Reed "Chicago" Wilen is one of the brightest young talents in the North American scene, and is the only player to have scored over 1 goal per game in consecutive seasons of RLRS. After a strong last half of the season, #DIGRL managed to qualify for season 6 of the NA RLRS sweeping Splyce in their final series to squeeze into an automatic qualification spot.

We caught up with Chicago to talk about his thoughts on himself as a player and the current state Rocket League eSports.

Typically you have put up huge numbers of shots per game and goals during your time at Team Dignitas. Is this actively brought about as part of the team’s strategy to allow you more boost and space, or is this just natural?

Chicago: After a little bit of playing with Zol and Turtle, we thought that we could all try and make solo plays a bit more because our passing became too obvious. Being allowed to have more free space definitely gives me more confidence on the field and I feel like I can make plays to help obtain goals.

As someone who has been unlucky with the format of RLCS/RLRS, what changes do you think need to be made to make it better?

Chicago: I think the RLRS/RLCS should be longer and that each team play each other twice to show more consistency. It also gives more time to the season since the offseason is way too long as of now

In the promotion tournament for the RLCS, Allegiance and FlyQuest were promoted. Were you surprised by the result and what do you think their chances are in the RLCS?

Chicago: I was definitely surprised by Allegiance moving up but I know the players on that team can become clutch when needed, and Allushin is always a scary player to go against. In terms of their record in RLCS, I think we will most likely see them in the bottom 2 next season with other RLCS teams becoming so good.

With NARLI 2 being announced and with it having an open qualifier, how far through the tournament do you think the team will be able to get?

Chicago: The NARLI 2 is a super cool and exciting event. On that note, open qualifiers are always scary to do because you never know what's going to happen. But, if we play well and have good chemistry I think we can make it to NARLI 2.

Is there any player in the scene that you looked up to when you were coming up through the competitive scene?

Chicago: One player in particular I have always respected is GarrettG. He is always getting better and is on a non-stop grind which shows so much dedication. Also, the way he holds himself as a figure in the community is awesome. The amount of consistency along with the insane amount of skill he has is truly remarkable.

What do you think are your greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses are as a player?

Chicago: I think my greatest strengths are being able to read a play really well and giving me a good position to get a goal. I would say my greatest weakness is my depth perception. At times I can really make dumb mistakes and accidentally double commit or call someone off a ball that was their hit.

What is your take on Splyce perhaps not taking their final game seriously even though the game had huge implications on the standings. Did you feel like they were ‘messing about’ when playing?

Chicago: Splyce was definitely trying during that series and the only thing that was different was their car designs. If you go back and watch the replays they were passing and rotating like anytime they are trying to win. The fact that games 2 and 3 were so close really shows how they were putting effort in trying to play their best game.

What is the one new addition that you would most like to see in a new update for Rocket League?

Chicago: I think team ranked would be super cool and give a lot of reason to grind ranked. If you can queue ranked with your team and get to the top of the leaderboards and start playing the best of the best it only helps you improve. On top of that, grinding with your team like that can only make you better as a unit.

There’s been a lot of hype around The Chiefs from the OCE region. How do you think they will fair this time against NA and EU opposition at the World Championships in London?

Chicago: The Chiefs are actually a team who can compete with the best and we saw that at the last World Championship. I think they can definitely take a series or two and show that they are here to compete with the best.

Is there any caster that you would like to see given a chance to cast for the RLCS?

Chicago: A caster I would like to see have a chance is JonnyBoi. He is one of the few casters I've heard who get what the players are actually trying to achieve during the game.

A big thank you to Chicago for taking the time to answer some of our questions, be sure to drop him a follow on his stream and check out his other social media:

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/Chicago_RL
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chicago_RL