Liquid nitr0: “I said let’s not talk about that map at all, let’s just focus on the next one, and that’s exactly what we did.”

In a shocking turn of events, Team Liquid managed to take down NaVi in a relatively one-sided 2-1 series. Despite an unimaginable choke on Ancient, nitr0's boys persevered and managed to take S1mple's squad down on Mirage to secure a top 4 at BLAST Premier World Finals. We talked to nitr0 after the match to discuss the team's performance.

Arnav "xL" Shukla: Overpass is a map that you don't have a great win rate on. But a lot of close games, and it feels like a comfortable map in terms of roles. Did you expect them to pick into it?

Liquid nitr0: No, we actually weren't expecting it today, but we've actually been putting a lot of time into it recently. So even though they picked it, we were still really comfortable. We know they banned it a lot in the last couple of months in the second rotation, usually. So going into it, we knew it was a possibility because it's one of our weaker maps, but it was a pretty low chance. They went into it and got punished.

xL: Pretty solid T side for you guys. YEKINDAR and EliGE were having a great game. thoughts on that T side.

Liquid nitr0: I think it was nice because we changed our game a little bit, and they didn't really know how we played. However, we played a scrim against them this tournament on Overpass, so they had an inkling of what we could do and stuff. In the back of our heads, we knew that they knew, but we just stuck with our game since that was what we had practised for however long it's been since we played Overpass last.

xL: So on Overpass, on the CT side, we saw a lot of 4-man leans from you. Was that something you'd seen in preparation that allowed you to do that?

Liquid nitr0: It wasn't necessarily something we saw in preparation. It was more just like overall how I felt the game should go and what's the highest win percentage chance for us. It was kinda based on preparation, but it was more just the feeling I had that that'd be the best decision and that call would work really well for us.

xL: On Ancient, you had another solid T start, great reads coming out from you. But that CT side did not go as planned. Just 1 round picked up, b1t and perfecto firing up. Talk to me about that rough loss.

Liquid nitr0: Im not really sure what exactly happened in the micro part of that game. But we weren't really stressed at all, even though we choked really hard. I think, most importantly, what we took from it was that either we go down with the ship or we can recover and just focus on the next map. So we went outside, and I said let's not talk about that map at all, let's just focus on the next one, and that's exactly what we did.

xL: oSee had some issues on Ancient, but on mirage, he was really driving that CT side. What are your thoughts on his performance?

Liquid nitr0: Yeah, I mean, he's obviously been struggling a little bit here and there. I think it's more of a mentality issue and a confidence issue, but I was super proud to see that he was on the top of the scoreboard again. When he's having a really good game, it's really hard to play against him. So I was really proud of that.

xL: npl coming in on Mirage. Did that change anything for you?

Liquid nitr0: Yeah, it changed stuff because we didn't know where he plays on the map as they hadn't shown him yet. So once we started the game, we were just like, let's try to figure out where he's playing. We saw electronic on A, and immediately we knew electronic's on A, so npl's connector. So it wasn't really a big change for us. They kinda played the same but just changed the roles. They seemed a little uncomfortable.

xL: 10-5 half, you pushed it up to 13-7 with the double entry that you got on B. But electronic with that p250 got the 3k on A. That's a round where the old-school Liquid could've broken down. Talk about that round's impact a bit.

Liquid nitr0: Yeah, it was a call I made based on the feeling of the game, but not necessarily the correct call when you're going close against pistols. But that was a call that I felt was right. Obviously, that's just part of the game. If they weren't there, it would look really good. If he gets a 2k with the p250, it looks bad. So it's just a call that was made and didn't really work out.

xL: Individually, in all the NaVi games, you have performed really well. is there something about that matchup that makes you more comfortable?

Liquid nitr0: Not necessarily. It doesn't really matter who I'm playing against individually. I just feel like I have a pretty good understanding of how NaVi plays. Whenever we play against them, I know, like if you kill b1t somewhere here, then the next guy is here and stuff like that. So I have a good understanding of how they play their CT side, and it's a good feeling to play against them. 

xL: You have switched over to the M4A4. What do you feel about the gun? Are you more comfortable with it?

Liquid nitr0: I haven't used the gun since 2019-2020, basically since I quit. So honestly, it feels really nice. The M4A1-S was really overpowered. The M4A4 feels nostalgic. The fire rate's really good on it, and it's really good for anchoring bombsites because of the fire rate and the number of bullets. I actually enjoy it.

xL: Finally, after a performance like that, facing OG in the semis. Are you confident going into that matchup and playing on stage?

Liquid nitr0: OG is there for a reason, right? They haven't had the best results this year, but they have had really good results at BLAST tournaments specifically. I think OG is a good matchup for us, and it's gonna be a great game. I'm super excited to play on stage and stuff.

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