ScreaM: "We have a lot of questions about how we are going to play”

We caught up with Adil "⁠ScreaM⁠" Benrlitom during the media day of Moche XL Esports and quizzed the Belgian talent on his recent form, the team's expectations for the Portuguese LAN and the current state of the French scene.

GamerLegion will step onto the stage at 19:30 to take on OFFSET in the quarter-finals of Moche XL Esports in what will be the third LAN event for the team since its creation, at the start of the year.

The European team will be looking to rebound from the disappointment of missing out on the Europe Minor, having crashed out of the closed qualifier following defeats to OpTic and Virtus.pro.

In this interview, ScreaM acknowledges that the team is currently going through a rough patch of form and also discusses his expectations for the event and the possibility of returning to the French scene, which is once again highly regarded internationally.

This is your third LAN event with the team. What are your expectations?

We recently had a really bad period. It is kind of a complicated situation, but I still think we have the potential to surprise a lot of teams here. We obviously want to finish first, but we will try to win every game and approach them as seriously as possible.

Your previous LAN event was Charleroi Esports, where you finished 5h-6th. Were you disappointed with the way that you played there?

Personally, I did not play well there. I have no excuses, but I had not been playing in a team for quite some time and I needed time to get back on track. I think we did not play so badly, it was only our second event. It was an okay event. We did not expect that much from the tournament, it was still a good experience. Personally, I was disappointed with the way that I played.

You had a little bit of a shaky start to the year but you now seem to be picking up some form. Are you feeling more comfortable with the team or was it also because you hurt your hand when you went ice skating?

That affected it a little bit, but, in general, as I said, I had not played competitively at a high level, against good players who are playing every day, for months. I needed some time to get back on track, I was a bit rusty. I am practicing hard and I am also feeling more comfortable in the team. It is mostly because I am practicing harder than I used to.

You had a bit of a disappointment earlier in this week when you failed to qualify for the Europe Minor. Was it frustrating for you, especially because your former team, NoChance, made it?

[laughs] I am happy for NoChance, first of all, they deserved it. For me, I believe this was the first time I did not qualify for a Minor, and it is kind of frustrating for me. I kind of saw it coming because we have not been showing a good level recently. We have a lot of questions about how we are going to play and everything. We still need some experience in terms of important matches. We have a lot of different views about the game. We have players who come from different countries so it is kind of hard to mix it up and find a good balance. We are trying to fix it.

The team has many times been close to the top 30 since its creation. Are you happy with the team's progress, or did you expect to be in a different situation by now?

Of course I am not happy with the situation right now, I think we could be doing a little bit better, but I still think that this is kind of the beginning, so we can still have some hope and grind to the top. We are just going to take it event by event, try to play as best as we can and try to move up in the rankings.

What is your opinion about the current situation of the French scene? Vitality obviously have been doing really well, and G2 are also doing okay. How do you see these teams?

I think the French scene is in a good moment. There was a really bad period for two-three years, but I now feel that things are picking up. Vitality are playing really well, they have insane players, and G2, with the new up-and-coming players, Jackz and Lucky... There is some fresh blood, and the French scene can go back to the top, I think.

Is it hard for you not to be part of those projects?

It is a little bit hard for me, because the French scene in general has a wrong image of me. I am kind of sad about this but I am not sad that I am not a part of it. I know what I am capable of and I do not think I have ever been so bad that I had to be removed, you know? It is about the wrong image that they have of me. In general, maybe they have this have image of me, of someone who cannot compete at the highest level, but I think I have shown enough and, in my opinion, I still have it and I can be even better than I used to be. The problem with me is that I am a really emotional player, so when small things happen I can get really emotional and I will play badly. The way that the team uses me has a big impact on the way that I play. These two points are very important. There was a time when I was with shox in G2 when I had a really good role and I was feeling really good because of my role and everything. I was really comfortable and I think that anyone can see that.

What happened in that team then? From what I was told, there were some personal issues between you and shox.

Yes, we had some personal issues, but it was not really issues. For me, it was just really childish [things], you know? I feel like there is an ego problem in the French scene, and when it comes to communication and everything we have a hard time communicating like adults. I feel this has changed, people have grown up, and we can see that now.

Do you see yourself going back to a French team anytime soon?

Right now, I am with my team and I hope everything will go well and I am going to give everything for this team. All the French players are my friends, I do not have any problems with anyone, I was recently at shox's wedding and it was amazing. No-one knows what will happen in the future, and I will not be close-minded about it.