totally new and different roles, she sits down with Freddie “GrimyRannarr” Pritchard to talk about her future in the squad, alongside her first season with the Shieldmaidens.
After Copenhagen Flames closed down, how did you land so quickly back on your feet?
Flames was my first big break, and when the organisation closed down I thought, “Well I am probably not going to get another team”. But I got a few messages, still unsure where I fit. But the NIP coach messaged me, and I thought I couldn’t pass it up. We did a few trials, and I guess they liked me.
Going back a little bit, you obviously came up through the UK scene playing on a scramble of teams. Was there a hope to go professional when you first started playing ESEA, and if there was hope, was it lessened by the fact the women’s scene was much smaller than it is now?
When I first started playing ESEA it was mainly for fun, playing professionally wasn’t something I had even thought about. I don’t know if that was because I was good enough. But I didn’t really think about going pro and didn’t have many female friends. I never thought about the female aspect of it. The whole of last year I had the thought I could actually do it, posting more on Twitter. I got contacted by one of my old teammates and that was when I started thinking I could make something out of this.
How do you feel like the women’s scene has changed and progressed since the start of ESL Impact, both ability-wise and perception-wise?
I think it has given women a huge platform in general. Before the female scene did exist, but giving out invites was not a thing, and now it has created a safe space in my opinion. Anyone can qualify, anyone can do it. I am not being funny, I haven’t been playing professionally for a year, and here I am.
It is nice that it gives people the confidence to go and play. The skill gap from when Impact started has decreased massively from how it was. There are so many good female players now and I think it is great. Even watching it I think, “Damn some of these players are really good… better than me”.
I think it has given women a huge platform in general. Before the female scene did exist, but giving out invites was not a thing, and now it has created a safe space in my opinion. Anyone can qualify, anyone can do it. I am not being funny, I haven’t been playing professionally for a year, and here I am.
You spoke about how you are newer to the scene, and from an international perspective, you came out of nowhere. Looking at the Flames Shieldmaidens opportunity come about?
It came out of the blue, I didn’t have any contact with any of the players before, and I didn’t know any of them. One day the head of esports messaged me and said like “Hey do you want to come try out for us”. It was totally out of the blue. I had played one ESL Impact Qualifier for season 3 with my old team and we didn’t qualify. I guess I stood out, I don’t know. It was pretty crazy to be fair.
Going into that roster, what were your expectations? Were you playing full-time during this period? I know you just graduated recently, so if you were playing full-time, how were you dealing with that alongside university?
I don’t know what the expectations were. For myself, it was not to make a fool out of myself. Do my best and do whatever I can to help the team. It was full-time, and I was doing full-time university at the same time which was a lot. It did take a toll on my stress, but I was so passionate about CS at that point so just wanted to play.
It was worth the stress.
Yeah exactly.
That roster had a fairly difficult time in comparison to other teams. What was one of the main issues you faced on this roster?
I’d say the communication. I do think everyone was a great player and a great teammate, but we just had some communication issues. Also some tension within the team. Not that we hate each other. Just when things do not go the right way it just gets a bit tense which is fine, it happens with every team. The main thing was definitely communication.
An interesting point about tension, talking to a lot of other players in Impact, the season is very cutthroat. When you lose two games within the season your chances are done. So is that one of the reasons why the tension would be heightened because you cannot make mistakes?
Yeah exactly, The second you lose a game you have decreased your chances to qualify by so much. When you have that amount of pressure I can understand that people can get a bit annoyed or a bit tense. There are going to be some sort of disagreements, people are not going to be happy. It is your job right, when you do not do well at your job people are not going to be happy, it is totally understandable.
Yeah exactly, The second you lose a game you have decreased your chances to qualify by so much. When you have that amount of pressure I can understand that people can get a bit annoyed or a bit tense.
Unfortunately, Copenhagen Flames closed its doors. Did you guys want to stick together as a team? From my perspective Season 3 felt like a build-up season. Did that all come crashing down because of the organisation closing doors?
A bit yeah. Four of us decided to stick together, one player didn’t want to. I think the bankruptcy of Flames destroyed people’s morale. When you lose that morale you lose that motivation. After that people didn’t really want to stick together and take a break. We didn’t have the best season, it was tough, to be honest. I think people were upset, I was upset. You really want to do well, but when it doesn’t go well… It was just sad really, just sad.
There are a lot of positives to take though from that season. You would have grown a lot as a player because of that experience. As an individual, what are your big takeaways from that first season to now bring into NIP Impact?
I think the main experience I gathered was team play and communication. My main thing was grinding out FACEIT. But actually playing in a team is a totally different atmosphere. I was just building on my team play and not being the egotistical player I am on FACEIT. Actually trying to help my teammates, becoming a reliable player for them.
Do you think that it is good to still show some ego on the server?
Oh, 100%. In some of the positions I played, you have to play for yourself a lot. You cannot be constantly worrying about your teammate if you are in such an intense aim duel. For sure, even though it is a team game, there are some times when you have to be egotistical and play for yourself. Just trying to find the balance.
Looking at the NIP Impact team now, are you playing those same roles, or have you been moved into new positions?
I am playing totally different positions, no roles are the same. It is going to be interesting actually, I am quite excited even though they are totally different roles from what I would choose. I think it will be good for me to get some new experience in different positions.
I am playing totally different positions, no roles are the same. It is going to be interesting actually, I am quite excited even though they are totally different roles from what I would choose. I think it will be good for me to get some new experience in different positions.
So how are you prepping for that then? What resources are you using and how are you learning how to play those positions?
Mainly demo watching, and watching POVs on YouTube are what I find more helpful. The issue is not knowing what to do, but when to do it. Situational things that I need to work on. I have the basis of what I need to do but just have experience and starting to play to get comfortable.
What role are you actually playing?
Main anchor role.
Looking at this NIP Impact Roster. You said it felt like the Copenhagen Flames roster was your one shot. How did it feel to land back on your feet by joining NIP Impact?
It was a great confidence boost. I was really worried that I would have to do what my degree is and get a real job. It was a great confidence booster, really happy when I got the message.
When you are joining NIP Impact, is there any shred of pressure because they are the only team to beat Nigma Galaxy? And because of that does it make you feel that you need to step up higher than before?
100%. I think I always feel the pressure. When I was playing for the Flames I felt the pressure, it was like where did I even come from? I am just some random person they picked up. 100% feeling the pressure, but I am confident about it.
Speaking about Nigma Galaxy and bringing on a point you mentioned before. Everyone knows Nigma Galaxy has won everything, but if you look at the games they are closer. Why do you think at the beginning that squad was so good, but now the margins between the teams are really slim?
I think the reason why Nigma [Galaxy] was so good is because they have pretty insane players. What I gathered, their communication is on point, that is what makes or breaks a team. For them, their communication just seems out of this world. The reason why teams are getting closer is because that gap is closing. Every other team’s communication is slowly getting better and reaching their standard. Obviously, people are getting better too, there are so many skilled female players. Navi, 9 Pandas, them girls are insane.
We spoke about how you have just finished university and you can play CS more. Can you put into words how much that does affect you, and allow you to improve now?
University is a full-time thing. The second I stopped playing for Flames on a night I would just do university work. I would have zero free time. I would play FACEIT and keep warmed up, but the free time was just not there. Obviously, with the stress added on from my final major project, it was insane. Now that I have all of this free time and zero stress, I have so much more time to put into the game. Whether that is playing FACEIT on a night, or just putting in more hours watching demos. I just have more time.
University is a full-time thing. The second I stopped playing for Flames on a night I would just do university work. I would have zero free time. I would play FACEIT and keep warmed up, but the free time was just not there. Obviously, with the stress added on from my final major project, it was insane.
Lastly about NIP impact. As an individual, what are your personal expectations for this team?
Good question. I think stick to the basics, don’t make a fool out of myself [laughs]. Focus on myself, try to help the team and do what they need me to do. Just do as good as I can anyone can ask, right?
Taking a look at UKCSGO, as I mentioned before you are the only women’s player in ESL Impact. Why do you think we do not see any more players involved with Impact from the UK?
That is a good question, I actually don’t know. It is pretty crazy, I have never played with any English player on CS, like never. I have a few old friends that I used to play with, but nothing high-level. It would be pretty crazy to not play with one girl from the UK on CS, but nothing high-level. It is sad really, It is not that they don’t have potential, because I 100% think they do. Maybe they don’t want to, maybe they are scared, I don’t know honestly.
Talking about why you don’t know why. Do you feel like because you are now playing in ESL Impact, you lead the way, and say “It is possible to do this.”
I mean I guess. I have never really thought about it. It could be something to look up to for UK players, but I haven’t thought about it before.
Finally, would you get much support from the old guys like Birmingham Massive?
Yeah yeah, I still talk to a few of them, I think they are quite proud of what I have accomplished and where I am. I have never really played with loads of UK people, mostly European people. The few tight friends I have in the UK, have always supported me.
