Rooster entered this week’s DFRAG Invitational a little undervalued after a rocky period of instability. From a fluctuating set of roles to the transition into life after Corey “nettik” Browne, Michael “chelleos” Hawkins and the Chooks have emerged a tougher, stronger team that is thriving on LAN.
Impressively, it was the bounce-back in their first playoffs series against Housebets that chelleos was happy with. Admitting Rooster was slow to start after a 13-2 loss, chelleos said to DFRAG that experience and confidence was vital in mounting the comeback.
“We’re getting a little bit closer but we still f****d up some crucial rounds,” he said. “LAN is all about staying focused and keeping the mental fortitude, you know.”
A few words from @RoosterCS regarding @nettiknz 🐓 pic.twitter.com/dGHYHXPW8Q
— dfragtv (@dfragtv) March 22, 2025
“We’re a bit more confident here and weren’t going to be too scared of the other teams that we have to face after that. We just got our confidence up a bit and actually started playing through together, not trying to play too individual and whatnot.”
Rooster locked in an upper bracket final meeting with ex-TALON, with Tynan “TjP” Purtell bringing the heat both on the server and out of it, shouting the studio down almost every round on his way.
The team as a whole love slinging a bit of chatter across the room, and while chelleos loves hearing TjP get loud, it’s what he brings to the squad after a map that he appreciates the most.
“[TjP getting loud] is definitely a big boost but it's not really the effect that's felt in the game. When you lose a map or before a game and you're talking outside with your team, TjP is very good at just saying ‘All right guys, we can do a bit better than that’,” chelleos said. “He definitely provides a lot of that, the mood wouldn't be as good without him.”
Rooster currently find themselves outside of that crucial top four in the VRS rankings, meaning they’d miss the opportunity to qualify for the Austin Major via the MRQ. That can all change at DFRAG Invitational assuming the good times keep rolling and Rooster push deep into Championship Sunday.
Anything short of a win would be a let-down for chelleos and Rooster, who are keen to skip out on OCE and get back to the goldmine that is Europe. “I wouldn't say the team is that happy with where we're at right now but I know that we're just improving game-by-game,” he said.
“We can't speed up the process playing three scrims a night in Australia. You learn a lot mainly from the officials. We're not super happy with it, but for me it's not the end of the world.”
“We've had plenty of bad losses in our years of playing, [but] we're still in a position to get some VRS points and make our way back up.”
As for the man himself? Once upon a time many touted the Kiwi sniper as our next big export. Chelleos admits he doesn’t think he’s that guy anymore, and that if he can make it overseas with his Rooster crew, then there isn’t a need to go it alone.
“At this point, I’ve come to the conclusion this is my team, more or less. I'm not 16 anymore, there's not going to be a lot of hype around me if I try and play in EU or some s**t like that. It'd be a pretty big grind.”
“My best shot's carrying on with the work I've put in over a long time with this roster and getting somewhere with this team. I like this team.”
Chelleos and Rooster will make a push for the DFRAG Invitational trophy on Sunday, March 23.
