After two consecutive seasons in Division 1, the all-Russian team GREMLINS have decided to broaden their horizons and make the big jump to Premiership, as well as expanding their roster with non-Russian players for the first time. While the names on GREMLINS might sound unfamiliar for some viewers, their shared experience playing together can go a long way and they will be looking to surprise other teams in what looks to be a wide open season.
Long-standing members utka and dqz will be returning once more, on Pocket Scout and Soldier respectively. Both were members of Virtus.Bro/Goonsquad during their previous forays into Premiership, which helped establish them as players to keep an eye on as they were never afraid of taking the fight to the enemy despite their underdog status. utka and dqz were also a part of the Russian national 6v6 team that performed quite well in the latest cup, knocking Finland out before losing out to finalists France in 3 very close maps.
Another member of the Goonsquad, Lanzer impressed enough during his first season with them that he won the “Debut of the Season" award back in Season 33. A very versatile and always keen Flank Scout, he is surely happy to return to the top level after his previous attempt with Goblin Clan foiled after only a single week last season. slowtown, despite the name, has had quite the swift rise through the divisions in recent history, turning a Division 2 second place into a Division 1 playoff spot over the last two seasons. An accurate and relentless Roamer, he’ll be looking to see if he can extend his playoff streak at the very top of Europe.
Rounding off the roster will be pluxa and Silvermaster on Demoman and Medic respectively. pluxa is a founding member of GREMLINS, being a part of the roster that made Division 1 playoffs in Season 37 and will be returning on Demo after some Soldier escapades in Season 38. Playing on Whatever alongside slowtown last season, Silvermaster had a strong showing in what was his first Division 1 season, finishing in 4th place. Now ready to move up again, the ambitious Medic will be hoping to master more than the 47th element.
We reached out to dqz and utka to ask them what they thought after their Nations Cup run, playing with non-Russians and the state of Premiership.
TEAMFORTRESS.TV : You two have had a pretty good run in the latest Nations Cup, do you think you can use this experience to your benefit ?
dqz :
Actually we've barely survived the Nations Cup. Sano and madmak couldn't handle the stress due to old age, tur1k went AWOL, slash lost his will to play in higher divs.
TEAMFORTRESS.TV : Gremlins this season is, for the first time, not entirely composed of Russians. How do you feel about this ? And how did you discover your latest pickups ?
utka :
I wanted to play this season with previous roster but sano didnt want to play and we couldnt find new demo and we just disbanded. Silvermaster was making a new team and he invited me and dqz. We have some players not from Russia but they speak russian and we dont have any problems with our communication
dqz :
Not being Russian doesn't matter if everyone can speak Russian. Pluxa, Silvermaster and slowtown were making a High team, but after disposing of / losing some players they've decided to assimilate into the remains of our Nations Cup team. And Lanzer finally got his wish of playing with a Russian roster in Prem after playing the latest DreamHack Cup with us.
TEAMFORTRESS.TV : How do you feel about Premiership this season ? In terms of other teams playing in it and also your own expectations for placement
utka :
Premiership this season is easier than previous ones but it will be still hard for us since half of the roster didnt play anywhere higher than div1. I think we can place 5th or 6th if we try
dqz :
It's hard to say who is even going to be in top 3 this season, our roster doesn't have much Prem experience, but everyone is looking to do their best. Hopefully, it will be more entertaining to watch since there will always be someone looking to dry push, trade or feed.
Making sure that other teams feed into them after midnight, GREMLINS is :
- Combo Scout: utka
- Flank Scout: Lanzer
- Roamer: slowtown
- Pocket: dqz
- Demoman: pluxa
- Medic: Silvermaster