Meet Your SC2ITL Playoff Teams - Nuit Blanche
Nuit Blanche are a French a team who came out of the gates strong and then never stopped in Group C of the SC2ITL. Going unbeaten in the groups shows that they are not a team to be messed with - but with a potential match against mYinsanity looming in the RO8 it is going to be an early wrench in their gears as they get started in the playoffs.
Surprisingly for a team of their standard in the league, their current roster have no major tournament results to show, compared to other teams who have a handful of Koreans or top EU players who have runs under their belts into international tournaments and who can come out as the ace at a moments notice for their team. They just recently lost Lilbow to XMG, who has just recently had a very good run into the WCS Premier League RO32 knocking out ForGG. This is the level of players which Nuit Blanche produces - and this is why they are so far undefeated.
They are a team with a reputation though - having come top of multiple French tournaments in Brood War - and that means they are no strangers to winning. This has continued to some extent in Starcraft II, as their players have brought them a long way in other team leagues such as a third place finish in SC2CTL and qualifying for the Cascade Clan League.
The remaining players to look out for in their roster are Elroye, Indy and Snitchables, players you may have heard of before but haven’t seen much of outside of Weekly ZOTAC or GO4SC2 Cups. But as with any team which has a deep roster of Grand Master Players - they have the ability to take down anybody if the matches fall in their favor - which we have seen can happen all so easily already in the SC2ITL Season 1.
To get a bit of an insight into the minds of Nuit Blanche we took a few minutes of their manager’s - Léo ‘Only’ Mordant - time to ask some questions and to see how they are feeling about the remainder of the league.
Wardi : Congratulations on making the playoffs, how have you been enjoying the league?
Only : Thanks !! Well all I can say is that the league is pretty cool and pleasant to play, you deal well to keep an eye on each clan war. Moreover we faced every time fair play and manner teams so that was a pleasure to play against them.
Wardi : Did you expect to perform so well as to be currently undefeated in your group with one of the best map-scores in the league?
Only : Kinda, yes. We played many clan wars in the past months, so my players are used to it. Futhermore, I had the chance to have a player like Lilbow to win some hard clan wars, unfortunately he left us some weeks ago so we will have to win without him !
Wardi : With only a few matches remaining to be played it looks very likely that you will secure first in the group and move straight into the RO8 of the playoffs. Are there any teams you want to avoid on your half of the bracket?
Only : Yeah, mYinsanity, Alien Invasion or LYGF are very solid teams. But I wouldn't say I don't wanna face them, it's always a good experience to fight against stronger people, brings you a lot even if you lose !
Wardi : Personally I did not know very much about your team before the SC2ITL. Do you want to tell us a bit about your team and a couple of your top players?
Only : We're not very well known on the community even if we are one of the oldest teams in Europe (since 1996 !). We are building a very long term project to become the best french team, like we did on BroodWar. At the moment, our very best players are Elroye from Swiss and funkay from Poland (MaNa's brother). Like I said, we had Lilbow since the last two weeks but he left for XMG !
Wardi : Best of luck in your remaining games and in the playoffs. If you have any final words, sponsors or shoutouts to mention then please feel free!
Only : I would like to thank you for the awesome job you're doing in this league ! And of course thanks to our fellow sponsor http://www.worldofcdkeys.com/ : ) Keep going ! Glhf to everyone.
A big thanks to Only not only for his time but for also bringing his team in and playing some highly entertaining games through the course of the league so far. Unfortunately they have landed in the lower half of the bracket, where they could meet mYinsanity, Love Your Girlfriend and Alien Invasion all before they reach the finals - but with confidence there is no reason they cannot still make it! Best of luck to them as they embark on this final journey in the first Season of the SC2ITL.
Nuit Blanche - Group C - Position : 1st - Wins : 13 - Losses : 0 - Map Wins : 52 - Map Losses : 17 - All-kills : 4