fnatic had the honours of qualifying for the subsequent RMR after IEM Rio, where they managed to secure playoffs berth at the Major in the quarter-finals, before falling to the eventual winners, Outsiders (now Virtus.Pro). They found themselves placed in Group A of the European RMR, alongside the remainder of British representation at the event in the form of Viperio, Into the Breach and GamerLegion.
Following the conclusion of day one, fnatic survived a scare from underdogs Viperio, who managed to force it to double overtime on Vertigo before falling to fnatic’s Dion “FASHR” Derksen in a 1v2 clutch. Their second match pitted them against 1WIN, where an impressive CT showing on Overpass led to a 13-2 half. 1WIN narrowly missed out on mounting the comeback as fnatic closed out the match with a 16-12 scoreline.
fnatic’s coach, Jamie “keita” Hall, took some time after their victory versus 1WIN and spoke about how the Overpass match developed, fnatic’s recent form ahead of the RMR, and what it means for UK CS to have so many teams in attendance at the event in Copenhagen.
You had a really big advantage in the first half, and going into the second half it seemed like you had a game plan, you were hitting B a lot at the start. Was that planned or was that just how the rounds worked out?
There were one or two rounds where we had a tell that they were four on A and we still lost the round, and then another round where we didn’t have enough map control so we ended up just going back to B. It wasn’t really a specific plan, we essentially just knew they play really aggressive everywhere, and we wanted to play grouped up to just clear it. But I think just for the first five or six rounds we just lost a bunch of clutches, so it got kind of uncomfortable. We had to play a bit stricter defaults, and play a bit more towards A.
Going into the veto, these guys are a pretty new team, they’ve changed their core within the last two months, were you expecting them to play the map this way?
Yeah, they got some of the same players from Entropiq, and Forester walked out monster every single round when we played them in Entropiq and in practice and stuff like that. I think even though they’re a new team, we kind of know the players and know their playstyle. We pick Overpass quite a lot so we play a lot of teams on Overpass currently, so we had a pretty good understanding of how they play. It’s kind of a map specific thing, but I guess in general they’re a pretty aggressive team it seems.
So now that you’re in to the best-of-threes, is that a sigh of relief for you now that you don’t have to play any best-of-ones? Which can go either way, as you’ve just nearly experienced twice.
I mean not really, because I think we’re pretty good in best-of-ones. I think roeJ and Nico [nicoodoz] are 16 wins and 1 loss in best-of-ones, I think in general we’re pretty good in best-of-ones and it does help with our map pool, we have like four maps that we really like. Weirdly enough, I think we actually like playing best-of-ones, but its also nice to have that reassurance to play a best-of-three and not get knocked out in a best-of-one.
So to talk about your recent form, it’s obviously been a little bit shaky leading up to the RMR. Has there been anything that you’ve changed heading into here, have you done any specific prep for the event?
Nothing specific, we’ve definitely not been playing great and we’ve had a lot of upset losses so obviously we’ve looked at what we’re doing, but I don’t think its anything specific. We haven’t tried to change our style or anything like that, it’s more just trying to fix mistakes or reoccurring problems that we’ve had. We’ve definitely been working on our game and that’s why we’ve played those officials because we think it’s a good way to learn, and we think it’s a bit easier than practice. But no specific area was our target or anything like that.
It’s more just maybe our individual form , it isn’t where it once was
To add to that, obviously its roeJ and mezii essentially co-IGLing with each other right? Do you think that this recent form is because it’s coming to a bump in the road, or is it more in the macro to do with individuals and things like mid-rounds?
I think its a lot of things. I think individually we’re not playing our best. I think roeJ was on fire before player-break and he was on Vertigo taking A ramp alone, or on Overpass taking the whole of A every round. I think if you have a player that’s feeling so good and taking so much map control it obviously makes T side a lot easier, so I think that sort of affected things, but I don’t think calling-wise the dynamics changed if that’s what you’re asking. It’s more just maybe our individual form , it isn’t where it once was.
Let’s mention the help that you’ve been giving to the team, and Samuelsson as well – has his experience and oversight helped, especially at a stage like this where you’ve come to the Major, and you’re trying to get to the next stage?
Yeah. Him and Freddie [KRIMZ] definitely try and share their experience, for example when we played at Rio, it was the first time we played on stage. I think in general Andreas [Samuelsson] tries to help us a lot with the mental side of things and making sure we’re mentally ready for the game. But there’s definitely been some aspects where he might have a different way of seeing things, and he may have his own approach. He’s been helping us a lot with pistols and ecos, he really enjoys doing those rounds and I don’t particularly enjoy those. He has stepped in, so I think there’s a good dynamic and we’re not afraid to help each other. We don’t step on each other’s toes. He helps mostly mentally, but he does also help us in-game.
Andreas [Samuelsson] tries to help us a lot with the mental side of things and making sure we’re mentally ready for the game.
That’s right, because I’ve read previous interviews where you’ve mentioned how he is an emotional or mental coach, and you’re more into the tactical side of things. Does that make a notable difference compared to teams you’ve been on in the past, having the two sides of the same coin?
I think I’ve always had someone similar to him, on Complexity I had Warden who had been in Counter-Strike teams, been in winning teams, won tournaments, and managed teams for fifteen years. But, he wasn’t someone who had a keen eye for the game and didn’t focus on the individual details, he sort of loved it in the dynamic of teams and how a team works and he liked to chime in with how he believed team cultures should be. I think every team I’ve been in has had a manager who has that past Counter-Strike experience and has sort of helped on that sort of thing. Obviously I do care about the culture and I do care about those things so I do have my say on them, but its also nice when you have someone who helps you, because sometimes it can be hard to balance both of those relationships, and sometimes you’re a bit closer than he is… he’s more on the outside, so it does help in that sense.
To take it back to this morning, you played Viperio. It was a really close game, was that something you expected seeing as Vertigo is one of their better maps?
No, to be honest not at all, I think they’ve lost like fifteen of their most recent games.
Yeah, thirteen best-of-threes.
They’ve used a lot of stand-ins to be fair to them and it must be tough to keep playing with so many stand-ins. It’s been really confusing preparing for them, one game one guy is AWPing and stuff like that. Honestly, we definitely weren’t expecting a tough game, we obviously know that when it’s the RMR everyone wants to give their best, the pressure is a bit higher and those best-of-ones can get shaky, but we thought it would be an easy game. It started off like it was looking like that and then we slowly made a few mistakes and let them claw their way back in and we did get a bit shaky, but no we thought it was going to be an easy game to be honest.
Honestly, we definitely weren’t expecting a tough game
To get into specifics of that, I think roeJ mentioned your CT sides were lacking and your T sides were good on Vertigo, but it was the flipside on this game. Do you know why that was, was it just because of the nature of the way that Viperio were playing or was that just coincidence.
I think, when you get stressed and you’re making mistakes, it can affect both CT and T. But I think that on T when it’s happening in the game and you might mess up a few midround situations, they’re hard to fix in the moment because it’s very specific what decision someone has made in that moment. I think the way we approach our default is pretty fine, we’re always getting opening kills and we’re mostly getting map control.
It came down to how we’re scaling and how many people are going up and the trades, those things are hard to fix and I think it just came down to stress. If we started T side and were rolling T side, and then we went CT, I think the same could have happened with it getting dicey just because of the stress of playing a lower tier team when you don’t want to throw that game away. I don’t think it’s much to do with CT or T, I think it was just some silly mistakes that happened in the moment.
Just to focus on Viperio a little bit, are you impressed with what they showed, seeing as they surprised you?
I think I was impressed by them a few months ago when they had some upsets, maybe it’s even longer than a few months ago when they beat forZe and I think that’s when I suggested to our academy team at the time to get volt, because they had some decent results and he was playing pretty good. I was quite impressed with them at the qualifier, but I think they’ve had a lot of roster issues and stand-in issues, so not so much impressed, but at the same time they should be proud if they’re not a full-time team. They’ve had a lot of stand-ins, to even get here is an achievement. I think they’ve just got to keep doing what they’re doing and actually get a stable lineup and actually play some games with the same five, and I think then they can look forwards.
I was quite impressed with them at the qualifier […] they should be proud even if they’re not a full-time team. They’ve had a lot of stand-ins, to even get here is an achievement.
The fact that Into The Breach and Viperio have made it, obviously it’s history for UK CS, making it this far. Do you think it’s a good sign for the UK or do you think it’s lucky that they’ve managed to get here?
I think it’s a good sign for UK CS. It’s nice that despite a lot of the old guard leaving, and maybe a lot of the better UK players going to international teams… Endpoint are kind of an international team, it’s nice that you have these teams of players. Honestly I don’t know any of them and I’ve been in the UK scene for 17 years – but they’ve still come despite not having anyone really to teach them and they’ve found their own way of playing, and that’s always nice to see. You then have your Into The Breach crowd which is half old-Endpoint, it’s nice seeing CRUC1AL again even though he’s not UK, he’s basically English at this point.
[It] would be really nice would be to see a UK team stick together for a long time, and really see where they can go.
He’s an honorary Brit at this point.
Yeah, and it’s nice to see Thomas doing well again. I think what would be really nice would be to see a UK team stick together for a long time, and really see where they can go. I thought that would be Endpoint so it’s a shame to not see them here I think.
