Reptar reveals why now was the time to return

Todays ALGS Match Point finals will mark a huge milestone in NRG Reptar's ALGS return. Teaming with OhNocturnal and FunFPS, he has performed fantastically since he chose to come out of competitive retirement earlier this year.

esports.gg spoke to Reptar before competition got underway in Mannheim, Germany.

Reptar is best known for his long and successful period on Complexity, winning accolades including the Autumn Circuit Playoffs. He stepped away from competing in early 2022, only appearing in creator events or as a sub from then on.

However, he returned to the ALGS with Fun and Nocturnal after ALGS Split 1 concluded. NRG didn't qualify for the event, and Koyful moved on to Spacestation Gaming. Why was this team the right one, and why did Reptar want to return?

"The honest answer is ranked got kind of stale. I did it for two full seasons where I got ranked one and then I finished the next split, I think I was number four when I finished. And I don't know, just after that, I kind of lost interest in the number one ranked grind.

"I messaged Noc and they had just lost Koyful. I was like, hey, if you wanna give it a chance, let's play. We had EWC qualifiers three weeks after I messaged them, and we ended up qualifying. Now we're here."

For Reptar, already being good friends with both Fun and Nocturnal is what made this an attractive proposition.

"Honestly, the biggest thing is I was roommates with Knock and Fun for a year. So, you know, it was one of those. I'm good friends with them and it was just a comfort pick really. I had obviously quit or didn't play comp for what, two years, two and a half, three years and not everybody's willing to give you a chance when you come back after that."

Having taken such a long break, it might've been understandable if Reptar was apprehensive about returning back to the top. However, the way NRG have performed since his arrival makes it seem like he has never been away.

"Not really [surprised]. I mean I'd just done the rank one grind and all that and my confidence was, you know, up here. It was really really high. I kind of figured I could do it but being able to come in and qual for EWC like literally within week of coming back to comp and stuff. So no, not really. Not really surprised, but happy."

Perhaps the biggest difference between the Reptar of old and the Reptar of now is his input. Since we last saw him compete full-time, he has swapped from Mouse and Keyboard to Controller. As someone who has competed on both, how does Reptar feel about the Aim Assist changes?

"I feel like at the highest level it doesn't matter entirely what you play on as long as you're comfortable. I did the controller swap because I was playing ranked and Hal had just swapped. In comp, controller, with .4 was really really strong because of consistency.

"You could go into a fight with the confidence that you're gonna kill whoever you're looking at, basically. And now it's .3, I feel like it's more even. The aim flinch thing helped a lot for MNK. So I don't think input matters as much anymore. There was definitely a couple years where Controller was very, very strong.

"I think in the current meta, it's probably a little M&K favoured just with the shotgun meta. So having movement and having the ability to flick and being able to get out of situations and that kind of stuff, I feel like it helps a lot."

Could Reptar ever swap back? He's not sure, but wouldn't rule it out.

"Not gonna say never, but in the current patch, in the current moment, it's hard to swap back after playing controller for two years, three years. But, there's always a possibility."

NRG and Reptar will look to land an ALGS Playoff title tonight.