A Captain's Victory: London Mint's Secret Weapon at I-Series

How London Mint's captain, Henry "HenryG" Greer, guided his team to an unlikely victory at i32

NEWBURY, UK -- A few moments after the London Mint’s CS:S squad emerged victorious from the i32 finals I went down to the bar and had a drink with Sujoy, the team’s manager, in the hope of grabbing an interview or something. That’s the trouble with being a journalist, there is no such thing as friendly small talk. Everything that is said to you is measure; every question you ask can never be interpreted as a friendly enquiry, born out of genuine interest. I asked him about the team, what he had to do with the victory…

“Here he goes” says one of the revelers, prompting laughs from everyone else stood in the circle.

“Hand on heart” Sujoy delivers with a typically measured response, “I can honestly say I had nothing to do with it whatsoever. If any one individual can be held responsible for us emerging victorious here, it’s down to the captain. HenryG is without doubt a natural leader and he has whipped the side into shape and made them what they are here and now.”

HenryG (far left) discussing strategy with his CS:S squad during CGS's UK Championship.

Further questions kind of disappeared into the background noise in the bar, but this is enough for me at this time. The answer wasn’t what I was expecting but given what I’d seen as I watched the team in question from afar, a part of me already knew something like this would be mentioned. HenryG has always been heralded as one of the best captains in CS:S; astute tactically, an eye for talent, a passionate player and he can shoot a bit as well to boot. But at this event he has really brought it home, taking a no nonsense approach and pulling out all stops to ensure that the first time the franchise competed at a non-CGS event they emerged triumphant. If your manager is willing to concede that you can take the credit, you must have done something very special indeed.

I had seen the players arrive and quickly get settled in. They’re no strangers to i-series having been here many times before with many teams as well as together. In their most recent incarnation before being drafted they crumbled in the same stage final, on the big stage, before an audience, the somber look on their faces combined with their in game silence telling its own story. This time they looked different, more aggressive and more vocal. They were the underdogs in the final needing to win two maps on the bounce, yet they made a mountain seem more like a slight slope. It was the sharpest I had seen these players for some time and I’ve followed their careers for as long as I’ve been involved in CS:S.

I remember watching them in the build up to the semi-finals, watched how the captain had delivered a speech that was more Henry V than Henry G. At various times he had even been quite disciplinarian in between games, not being shy with some harsh words if he felt they were needed. People had taken this to be in house bickering, rumors rife that the team was not only going to crash and burn but a shake-up of personnel was on the cards.

“You see” said one onlooker sat next to me as I made my notes “how can you tell me that is healthy? Mark my words, that team is heading for an epic fail.”

Yet if anything for me this was what we needed to see from this group of players. With a fire in their bellies I didn’t expect them to roll over and be content with second place as they had been previously. It’s a disease common in all things British to shy away from winning, the public and punters always warming to the brave, who give it their all but ultimately fall at the last hurdle. Our history is replete with examples of this sporting archetype and our eSports has been shaping up to be no different. This had been the case with these players, easily the best the UK has to offer, but supporters would have to watch round after round slip away in the face of real European opposition. Exactly what had happened only a few months previously when up against the unstoppable force of fnatic at the previous event at this venue.

Yet you could see the steel was there. The side of old would never have beaten fnatic in overtime as they had to do here to reach the finals. Indeed, no UK side had won an i-series for some time and everyone in the scene accepted that this team was the only one who could begin to live with the Europeans. What they did differently in terms of their play was to fight for every round, every frag… No matter how lost the round looked they really went for it rather than opt for more conventional approaches. When teamwork failed there was always a moment of individual brilliance that would drag them through, sometimes even from the captain himself. It is the rarest thing in this game to find a captain that can call and weigh in with the kills, the act of having to be aware of four other people’s respective games detracting from your own, but Henry bucks that trend.

Henry, as ever, is modest about his contribution giving full credit to his team. But he did say something to me that was perhaps more revealing than he intended it to be:

“For me personally I think I’ve changed a little. I have a lot more going on in my life right now what with being at university and I feel that the time I dedicate to gaming is even more precious now than it ever has been. I can’t be bothered if people don’t want to take it seriously and will let them know that fact. We didn’t play for a while after getting drafted, but we started before this event. We knew this would be the best practice for the upcoming World Series and we also knew that if we could win this, when we hadn’t before, we could achieve anything.”

It had often been said that a team being drafted would effectively have the right support mechanism to be able to improve, the finances allowing players to not worry about having to work as well as being surrounded by people who are solely dedicated to ensuring you have everything you need to progress. Of course the external factor of players needing to be wiser in the investment of their time so they have for purposes such as studying and, let’s be honest, socializing was not one that was at the forefront of people’s thinking. Yet in this case it seems to have as much to do with the team’s new and improved outlook as anything else.

“While I believe I can make a career out of gaming,” Henry continued, “I have to dedicate time to my education as well because that is something that should be important to everybody. When I’m online and away from my studies then the time has to be productive, it can’t be about going through the motions. Every moment of practice becomes significant.”

It is also undoubtedly true that he commands the respect of his team. While I witnessed the captain occasionally berating his players for not being up to standard or doing something that to him seemed foolish, I never once saw them challenge this. He has steered the ship for sometime now and rarely has he put a foot wrong, something the guys clearly acknowledge. One of the things he always prides himself on doing is knowing his team inside out, knowing how to handle each player psychologically. He admits he has been a bit more forthcoming with his team mates this time around.

“Take Tom (Beta) for example. This was a massive step up for him in terms of ability and he has had to work very hard to fit into the team. He has been a little nervous at times and it has shown as he hasn’t played his normal game. It’s taken me a while to realize what I do that adds to that pressure or takes away from it, but we’re there now.”

Indeed Tom “Beta” Hanna had been seen by many as one of the weaker players in the London Mint side, but after this event -- the final in particular -- he was seen by many as the team’s MVP, as well as HenryG. He came up huge in the final weighing in with some big scores and clutching some vital rounds for his side. A stark contrast to the player who had struggled pre-draft, a time that feels so long ago despite its relative closeness. Tom was obviously overjoyed with his performance, a good LAN absolutely vital for him in terms of his reputation and his own confidence. The relief and elation showed when he was interviewed in front of the crowd and cameras at the event, the first line out of his mouth being “I proved myself lads” a quote that is already going down in gaming mythology. In the background HenryG just grinned, rightly proud with what his team had achieved and enjoying his comrade’s moment in the limelight.

The bigger picture now is the whole team believes that they can mix it up with the best teams in the world. Sure, taking on the teams drafted in the CGS will be a whole different ball game, but it’s not as if the sides they came up against were that far off the standard. Victory here must put them in such a positive frame of mind looking to the biggest competition of their gaming careers to date. Henry had described this event itself as “practice” for the real matches ahead and if that is the case they will be well prepared in a way the opposition they will face may not be. There is now a belief that runs through the whole team that can do anything, a resolute determination that has been instilled in every player, not just their captain. Yet ultimately the responsibility will be on him again to ensure that the players give it their all, keeping them motivated in the face of such potentially difficult times. He’s proved he can do it already, but the greatest weapon in London Mint’s arsenal will have to do it once more if this victory at Newbury is to be anything other than a footnote in the franchise history and actually be a brick in the building of an eSports dynasty.