HoneyBadger on Team UK’s chances at PUBG Nations Cup 2023: ‘I’m hyped and ready to work hard to help us dominate for a second year in a row’

Esports News UK editor Dom Sacco catches up with British PUBG player Joe ‘HoneyBadger’ Haylock in this quickfire interview. He’s competing in the $300,000 PUBG Nations Cup (PNC) 2023 with Team UK who are looking to retain their title as one of 16 teams involved.

HoneyBadger is new to the team this year, replacing Michael ‘mykLe’ Wake, and looks to make an impact as the tournament gets underway from September 15th (today) to 17th 2023. Last year, tournament MVP Vard bagged the most kills (36), and Fexx held the most assists (23), sealing the deal for the UK. Across the squad they’ve won over $1m in PUBG prize money. 

(Update: Team UK ended up finishing second, behind South Korea)

Esports News UK: The UK won the 2022 PUBG Nations Cup last year, how does it feel to represent your country on the big stage again?

HoneyBadger: I’m really hyped to join my teammates on the stage, and I’m ready to work hard to help them dominate for a second year in a row.

I’m excited to play on LAN again, and the chance to represent my country doing what I love, is something I’m very grateful for. I’m just happy to be playing the game with these guys.

What do you think of your chances of retaining the title?

I’m pretty confident that we wiIl win. My teammates are so experienced and confident, and they made me feel right at home immediately during our practice games leading up to the event.

I understand my role and Teabone’s IGLing is comfortable and familiar to me. Our team is made up of four smart, talented shooters, so we’ll have no trouble this year.

Which country do you think is your biggest threat going into this year’s PNC?

I think anybody should be looking at the teams who have a strong core three of their main roster. That’s like, Korea, USA, Vietnam and Germany to me. Those are the teams I expect to be the most consistent.

The advantage of a practiced routine and gameplan can’t be overlooked. I’m not too worried about the other mix teams to be honest.

What would it mean to you to become the first nation to claim back-to-back trophies?

That’d be so cool. It’d be my first win anyway, but to help the lads secure back-to-back is just the most exciting thing. You’ll see lots of smiles if it happens 🙂

PUBG Esports has changed and evolved since the game first launched. How do you see the future of competitive PUBG, and what changes or improvements would you like to see in the game or the competitive scene?

PUBG is a delicate and complex esport and even the smallest change can have such a big impact. In the game I’d like to see the emergency pickup and panzer be rebalanced or reconsidered due to its game-changing effects and power level.

I’d also just like to continue to see ranked and esports further align with some bigger rewards for ranked to incentivise people to try harder and to encourage content around the game.

I think the growth of the esport scene is closely tied to more casual players becoming invested into the esport and a really important place to start is to get people feeling the competitive desire through very solid rank rewards. Exclusive gun skins etc for ranked would go a long way to impact the game’s growth and give the players something to play for.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I hope you cheer for the UK this year to bring home another trophy! I’m excited to see [the map] Vikendi play out and some of the new features be further tried out by players. Good luck to all.

Thanks for your time, HoneyBadger, and good luck in the PNC.

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.