Jacob “HisWattson” McMillin’s ALGS story is a truly remarkable one. The American well known for being a ladder grinder, was picked up just a few days before the Last Chance Qualifiers. He now finds himself playing on stage for FURIA at a $2 million event and the ALGS Championships Day 2 kill leader with 44 kills.
ALGS Group stage recap: Furia top standings as Alliance stumble into loser’s bracket
Strong performances from Furia through the ALGS Group stage meant they topped the standings as TSM are starting to find their stride. Alliance stumbled into the Loser’s bracket with inconsistent performances across 18 games.
FURIA Esports were phenomenal in the group stage, and finished 1st with 176 points, 10 points ahead of their closest rival. Outside of being a priceless last minute recruit, HisWattson has also been pivotal in the rise in popularity of Seer as a legend. Well known for being outspoken, we spoke to HisWattson just after FURIA secured 1st place in the group stage.
FURIA finished 1st in the group stage on overall points and kills
Malystryx: You had incredible results in the groups, but what was the highlight so far of the Group Stage for you?
HisWattson: “I’ve been having fun for sure. I go against the grain a lot in Apex and I’m very vocal about it. People don’t really like it – I definitely have a lot of haters for sure. Showing up and constantly being one of the best players and showing them up every time feels really good.
That’s probably my favorite part, is going on the Subreddit after and just seeing all the people saying they won’t do good, he won’t get Rank 1, he won’t do good at LAN, that kind of stuff, that’s fun seeing. Once I get home I go to the Apex Subreddit and just laugh at people.”
Malystryx: On the topic of going against the grain, you play Seer, a Legend not many people play. You were also quite instrumental in him being as popular as he is now in the ALGS Championships. What did you see in Seer that you think other people missed?
HisWattson: “I think he is really hard to play. I guess I wasn’t the first person to play Seer, obviously. But I was definitely the one that popularized it, the first big player that was playing him.
Seer was really strong when he came out but he was also hard to play. So after they gave him a huge nerf and people started playing him and realized the difficulty, they just went ‘oh my games aren’t going good, so Seer must not be very good’, and went back to Bloodhound.
I feel like not many people gave Seer a chance, and Apex is about doing good over a long period of time. I was just bored one day playing ranked because I play 8 hours a day. I play a LOT, and I kind of get bored of playing the same legends.
I ended up playing with a friend who was going for Rank 1 and I locked in Seer and they were like ‘if you lock him again I’m going to get off’.
“I don’t really care what people think about me, I want to just live as myself. When it comes to Apex, something I’m really good at, I want to make my own decisions. I saw Seer and I just believed myself that he was really good and it turned out great.”
-Hiswattson
The next day however, I wasn’t playing with them and I just kept thinking how much fun I had playing Seer and just kept playing him. He felt pretty good and I just kept thinking to myself ‘wow this character is insane, why is nobody playing him?’.
With Seer I helped two people get to Rank 1, and then in the third Split I got Rank 1 playing Seer. By the time I started playing in the ALGS, people had started realizing Seer is worth learning. I think there’s actually a lot of other characters that are viable but people don’t really give them a chance, they just copy whatever is popular at the time.
Malystryx: In your life, are you someone that normally goes against the grain or is this something unique to Apex? Because most people like to pick what is popular.
HisWattson: Yes and no. I don’t really care what people think about me, I want to just live as myself. When it comes to Apex, something I’m really good at, I want to make my own decisions. I saw Seer and I just believed myself that he was really good and it turned out great. In my life I don’t really listen to other people. For example, the shoes I have on right now are so ugly and torn about, but I’m not going to change them because of what people think about me, I’m just going to keep wearing my ugly shoes. I’d say to an extent I go against the grain, but not just out of principle of being different.
Malystryx: You said you don’t care about what people think of you. I’m guessing it would make this stage element a bit easier. You haven’t had much experience on stage, what was it like for you?
HisWattson: “The only thing that was a challenge was the different setup. Outside of that I feel I did better on stage because I just don’t really care. If I make a goof of myself it doesn’t matter. I try to be me, to be the best I can be.
Most people here at ALGS Champs, I’m never going to see ever again so I don’t worry about it, if I do something stupid and they see it I really don’t care. That said, the fans are one reason I’ve got to this point, because they support me so I’m glad to see them. Interacting with them that’s been really cool.”
Malystryx: The ALGS Championships is a chance to play versus international teams you may never have faced. Which teams have stood out to you?
HisWattson: “EXO Clan for sure. I don’t really keep up with other regions but they really surprised me. DreamFire also did really well, I didn’t expect that at all.”
Malystryx: DreamFire also dropped at your POI and you had of a fun exchange on Twitter afterwards. What exactly happened?
HisWattson: “DreamFire kept landing in our spot and we ended up being the two teams with the highest kills. The fact we 3-0ed them in the same spot was really fun for sure, very satisfying. Also 9 Kill Points.”
Malystryx: Any other team that you brings you satisfaction killing?
HisWattson: “GMT have been giving me a hard time so probably them. It just seems like every time they come anywhere near me we both die. It’s like we both have terrible luck any time we see each other. Any chance to kill them is satisfying.”
“I like being cocky to throw people off but genuinely I feel like we are a top 3 team for sure and if we don’t get that I would not be happy about it’
HisWattson from Furia
Malystryx: So with such a great performance in the groupstage where would you see yourself placing?
HisWattson: “If we don’t get a top 5, I would be extremely disappointed. But we are definitely a top 3 team. The best team doesn’t always win, that’s just the nature of battle royale. But a top 3 for sure, I’ll be pretty happy with. I’m not the kind of guy that would be like super cocky, just be genuine about it.
I like being cocky to throw people off but genuinely I feel like we are a top 3 team for sure and if we don’t get that I would not be happy about it.”
HisWattson on stage preparing for Day 3
Malystryx: What would you like to see in the ALGS next year?
HisWattson: “Well I think the character meta right now is pretty good. I think what they need to remove are things that – which they might not do because I’ve seen them purposely do the opposite – is removing things that let like a weaker player kill a better player. Like Arc Star sticks for example is really random.
Most of the time when a pro player gets stuck with an Arc Star it’s not on purpose. For example when I stuck someone with an Arc Star today it was completely by accident it was HUGE, even though it was a random chance thing.
For example the Kraber or the Mastiff, those kind of things let someone win just because they got lucky. Because you don’t really go hunting for Packs, you just happen to find them near you. So overall stuff where an RNG effect gives you a huge advantage I’d like to see change. Obviously if you find a Purple or Blue armor that’s different. However, some things are just too RNG and impactful, and Arc Stars are definitely up there for me.”
Malystryx: What about the format? Are you a fan of the Match Point format?
HisWattson: “The Match Point format is not very good for players but it is fun to watch. For that reason I do not want it removed, but if you really want the game to come down to skill, then for sure the Match Point system is not very good.
For me though, the Finals system we have now is fun, its pretty good and I like it.”
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