electroNic Interview: NAVI’s Rapid Major Victory Surprises Me

In an interview at the BB Villa Cup, electroNic shared his thoughts on various topics.

Q: Your schedule is incredibly packed. Do you have time to rest, or have you gotten used to it?

A: Maybe after so many years in the professional scene, I’ve gotten accustomed to it. It’s not new to me. There’s no time for rest, you just have to work hard.

Q: How do you unwind when not competing or training?

A: I think everyone has their own ways. If I have time, I spend it with my family.

Q: Many pro players complain about too many tournaments. Do you enjoy this lifestyle? Do you miss your family?

A: Of course, that’s a given. That’s probably just part of being a pro player. Everyone knows what they’re getting into when they choose this path.

Q: How would you rate your performance in EPL S19? Did you expect such a bumpy ride against Complexity?

A: We wanted to beat CoL, but in the match, things didn’t go as planned. The EPL S19 result was acceptable, though. We’re satisfied and will keep working. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to prepare for future events, but we’ll strive to give our best.

Q: What do you think of Natus Vincere’s performance in EPL? Did you anticipate them defeating FaZe in the Major final, only to lose to them in EPL?

A: In the Major final, things weren’t so clear-cut. FaZe adjusted their map picks. Ancient showed up in the Major final, while Nuke was in the EPL BO3. To me, that made some difference.

Q: Did you envision NaVi winning the Major? What were the key factors in their victory?

A: They were well-prepared, I’m sure of that. Andrey Gorodenskiy | B1ad3 knows how to get the best out of his players. Their quick Major win surprised me, even B1ad3 himself said it was unexpected. Regardless, they’re exceptional. Let’s see how they fare in other tournaments.

Q: Have you been following Ihor Zhdanov | w0nderful? Are you a fan of the current NAVI roster?

A: I won’t comment on their future playstyle. It’s up to them. I didn’t really follow w0nderful closely before, but we played against them, so I have some understanding of his playstyle. Clearly, he’s very different from Oleksandr Kostyliev | s1mple. But I think B1ad3 has coached him well, and he’s performing nicely.

Q: How does Dzhami Ali | Jame differ from the in-game leaders you’ve worked with before?

A: I won’t compare anyone.

Q: Not in terms of weaknesses, but…

A: I understand what you mean, but I’d rather not answer that. They’re all very different – each has their approach and strengths. I wouldn’t compare them. I can’t tell you the differences because I haven’t played with Jame much; we didn’t train together extensively.

Q: In April, you mentioned never seeing a more resilient team than Virtus.pro. Can you elaborate on what you meant by resilience?

A: First of all, there might have been a mistranslation, or maybe I misspoke… Since I spoke in English, perhaps my wording was off. What I meant was that when I joined VP, I had never seen a team with such a strong mindset. I wasn’t referring to the past one or two years. I was talking about how the players fought until the end, believing in their ability to win, that’s what I meant.

Q: Your match against TheMongolz showcased this resilience.

A: Yes, that’s right.

Q: Such comebacks are rare in pro play. When the score was 10-2, how did you feel? After losing the pistol round, it seemed like curtains.

A: Actually, we still had belief. Maybe not as much, but some. We were confident in our CT-side play in practice, so we knew we had a chance on that map.

Q: What are your thoughts on Danil Kryshkovets | donk?

A: He’s great. That’s all I can say.

Q: At IEM Katowice, he had a 1.70 rating, but struggled to replicate that at the Major. Was it a flash in the pan, or was the community’s assessment off?

A: I don’t know; maybe he’ll showcase different levels of CS content and raise the bar further. Or perhaps it was just his moment in that tournament. CS competition is fiercer now, with everyone training hard. I believe he can perform at that level again; he’s young and has plenty of opportunities.

Q: What’s your take on Dust2 replacing Overpass? Do you enjoy this map?

A: Honestly, I really love Dust2. I was sad when it was removed, so I’m happy it’s back. I was sad to see Overpass go. In my opinion, there are worse maps in official matches. But that’s how it is. Valve focuses on normal gameplay in 5v5 scenarios and map popularity in Premier mode. Overpass was the least popular, so it was removed.

Q: Which map would you prefer to replace instead?

A: Vertigo. It lacks tactical depth and isn’t very spectator-friendly. As a player, Nuke is also challenging due to sound issues between floors. Vertigo has similar problems. Because of this, you can get caught off guard without enough reaction time. So, I think these maps should be adjusted or one of them removed.