The midlaner of Gaimin Gladiators, Quinn "Quinn" Callahan, gave an interview before the start of another tournament. The American player shared his thoughts on recent roster changes, the team's strategy, the impact of the new patch, and his journey in esports.

Gaimin Gladiators are going through tough times: the team hasn't shown their previous results for a while, and recently Seleri left the team. According to Quinn, the team is still searching for their game.

We’re figuring it out. He was part of the team the whole time, and a big part of it. The way he plays changes the way the team plays because he has his heroes and his own style, and we built around that for a long time—it worked. But this season, and Dota in general, is pretty taxing on your time, your mental state, and all sorts of stuff. He just needed a break, and fair enough. So now, we’re just trying to figure stuff out. Trying to suck less—we’ve been sucking for way too long.

   

Quinn noted that the team is trying to balance between working on their own mistakes and studying the strengths of their opponents.

“It’s a mix of both. You should never be fully focused inward because the teams that are winning are winning for a reason. But at the same time, we have things to improve on, both individually and as a team. It comes down to everyone focusing on themselves first. If each player works on their individual performance, then naturally, the team improves as a whole. If you focus too much on the team as a concept and get stuck thinking about how much you suck, you fall into a black hole and miss the real problem—your own individual performance.”

   

GG recently signed a newcomer, but according to Quinn, it's hard for him to say anything specific about the new teammate yet.

 "It’s a mix of both. You should never be fully focused inward because the teams that are winning are winning for a reason. But at the same time, we have things to improve on, both individually and as a team. It comes down to everyone focusing on themselves first. If each player works on their individual performance, then naturally, the team improves as a whole. If you focus too much on the team as a concept and get stuck thinking about how much you suck, you fall into a black hole and miss the real problem—your own individual performance."

  

Moreover, this tournament was the first time he met the new teammate in person:

“Yeah, it’s our first LAN since he joined. The first time I saw him in real life was like five hours ago. So yeah, it’s a work in progress.”

  

Quinn believes that changes in the game can help the team get out of the crisis.

“ I think it’s helping. When you’re in a rut, any kind of change is nice. Shifting some things around, getting a fresh perspective—that helps. It lets us say, “Okay, that wasn’t working, let’s try something else.” It gives you a fresh start without focusing on past issues. This patch probably fits us better… or at least we hope so. Maybe in a month, we find out it’s the worst patch ever for us and we’re screwed, but for now, it seems okay.”

  

The midlaner of Gaimin Gladiators also admitted that after a series of victories, it's hard to find new motivation.

“My career began with losing for a long time. Then I joined this team, and for the first time in my life, we started winning, even dominating. And now we're losing again. The hardest part is figuring out where to find motivation when you've been the best but are no longer. I'm still searching for the answer to that question.”

  

The interviewer noted that Quinn is one of the few players in GG with experience playing in weaker teams and asked how he helps his teammates deal with difficulties.

“If you're in a pit, the best thing you can do is get out of it. You can say positive things all you want, but if you're knee-deep in mud, the main thing is to find a way out, not just accept it. Maybe since I've been in such a situation before, I have more experience in how to get out, and now I'm just trying to do that.”

   

After three rounds of the group stage, Gaimin Gladiators have a 2:1 record. In the next round, they will play for a spot in the playoffs of PGL Wallachia Season 3. You can follow the tournament via this link.