Dutch legend and freshly crowned winner of the Dutch Cup PraYs about the motives behind his comeback and the ongoing Masters of MegaRandom tournament.
Nice to see you old man around again! What inspired the comeback?
PraYs: Thanks man, I feel old haha.. I actually lost most of my interest for the game a few years ago. I only kept watching and supporting Jordan in his final tournaments before his retirement. What inspired me to come back was the Dutch 1v1 tournament. I felt that I was the best Dutch player ever since 2004-2005 but I was never able to prove myself. I was very rusty and figured I had to play a few games to get back into it again because I wouldn't want to come back only to lose to someone who I shouldn't lose to haha. It was a lot of fun playing and winning the tournament!
How happy are you with your own level at the moment? How do you see your chances vs DauT [MoMR R2 opponent]?
PraYs: I don't feel as good as I was before. I'm okay but I still play a lot less than before. Also, I haven't been interested in learning the new meta for years. So there are a few playstyles and strategies I have literally never played. Now with the MR tournament theres a whole new set of strategies and styles that are developing, that will be interesting.
As for my chances against DauT: Combining the fact that he rarely plays as far as I know and the new format of the tournament I think I will beat him.
Are you enjoying the weird settings this tournaments has to offer?
PraYs: Yeah, I'm loving it even though I'm not opposed to standard settings in a tournament either. I love the whole new sets of playstyles that will develop and I'm interested to see how far I can go.
In case you would be allowed to pick civilizations: Which and why? What civilizations benefit the most from starting in Castle Age?
PraYs: Vikings, Turks and Aztecs benefit from starting in Castle Age a lot. Hand Cart from the start of the game is just great. A light cav can do a lot of damage early and you can supply it with more light cavs early on without upgrading. Aztecs have a strong economy as well because of the +5 resources on vills combined with wheelbarrow. Besides that the Castle Age eagle is stronger than any scout apart from the Turk one. And they have monks which are OP in the early stages.
Who's your favorite for winning the whole thing?
PraYs: Honestly, I don't really know because I don't really know how good some players are. I don't know how good players like Vinchester, Yellow and Lojza are.. They seem to do great in tournaments but I haven't really seen them play, they are "new" to me as I've been away for years. Anyway, this is all beating around the bush and let's just call a spade a spade. I, myself am obviously the favorite to win the tournament.
Nice to see you old man around again! What inspired the comeback?
PraYs: Thanks man, I feel old haha.. I actually lost most of my interest for the game a few years ago. I only kept watching and supporting Jordan in his final tournaments before his retirement. What inspired me to come back was the Dutch 1v1 tournament. I felt that I was the best Dutch player ever since 2004-2005 but I was never able to prove myself. I was very rusty and figured I had to play a few games to get back into it again because I wouldn't want to come back only to lose to someone who I shouldn't lose to haha. It was a lot of fun playing and winning the tournament!
How happy are you with your own level at the moment? How do you see your chances vs DauT [MoMR R2 opponent]?
PraYs: I don't feel as good as I was before. I'm okay but I still play a lot less than before. Also, I haven't been interested in learning the new meta for years. So there are a few playstyles and strategies I have literally never played. Now with the MR tournament theres a whole new set of strategies and styles that are developing, that will be interesting.
As for my chances against DauT: Combining the fact that he rarely plays as far as I know and the new format of the tournament I think I will beat him.
Are you enjoying the weird settings this tournaments has to offer?
PraYs: Yeah, I'm loving it even though I'm not opposed to standard settings in a tournament either. I love the whole new sets of playstyles that will develop and I'm interested to see how far I can go.
In case you would be allowed to pick civilizations: Which and why? What civilizations benefit the most from starting in Castle Age?
PraYs: Vikings, Turks and Aztecs benefit from starting in Castle Age a lot. Hand Cart from the start of the game is just great. A light cav can do a lot of damage early and you can supply it with more light cavs early on without upgrading. Aztecs have a strong economy as well because of the +5 resources on vills combined with wheelbarrow. Besides that the Castle Age eagle is stronger than any scout apart from the Turk one. And they have monks which are OP in the early stages.
Who's your favorite for winning the whole thing?
PraYs: Honestly, I don't really know because I don't really know how good some players are. I don't know how good players like Vinchester, Yellow and Lojza are.. They seem to do great in tournaments but I haven't really seen them play, they are "new" to me as I've been away for years. Anyway, this is all beating around the bush and let's just call a spade a spade. I, myself am obviously the favorite to win the tournament.