"It was a bittersweet victory, I was extremely happy because I qualified for my first overseas event, but [because] I had taken out a fellow teammate I was pretty sad. Beating Revenant was a big task for me.”

 

It’s a great feeling when you win your first major tournament, but it’s an even better feeling when you win by beating the top dog in the competition. Thomas ‘Blitz’ Kopankiewicz’s win over Marcus ‘Revenant’ Tan at the Singapore AEC qualifier at TGX may well be remembered as the watershed moment of his gaming career. By beating Revenant, Blitz experienced the thrill of attending a major eSports event for the first time ever.

 

We caught up with Blitz after his return from the AEC in Japan. “You have to be much more prepared than usual going into such events, and be able to calm yourself down no matter environmental pressure or game pressure.” Attending huge international events like the AEC will no doubt provide the youngster with valuable experience, as well as improve his game.

 

It is vital that he improves, and that he improves quickly. Enlistment for Flash eSports’ top two SC2 players Revenant and Ryan ‘Kyzer’ Low will only serve to heap more pressure on Blitz. Many observers expect the Flash team to struggle next year, but he believes otherwise: “I’m sure even in their free time both Rev and Kyzer will still be practicing, one good example is Drake, he has been enlisted quite some time already, but his skill level is still up there amongst all top SEA players. Enlisting is by no means the end of a career of a player, Flash SC2 will still be fighting strong.”

 

Team EVE is seen by many as the most viable threat to Flash eSports’ dominance of the SC2 scene in Singapore, particularly because of the immense talent of Jason ‘Yekke’ Chan. The ‘Flash killer’ took Gold at the IESF Singapore qualifier in September by comprehensively beating Revenant and Kyzer. Instead of being fearful of such a strong opponent, Blitz is looking forward to facing him in future competitions. “All games must have a ‘Boss level’, no ‘Boss level’ you won’t feel the victory. That being said, I believe Flash SC2 is the strongest team in Singapore now.”

Flash.SC2 line-up

Thomas is only 17 this year and will graduate from Temasek Polytechnic in 2015. The young Protosser’s best years are still ahead of him. Follow him via his official Facebook Fanpage.