Pr0lly joins H2k Gaming as Coach - Interview

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Neil 'Pr0lly' Hammad has confirmed with onGamers that he is currently acting as coach for H2k Gaming ahead of their round 3 match in the LCS Expansion Tournament on December 12th. The former compLexity Gaming midlaner began working with the team remotely a month ago and has been at their gaming house in the Netherlands for over a week.

Pr0lly spoke with onGamers regarding the new position in the following interview conducted earlier today.

onGamers: Congratulations on the new position, Pr0lly. Could you please explain how you ended up becoming the coach for H2k?

Pr0lly: I had been having a lot of bad luck in the competitive scene playing, so I've been considering a break. I didn't want to completely be out of it, so right after the announcement of me being removed from the team I was approached by a few teams and h2k was one of them.

Jed, the manager asked if I would be interested in trying my hand at coaching. I sat in on a few of their scrims the following week at 9 am because of the time difference, and although I was pissed I was awake so early, I noticed a lot of impressive play and eccentric behavior and got interested. Plus, they have hilarious accents so I got a pretty hefty amount of the giggles hearing them (friendly) flame each other.

OG: What do you think you'll be able to bring to the team as a coach?

Pr0lly: So I've been in the scene for a while and have gone through a few coaches and it's kind of guided me to what I'm doing with them now. The one aspect I wished my coaches had done was work on general teamwork and respect. I just want to be able to be a canvas for them to paint on, instead of all making individual portraits and that's pretty much my goal right now. I'm not trying to make them play a certain way I think is best or trying to take away their personality in their play. Also, I guess I have strats and knowledge or whatever you call it.

OG: Do you expect any big differences between working with an EU team vs an NA team?

Pr0lly: I've been working with them for over a month now, and here's what I've noticed:

They're actually insane. There's a big air of comradery with them which is really refreshing. They flame each other to the extent where it'd get to me if I was playing, but they all respect each other so they know it's not really hurtful.

Yeah, it's ridiculous. A few times I've stepped in thinking they were getting at each others' throats, only to see them burst into laughter and then try to tackle the other one. Another big difference was the amount they wanted to play and practice. With all the teams I've been on, there was at least one person who was really unhappy playing solo queue and always wanting scrims to end as soon as possible - that kind of thing. These guys are down to play long sets and grind solo queue for whatever champion they lost lane with. The work ethic is very different.

They're hungry.

OG: How long do you see yourself coaching for H2K? And do you think that your time as a player has passed?

Pr0lly: Well right now I don't spend any effort thinking about anything past the 21st of December. I really want these guys to get into the LCS, and if they think I'm a good enough coach to bring through LCS then I'd join those crazy accents all the way to Germany. I know I want a break for at least one split of LCS, and to try to get my chops back during it when I'm not being stressed to perform. If I end up being super happy as a coach I might just drop competitive completely, but currently I still have a need to pwn bitches and I practice as if I had to go back into war the next week.

OG: Anything else you would like to add or say to your fans?

Pr0lly: I do want to say thanks to my fans who are still with me. I know I've been pretty lame and hiding, but I like having the disconnect from my fans and my IRL friends/family who just shit talk me all day to get some perspective. I also wanna say sorry to NA for leaving you for a bit, much love and eat hamburgers. And to any prospective EU fans I hope I live up to the obnoxiousness America has laid for me. Oh yeah, and go H2k!

OG: Thanks for the interview.

Pr0lly: Also, Travis one time I saw Justin Bieber, and I thought,"Travis still sucks more". You're welcome.