Endpoint’s New Analyst-turned-Coach: Allan Hender

Allan had his first major break as an analyst with the Flashpoint CS:GO league. But he’s been a freelance color caster before, all while using his own YouTube channel to analyze Counter-Strike matches, teams and players.

On top of that, he’s been a six-time consecutive Collegiate champion in the UK. Most recently, he made headlines as Endpoint announced his acquisition for the coaching position. In this interview, Allan sheds light on how he managed to get into Endpoint and how his experience gives him a unique perspective on coaching in CS:GO.

Fragster: Being an analyst/broadcast talent, why did you accept a coaching position?

Allan: Being a Freelance Broadcaster within the current climate is scary, with international travel restrictions and the multitude of other barriers resulting from the pandemic, it’s impossible to know your broadcasting schedule even a month or so in advance.

Coaching Endpoint brings stability, even when there’s no big tournaments on the horizon, we still practice at least 5 days a week and strive to improve ourselves. However, Endpoint’s management also understand my desires to remain a Broadcaster and I have the flexibility to take days off from Coaching when good Broadcasting opportunities become available.

What do you bring to the table as a coach?

Outside of the game, I try to exercise the right leadership principles and act as a role model for the players, particularly in terms of approaching team conversations in the right manner and remaining calm during frustrating moments.

Inside the game, I bring a unique perspective which is based almost entirely off analysing the world’s best teams, and for an In Game Leader like Max who’s played at a similar level for a while, I think he likes having someone to bounce ideas off and someone who can challenge his approaches in calling rounds.

Of course there are countless aspects of Coaching I am yet to master, but I feel like I have improved at a fast rate since beginning my trial in June and I have no intentions of slowing down.

How did Endpoint approach you? Did they recognize your talents through Flashpoint or your analysis work on YouTube?

It was me who frist approached Endpoint, and I’m guessing most of the players knew of me from Flashpoint but that alone does not automatically mean I would be a good coach.

Endpoint posted saying they were looking for an assistant coach in May and from there it was simple enough to get in contact with the organisation, into beginning my trial in late June.

From the start I knew of Endpoint’s plans to rework the support structure around the players and this has come to fruition with Ross’ move from Coach to General Manager and my addition as Coach.

In recent years, we’ve seen a lot of casters or analysts (Moses, YNk) move to organizations and become coaches. What do you think are the reasons for this?

You can also bundle in HenryG’s period as Cloud9’s General Manager.

Being a top end broadcaster brings it’s perks and sacrifices. For some, the time away from home and constant relocation as the tournaments move from country to country would have pushed them towards joining organisations, since they’d have a home base and likely spend less time aboard.

The other main aspect would be fulfilling people’s competitive streaks, and for me personally, I have missed competing and being part of a team environment. I suspect for many of the broadcasters who moved to coaching, especially the ex-pros, a strong desire to win and conquer a fresh challenge played a big factor in their decisions.

Endpoint have had a few stand-out moments in the past year. You’ve certainly been the strongest UK team for a while now. In your opinion, what can this roster achieve in the international scene?

When I began coaching Endpoint heading into July, we were improving at quite a rate and mezii was in simply sensational form, with us peaking just before the player break in August with a top 4 placing at the Elisa Invitational and 2nd place in Pinnacle Cup II.

Following mezii’s departure to Fnatic, Endpoint decided to pick up a talented young star in Boros. Speaking truthfully, the last month since returning from the player break has been difficult for everyone. It has taken us a plenty of trial and error to place Boros in the right roles and huge amounts of effort have gone into reinventing how we approach the game.

Given time, I’m fairly certain good results will follow and as long as we are showing steady improvement, that is all I as a coach and the organisation can ask for.

As for Boros in particular, I’ve watched a heck of a lot of CS over the years and in terms of raw talent, this kid is out of this universe. Factoring in his age and personality, the sky is the limit for Boros and I will do my best in aiding him to maximise his potential.

Where can we follow the team’s and your personal journey?

We as Endpoint are on all the big social media platforms and we’re always looking to improve our content and give our fans more insights into the team.

If you’d like to keep up with me personally, the best place is my Twitter: @allan_hender

Finally, I have to give a huge shoutout to all the people in the back end in Endpoint, our sponsors and partners, and most importantly, all the fans who support us and make what we do possible ❤

 

Endpoint are currently competing in a wide variety of leagues and tournaments. Most notably, they’re fighting through ESEA Premier EU for a chance to enter ESL Pro League next year. Thanks to Allan Hender for this interview!