“I think the Americas League is the most competitive league by far.” - Interview with Cloud9 Qpert

The sixth man of the Cloud9 roster, Mateja "Qpert" Mijovic, shared his thoughts on the upcoming VCT 2023 season, his coaching experience and also his role at Cloud9.

THESPIKE.GG: Nice to meet you, firstly what does it mean to you to be part of Cloud9 and in the franchise league?

Qpert: I mean it means everything. I think it's easily one of the best organizations in the world. So for me, it's a pretty big deal. Everybody knows C9. Even back home in Europe, I think Cloud9 is the most popular American organization. So it means a lot.

THESPIKE.GG: You’ve been in the competitive scene a long time, as a player and most recently as a Coach & analyst, and now back into the player role. What is your main role within the team?

Qpert: So my main role is like the sixth player, like a sub. The only reason I was coaching recently is that during the offseason there was not a tournament, there was nothing. I didn't want to sit there and not do anything. It was like because I'm an IGL. I was an ideal player. Coaching was also, a way for me to improve during the offseason rather than just playing, right?

THESPIKE.GG: So do you have input on the IGL role?

Qpert: I would say in-game yeah, but not as a coach-type role, but for example; I've watched them in scrims and I can point out, any of them could, but I can point out to some of them like the utility they're using, some of the bad decisions they're making. And I can help with some creative ideas as an ideal because I have a lot of weird comp ideas and all these things. So I do help with that. But it's not like a coach, it's more like any other player on the team. We all help with it. I'm just able to cause I'm watching, I'm able to help a bit more.

THESPIKE.GG: So we discussed that you haven't been playing as much in recent times and no one's really been able to see what you're made of as a player on the big stage. Do you expect to have some game time in the Lock-In event in Brazil?

Qpert: Possibly. We spoke about it, we'll have to see. The issue was that I couldn't scrim with them because I was in Europe, so we haven't had enough scrims to be able to tell how soon I'm ready to play. So I can't tell it now, but we do plan. I'm definitely playing and I'm very confident to play other than subbing. We will see it nearer the time.

THESPIKE.GG: At the Lock-In event, which teams out of each region are you looking forward to playing?

Qpert: I want to see Paper Rex again. I saw them playing in the off-season tournament. They look really good and for Europe, I think Team Liquid. They will be interesting. From the Americas, it would be 100 Thieves to see how good they are.

THESPIKE.GG: Going back to your previous experience in and around tier 2 EMEA, what is the most notable difference from that to the tier 1 NA scene?

Qpert: I think it's mostly the consistency of players. The coaching difference is huge. I think the coach difference between Tier 2 and tier one is really huge. Even in Tier 1, there's a really big difference. I think it's the way the players think, way more mature in scrims and after scrims, they've learned through time to fix things a lot faster and a lot with a lot less hassle and arguing and all these things. It's a lot, it's a lot more professional.

THESPIKE.GG: What do you think of the new system and format for VCT 2023?

Qpert: Yeah, for the long term. It's definitely for the good. I think this year some teams got hurt and some regions got hurt, but the long term is definitely the best thing that they’ve done.

THESPIKE.GG: The VCT 2023 Americas league is looking very strong in terms of teams and talent even with a lot of top players being left out, where do you see C9 placing in the first split?

Qpert: In the first split, it has to be the top two. I think the Americas League is the most competitive league by far. I don't think it’s even close just because of the fact that there are five South American teams and five North American teams, as you said, a lot of really good players got left out, like everybody from The Guard, there were some other players from Ghost, even from Shopify that got left out. But I think that's also good for the scene. I think having a good Tier 2 improves because I think America will have the best practice this year, as now we have all the regions playing. Before the Americas, and like lots of America, couldn't practice as much because of ping.

**THESPIKE.GG: You said Cloud9 top two, so who's the other team? **

Qpert: It's gonna be either Leviatan or 100 Thieves.

You can find more information about Red Bull Home Ground on the events page, and don’t forget to have a look at our VCT 2023 Hub!

This interview has been edited for clarity.