As I was rehearsing for my next live show, a man came into the practice room and challenged me out of the blue to an idol battle which ended in a draw. Quite impressed by his idol skills, I decided to recruit him in my idol group, J’ADORE. I sat with him and asked him if he could tell me more about himself.

Valhanya: Hello my so… hum. Hello Kusoge, I hope you are doing well ! Can you introduce yourself briefly to our readers?

Kusoge: Hello hello, I am Kusoge, you probably know me as that newer player who apparently plays Setsuka, or more likely as the guy who runs LIYC and is working on a little board game.

Valhanya: You are a newly Captain and created a team called « Idol Stance Â» with Ganondeurf, the French Azwel player as an Ace. Can you explain us the story behind your team and introduce us your team mates ? 

Kusoge: Idol Stance is a simple pun on Idle Stance, based on the fact that a few members of the Calibur community (looking at you by the way) are stuck in Idol Hell. So why not make a pun out of it?

Ganon is the Ace I have in mind. We met in Japan over karaoke and he has frequented (and won) a lot of LIYC events. As of this interview, he is only one of four players that are currently undefeated from the start of the season, so I don’t regret this choice

Fanlee is a player who has only graced PC recently, but he definitely made an impact. One of the best Maxi players around, he holds the 7 star any% world record and is an absolutely amazing person overall

Silent Joel was the other 50% of UK players who made it to Evo Japan. He’s achieved a fair amount over the time that he has played, and adding him to the Idol Stance roster was not a choice that I regret.

Valhanya: This is your very first participation at the ETL. What are the reasons behind it and what do you expect to achieve in this event ? 

Kusoge: I mainly did it because I was approached to become a captain. I honestly thought that I wouldn’t make it too far, but my main purpose is to show off some great players that exist in the team. So long as we don’t come last, I think we’ve done well with a debuting team.

Valhanya: Can you tell us more about your team environnement ? How do you work each week with your teammates and what are your goals?

Kusoge: Well, it’s kind of a mess to be honest. We often make our decisions closer to the deadline and lining up our schedules is a pain, but we definitely work off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses to perform a generally good team synergy.

Valhanya: Being a Captain in the ETL is not an easy task. How do you handle this role and what kind of qualities and mindset a Captain should have?

Kusoge: My mindset is go in and cause as much chaos as possible. My team is a textbook example of explosive, so there can be times where games will go quick. I know I barely stand a chance against most of the team, so my aim is to plan ahead, try and disrupt opponent’s pick tactics as well as I can. We have the curse of too many first picks though!

Valhanya: We already are in the middle of the round robin. What do you think of the competition so far ?

Kusoge : For me, it’s absolutely terrifying! I feel like I personally am the weakest player on the entire ETL, so essentially I am just taking every game that I can take. As for the rest of the teams, they all definitely have great levels of players and frankly, it’s too close to call.

Valhanya: This third season is very intense and unique, with ten teams with their own personality, strengths and weaknesses. What do you think about the draft and the relations between teams and is there a team that Idol Stance is or was afraid of ? 

Kusoge: The draft I feel was mostly what to expect, though initially with our first pick we did cause a huge hole in the rift. I feel like that was the first real surprise of the season, and it helped to cement Idol Stance as a chaotic team to say the least.

As for a team we are most afraid of? None that initially pop to mind. Of course, with Dark Love’s track record we are certainly nervous, but not truly afraid. The only thing we truly fear is the netcode.

 Valhanya : Do you have any favorite(s) highlight(s) to share with us ?

Kusoge: There aren’t any that immediately come to mind in terms of clips, but I feel like the upset of Fanlee taking down Ssylus was definitely a highlight for the team

Valhanya: Any last thoughts you would like to share with your readers and your fans ? 

Kusoge: For the readers, support Idol Stance, support your locals, support the ETL, LIYC, all of it. Oh, support the SC Board Game too. And for my fans… I must ask you, why? XD

Valhanya: Thank you very much for the interview. I will see you on stage for a live show next week. Fufufu.

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