JamezIRL on trialing for Complexity: "A really big honor for me"

With James "JamezIRL" Macaulay stepping away from VALORANT, at least for now, he has taken a trial assistant coaching role with North American powerhouse Complexity. Dust2.us' Gonçalo "GoncOak" Carvalho managed to speak with the returnee before their match versus Vitality today to ask about the move back, what he's bringing to the team, and his opinion on the future of CS, VALORANT, and the Complexity roster.

After a three-year stint in VALORANT, what made you come back to Counter-Strike?

I mean, I love Counter-Strike and I had an opportunity, so I just took it.

Do you have plans to stay long-term with the team?

I’m on trial with the team, so I'm not sure, but if they accept me then yeah, that would be nice.

With Warden recently coming back and making a new team and players such as Vanity saying they are open to offers. Do you think we see a continued trend of a shift back towards Counter-Strike from VALORANT or is it just temporary?

I think Counter-Strike is the simpler game. If you look at traditional sports, they're very simple in terms of concept. So, I think in general anything simpler is more conducive to competitive nature, right? I just find it easier to watch, I think it's more nuanced, and it also has a higher skill ceiling. It's easier for somebody to be effective in VALORANT than it is for somebody to reach a high level in Counter-Strike and therefore, I don't know, it just seems better in that way.

Coaching VALORANT was similar with a lot of the same fundamentals, but I just prefer Counter-Strike. Also, the way that Riot Games conduct things is a bit interesting.

What are you currently doing with the Complexity roster in your role?

I work really hard to try to find new things, try to help with making strats, in-game leading, reviewing rounds, and then also setting a culture.

Setting culture in what sense?

If you're just showing up and working hard every day and keeping people accountable, following up on things, and leading by actions and behavior rather than just talking.

Do you believe that by setting an example in the way you work, you can motivate your players to be better on the server?

Yes, however, I would say the ace up the sleeve is that we have EliGE who's very “type A” and it helps a lot if you have a well-respected player who's doing the same thing. It makes it easier anyway.

How much did your experiences during your playing career impact your coaching style?

I think it impacted it a lot because I was always an in-game leader, so I just enjoy making strats. One of my strengths is the ability to give people feedback on how to IGL and also how to handle things emotionally. I have six sisters, so you know, I had to deal a lot with emotions growing up.

Do you believe that former IGLs have a higher tendency to become coaches or is it independent from the role the player had in the server?

Perhaps yes, maybe because IGLs tend to get cut a little more often, so then they might have to take a coaching job. Also, their abilities might be more geared towards that and more studious, or heady abilities. But I think that the conversion of players to coaches is still in its infancy, so we'll see how that plays out over the next years.

Do you believe that the current line-up is able to make North America rise to the top again?

Oh yeah, of course. Everyone on the team has really high skill. I've always thought JT has a lot higher skill than people give him credit for, and I think he's going to get unlocked even further with EliGE here because he has more of a second voice in terms of strategies and mid rounding. So, if I had to put a bet on it, I think JT's stats will go up, even though I'm not much of a stats guy other people tend to like that. Everyone on the roster is just somebody you wouldn't want to take a duel with, and I think we are definitely going to climb.

How long have you been with Complexity?

I just got to Europe four or five days ago but before that I was working with them online from home.

What can you say about the organization, structure, and culture you have seen so far?

The culture is very good; it's kind of like a family. Everyone's working hard, they want to be together. They're there's no friction within the team that I've noticed. In terms of the organization, I think the GM, messioso, is very hands-on and does a lot of work and that's really cool. He's told me everything and kept me in the loop. You know, sometimes teams will be quiet and you're wondering what's happening, but that's not what’s happening here so it's really nice.

When I came up, back in 1.6, Complexity was one of the original organizations. So, to even be working with them and have a chance is a really big honor for me. It was really cool that Jason Lake came in and was sort of a burgeoning person in the field.

Do you know how long you will be staying with the team in Europe?

I'm going to stay with them through to the end of IEM Cologne, and I'm sure they'll give me some kind of feedback after that. I think I'll be in Europe with them until that comes to an end.

With Complexity, unfortunately, dropping to Vitality 0-2 earlier today, they fall to the lower-bracket final of Group A at the BLAST Premier Fall Groups. They will await their opponent there, which will be the winner of Evil Geniuses versus Ninjas in Pyjamas, until Tuesday at 09:00AM when they will clash.