Kane: "Boombl4 fits the team perfectly"

Interview with Natus Vincere coach

While NAVI.GG.BET players are on vacation and gaining strength before the Major, we managed to talk with Mykhailo “Kane” Blagin. In the interview, the team coach told about the preparation of the Born to Win for the tournament in Cologne, about the map pool of our squad, and also discussed in detail the matches of ESL One Cologne.

— Hi! What goals did the team pursue during the bootcamp, which was organized on the eve of ESL One Cologne? What aspects of the game were a priority?

Mykhailo "Kane" Blagin

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“We are a new team, and first of all we tried to patch the obvious holes in the game on each map. Diversify the number of existing strategies "

— How would you rate the preparation of NAVI for the tournament in Cologne? What were you satisfied with, and what, in your opinion, did you pay not enough attention to?

— I’m generally pleased with the way our training camp went. We did a lot of things on each map, except that the work on the Mirage left much to be desired, especially for CT.

— It is interesting to know how, from the coach's point of view, Boombl4 adapt to the team? What roles was Kirill given? What is the reason for the decision?

— Boombl4 perfectly suited the team. First of all, he is very energetic and ambitious. Makes us want to work. Many of his roles coincided with the tasks of Edward, but on some maps, we still changed positions.

- You have already spent enough time with Boombl4. How did he manage to supplement the team, maybe solve some problems that existed before?

— He improved our communication, and also gladly accepted all the roles where he should be the first to establish contact with the enemy. He lacks experience, but this is a matter of time.

— In your opinion, is Boombl4 above all laud? In addition, maybe there are flaws in the game, which he should have paid attention to and worked on in the near future?

— First of all, I would like to mention his aggression: this makes the game for the opponent even harder, because Kirill can often make an unpredictable move. But it is worth working on this, because you need a balance. He is a smart guy, and this is already a weighty argument to believe that he will succeed.

— In Cologne, you started with a duel against mousesports. The match took place on Train and ended with a score of 16:14. What was the reason for choosing this map? Also, what went wrong during the gun rounds for T side?

— Train is our top map. We immediately wanted to show at the tournament that there are no such teams that we will avoid on this map. mousesports had a style of defense we found difficult to adapt to, despite imagining how they would play. The second time we have learned from the mistakes made.

— You've played one more series against them — Bo3 for the chance to exit into the playoffs this time. You traded victories on opponent's picks, and NAVI beat the opponent on Train again. but more confidently this time around. Could you make a little analysis of this meeting?

— We were nervous about Inferno, it's been a while since Boombl4 played it... We played a great defense. We didn’t play well on the attack right away, the reason was not only in our mistakes, but also in the competent aggression of the enemy. In the end, there was a small miracle — there were no single heros in the 11:15 comeback, everybody, as a team, is a part of that. Such victories really help to grow, to be ready for anything. But Dust2 disappointed. It looked somewhat like train from the first series.  Mousesports played very differently, and we didn’t respond well to such changes. We had a chance to come back into the game from 8:10, but continued to make mistakes.  I've already talked about Train.

— In the group stage, the Born to Win encountered FURIA. There was a feeling that NAVI are fully prepared for any actions of the enemy. What can you say about the game of Brazilians?

— There are nothing but positive things to say about FURIA. This team has an innovative approach to the game. Let's be honest, individually our players are stronger than FURIA's, more experienced. I think it was of great importance, because knowing their strategies, it was easier for us to deal with the situations after the trades. I think if the Brazilians continue to work in the same spirit, we will see many more surprises and good results from them.

— Starting from ELEAGUE Boston Major, Natus Vincere played Liquid on 15 maps, and after the semifinal seriesLiquid is leading with an enviable margin (14-1). What is the reason for such an unsuccessful NAVI performance against the American team? 

— Each series with Liquid is a new story, therefore there is no one reason for such defeats. I think, they were just generally stronger in Cologne. And this is acceptable, we won a map and could win the game. We must understand that in Berlin we need to defeat this team as well.

— At ESL One Cologne, NAVI picked Dust2 thrice — and lost three times. Why were you so confident?

— About Dust2 — we felt comfortable on this map. This map will never be a reason of our defeat: if the map is in our pool, we're ready to show the high level of play. Both games with Team Liquid were close and could have ended differently. There is something to think about, there is something to work on. But there remains a positive attitude and expectations from this map.

— By the way, why did you decide to change absolutely nothing when picking maps against Liquid?

— We analyzed the last game and were ready to show something new, first of all on Mirage. Overpass could not be avoided, while Dust2 should have gone better. Unfortunately, that was where the team made a few mishaps, which landed us quite behind. Almost dealt with it. I think those who watched the match remember a bang by Stewie2K from Sanya's(s1mple) scout in the spawn and then three headshots from Twistzz. Nobody is safe from that. We came close on Dust2 four out of five times, but still yielded.Maybe this is the key to Liquid, and maybe there are other options. We'll see.

— In almost all games you were banning Vertigo. Are you prepared for the map? Are you ready to play on it just against a certain pool of teams?

— We practiced Vertigo before this tournament, but we simply did not have enough time to bring the game to a decent level. We'll try to return to this map in the near future.

— What about the overall state of the map pool after Boombl4 arrived? What are the maps where NAVI has enough to beat T1 teams? Conversely, where do the guys have to do a lot of work?

— We play 6 maps and want to play all 7 with Vertigo. We have to compete exclusively with tier 1, so we will be ready to win on each of the maps.

— Boombl4 mentioned that NAVI will have a two-week vacation, and then you'll start preparing for Berlin. What's the team's plan to prepare for the Major? Is there a bootcamp planned?

— Yes, we are planning a bootcamp, we've discussed the details today. It will be held in Berlin,so that we will avoid an additional flight and adapt well. We want everything to be smooth, with no annoying little hiccups.

—Soon, there will be Minors preceding the coming Major. Which teams, in your opinion, will go to Berlin from the CIS?

— From the CIS, in my opinion, forZe, Team Spirit and Nemiga.

— How do you like the current system of conducting a major from the beginning to the end: from open qualifications to the Minor to the final of the tournament? Can it be improved?

— I had a suggestion once. I still think that a Major should be a bigger competition. In any case, the strongest will win. Good luck!