Zeus: "We want to maintain the spirit of champions!"

Interview with Zeus before ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier

We sat down with our captain  Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko prior to ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier to speak about the team's most uncomfortable opponents, the map pool and the impact an active lifestyle has on the performance of a professional player.

— How do you feel about winning three titles in a row and finally breaking your second place curse?

— I think I overcame this curse back in  Gambit. Here, I simply pursued my goal.

— Which of these tournaments was the most difficult? What difficulties did you encounter?

— Each of those tournaments gave us a great deal of experience, regardless of the result. But our first big victory, at StarSeries S5, was the one that boosted our confidence.

— The team's performance wasn't the best immediately after you transferred from Gambit, but you gradually began to gain momentum. What were the key steps in building the team after you returned?

— We did a lot of things to improve our results, but the addition of  electroNic was a key stage.

— How does your training process look like? How are responsibilities split between you and Kane?

— We are trying to become the best team in the world, so I can't disclose anything about our responsibilities or roles. I don't even have the right to. I can just say that everyone does his own thing.

— What teams are most difficult for you as an IGL to play against? Against whom do you feel most comfortable? Why?

— Teams like  Astralis because they always try to be one step ahead.

— Many analysts say your quality of play has improved significantly after the shuffle. How do you work on this aspect? Does it boild down to setups and choosing the right spots?

— It's very simple, actually. It's our experience coupled with the ability to communicate with each other and figuring out the way out of even the most desperate situations.

— We asked electroNic this same question, but it would still be great to look at things from your perspective. Why do you have issues on Dust 2?

— We simply don't have enough experience there. This is the best map for setting up interesting rounds and implementing some individual tricks. I think most teams can play well on it if they want to.

— How did you become so good on Nuke? What's your secret? You've always had difficulties on it, even at the times of 1.6.

— We worked on this map long enough to understand each other well on it, but it grew into something more. We are happy that we play so well on it, but we still have problems from time to time.

— You mentioned that you recently changed the way you work on your individual skill. What's your approach?

— There's no secret behind it. I needed to sacrifice all my personal time to measure against the competition while being the captain.

— How have your feelings towards extended games changed over time? What has been the most problematic? How do you deal with it?

— This is a difficult question, and it's hard to find the right words here. Probably, although it may sound funny, I became older. I have to process the things young players catch on the fly first, and it takes much more time.

— Esports has obviously reached a whole new level and continues to gain momentum. As a physically active person, what's your opinion on the importance of sleep, a healthy diet and other things in terms of in-game performance? How important are those to you?

— It's very individual, but I think being in a good shape is very important for a professional player, as this is what works in the long run and boosts strength in crucial matches.

— What do you think about recent updates in CS:GO, like Panorama, CZ-75, M4A1-S? Have you felt their impact on the in-game balance?

— Panorama has a lot of bugs, so I'm not sure. But I'm confident that this is a major boost to CS:GO. I see only positive things about it.

— Your most important tournament, for now, will be ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier. Then, the team will have a short vacation. What would you as a captain would like to work on first?

— On keeping the concentration of the team and maintaining our spirit of champions!

— If you win ELEAGUE and then the major, will this experience come close to your success in 2010? Or it's unlikely you'll ever experience these same emotions?

— Well, winning ELEAGUE and the major will be a great success both for NAVI and our lineup. Still, the situation was completely different in 2010, it can hardly be compared with something.