Virtus.Pro are aiming for the trophy at Katowice. Can they do it?
A year ago, Virtus.Pro was in the Grand finals of IEM Katowice. Today, the team has made a change, but is very well en route to another strong finish in Poland. Esports.gg caught up with Virtus.Pro in the press conference to talk about their thoughts on the roster change, Valve’s decision to merge the CIS-EU RMRs.
Last month, Valve announced some changes to the RMR system. They merged the six RMRs into three regions, thereby providing players to compete against newer opponents. In most of the regions, the total number of slots remained unchanged. The European RMR and the CIS RMRs merged together, whcih means CIS teams will get an opportunity to compete against European teams to qulify for the Major.
“I think CIS RMR is really boring, its really good that the CIS and EU RMRs are merged because there is more competion - YEKINDAR.
When asked if the merging of the two regions’ RMR events was a good thing for CIS teams, YEKINDAR said.
“I think CIS teams don't really need experience at the moment. I think it's the European teams that need the experience. CIS teams have been dominating the past year and I think its going to be the same thing this year as well. For EU teams it is a great possibility to showcase themselves. I think CIS RMR is really boring, its really good that the CIS and EU RMRs are merged because there is more competion. More Competition means more interesting games“
This is in contrast to what Navi’s S1mple had to say about the changes to the RMR system. As a reply to a similar question, S1mple said the EU-CIS RMR merger was a positive move for CIS teams. He specifically mentioned a team such as Entropiq that could now get LAN experience against tier 1 EU teams such as Vitality, Astrlais and others.
“I am happy cause it’s a chance for CIS teams to get more experience against European teams. For example, teams like Entropiq, they did good on LAN." S1mple had said. "But they never had a chance of playing RMR against teams like Fnatic, Vitality & Astralis.”
New roster with Fl1t has even more potential
“Since we got second place last year, a win would be a good result for us.” - YEKINDAR
Virtus.Pro acquired Fl1t replacing Sanji in the process in October last year. The move came at a time when VP’s results were disappointing, often being unable to even get a top 8 finish in tournaments.
“I think in that lineup with Sanji, our level in Katowice was pretty high. I would say 80%-85% of our potential. This year, with Fl1t, our potential has risen up and now we feel very comfortable playing with Fl1t. We had enough time to win this tournament and it's all going to depend on our own psychological, mental and individual state at the moment.”
Since we got second place last year, a win would be a good result for us.” - YEKINDAR
Virtus.Pro is ranked 4th today and has already secured a top 6 finish at IEM Katowice 2022. The team has shown significant improvements in its LAN performance and if it can perform in front of a live Spodek audience, VP could be a real contender for the trophy.
However, the 22-year-old star player agrees that one of the reasons for VP’s success is due to the fact that the roster has already spent quite some time together. While most of the teams made roster changes in 2022, VP’s roster has had some time together to practice and get used to each other.
The time we have spent together as a roster gives us an advantage. The longer you play with the same five players, the more experience you gain and the more comfortable you feel in the team. But that advantage does not always give you the results you want.
Other newly formed rosters might take time to adjust and improve their gameplay. Team Vitality, arguably one of the stacked CS: GO rosters in 2022 has already found itself eliminated from the tournament. The VP roster's experience and comfort with each other give it an advantage that few others have.
Virtus.Pro finished second in Group A and will compete in the quarterfinals starting February 25. They will face the winner of G2 and Astralis in the playoffs.
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