Earlier this week I had the opportunity to interview Sammyboy, Team Leviathan's mid laner for the upcoming competitive season.

At what point did you make the decision that you wanted to go pro? Was there any particular reasoning behind it?

Last year in October I got kicked from Soggy Mitts and was thinking about quitting but decided to play with my friends in the battle of the strip qualifiers and we ended up beating Soggy Mitts and qualifying for a LAN. I started game planning trying really hard to prepare for the LAN and even though we lost I think 2-1 to isGG I knew I wanted to actually play professionally and go to another LAN. I want to prove myself and that I can do it so I really started trying to get better after that. I get really motivated when people flame me or trash talk me and after getting kicked and than being able to qualify anyway it was kind of a prove yourself moment for me that really cemented the fact I wanted to play professionally someday.

How have your experiences on teams such as Nano and Soggy Mitts helped you develop as a professional player?

Futzehs kind of a lesser known player but he played on Boreal and Root Gaming etc with Boris/747/Etc and even though he wasn't mechanically skilled he was a really good captain and believed in me as a player. Even though I was really bad back then he gave me a lot of chances to get experience and believed in me as a player, I owe him a lot if I'm totally honest.

How exactly did you joining Leviathan come about? Was there anyone in particular that invited you?

I had been playing with Slayer for qualifiers as a for fun team and BSJ reached out to him to make a team to which Slayer told him to bring me along as he thought I was really good, meanwhile I had been talking to Jenkins about playing with him after the TI qualifiers either on Team Red or making a new team and it just so worked out Jenkins/Newsham were a duo and BSJ/Slayer were a duo and I was able to fit in on the last slot. I think it was a combination of all of us just having a certain attitude that we wanted to get better and prove ourselves that brought us together and why I think we mesh really well.

What are Leviathan's expectations for the upcoming season? Do you have any personal goals in mind?

Our expectations are to qualify for a Minor/Major, I think NA is going to be a very difficult region but I think we are all improving a lot and can achieve that. For my on an individual level I want to show that I can be the best mid in North America, people can say that's delusional or something but in my opinion if you want to ever make it in any competitive sport or e-sport you need to believe you are the best.

Do you feel any extra pressure as a "new face" in the North American competitive scene?

I don't feel any pressure, I think my team trusts me and believes in me as a player and that's all that matters. Of course I still want to prove to everybody else that I'm good enough to hang with the best of them but that is more of a sense of motivation, not pressure.

With Leviathan set to compete in the upcoming BTS King's Cup, has it been difficult to try and prepare yourself against other teams that will also be debuting brand new rosters?

I think we are most definitely the underdogs in Kings Cup and we have been preparing a lot starting to scrim much earlier then those other teams but at the end of the day we just have to try our best and learn. I think the teams in Kings Cup are crazy good (DC/Col/PPDs teams are extra scary.. even isGG is gonna be really tough) and we are gonna try to learn as much as we can from them while hopefully taking some games off them and maybe making playoffs.

After a disappointing showing at The International this year, where would you rank North America in comparison to other regions for the upcoming competitive season?

I think were the second best region beyond China but that might be a little bit bias, I think EG/DC/Col/PPDs team are all teams good enough to be at last years international roster wise and I think and with CIS/Europe being split and SEA not having a good showing it seems to me NA is second.

What team are you most eager to face, be it in North America or internationally?

I can't wait to face all the good North American teams but playing against EG is what I'm looking forward too if we ever get the chance. Sumail is the best mid in the world and I want to mid vs him and see how I do in a competitive setting for sure.

Are there any players in the professional scene that you have drawn inspiration from or learned from their performances?

I've learned a lot from Sumail/Demon, I have a really aggressive playstyle and used to just watch replays of those two guys trying to get better although I have formed some bad habits from it.

What would be your biggest recommendation for a player who is currently looking to break into the professional scene?

Keep grinding and use peoples flame as motivation, I've been flamed so many times and called awful/terrible/so on and so forth but I use that as motivation to get better. I actually love it, it makes me so happy when I then go into my next game and crush them or play really well. That said I see so many reddit posts of 4k players complaining about how good they are or how bad your teammates are, that attitude won't get you anywhere.

Thank you very much for your time, do you have any shoutouts?

Shout-outs to Blitz, I've asked him for advice on stuff and he has already helped me understand Dota so much more as well as just being an awesome guy. Also shout-out to my teammates and futzeh.

Team Leviathan will debut their new roster tomorrow against isGG in the BTS King's Cup.