flamie: «The program for the upcoming six months is to practice a lot»

Reporters of GameInside.ua recently posted an interview with the player of  Natus Vincere — Egor "flamie" Vasiliev. Egor spoke about the recent victory of our CS:GO team at DreamHack Winter 2017 and summed up the year of 2017 for the Born to Win. flamie also said that he welcomed the new format of the Majors.

— Let's talk about your match with Gambit at DreamHack. Can you describe the team's emotions during the overtime? What went wrong during the last rounds? Was it your fatigue?

— The match had been going well for us until we began making many stupid mistakes and lose the rounds. We weren't fatigued. It's just that  Gambit played well and we didn't. That's the reason why we lost

— You gained your first victory at the tournament in Sweden. What does it mean to you? If we compare emotions at ESL One New York and DreamHack, the latter weren't as powerful. Why? Was it due to an easy final or somewhat easy tournament: apart from Gambit there were no tier one teams. Was your attitude to this event different in any way?

— A victory at any tournament is pleasant. However, DreamHack isn't what ESL One New York is. I think that this is no easy tournament. The teams were medium, but apparently not weak.

— Can you tell us about your preparation to the tournament? How did you began playing with AWP. Can you give advice to the players who want to play with this weapon?

— In fact, I wasn't sure that I'd manage to play with AWP. However, I'd always wanted to try it. It happened so that I began taking this weapon at practices after  seized left. I did better than I'd expected.

As concerns practices, we had a bootcamp for 6 days before Barcelona and 3 days after it. During this period I was playing a lot with AWP at DM and with bots. It seemed to me that I did well, and the team supported me, though I'm still far away from the level of top snipers. It seems to me, that I will manage to show a good level of play with this weapon, if I continue practicing as much as I did then.

— In the current roster of NAVI, you look the most calm and cold-blooded. Traditionally, the AWPers are calm and cold-blooded. Have you ever thought of switching your roles with Olexander "s1mple" Kostyliev?

— No, we haven't. I played 2-3 weeks with AWP overall. Furthermore, I'd look ridiculous as a full-fledged AWPer. This role requires much-much work to be done. And Sasha is one of the best snipers in the world.

I play with AWP only on CT side on certain positions. It's much easier than playing on T side.

— Now you're having a bootcamp. How long will it last and what do you plan to focus on?

— We're having a bootcamp from 15 till 27 December. Then we'll have a break till 2 January for holidays (unlike in most EU countries and US, in Ukraine Christmas is celebrated on 7 January and only by religious people, so we usually don't have any days off or celebrations on 24-25 December, that's why our team's bootcamp will last till 27 December - translator's note). We're also planning to practice at home from 28 till 30 December, so that we don't lose our gaming shape. We get back to our bootcamp on 3 January and will be practicing till 6 January. Then we have flight to New York, where we'll be playing elimination matches for ESL Pro League. We'll go to the Major at Atlanta from there.

— Aren't you afraid of getting bored of each other?

— As concerns the possibility of getting bored of each other, I can say that the atmosphere in the team is favorable. Everyone feels pleasure playing and communicating with each other.

— On 15 December you were to sign the new contract with Natus Vincere. Did everything go well? Had you considered other options or was the contract a mere formality?

— Next March, I will have worked 3 years at  NAVI. And I am very glad that the organization offered me to sign a contract for another couple of years. This shows me that they are sure about us, and we hope to pay back. I didn't consider other options.

— Players often undergo the loss of motivation, when they lack the expected results for a long time. Did you face this problem in 2017? How did you handle it?

— In fact, I can say that this year is instructive. We had many different situations, after which the team learned how to mentally tackle the hardships. Our line-up has grown significantly in terms of psychology.

Personally, I didn't have the loss of motivation. I might have spent less time playing. However, in general, I've always had great will to win, so I had no problems with motivation.

— Electronic has spent about 1 month in your team. What can you say about Denis as a player and a person?

— Denis fit our team very well. I think everyone saw what player he is. I think everyone saw how he'd been progressing during the last year and made his dream come true - to get to  NAVI. It's very comfortable to play with him. He knows one million grenades, he's good at shooting and communication.

— Nobody mentioned it, but obviously you were one of the players who voted for the kick of Zeus last year. This is the past. When Daniil returned how did you find common grounds again? Did you talk?

— A couple of months after that situation, I wrote to Dania that I was wrong and that we shouldn't have done this. We stayed in touch and everything became normal. When Dania returned to the team, I was glad he came back to us as our leader. And now, the relations in the team are very good.

— Question about WESG. What's your attitude to the tournament? What are your chances for victory? Will your national team practice and for how much time?

— This tournament isn't principle for us. However, we do want to play as good as we can. We won't probably practice. Maybe 3-5 days, but not more, since each player has his own team. We'll try to play better than in Barcelona.

— Do you still communicate with seized? Did the reshuffle influenced your friendship?

— Surely, we communicate. Denis is my good friend. I didn't fully support his decision to leave, but he needed it. I wish him all the best and I hope he'll regain his level of performance.

— Recently Valve announced the changes in the format of majors. The community has split into two groups: one supporting, the other objecting. What is your opinion and why?

— I think this is a great advantage to the beginning teams. In reality, nothing changed except for the stickers and the status. I am glad that Valve change something and show they still care about Counter-Strike.

— The community knows little about your free time and mostly from your streams. What do you usually do when you don't play?

— In fact, I don't have many entertainments. I like watching football, going to cinema, communicating with my friends. I don't drink and I don't like crowded parties and nightclubs. I feel comfortable with my friends and my girlfriend, so I spent most of my free time with them.

— The year was rather hard for you, but it finished with your victory. Can you make a summary of the year for your team and share your minimum-program for the next 6 moths?

— As I mentioned before, the year had been really difficult, but instructive. We've had many things together: bitter losses, conflicts, collapses, but we learned how to psychologically tackle such situations.

Our program for the next 6 months is to practice a lot and show the best results possible. However, you can objectively estimate your team in 3-5 months after the acquisition of electronic.

— Our interview is over. Any shout-outs, congratulations?

— I congratulate everyone with the upcoming New Year! I wish you to achieve the goals you've set in 2018!