Mittaen: “The duo of me and arju kind of goes under the radar.”
We spoke with Dutch RLCS player Mitchell "Mittaen" Driessen to discuss RLCS 2021-22, bringing Keever "Smokez" Ryan to the Monkeys, and the wider Rocket League scene.
Mittaen competing at Dreamhack Valencia 2019 - Photo courtesy of @ZeeboDesigns
Shift: Starting with RLCS 2021-22, how would you summarize your experience last season? Were you happy with what you ended up achieving?
Mittaen: “I’d say I’m happy and disappointed at the same time. I’m happy that we made all Regionals and compete for Majors because that was the goal at the beginning, but not to make any Majors in the way we did was kind of disappointing.”
Despite qualifying for every regional in RLCS 2021-22, you struggled to really compete for the major spots with your highest placement being a 3rd-4th in the Fall Split. What was ultimately stopping the roster from making that step up?
“Hard to say to be honest. I think it was our nerves and the pressure because once we were in a good spot, nerves took over and we just trolled.”
Misfits were one of only a few teams in Europe not to make a roster change throughout RLCS 2021-22, why did it end up like that?
“We had good faith in each other on the pitch, so we wanted to make it as a team and perform as a team because we had faith in each other. After the Winter Split we decided to take a break and regain even though we ended up trolling the third Split as well. I’d say the reason we stuck was because we had faith throughout the whole season.”
Should more teams have faith in each other, and do you think people give up too easily?
“I’m always the type of guy who thinks sticking is more helpful than splitting and trying to find someone new constantly. It really depends on the roster; if you have the feeling that something can work out then I think you should stick more often than not, because sometimes people do split a bit too soon. Sometimes, however, splitting can be a good way to find something fresh if you think that’s the right choice.”
Many fans saw Kash as your star player on Misfits and someone who could go places. What was he like as a teammate and where do you see his ceiling now that he’s on Quadrant?
“I’d say Kash has always been a good player, as a teammate he’s always very hype and emotional in game. That wasn’t always the best thing to be honest, but most of the time it really helped us out. I think he can do well in Quadrant as long as he and his team don’t have any issues.”
Were you expecting him to leave the roster at the end of RLCS 2021-22?
“No, not really. We basically said ‘lets just take a break and see what we are going to do’, but I didn’t really expect him to leave.”
You guys entered free agency in July, were there any discussions on either side to renew your contracts with Misfits?
“No, Misfits were completely pulling out of European esports so there wasn’t much we could do, but being a part of Misfits at the time was amazing. They did everything they could do to help us out, so I’m really happy we were a part of it.”
You and arju have been teammates for over two years now. What are his qualities as a teammate and why have you stuck as a duo for so long?
“For most people, arju is going under the radar. He is an amazing teammate and he’s very stupid with his humour which makes him a funny guy. He is a bit of a doofus sometimes, but he’s a great player on the pitch and a good teammate to be around off the pitch.”
What are your strongest characteristics as a player and a teammate?
“I’d say that I am a very solid teammate. I always try to be very communicative with the team and people who work around the team. I am always very honest with what I think is going wrong, which is not always the best thing. I try to be solid, communicative and I attempt to fill spaces that need to be filled.”
Once Kash left the roster, were there any discussions in the offseason to go your separate ways?
“Not really. In the beginning of the offseason, we said we’d try out as many people as we can. Later on in the offseason, we did get separate offers from other teams to try out, so the discussions were there but the general idea was to stick.”
While a few people were aware of Smokez behind the scenes, it's fair to say that to the casual fan he was an unknown quantity. Take us through the process of scouting and bringing Smokez onboard to the roster.
“Smokez has been around in ranked and qualifiers for about a season now. In ranked, he’s always shitting on everyone, even on myself as well. We tried to trial as many people as possible in the offseason to find someone who could be a decent fit for our team. Smokez was one of the last players we were happy to try out more with and in the end we just picked him up.”
There has been quite a lot of talk about teams putting faith in up-and-coming talents for RLCS 2022-23. ApparentlyJack and noly picked up Chronic, Shopify Rebellion got 2Piece and SK Gaming brought on Nass. Did you consider Smokez a gamble on an up-and-coming player, or did you just believe he was one of the best players you could get on the market?
“A bit of both. It is a gamble to go with someone who is pretty inexperienced because you don’t know how they will do in tournaments. Its always a gamble, in a way, because you don’t know if he can keep up the way he’s been playing in scrims. So yes, it’s a bit of a gamble, but we scrimmed a lot with him as well so we knew what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to go with him. We think it was the right choice and he can become a very good player over the next few seasons.”
What are the key differences between your current roster and the Misfits roster? How have you and arju adapted to Smokez?
“Our playstyle has kind of shifted from individual- to more teamplay-oriented. We are way more team-focused now rather than last season, which is a huge shift.”
Do you think that if you’re more team-focused, you have more trouble breaking teams down? Or do you think it's easier to play like that?
“It’s hard to say, breaking down teams has never been an issue for us; its more about our finishing. We’ve had a lot of times where we aim for shots and hit the crossbar, but when we’re having a good day there isn’t really an issue with breaking teams down and scoring.”
“The duo of me and arju kind of go under the radar.”
What is your main goal as a team now for RLCS 2022-23?
“I’d say the main thing is trying to compete and qualify for Majors. We want to make every Regional because if we can’t do that then we can’t qualify for Majors.”
You’ve been a steady presence in the RLCS for almost two years now with multiple different lineups, do you get the feeling that fans underestimate you?
“Sometimes, I do have the feeling that the duo of me and arju kind of goes under the radar because we did well with eekso, hit a top 8 with Bluey and did well with Kash. Most people say that eekso and Kash were the carries for example, but we’ve done it with every roster possible at this point. That’s why we are going under the radar a bit.”
You spent a couple of years in the bubble scene coming up and you have experienced the highs and lows of either qualifying for the Rival Series, or crashing out of the play-in. What are your thoughts on all the discourse surrounding the bubble scene currently?
“I think with the current state of the RLCS we’ve basically gone back to the old Rival Series system where bubble players need to wait a long time before they are able to compete again. I think it is an issue, but I don’t think it would be an issue if there were tournaments for bubble teams from Psyonix itself. For example, when the invitational is happening, you could host a tournament a week or two after where you exclude the top 16. It would help grow the bubble scene much faster.”
“We are nowhere near being a top tier esport.”
Do you think current bubble players get more or less opportunities than you did back in the day?
“From RLCS X onwards, they’ve gotten way more opportunities with The Field, The Grid and stuff like that compared to when I was playing in the bubble scene, because we only had the Rival Series and some ESL tournaments. I was only a part of that for a few months because it was at the point where ESL ended and there was only the Rival Series. I do think they have more opportunities now, as the bubble scene gets looked at way more than it did before.”
On that note, could you assess the health of Rocket League currently? Are you happy with the way things are being handled as a professional player?
“I’d say its a 50/50. The communication from Psyonix is sometimes very good, but at other times it's a bit frustrating to be a part of the scene. Overall, I would say Rocket League is in a decent state to move forward. Although, I think people who say that Rocket League is a tier one esport are exaggerating because we are nowhere near being a top tier esport.”
The Netherlands has quite a storied history in Rocket League with legendary players like ViolentPanda and Remkoe, but currently, there is a new generation of Dutch players pushing to the top. Who do you consider the best Dutch player at the moment?
“Joreuz. When he has motivation and when he grinds the game, he just shits on everybody. He’s like AztraL in RLCS Season 9 when he was on Dignitas, when you see them go for the ball you just shit your pants. Only some players have those qualities and he’s one of them.”
Is there anyone from the wider bubble scene that has caught your eye?
“Its a bit of an obvious one, zen.”
Do you think he will have any trouble adapting to professional Rocket League?
“Not at all, I think he’ll just fit right in. I think it’ll be similar to Daniel in North America where it will probably take him a split to get used to the environment, but when he’s in the scene he’ll be very good at the game.”
What can the Monkeys achieve this season? Can Psyonix do more to support the bubble scene? Let us know on Twitter @ShiftRLE, and make sure to keep up with Shift for all of your rostermania news!
