NV Chet: “Throughout group stages, we want to show very little and save our new strategies for playoffs. “

After making it all the way to the grand finals of VCT Masters Berlin, Envy is currently on a mission to usurp their previous performance in Berlin and hoist the trophy at VCT Champions.

Placed into Group A, Team Envy sought to make a statement against X10 Crit. And after two games, Envy are now on their way to the Winner’s Match against Vivo Keyd, a familiar face from Berlin.

In this interview, we speak to Team Envy head coach Chet to talk about the team’s dominant victory against X10, his relationship with IGL FNS, and how to continue growing when you are at the top.

Congratulations on your dominant and decisive win against X10. Talk to me about the game plan going into that series and some of your goals for the first match of VCT Champions?

NV Chet: Well, we didn't have much to watch for that team. And they're kind of like an X factor. We did not have any preparation going into this matchup. It was just really hard to prepare for them. Instead, we kind of just took our own gameplay and just made sure everything we did was good against, their comp because we're pretty much the more consistent team. I think people didn't expect us to be ready, but we're feeling pretty ready on that map. And I think that also caught them off guard.

Could you talk to me about those past few weeks? What has that been like for you and how do you keep everyone just on the same page? 

NV Chet: I mean, everyone on my team is super, like he's gonna talk to and the personalities fit really well. So I don't really need to do that much to keep everyone together. Sometimes there are things here and there, which are pretty easy to manage. But overall, we kind of just focused on our different comps and try to play everything. We found what we're comfortable with for now. So throughout our boot camps, and all the weeks beforehand, we are becoming more comfortable as a team.

You joined Team Envy right before VCT Champions. Talk to me about immediate things you wanted to work on with this team?

NV Chet: On my previous teams, I would focus on anti-stratting for opponents. For example, when I was on TSM, I would actually do that for Envy. When I came to Envy, there was not really anything to fix per se. I just wanted to take a lot of the preparation stress off of FNS. For me, it is important I make the IGL’s job as easy as possible. Obviously, he still does so much research, this team does not get to VCT Champions without him, but the day-to-day is easier now. He is more comfortable playing now with less stress and I think we have been on the right track for all of that.

Talk to me more about that. Compared to your days on TSM, how are things different with Envy?

NV Chet: I’m doing the same thing I was doing at TSM. FNS and I go back to when we were on CLG in CS:GO. We both trust each other’s opinions on the game and we trust that we will continue becoming better. Something that is really nice with FNS is that we never really butt heads. We do not have many arguments over the game. If we disagree, we just try both strategies and eventually come to the same conclusion. We're pretty agreeable people and keep things honest with each other which makes us work together well. My role is pretty much the same like I always do. I make sure everything in the team is running smoothly, I talk to everybody else to see if they are good with what we are doing and it’s been nice.

Would you say alleviating some of the pressure from IGL’s is what made you so successful in Counter-Strike?

NV Chet: For sure, I would agree with that. In CS:GO, I was always trying to put in extra hours at my job so I could focus more on the game. If you give the IGL less pressure, then they are going to be better with their mechanics. One of the reasons why IGLs struggle in frags is because of how much time is spent just watching the game. 

I think that definitely contributed to our success, but I wouldn't say it's just solely me. FNS does a lot of work and has so many great ideas. His mind for the game is incredible.

As a coach, when you're with a team that's at the top, how do you ensure that the teams don't peek at their current level and that they're able to continuously improve?

NV Chet: When you are at the top, like I was in CS:GO, you just have to keep innovating. It’s important to make sure you cannot be anti-stratted or eventually you will fall down the ranks. It is a bit different in this game because comps can only do so much, but even how you structure what you reveal is important. 

Throughout group stages, we want to show very little and save our new strategies for playoffs. Once we do reach playoffs, we will be able to shock the opponent and mess up their tempo in-game.  But yeah, a lot is just staying ahead of the meta and not falling into the trap of doing what people already know how to counter.  We cannot keep doing the same strategy over and over again or else people will figure us out and know how to prepare against us.

Lastly, you will be facing Vivo Keyd in the Winner’s match. In a scrum, they stated they were actually more afraid of Acend. What are your thoughts on that statement?

NV Chet: I'm not really sure how they came to that conclusion considering they never even scrimmed Acend. Honestly, it is whatever, I do not want to trash talk them. I just want to save my energy for our match tomorrow and show them why we are a contender to win.

Stay tuned to Esports.gg for the latest Valorant news and updates, as well as coverage from VCT Champions 2021.

Images via VALORANT flickr.