snav: "It feels great to win a LAN of this size"
Winning Fragicago 2023 is a new high for Badass, a core familiar with success but also controversy. While their win was in some ways overshadowed by comments made in Fragadelphia's post-game interview, the team have undoubtedly been one of NA's most successful in the reemerging NA LAN scene.
Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore talked to Wyatt "snav" Phillippi about winning the event, the pressure of playing against a hostile crowd, and trying to escape Badass' bad reputation.
Please note that the full interview can be found below on YouTube, while the transcript has some key snippets from their conversation.
How are you feeling as the champion of another LAN?
It feels great to win, especially a LAN of this size, probably the biggest prize pool that we have won. It definitely feels great to win, especially win more money.
I think a lot of people in this venue were disappointed in you winning, not to take away from you, but there was a rival cheering section for the entirety of Unjustified whereas there were only a few loyal supporters of the Badass crew. How does it feel to be the bad guy wherever you go?
I guess it kind of motivates you to win when you have a bunch of people cheering against you but I think it's more annoying. When you lose rounds you are already upset and then you just hear a bunch of people cheering, screaming for the other people. I think it's more of a downside than a benefit.
We can't look past the fact that you guys have done controversial things in the past but you guys are making a considerable effort to rebrand yourselves and move past the mistakes you have made in the past. Does it hurt you guys that people don't recognize that and are you guys trying to overcome that image by finding success?
I would say it definitely hurts a little bit but we have been putting in the effort to try to show people we have changed and that we are not the same people that we were before when we got banned. It does suck that some people think that we are still the same but most people we talk to at LAN or online, any new people that we talk to that used to hate us in the past, I feel like most of them, usually, realize that we are different now and that it's all good now, once we talked to them.
