ben1337 on the end of Party Astronauts: "It was tough when we had to let it go"

Orgless NA squad BOSS were felled by BOSS on the second day of Fragadelphia Blocktober, facing elimination at the hands of SkinRave after taking a loss earlier in the event to SAW and besting Wanted Goons to make playoffs.

On the final day of Fragadelphia Blocktober, Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore caught up with BOSS IGL Ben "ben1337" Smith to discuss the team's run at the event, taking over leadership at BOSS, the end of Party Astronauts, and the team's hunt for a new coach, among other topics.

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

BOSS were eliminated on day two at the hands of SkinRave. What can you tell me about that loss?

It was a good match, it was a close match that we played on stage, at least on Mirage. We had the lead and we had the momentum we just couldn't close out the game. We had a talk after the game about Mirage and we just doing too much and we needed to let them fuck up and capitalize on their mistakes.

We just did too much on that map towards the end and we couldn't close it out unfortunately.

On Dust2 we started up 7-0 in control of the whole game and then they got the momentum and kept putting rounds spiraling and we couldn't find answer on the T-side. We couldn't get anything going.

This is your first LAN since joining BOSS, how do you think the team did in their first LAN under your leadership?

I was pleasantly surprised at how we did on LAN. The last week or so was probably the best week we played and the most stuff we added. We were prepping for this event pretty well. It was good to see it payoff and we played close against SAW on Ancient.

It was another game where we had a good lead where we couldn't close it out. It's just little things but it's things we took from online and we did it on LAN and it proved it works. We're a good team and what we're doing is correct and we're moving in the right direction.

I was really happy to see that and we need to keep that same motivation and experience here as a team and take that online and run with it.

This is BOSS' third loss in a row to SkinRave. What do you think makes Cryptic your Kryptonite?

I couldn't say.... That's a good question.

I guess if you knew the answer you'd stop letting Cryptic do it to you, right?

Yeah I definitely would. I don't think there's any particular thing that he does to counter me, I don't know. They have a good playstyle and they play good Counter-Strike. They show up when they need to against us.

Your move from Party Astronauts to BOSS possibly marks the end of that storied tag. How does it feel to let go of that brand under which you've played the majority of your career? Was it a sad day?

Yeah it was a sad day. It wasn't just mine, a bunch of people have been a part of the project over the years or were the core people of the PA brand when I first created it. It was tough when we had to let it go but it felt like it needed to happen.

In PA it felt like we were stagnating or being too comfortable and I needed to get out of my comfort zone and move on to new and better things.

We talked to Fruitcupx yesterday and he mentioned the significant changes that come with switching from snav to ben1337's leadership style. How do you think the team is doing in terms of adapting to your style and leadership preference?

I think we're getting there for sure with the structure and the system in the team. It definitely took a while at the start with us talking about how we wanted to play and then doing it in the game.

We were figuring stuff as we went but it felt like this past week we grew a lot as a team and we added a lot to maps that was needed.

We're definitely on the right track and after this LAN we need to take that experience online and have that same vibe and everything. We brought our full energy and we felt like we could beat anybody.

We just need to trust each other more. When I first joined the team the trust wasn't that strong and after this LAN we have built more trust and once we do that we will be shooting for the stars.

Are you looking to add a coach at BOSS when you get home?

We're trying to pick up a coach. We've been working with KayJay for the past two weeks and we were trying to pick him up but unfortunately he has more work responsibilities so he can't put in the hours.

We were working with him and he helped us a lot in the past week. He helped us a lot to improve before this LAN too.

I've worked with a lot of people and have taken a lot from previous coaches. I'm a player too where I'm always trying to compete and learn and put in the effort to be the best that I can be.

We're always looking for help so we're definitely looking for a coach and I think that's our missing piece that'll help us for sure.

Are you happy to have this fresh start where people don't think your team, Party Astronauts, is an org and ignore you as a result? With that, how is the org hunt going?

Nothing yet, not really. We're reaching out to some orgs but that's all I really have to say.

What comes next for BOSS post-FRAG?

Just online cups and grinding the VRS. We are trying to get top eight VRS for fl0m LAN.