esports.gg sits down with FURIA coach Jxmo.
FURIA arrive in Mannheim in great form. They have been performing excellently in scrims and won the Knights Carnage Cup in the build up to this event. FURIA seem to be excelling in the meta that has emerged from the Season 22 update, off the back of an above expectations Pro League split. esports.gg sat down with FURIA coach Jamison "Jxmo" Moore ahead of the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs getting underway in Mannheim, Germany.
Jxmo feels that EMP buff has contributed to the rise in Crypto picks
One of the dominating themes of the build up to this event has been the rise of Crypto. The legend got some significant buffs in the Season 22 update and has risen in popularity across the events build up. FURIA are one of the teams who seem to be excelling with this legend.
Which of the changes Crypto received does Jxmo think has contributed the most to his rise?
"I think it is a combination of changes. One is obviously when you EMP now you get wall hacks, which I think was the big focus on why people want to play Crypto a lot and really pushed them into meta. Two, which I didn't really foresee is the stealth perk is actually insane. I thought it would be kind of kind gimmicky, but it's actually pretty crazy.
"Then the third thing, which a lot of people didn't realize is the change with the UAV spawn rate. They made it a hundred percent. They changed how it worked a little bit. It's a smaller area, But having a 100% spawn rate is ridiculous because every rotation you do, you can path to a UAV. And let's say you're like an edge team, you can always have a UAV no matter what. And with Crypto being able to fly or drone 200 meters, it guarantees that you get info at any point in time in the game that you want to have it."
"I think with all those factors into play Crypto is just too OP. I think he's actually the best legend in the game right now."
Jxmo has been leaning on his Crypto experience
One of the downsides of playing Crypto is he is quite different to play from other legends. He has no flashy movement abilities, for some players this has been a tough adjustment. The information he provides suits an IGL best, but transitioning from the aggressive Bangalore to Crypto is a huge change.
Luckily for FURIA, Jxmo was one of the handful of Crypto mains back when he was last in the meta.
"Back in the day, Crypto was never a meta when I specifically played, but I played him a lot in ranked, so I had like 5,000 kills on him already. I was the Crypto guy back in ranked. So I love him. He's a really different, he's probably the most different character in Apex compared to every other character. I love him.
"When he came into meta, I was like, listen, sorry, Madness, but you're going to have to play Crypto. He had never played Crypto before. So for the past month, every second, I'm like, Madness, you got to do this. You got to make sure you do that. You got to tap your drone there, go on your drone there.
"I've been critiquing him non-stop. He hated Crypto a lot at first, but I think over time since he's been getting better and better and better, and I've been pushing him so hard and we've really been doing super well on this meta, he's starting to realize like, okay, you know what, I like winning so I don't mind Crypto too much."
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How hard is it to adapt to a new legend as a pro?
The idea of playing a different legend being a big deal might seem unusual for a pro player. After all, these guys surely have experience on every legend and they're talented enough to play everyone easily, right? Jxmo explains why it is a big undertaking to master a new legend ahead of an ALGS event.
"The thing is in ranked or public matches, if you make a mistake it's a lot less punishing. So in competitive it could be something just as small as you getting your drone broken at the wrong time. It might throw your entire game which might throw your entire tournament.
"It's super important to min-max every character to its fullest and not try to make any mistakes. And there's certain characters that you can make mistakes on where it doesn't matter as much. Gibraltar, when you throw your bubble, those are game-deciding bubbles.
"It's kind of the same with Crypto. The way you use your drone, it's game-deciding. Whereas other characters like Pathfinder, if you're in the wrong spot, you can kind of just grapple out and you're fine. So there's characters like that that really, really matter to min-max and play perfect."
FURIA's team environment is "really strong"
One of the highlights of FURIA's recent rise has been the huge improvement of ImMadness. A former leading IGL at teams like CLG, he has had somewhat of a renaissance in ALGS Year 4. What does Jxmo think is the reason behind his and the whole teams improvement?
"Within FURIA, our practice and team environment is really strong. We have schedules set. We make sure if anyone shows up a minute late, we're harassing them about it. We're like, listen, we're not here just to show up to work. And we're here to show up on time. And we're treating it like a real job. So that's something that's really important. If we're doing something wrong, we also have a really healthy environment for constructive criticism. We don't put up with yelling and fighting and arguing."
Jxmo is more confident than ever about FURIA's chances
FURIA are in fantastic form heading into Mannheim. Their Carnage Cup victory was a particular highlight from their build-up, showcasing how well the team has adjusted to Season 22. Jxmo thinks they could go all the way in Germany.
"I'm the most confident I have ever been. We're actual contenders to win this LAN. We did really well during pro league. We did really well during scrims. I think last LAN was really a fluke. We had one bad day during the elimination round. Then the second elimination round, we got terrible zones for Tree.
"I really think that we can pretty much guarantee top two, but I'd be satisfied with the top five. But anything less than top five, I would be kind of bummed out."
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