Fruitcupx on BOSS: "We'll be up there with NRG and Wildcard"

BOSS saw their run at Fragadelphia Blocktober get cut short as they were eliminated by SkinRave on the first day. The team are still rebuilding after losing Wyatt "snav" Phillippi to Getting Info in July.

Our Editor-in-Chief discussed all things BOSS with Gavin "Fruitcupx" Norman, including how he feels playing under Ben "ben1337" Smith's leadership, and where he thinks BOSS will be once they settle things.

You can watch the full interview on YouTube below, or read the full transcription. All questions and answers have been slightly edited for clarity.

How do you think BOSS did here, considering the fact that you lost to SkinRave and didn't make it into day two?

I mean, it's a new team with new players. We just picked up ben1337, we have Bwills. Overall, we're seeing progress. We're not the same as we were like a couple of months ago, but we're building it up and we're trying our best to get back to where we were.

The big change with the roster, outside of adding people, is, of course, snav leaving to Getting Info. You picked up ben1337 from Party Astronauts to replace him. He's a very different leader from snav, I'd say. Do you agree that he's creating a very different team than the one that you had under snav?

Oh yeah, 100%. The way that ben1337 handles our team is completely different. It's more structured. The way he handles the team, he doesn't put pressure on us, you know? I mean, snav...different callouts from him. I have nothing against him, but from ben1337 it's just no pressure. Like 'Go do what you need to do, go create your own plays if we're not doing a strat.' That's basically how it is.

Obviously, snav's free-form was working pretty well for you when he was in charge. Do you think you've taken a step back by having to become more structured under ben1337?

Yeah, a little bit. But, at the same time, I can't always have free rein on whatever I want to do. It's a team game at the end of the day, and I need to play with the team. I can't just go out and just run around and do whatever I want. I got to play with them. I got to support them, too.

With your result here and the other online results in mind, how do you feel this new BOSS under ben1337 stacks up against the top teams in NA? Do you think BOSS is still in the top eight, or below like LAG and SportsBetExpert?

I mean, compared to LAG and SportsBetExpert, we're still top eight, 100%. I mean, we're still not up there with NRG just yet. We haven't been able to practice a lot. We've had DDoS problems, and we've had ben1337's computer not working. So, the practice time has been very limited. As long as we're able to get to practice more, we'll be up there with NRG and Wildcard.

What made you stay to play in the Big L with Austin and Wicked? I heard you rebooked your flight, which surely caused some problems.

Honestly, Austin's my boy, and he wanted me to come play with him, and I was like, 'Sure, let's do it.' I love CS, if I weren't playing CS, I wouldn't play video games. CS is a necessity for me at this point. I love the game.

Looking towards the end of the year, the goal for you guys is to keep climbing the VRS ranking, and especially to find an organization. Is there any news on the organization hunt?

As of right now, there are no orgs looking at us right now.

Is ben1337 doing the talks with the orgs? Who's kind of marketing the team to prospective buyers?

It would be ben1337 or SLIGHT. SLIGHT is the team captain, but ben1337 is also at the same time. I usually let one of those two people handle it, because they know what they're doing when it comes to that.

How did you feel about Fragadelphia Blocktober? It's a different LAN, because of all the international teams?

The LAN was fun. It was good. Good vibes. It was one of the better LANs I've been to. I really appreciated this LAN.

And, are you excited for fl0m's LAN? Is it your goal to qualify for that?

Oh, 100%. I can't wait to go to that LAN, actually. It's going to be super fun.