Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

What does qsns stand for and how is it pronounced? Is it q s n s or quiznos?

How did you end up getting into competitive Pokemon and Doubles specifically? What made you stick around at the time?

For a few years it felt like your tournament performances did not live up to your reputation and quality as a player. To speak of a breakout year nearly a decade feels insane, but the qsnssaince is undeniable with a 61-17 record this year; what has been the biggest key to this massive improvement in results? Who and what have been your key influences, helpers, and inspirations throughout the year?

Despite having little-to-no pre-Home tournament activity, you managed to make it to OSDT III's semifinals. How do you look back on your result; did you expect making a deep run at all? Is there anything you wish you would've done differently against xqiht? And what was your favorite match to prepare and/or play for?

Going for 15.5k in SCL III seemed quite scary, but you proved being worth it with your 7-1 record. Even though you unfortunately did not make the playoffs, how do you reflect back on the tournament and on working with sempra and Amaranth, respectively? Did sempra's VGC knowledge play a key role in team preparation? What was your favorite match to prepare and/or play for?

How are you feeling going into the Circuit Invitationals? Who would you consider, besides yourself, to be the biggest favorite to take home the ribbon this year?

Speaking of Invitationals, you just managed to, unsurprisingly but impressively, win the inaugural Oldgens Invitationals. Can you elaborate some on your expertise in Doubles's old generations, and would you consider yourself to be the real strongest oldgens player?

You have been especially good at DPP Doubles, with a 12-1 record to date. What would you consider the essential attributes to get results in this tier?

Could you rank Doubles' oldgens from most to least favorite, and explain your ranking? Are there any tiering decisions you'd like to see made or talked about in any older generation?

A few weeks ago I noted your record (54-17) being close to that of Ezrael in 2017, whose 64-17 stands as the best individual year in Doubles history to date. You said you would just have to win 11 straight, and at the time of writing, you actually managed to win 7 sets straight. Do you feel like you can beat this record, if you care about it at all? Did you realize yourself how good of a year you were having?

Besides that impeccable playing record this year, you spent most team tournaments as a co-manager, snagging steals in draft and building unanimously #1 ranked rosters; what are the keys to success when it comes to consistently drafting strong teams?

6 activity losses, of which 2 came in semifinals. And that's not even considering the two unfinished Draft Leagues (incl. Chirch Draft)......... how and why

How do you feel about Doubles' lower tiers, such as DUU and NatDex DOU?

Now we're moving on into a fresh metagame, how do you reflect back on post-home SV DOU, its developments through and between OSDT and SCL respectively, and if there's anything you wish you could've seen or changed, e.g. Pokemon with untapped potential, overrated Pokemon, and/or the ramifications of Flutter Mane staying in the tier by 1 vote?

What are your expectations and hopes for the new DLC's releases? Can we expect the same kind of activity and performance for you going into a new metagame in 2024?

How did you feel about the Doubles Circuit structure in 2023 and the massive increase in side tournaments? What are some tournaments formats (whether official on unofficial) you preferred or would like to see more of, and which could you do without?

From your position as a Doubles councilmember, what are your stances on tiering the new DLC and possibly beyond? Do you have any goals for Doubles to work towards in 2024?

You have also consistently been among the more involved Quality Control team members; as a co-lead, how do you plan on stimulating wider involvement for SV DOU C&C, if at all? You've been around this section for so long, how do you feel it has changed over the years? Personally, I feel as if it has deprecated somewhat from its glory days; do you share this feeling and can Doubles remedy this?

Known as an extraordinary builder throughout your many active years; what teams would you say are you most proud of, in any tier or during any metagame?

As a mainstay since effectively Doubles's beginnings, how do you feel the community has changed both socially and competitively from years ago. For example, how do today's players match up against e.g. the 2018-19 "Strong Era", or the 2016 VGC takeover?

Does Doubles pale in comparison to VGC?

I remember there being so many complaints about our ladder being embarrassingly bad way back then. Though you've never been the most involved ladder player, do you feel like it has improved or become more representative/viable for usage-based tiering since the dark days of XY?

Speaking of 'dark days of XY', we reflected a little bit upon your 2015 interview wherein you mentioned Focus Sash Gengar as 'an amazing support with fast Wisps, Taunt, and Speed Control through Icy Wind, while being a really great switchin to Mega Kangaskhan and Landorus-T'. don't you just fuckin miss the unbridled creativity and liberating badness of the old days sometimes?

What is the favorite tournament set you have ever played?

Is there a chance we'll ever see former Grand Slam top 16 finisher qsns playing singles tiers competitively again? :eyes:

What is the best random Pokemon format?

Back in 2015 you said 'Litwick' was your favorite Pokemon because it was the first shiny you ever caught. Is it still your favorite Pokemon, or are there more contenders to that title now? Which are your favorite Pokemon to use in a competitive context, in any tiers?

Thinking about having interviewed you in 2015 is kind of insane to me. Some of my earliest Doubles memories comes from talking to you about Death Parade on Skype... so much time has passed since then, what would you say are your fondest memories in the Doubles community? And now we're making this trip down memory lane anyway, are there any users or things you miss from back then?

Thankfully we always still have Croven, who together with you makes for arguably the most iconic collaborative efforts in the community. How did this working relationship come to be, and how have you two always managed to stay so successful throughout the years? Seeing as Croven is semi-retired nowadays, has bage1 become the new protégé?

Can you tell us about the evolution of your collaborative history with Croven, which is more in the form of playing Nuzlocke romhacks and ghosting on Slay the Spire? What have been your favorite romhack Nuzlocke experiences? What is your favorite character to play in Slay the Spire?

Your success in strategy games extends beyond Pokemon and Slay the Spire; you've also proven a consistently worldwide top player in Hearthstone and Teamfight Tactics. Is there a unifying skill that makes you so successful at strategy games? What goes through that noggin of yours?

When I asked you about your music taste in 2015 you answered with "I like rock"; do you have a Topster to show the evolution of your taste since then?

Do you still claim being a weeb?

If you could add one emoji or sticker to DOUcord, what would it be?

What are your favorite Chirch memes?

With 2023 wrapping up soon, how do you look back on your year? What do you think has been your best moment, either personally or Pokemon-related? (whichever you find more comfortable)

Who would you like to see get interviewed next?

Do you have any concluding words for this interview? Worry not, if you forget something there's always a chance at another interview 8 years from now :')