Chuvash about SoNNeikO, Mag and qualifiers

An interview with our support

In an interview with , our  Evgenii "Chuvash" Makarov spoke about Andrii "Mag" Chipenko and his coach work as well as the team captain, Akbar "SoNNeikO" Butaev.

On making it to NAVI

"I reached out to Igor, NAVI's manager, after they announced the first four players and were looking for the fifth. I played somewhere around eight games with them – maybe a little fewer, maybe a little more – and then was told to wait [while other players were being tested] ".

On Natus Vincere's captain and coach

" Akbar "SoNNeikO" Butaev brings us all together before and after matches and makes calls in-game. He's a tier-1 captain. He makes macro-level decisions, but we also get to decide what to do in particular situations. We all must understand what is going on, make calls and communicate information.

Andrei "Mag" Chipenko helps us with almost everything – like picks, lineups, etc. He gives tips on which heroes are stronger/weaker in practice. He supports us a lot. 

Usually, it's Akbar who does the drafting, and  Mag helps him, but sometimes they swap. They usually try several drafts before the game and discuss everything, and then we all decide what heroes we are going to pick. "

On major qualifier preparation and the way it went

"Before qualifiers, our win rate was around 70% on praccs. We played at least four games a day against both strong teams and the weaker ones. We didn't play any tier-1 teams, like  Team Liquid or  Team Secret. Those were only CIS teams.

In the first qualifier phase, against  Vega Squadron, we felt like we lost control in several situations. But we talked everything over and were fine again.

In the closed qualifier, on Map 1 against  Virtus.pro, we finished mere seconds away from victory. I think the situation with Ember and Necrophos decided the outcome of the game in many ways. VP generally played better than us; this was a well-deserved victory. In a game against Team Spirit... Honestly, we played worse than they did, both in terms of macro and micro decisions. But we were fine emotionally on the next day. 

We will stay at the bootcamp to play minor qualifiers. We keep playing praccs every day and sometimes spend some time outside. "

On the death of roamers

"I wouldn't say there are no roamers left, some people still roam successfully, but I don't understand how they do it.  Xu "fy" Linsen is rarely seen playing in lane – he just leaves his offlaner solo and roams around the map. So the roamers are still alive. "