We had a moment to catch up with Amanda "Rain" Smith and talk with her about the new signing of Milk, the up and coming year, and the state of CSGO itself. Currently at 1.15 HLTV ranking, Rain and the rest of the roster have seen a successful year ending it on a high with the victory in Macau. Here is what Rain had to say!

As was recently announced, the team picked up a new player in the form of Kiara "Milk" Why did the team choose her?

Rain: I've loved playing with Milk since our first scrim together! She is very positive and has a great attitude even when we're down. She's also an insane fragger regardless of her high ping and I'm excited to play with her on LAN.

What do you think the team can learn from her presence? Rain: Since adding Milk to the team, there has definitely been a positive change in the atmosphere. She brings a different perspective to the table, having played with notable past teams, so it's always refreshing hearing new ideas.
As the year is slowly looming to a close, what is your personal highlight of the year? Rain: 2017 has been an exciting year but I think the highlight for me was going to IEM Katowice under Team Dignitas and the Philadelphia 76ers for the first time!
What about the highlight of your career so far? Rain: The highlight of my career is winning Copenhagen Games in 2015 with our old squad Team Karma! We came in as the underdogs since it was only our second tournament together and grinded out the wins. It was a special moment I'm glad I got to share with my teammates.

What are your goals for the rest of the year as well as the upcoming one? Rain: We only have a few weeks left of practice before our break, but I want to continue strengthening our map pool so we have a solid start going into the new year. I would love to bring home another trophy with the team so that's my main goal for the upcoming year! There is also another tournament early next year, WESG, which is the biggest female event to date and is nationality based so I'll be playing with a full Canadian roster. I have high hopes for our squad so making it to the finals is a big goal of mine.

Where do you see eSports, say, in 5 years? Rain: I can't even imagine what eSports is going to be like in 5 years! It has grown so much in the past few years and now with sports teams and non-endemic sponsors heavily investing into the industry, it can only go up from here. eSports has a very exciting future and I'm glad to be a part of it. If you weren’t in eSports, what do you think you’d be doing? Rain: If I wasn't in eSports, I would probably be back in university.

What aspect of CS:GO would you like to be further developed? Rain: Something minor in the game that has always bothered me is the fact that the kill feed is slightly delayed after getting a kill and the demo watching system is horrendous and needs an update.

Just recently Valve released a new update where they removed a bunch of old maps and are implementing a new system called Trust Factor which essentially groups toxic/negative players together and matches them against one another. What is your opinion on this? Rain: I think it's a good idea! It gives the casual gamer a less toxic environment and improves the overall experience for them. If you're going to be toxic, you can play with other people who are going to have that attitude too.

Do you believe that introduction of CS:GO to the Chinese market will have an effect on the Female CS:GO seen? Rain: I honestly don't really know, but the more people investing is always better!

Do you have any shoutouts you would like to make? Rain: I'd like to give a shoutout to my loyal fans that have been supporting me over the years, my dignitas squad, Mark "MerkusTwerkus" Herrero, and of course everyone at the Philadelphia 76ers and our sponsors!