neLo interview

R6 / News / 11 September 2019 — 15:34

neLo - on esports in Croatia, the start of your career and tournaments

Before the start of the second half of the 10th season of the Pro League, we talked to Leon "neLo" Pesic. Leon spoke about the start of his career, commented on recent tournaments, and shared his views on the new operatives.

— First, tell your fans about yourself.

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Hello everyone, I am Leon "neLo" Pesić 22 years old professional Rainbow 6 player from Croatia

— How did you arrive at the decision to become an esports player? Who gave you a push in the direction?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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I always wanted to compete and when I started playing Counter Strike I realized that I really enjoy to outplay people. I had to grind a lot and make logic decisions to get where I am now.

— How did you manage to persuade your family that you will be able to sustain yourself with this endeavor? How do your relatives look at it now?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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My family was actually pretty supportive they even understand some parts of a game now and even watch my games.

— Why did you choose Rainbow Six Siege? Have you considered any other options?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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I was playing Counter-Strike, League of Legends and Overwatch on high levels before the siege. Challenger rank in League and top 30 DPS in Overwatch so I knew I can be good in any competitive game but I never actually made it to Pro level in these games. I didn't really enjoy Overwatch after some updates and I tried Rainbow 6 on a free weekend that’s how everything began.

— Talking about esports as a whole, do you follow any other titles as a fan?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Counter-strike, League of Legends, sometimes I watch Rocket League and Smash ultimate.

— What is the status quo of esports in Croatia? Is Rainbow Six Siege one of the leading titles there?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Esport is developing really slowly in Croatia, I would say two main titles are CSGO and LOL. Siege is not that popular in Croatia but I'm working on it :)

— Your nickname is quite interesting. How did you come up with it?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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My nickname is actually my real name Leon just scrambled letters into neLo.

— Talking about sports, have you been doing anything? Have you ever thought about becoming a professional sports player?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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I was training football and then basketball for 9 years and I was actually doing pretty good in basketball but I had a couple of injuries and didn't really push for a professional basketball career. Basketball taught me a lot how to play in a team and work together for our goals.

— What do you do in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Basketball, hanging out, games.

— Do you have time for other games? What online or single-player games have you played recently?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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I'm playing some other games like WoW Classic, a lot of Nintendo Switch games and I am currently waiting for Borderlands 3.

— Recently, the developers added 2 new operators — Amaru and Goyu. Thoughts?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Goyo is overpowered at the moment I think he should have only 2 shields and fire shouldn't last that long, for Amaru she looks promising but really situational she is not bringing any utility to the team but if you can catch the enemy team off guard with a quick push or late-round rotations she can be useful

— Battle Pass didn’t have a great reception by the fans. What’s your attitude towards it?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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I'm fine with it you will probably earn a lot more rewards(skins) this way.

— It’s impossible to miss Rainbow Six Siege pro scene. Have you watched Six Major Raleigh 2019? What can you say about the event?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Major was great, the "Russian Machines" in the face of Team Empire took first bo5 finals against veterans G2 Esports, I just wish we were there and we will do everything we can to make it to Six Invitational 2020.

— What teams were the most memorable for you? In your opinion, what is the strongest team on the pro scene now?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Team Empire is probably strongest, but top 4 teams on Major were from Europe that shows how strong our region is. forZe and Team Secret are from EU Challenger League as well.

— You are currently on a small break from pro play. What is your rest routine? Are you practicing, or resting?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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I am playing some ranked in Rainbow Six, just to keep up my aim but I am trying to play less Rainbow Six at the moment because soon we will grind a lot and I don't want to burn out.

— You’ve played a show match during an event by Ubisoft. What’s your impressions?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Ubisoft took great care for our team and we had a lot of fun at the event. I hope we will have more chances to do something like that again. Also meeting all the fans is always nice!

— Talking about the games of the yellow-blacks, the second half of Pro League Season 10 is starting very soon. Are you getting ready for the fights? Are you morally ready to fight for one of the 2 top spots?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Our goal is still to finish top 2 in EU Pro League and we are working towards that goal, upcoming bootcamp will help a lot as well. We are more than ready to get new victories.

— Who is your main rival, in your opinion? And where should you definitely secure points?

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Main rivals are Team Vitality because we want our revenge for the last few games and also Giants Gaming because we need to beat them if we want to get to Japan.

— Finally, a few words for the fans who support you.

Leon «neLo» Pesić

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Thank you, everyone, who is supporting me it means a lot, I am with this team from day 1 and we are not planning to stop until we reach our goals.