On the eve of the ESL One Cologne tournament, Joseph "faveN" Baumann, who competes for Sprout, gave an interview to HLTV in which he talked about how he and his teammates prepare for the competition. Sprout clinched a spot at ESL One Cologne back in May, defeating BIG in the ESL Meisterschaft Spring grand final. The tournament in which they will now participate will be the largest for the team in its entire existence.
Joseph noted that the transition of all major tournaments online forced players to adjust their goals. Due to format changes, the team distribution has changed and Sprouts now automatically qualify for the main stage of the competition. faveN noted that as a result they will have to deal with opponents who are significantly stronger than them. Therefore, their main task is to show a good game and win at least one match. In addition, we have to take into account that in online tournaments, randomness is more important than in traditional LAN games.
On the eve of the competition, the team held a week-long bootcamp, during which they practiced various techniques under the guidance of a coach. At the same time, faveN noted that they did not change the preparation in any radical way, trying to maintain the desired psychological attitude. He believes that the team deserves a higher position in the overall ranking and has every chance of achieving it in the future.
