NaVi coach B1ad3 discusses the recent performances of S1mple & B1T and talks about the integration of npl into the NaVi system.
Heroic and NaVi's rivalry is a match that always delivers no matter the form of those teams. And their game at the BLAST Premier World Finals lived up to the billing. Both teams showed dominant T sides on their map picks and took it all the way on the final battleground of Nuke. Following NaVi's close win, B1ad3 discussed the team's performance and npl's integration into the system.
Arnav "xL" Shukla: I'd like to get your thoughts on npl's performance in these two matches. How do you think he's been playing?
B1ad3: I actually don't rely on him a lot. I am just giving him time. I don't expect him to be like a crazy fragger already. It's normal for inexperienced guys to be like this in the beginning. I'm not analysing him because I know I must analyse him when he's in his comfort zone.
xL: Adding him on inferno has shifted the positions around a bit. for b1t in particular, it has brought a positive effect. what do you think about his new role and his performance?
B1ad3: This is the role he played in Navi Junior, so we want to move him to such positions more. Like, for example, ramp on nuke, and maybe the same on mirage. He's doing much better. I think he must transition to better roles.
We used to win a lot, and now that we're losing, we are really frustrated. I think now we just need to play because we're doing some experiments, testing a new player.
xL: Over on ancient, Heroic was getting perfect reads on you, again and again, getting 10 rounds in a row. What are your thoughts on how that map went?
B1ad3: I think we just didn't play officials on this map for a long time. We practiced it a little bit, and this match was very important for us. Now we can see where we are behind the meta, what we forget and little details like that. So next Ancient, we'll be much better.
xL: You're facing liquid up next. They got the better of you last time. What are your thoughts on that matchup?
B1ad3: It will be hard. Considering how we play, I think we must not expect too much from ourselves. We as a team must not think about the win. We must think about the game, just play, and not think about winning. We used to win a lot, and now that we're losing, we are really frustrated. I think now we just need to play because we're doing some experiments, testing a new player. It's much better for us to just focus on the game, and I think that we can win and we can lose both. It can go both ways. it will also depend on the map pool and the veto.
We must also understand that I don't think S1mple can be like Prime S1mple all the time, and that is normal.
xL: Relative to his standard, s1mple's had a few bad events recently. Why do you think S1mple hasn't been up to the level we have come to expect from him?
B1ad3: I don't know, actually. Maybe when we play well, he also starts to play better. Maybe he's frustrated with how badly we play. And overall, we must also understand that I don't think S1mple can be like Prime S1mple all the time, and that is normal.
xL: You've been around for a very long time in counter-strike. What would you say was the best weapon balance meta in Counter-Strike?
B1ad3: Maybe before the AUG buff, it was good. I think now it's also pretty normal. With the A4 and the A1-S, it is balanced. We need to play a bit more to understand more, but it's hard to say it now. Because there were a lot of updates, like with smokes and grenade drops, that we couldn't do before. We must sit and analyse more to say that this meta was clearly better.
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