Eintracht Spandau top-laner Pride on his chances at EU Masters, comparing Prime League to NLC – and the best moment of his League of Legends esports career so far

Eintracht Spandau, a new organisation to join the DACH Prime League this spring, has been turning a lot of heads in the League of Legends European Regional Leagues (ERLs) recently. Founded by streamer Maximilian ‘HandofBlood’ Knabe, they brought in an influx of fans to the Prime League, achieved a second-place finish and qualified for the European Masters, where they’re currently 1-2 in Group A.

Their Swiss top-laner Mahdi ‘Pride’ Nasserzadeh is a familiar name to UK/Nordics NLC viewers from his time with Fnatic Rising, where he made the finals of the Summer 2021 EU Masters as well as winning several regional titles. Pride sat down with Megalodontus to talk about his journey so far and some thoughts on the EU Masters.

Thank you for accepting this interview. Let’s take it from the top, you finished your season with Eintracht Spandau and while you didn’t win the Prime League, you still made it to the finals and the EU Masters. What are your reflections on your first season with them after a difficult start, to a miracle run, to a second-place finish?

Thank you. As you mentioned, we had a very hard start and we started 0-4. We also had a rough time behind the scenes in terms of scrims and things like that. So I would say, all-in-all, second place is actually still a miracle. Obviously, we would have liked to win the finals. We kind of got stomped, which always feels bad, right? But I think overall, we managed to make it to the group stage of EU Masters and that’s what really matters. 

I think we showed that like we can improve a lot in a short time span as well. I actually have a lot of faith and hope in my team that we can actually make it very far in the EU Masters.

We’ll definitely talk about the EU Masters a bit a little later down the line. Initially, what drew you to Eintracht Spandau? I know it’s owned by the streamer HandofBlood, but what drew you to the project after your time in Fnatic Rising?

Esports is all over the Twitter bubble, right? I just made an LFT (looking for team) tweet and Kevin [Westphal], team manager, shot me a message. I did tryouts and we talked about the terms and stuff, and I was really inspired by the project. I can really tell when I stream, for example, I have way more viewers than I used to in the past. 

The brand-building part of this project is also one of the things that got me in, I would say. I was in Fnatic, another big name organisation too, but they didn’t really do much for my branding, and I felt like I’m a bit behind in terms of branding compared to other players. So that was my main focus. But obviously, I also knew the roster, the coaches and the gaming house itself. So overall, it’s just a very good project.

Speaking of Fnatic, you were with them for almost two years and you won quite a lot with them. What has your experience been like coming from Fnatic to Eintracht Spandau, along with its very ardent and vocal fan base on social media?

Yeah, I think it’s really cool! I think it’s amazing how supportive the fans really are. We started at 0-4, and I read every comment, all the discord messages and stuff, and there was not a single negative comment. That’s really crazy. If you’re TSM for example, and you go 0-4, you would probably get flamed very, very hard! But we did not get flamed at all and the fans are super supportive.

Even after going 0-3 against GamerLegion in the finals, we met the fans in real life and it was just a really cool experience. I never expected this. In Fnatic, it was nowhere near like this as well so it’s really cool.

In the Prime League’s regular season, you were the MVP and the All-Pro top laner. How do you think your career and playstyle has changed since Fnatic Rising? How do you see your progress as a player?

If I compare myself to my early days in Fnatic Rising, that was the first actual pro team I was in. Before that, it was more like a hobby where I played for PF Helix, a Swiss team, as well.

Player-wise, I would say I was probably the worst player on paper at the time I joined, so I was able to absorb a lot of information and just gain knowledge from my teammates. I was surrounded by players like xMatty, Dan and MagiFelix, who all eventually went on to LEC later at some point.

I think I was very blessed with that roster because I managed to learn a lot.

What did you bring to Eintracht Spandau to allow you to grow into the player you are now?

I would say that I’m a very tilt-proof player. We went 0-4, we had really horrible scrims and I think other people would have maybe started losing faith or hope, and maybe even go on a downward spiral of negativity, but I was always very positive. When we were 0-4, I said in an interview that we’re gonna bounce back and go for a miracle run!

Looking back, I think I mainly picked this up during my time in Fnatic actually. I think all the players were super positive and we never gave up and, yeah, I think that’s the main attribute I took from my time there. But in the actual game, obviously, I took a lot of things as well like in terms of macro/micro, matchup knowledge, how to play my role and so forth.

Do you have any good memories from your time playing with Fnatic Rising?

Yeah, I think my favourite was when we reverse swept BT Excel in the UKLC final! Fun fact, that was playing against Special, who is now my mid-laner as well. But yeah, we’re 0-2 down in the UKLC Grand Finals against them and we somehow managed to reverse that. That was probably the best moment of my career, even, so at least if I think back on the moment, I was very happy and very proud with how we got the reverse sweep.

Do you still keep up with the NLC? What do you think of it this year?

I don’t really keep up with it but I did watch a bit of the NLC finals with X7 Esports winning. We also scrimmed against X7 too. I think the NLC as a whole is probably…as weak as Prime League, I would say.

But I think X7 are a step up above the rest, they are a very strong opponent for sure. I think they will probably be underestimated, which is good for them. The NLC should do pretty decently at this EU Masters.

Alright, onto the EU Masters. With Eintracht Spandau at 1-2 and still having a chance to make it out of groups, what have been your impressions of your group and performances so far?

While a 1-2 start is obviously not ideal, I think we proved that we have what it takes to win vs any team here at EUM. In every game we managed to get early game leads and if we can snowball these better and close out the games convincingly, we will be a very scary team.

You previously spoke about the NLC being as weak as Prime League. What are your thoughts on the teams that you see in EU Masters generally, or at least the other regions, in comparison to the Prime League right now?

I would say the French LFL is obviously at the very top, I think that’s like a general consensus, and with the Spanish LVP Superliga being a close second. I think both of these leagues kind of evolved to become like a mini LEC, basically. They have a lot of very good players and a lot of expensive players as well.

I think that those two leagues just developed a lot and also in terms of viewership and stuff. That’s something that the Prime League has done very well with this year, with Eintracht Spandau, but we’re still lagging a bit behind compared to the other big regions. 

Are there any teams you are keeping an eye on?

I think LDLC OL are gonna be a favourite to win the entire thing, as well as Fnatic Academy, or Fnatic TQ now as they’re known. I also have a personal rivalry against them of course. Rhuckz, Bean and Maxi are my ex-teammates so it’s like a rivalry between us. I honestly hope that I get the chance to face them.

What about facing Karmine Corp, since you went against them in the finals last summer with Fnatic Rising and lost 3-2. Do you hope to meet them again, exact revenge and show them you’re the better ‘streamer team’?

I would very much like a second chance at beating KCorp. We did lose against them and it was pretty close. But I think they are a bit different now and they are not as strong as they used to be, for whatever reason. I don’t know why, because we haven’t really scrimmed them or anything so I can’t really tell. 

It will be cool to get revenge against them though and it’s always fun to play against KCorp, because they also have a ridiculously supportive fanbase. It will be like the German fans against the French fans, and I think it would be cool for the viewers too.

Before we end, now that you’ve had such a strong season on Eintracht Spandau, what are your personal goals as a player?

I was so close to winning EU Masters, so my number one goal is to win the EU Masters. But I have a bunch of individual goals or smaller goals. I just want to be the type of player that everyone can rely on that will also have his pop-off moments. This is the mindset I will always go into the games with.

I just want to be proud when I look back on the games at how I played. I mean, my name is ‘Pride’ after all! 

What about ‘LEC Pride’ in the near future?

I know I said winning EU Masters is like the end goal, but LEC is actually the end goal. To be able to make it to the LEC is my biggest goal.

Fair enough, we hope to see you there one day! We’ve come to the end of the interview. Do you have any final thoughts or have any shoutouts you’d like to give?

Not too much. Shoutouts to our sponsors, of course. Also, a big, big, big shoutout to the fans! As I mentioned, it’s amazing how supportive all the fans are. So I just want to make sure that everyone knows that and that I’m very grateful for their support.

Pride and Eintracht Spandau play the second round of their EU Masters campaign on Sunday April 24th 2022. You can catch them on the EU Masters Twitch channel.

Megalodontus

Megalodontus is a miraculous survivor from the mass extinction and somehow learnt how to use his stubby fins to operate complicated mechanical equipment and drink tea. Worryingly for cryptozoologists, he’s been writing League of Legends articles too.

A self-taught writer who’s had the privilege to work with good editors who aren’t terrified of his pearly whites, Megalodontus is often seen writing either independently or for various websites such as this one. When not writing, he usually runs it down mid in real life and is fascinated with watching paint dry.