Interviewing Noé “NoerA” Hassen — Inside The Minds of Siege
In esports, hard work and dedication pay off in the long run. If you are talented and fully committed to your goals, you will always see a clear progression as you go up the ladder. However, as one can imagine, it’s not an easy task. Here, very few people can achieve global stardom and claim international titles. Most will fail once or twice and give up, but not everyone.
Noé “NoerA” Hassen is one of those people who always keep pushing forward, no matter what. Despite a bumpy career, the Frenchman still craves for more and shows constant progress, but will he ever achieve his goals? Let’s see what Noé wants to say about his past, present and future.
To start things off, we wanted to ask you about your beginnings in gaming and in competitive Rainbow Six.
“I just started playing at a friend’s house and I immediately fell in love with it. Shortly after I bought it on my first PC. Then I discovered the world of esports. I didn’t know what to do with my life until that day, I had the impression that something had awakened in me and it told me “you were made for it”. I had just finished my senior year so I went for it and started playing competitively. I’ve been playing video games ever since I was a child, I never really knew what to do with my life, I never had an idea and I immediately became passionate about it. It requires skill, talent and a lot of sacrifice. I think I’m lucky to have all these traits.”
Can you walk us through the different episodes of your career? Specifically about all the teams you have played for. What exactly happened with them, why you kept changing teams, and how you felt about the fact that you never stayed in one team for more than a few months?
“In fact I made a lot of teams I started with a team of friends who played a lot of the game we all had the same motivation (to be pro) and had managed to qualify for the French Cup and the Paris Games Week it was our first year and my ambition to become a pro player was just growing up after that I got an offer for an English speaking team (Method) where I met Kaktus and Kendrew. I stayed a few months after we failed to qualify for the Challenger League, the team split so I went back with my mates. A few months later rxwd contacted me to play the finals of the Benelux League in a mix and we won. It was my first victory and to have had it with friends was really heavy! After that I tried again to qualify for the CL with my former squad. We reached the finals with P4 and ZephiR, but ultimately we failed.”
“When the Gamers Assembly ended, I got invited to play with a mix of pro players and that’s where I met RevaN, ENEMY, Elemzje and Aherys. They are really golden people and I remember having a lot of fun playing with them. After that ZephiR contacted me once again to join MCES with a contract (it was my first time!) and to play the French League with Shiinka, RaFaLe, and Lion. We went to a bootcamp before going to our first international LAN event, DreamHack Valencia, where we managed to qualify for the pro bracket, but then got eliminated before the playoffs. Despite some tension in the team I had a really good time with these guys.”
“After the DreamHack came the CL qualifiers which I ended up failing once again. After that failure I remember the biggest challenge yet: I was tired of getting so close to the objective over and over again, so I clearly said to myself that I wasn’t working hard enough. And despite everything that I have done, I still wasn’t on the level I needed. I swore to work harder, to analyse my POVs, strategies, executions and all the things that were a bit off, yet clearly made the difference.”
“After MCES I was contacted by Liven who was keeping an eye on me. They were missing a player for the Grizi project which I later joined, but after some complications we were dropped and we ended up competing in the French League with two new players, under the name of Team Fawkes. We’re going to fail again and miss our place in Challenger for a change. After this defeat I was really upset but my hope was reborn when DIVIZON’s coach, Mrofficer, offered me a trial. They had a Challenger League spot so I went for it obviously and I was happy I was finally going to play at this level with some very talented players. We were also going to join a big org, but a few weeks later Astro and Pacbull announced that they were going to trial for two other teams, and that Mrofficer also received a different offer. After that the team split. After all of this Kapkan sent me a message telling me that I can play with them with the split spot.”
“There were four of them and they were missing a player, so I accepted because I still wanted to play in CL even with a team that I hadn’t even trained with, and I still wanted to learn from the Challenger. Was that the correct decision, was that what I should have done? I don’t know. I didn’t manage to show my true potential, it was hard, we were playing in a chaotic way, there wasn’t really any strategy, and we couldn’t even qualify for the playoffs. Indeed, I have the impression that I’ve never had the opportunity to play in optimal conditions in the long run — only for a few weeks at a time. It’s quite frustrating.”
Are there any people who have helped or inspired you in the past 3 years?
“Of course, I am fortunate to have many gaming friends with whom I share the same passion and energy. Many of them have a lot of talent which pushes me up a lot. Since the beginning of my career I have known players who are now playing for the best teams in Europe. Playing with them inspires me and brings me a lot of benefits. All these friends motivate me to never give up and to continue despite the defeats. My parents are also very supportive and I thank them for believing in me even though I haven’t reached my goal yet.”
Have you ever had a mentor in Rainbow Six, someone who helped you more than the others?
“I want to say Elemzje, he brought me a lot of experience and it’s always very productive to play with him. He would even explain quite a lot of things to me in custom games at the beginning of my career. Then there is of course Shaiiko who treats me as his “apostle”. He is a great friend who obviously inspires me a lot.”
If you had the power to place yourself in any team in the world, what team would that be and why? And do you think you would fit that roster well?
“Of course it’s got to be BDS. I only have friends in this lineup and I think it’s the most important thing in a team, same with Tempra. They are my friends with whom I would love to share trophies. I think I have my place in every roster. I’m a guy who adapts well, and I’ve gained this experience from the many teams I’ve been part of.”
Is there anyone, in esports or outside of it, you would consider your role model, someone to look up to?
“No one in particular, but I get a lot of inspiration from the great sportsmen or the best CS:GO players in terms of their hard work, their ambition and their way of thinking. Niko for his individuality, Zywoo for his positioning and timing, as well as the fact he makes very few mistakes, which is very impressive. And Dev1ce, because despite all of his failures in the past, he is now where he is. It’s seriously motivating.”
Have your personal goals changed since the very beginning? Were you always hungry for success in the highest leagues, or did you want to advance your career in small steps?
“Since the beginning I have always aimed for the top, that’s my way of thinking, otherwise I would never be satisfied. For me, if we don’t succeed, it’s because we haven’t been working hard enough.”
For me, if we don’t succeed, it’s because we haven’t been working hard enough.
What are the biggest hurdles you had to overcome during your career?
“To be honest, I’ve had quite a few, I even think that many would have stopped me in my place. I’ve had some very painful defeats when my dream slipped through my fingers… It’s been hard but I’m hanging in there…”
Can you name a few of those painful defeats? And how did they affect you — did they ruin your motivation, or the contrary, did they make you work even harder?
“My biggest obstacles have been the Challenger League qualifiers. Each time I was trying to be stronger, to finally qualify, but I always failed and each time I was so close. It has always been motivating me because I try to be stronger, to find the silver lining. In the end I’ve learned a lot from my defeats, even though I had this feeling of stagnation.”
From today’s perspective, do you have any advice for your former self?
“I would tell myself to hang in there, because it’s going to be a long journey!”
What was the single best moment or success of your career?
“I’ve really had a lot of good moments despite all of the defeats I’ve experienced. The first things that come to my mind is getting qualified for the 6Cup 2018, when everything came down to the very last round of a full Bo3, or my victory in the Benelux League, when we won the trophy after my 1vs3 clutch. It was really cool, especially since those were some of the very few moments when you can finally meet the people you play with online.”
What are your general thoughts on FPL? Do you think it can help your career in the long run?
“I have always wanted to play in something like FPL because it’s the best way to practice outside of scrims. I find it much more beneficial than playing ranked with and against completely random people.”
You said you haven’t reached your goal yet. So what exactly is your goal at this very moment?
“Today I want to play in European League and that’s my main goal. Then I want to make it to the Six Invitational and win the championship. That’s my dream.”
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