Jahk: «The work is never over»

R6 / News / 30 March 2021 — 14:00

Interview with the NAVI coach.

NAVI's Rainbow Six Siege coach Cyril “jahk” Renoud discussed the newcomers' adaptation and shared his emotions from the victory at the. Note that jahk was a stand-in for Born to Win in the last tournament matches.

You got off to a solid start in European League 2021, defeating TrainHard Esports and Cowana Gaming. Would you say that the adaptation of newcomers is behind you and you are ready to show your best games?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

Our first two games were pretty convincing but the work is never over and I truly believe we can do more to show our best games.

Overall, I think we managed to find a good balance in the team with Secretly and Nathan. But like I love to say, a season is a marathon not a sprint.

If we talk about the results of other teams, which teams are most likely to be the contenders for the top 4?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

At this level, every team can pretend to be in the top 4. But at this state, I think I would bet on BDS, G2, TrainHard and… us :D

Can you evaluate roster changes of other teams? Like what do you think of G2 Esports, Virtus.pro, Rogue, and Team Vitality?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

I think it’s the first season we’ve seen so many roster changes among EUL teams.

Pengu retiring represents the end of an era for the community but also a big change for G2. Kayak is a really talented player and with the proper work and a little time to adapt, I have no doubt the team will be among the top of the league.

For Virtus.pro, I couldn’t see a better choice than karzheka to replace Shockwave, who’s taking a break from the competition. I think karzheka coming back in a Russian team will allow him to be more impactful in his role than he was in Rogue. With the time needed, VP will be a great contender for the top of the league.

Rogue chose to replace karzheka with cryn. With this, they clearly want to bring even more frag power in the team. It’s a risky move, breaking the balance between frag and strat can lead you to toss a coin on every game.

Vitality changes are more controversial. It’s a big bet to bench players like Fabian and Goga to bring less experienced players. The return to a full french speaking line-up will make it but even if P4 and Shiinka are talented players, it’s hard to guess the outcome of these changes.

Your last match was against Team Secret. What can you tell us about this opponent?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

Secret is made up of experienced players. SlebbeN and Gomfi coming back from NA is adding a great value to the team as they can bring new dimensions acquired during their international experience.

Tell us a bit about the newcomers — Secretly and Nathan. How would you describe them?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

Secretly is the wise man of the team. As soon as he joined us, he took this spot to lead the team. He has a big impact in the game but also in the mental of the team, bringing the calmness and the experience we needed.

It’s a real pleasure to work with him as we share the same vision on how a team should work.

Nathan is our joker. He’s bringing the best balance between frag power and game intelligence. He’s one of the most complete players I had the chance to work with. He’s here where we need him, working as a sidekick with Secretly when it comes to lead the team.

What do you need to work on as a team in the near future? Which aspect of the game requires special preparation at the moment?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

We need to work on consistency. It was a big point we lacked last season and we decided to focus on it with the newcomers bringing more insights on personal performance.

Team wise, we still have a lot of work to do. It’s a day to day job to adapt and bring thickness in our gameplay.

Share your opinion on the tactical pauses by coaches. How useful is this feature? What other new features for the coaches would you like to see?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

Tactical pauses are a must have. Even if we have only 30 seconds per map to talk with the players, it allows us to bring insights directly in the game when it’s needed.

A spectator mod for staff with a fog of war would be a great addition.

In Rainbow Six, as staff members, we don’t have the possibility to spectate the game directly. On online matches, we have to watch the stream which has 1 round of delay and listen to coms in live. It could make things difficult sometimes to follow the outcome of a round and bring what we could need during a timeout for example.

And what do you think of the fact that Ubisoft abolished the draws? Is it better or worse?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

I would say : FINALLY! Draws should not be a thing in a championship with BO1. So it’s definitely better! EUL teams have been asking for this for a while and it’s a win/win situation, for the competition integrity and for the show!

We can’t ignore the past UK Ireland Nationals. How does it feel to fill the shoes of the player once again?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

Mixed feelings! Overall, I’m really happy to have been part of this win! But on a personal note, my performance was terrible! But I tried to do my best giving the information on cameras :)

Maybe in the future we will see you as a player again? Or is it definitely a thing of the past?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

Like you say, it is definitely a thing of the past! I’ll be here if my team needs me again to sub in but I have no will to go back on the player’s side!

Generally, do you think a coach should sub for any player on his team at any given time? As a matter of fact, do you think a coach should be able to play at a high-level?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

It’s hard to tell. I guess it depends if the coach can be competitive at the given level. Usually, a team would prefer to take a stand-in among free agents.

I don’t think it’s possible for a coach to be as competitive as his players. Game intelligence wise, I think it’s possible but when it comes to mechanicals skills, like aiming, it’s obviously harder!

Recently, Doki for DraZ and you. Can you tell us about your workflow with the NAVI analyst? What are the differences in your work?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

DraZ is our analyst in name only. We’re both coaches of the team. We’re working together closely to lead the team in the day to day work, when it comes to making decisions and to fix the objectives.

If I had to find differences in our job, I would say I’m focusing more on a global vision of the team and when it comes to technical/analysis work. Where as DraZ is more focused on personal following of the players and the daily follow up.

In general, a coach and an analyst are two people that should be on any serious professional team?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

Nowadays, I think it’s a must have in a professional competitive team. Outside all the analysis and coaching work, having 2 people with a global vision is needed to take the cut on important decisions.

This said, it doesn’t mean that it should be mandatory to have one coach and one analyst. It could be a couple with one manager and one analyst, like BDS is using now.

And finally, a few words to NAVI fans?

Cyril “jahk” Renoud

We can’t be more thankful for the support the #NAVINATION is giving us daily!

Be sure that we are working hard to deserve this support and to make them proud to cheer for yellow and black!

Additionally, we'd like to remind you that Rainbow Six Siege has recently a new set which includes a Zofia operative skin, a weapon skin for M762 and a charm! All items are in the traditional colors of the NAVI esports club — yellow and black. #navination