Following up from part one of the interview with Sliggy, we next talked about EZSkins the site it’s self and the team and how they’re doing in general, the 3rd part will be about coaching and will be up during the week.
How did EZSkins come about as a website?
It was a mix between me and HenryG wanting to make a UK org and jump on the whole skin website bandwagon that was starting to get popular. We finally decided to go for it, we found two top coders who played CS also and liked the idea and formed EZskins LTD. After having this solid base we could build a team around it. It also meant Henry could finally start doing all of the casting jobs he wanted with a good fall back to keep him busy when less events are on
How well is the site doing?
Yeah the sites going really well, it’s kinda exceeded expectations and we have had some great feedback and some really loyal regulars which is absolutely amazing so I really appreciate all the
support people are giving us!
Your original launch was knocked by a month I believe, and then the actual launch day was slow, how did you guys handle that?
Bassically we knew we could recover from delaying our product if we produced a good product just with a late launch. But if we have a bad product and launched on the original date we proposed I just think it wouldn’t of been recoverable. We underestimated how much work there was but I feel like it has hindered us in anyway.
With Gambling and betting becoming such huge talking points in the global eSports level, how do you feel about the idea behind being able to bet on Matches?
I think its fine, its a proper sport and everyone gambles on all the other sports, I agree the laws are quite far behind in retrospect to ‘skin’ ‘gambling’ and there are a lot of grey areas but that’s a whole other kettle of fish. I personally love betting on games i’ve, bet real money and skins and it make the games so much more interesting and I feel like I personally pay way more attention to a game when I have a bet on
This photo was taken at insomnia55
With players from EZSkins having played on the global stage, how does that add to the dynamic of the players playing with players that haven’t got the same experience?
It works well, Sam is a solid leader. A unique leader, but a solid one. Him and weber as like a duo when they listen and work together is just next level. Experience is just something that will come in time. We put 0 pressure on the team so they can just work at their own pace and adapt as they need too. You have to get start to get experience from somewhere, it’s useful just having a few players that are used to it and can help the others out.
Now that CS is under a single game, UK has been very much none represented on a Global or EU scale, do you believe that EZSkins could be the team or have one or more of the players that could be UK on the map again?
Yeah, I believe we are the best UK team and we have the best chance of putting UK on the map. I think it will take a while and a lot of hard work, but with the support we offer I feel like if the players are as willing as we are it will be a thing. Just got to stay on the right track and just grind our way to the top
Future plans for the team? Are we going to see you at EPIC 16? i56? Any other tournaments planned?
I56 looks like the next public UK LAN for us. We love Epic LAN but it just feels more like a fun lan where mix teams go. I personally prefer epic LAN and hopefully will attend with some kind of mix match of players. But as for a team i56 will be the next full 5 lineup. A Lot of online tourneys I imagine and then we are open to other invite leagues or LANS that get thrown our way.
