Immi: "[Coaching] this team has been great, I've loved every moment of it so far"
With Ian "Immi" Harding heading up to the North American leagues from the UK, the resident Brit Michael "DuckMoriarty" Moriarty was once again dispatched to catch Immi before he moved over to join up with NRG.
As an unknown to most of North America, explain a little about yourself and a small bit about your previous playing career.
I could be here all day if I went in depth, but a quick run down of the last few months for me. I'm an IGL from the UK, I played for Team Endpoint for the last 16 months of my career where we recently won UK ESL Prem and made it to WESG Barcelona where we lost 16-14 to GODSENT, sending us home. I also competed in Gfinity Elite Series Season 2, and after that event Endpoint decided to go down a different route.
You’re the fourth UK individual to make the move to NA, and the first as a coach. What’s it like and how did you get the call up?
Being a coach for this team has been great, I've loved every moment of it so far. The players respect me and they want to learn, there’s not much more I can ask for really. After Endpoint decided to go with a new lineup, I decided to reach out to several teams looking for a coach or analyst role, some of which ignored me. I had a friend of mine reach out to daps and he and the team decided to give me a fair shot without pre judgement and it all went smoothly after then.
I was in talks with another NA team in MDL, but they decided to go a different route. I also had some interest from Europe and Australia, but as soon as I started to practise with the NRG guys I knew this was the team I wanted to be at, regardless of any other offers or trial periods I had going on.
How's your preparation for the move been going?
Personally I haven’t started any preparation for the move. It’s not a huge rush right now, I just need to get a visa and then start preparing to move over. The faster the better but it’s not like I’m a player who needs to be out there right away.
How has practice been with your teammates so far, considering the time differences over the Atlantic?
It’s been really good like I said above, they just want to learn and be the best which is more than I can ask for. As for the time zone it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be, I’ve just had to adjust my sleeping schedule to what I would have if I was working night shifts in a regular job. Not being at the house doesn’t allow me to do as much as I would like, but that will come when I’m over there.
You join NRG just after you were released from Endpoint, after which you were seen standing in for a number of teams in the UK. Did you immediately go looking for a coaching role or did you try to keep playing a bit longer?
After I was released from Endpoint I knew I wanted a coaching role outside of the UK, that was always the plan. I think I could definitely still play inside of the UK scene but ultimately it won’t get me to where I want to be. I want success at the top level and the UK just isn’t a place that is going to happen for me. The attitudes and work ethic just isn’t there and only a handful of players have the skill.
What’s the difference between working with a team in NA rather than those in the UK?
I don’t know about other NA teams but for the team I’m working with right now, the skill level, attitudes and work ethic has a massive difference from the UK. Maybe that would come if the UK scene had a lot of money, but we had a chance with some money to progress when the Gfinity Elite Series came around, and we all took it for granted.
Out of the UK talent remaining back home, who would you say would be the next talent potentially picked up in either a European mixture or NA team?
Obviously Owen “smooya” Butterfield is by far the best UK player, I don’t think anyone comes close to his raw skill. Outside of him I would like to see Thomas “Thomas” Utting given a chance in a real team to show what he can do and learn. He’s very young and clearly has the skill having made FPL in Europe. He has a good attitude right now and if he’s given the chance I think he will be a real top talent. There’s also Aaron “AaroN” Hemmings who is already a top player, I just don’t know if he would ever want to move anywhere outside of UK
Finally, over in EU there is the Wind and Rain team who are performing well in MDL. What are your thoughts on their strengths and how they’ve quickly grown as a team?
Their strengths are the fact they are all young friends just playing having fun and using a puggy style of play. The fact no-one knows them really works in their favour at the moment. I think they will have a real struggle on their hands if they don’t start working on their setups and reactions on the both sides, because I’ve watched a few of their games and I wasn’t impressed with that. On the flip side the skill they have and the friendship they have if they can do that they really could be on to something big.
Immi is set to see his first action with NRG next week, when the team begins their ESL Pro League Season 7 campaign against Splyce.
