NIP Joreuz: “I feel so much more secure in my longevity than I did two years ago.”

The Ninjas in Pyjamas Rocket League roster’s Esports World Cup run came to an end with a 4-3 semifinal loss to Spacestation Gaming, followed by a 3-0 victory over Karmine Corp in the third-place match. Following both series, Joris “Joreuz” Robben joined us for an interview to discuss NiP’s EWC performance, the importance of the placement match, his longevity as a professional player, and what head coach Lachlan “LBP” Parker brings to the team.

Joris "Joreuz" Robben: We definitely showed some greatness at times. Especially against SSG, we had very good games and then very bad games as well. It's kind of been the story of our season. We showed at the start of the season that we could be good, but in high-pressure moments, we kind of crumbled, which is sad. Still, we took them to seven, so it's fine.

I'm really happy with our series against KC because after a loss against SSG, when you're pretty much out of the tournament, it's really easy to give up and not give your best. I'm happy we still showed up and gave the fans what they wanted. We showed respect to ourselves and to the organizer of this tournament.

Joreuz: In Game 7, for the first time in this tournament, we felt scared to lose. Every game we played before this, we really felt like the underdog. It's easy to play without expectations or pressure on yourself. Against SSG, we had that feeling of, “We should win this.”

When Game 7 turned around, we didn't have that carefully flowing playstyle we were trying to go for. We were more in the headspace of, “I don't want to lose against SSG. We should win this. We should be in the final right now.” With Rocket League, if you start thinking, “I can't lose this right now,” and you start being scared, then you're going to lose. That's what happened today.

Joreuz: This EWC is definitely a great improvement for us. We showed pretty much nothing at the last two Majors, and our level of play this tournament was probably top one or top two out of all the teams there. It's a shame we kind of trolled against SSG, but our overall level of play was definitely one of the best in the world. We felt that ourselves.

I couldn't say we'd win the finals, but we definitely have the ability to do so, which I'm happy about. At least we're contending.

Joreuz: The match against KC was way less important than the one against SSG, but it was important for us to have some dignity. We talked to each other beforehand. We didn't just wait it out. We said, “Okay, guys, we want to do this for each other and for the fans. We want to show up even though we just got a really rough loss.” We can still bounce back and do it even though we might not be fully feeling it.

Joreuz: It definitely felt important. The paycheck that comes with it was also a factor, and we wanted to move up the club rankings. It's still a very substantial amount of money, and it's also just an honor.

Joreuz: Yes, it definitely gives us a lot of confidence. We've shown against Gentle Mates, Shopify Rebellion and Twisted Minds that we can beat contending teams, especially M8 and TWIS, who I would say are also contenders to win Worlds. We already showed that we can beat them. Beating KC in such a fashion, even though they maybe weren't fully at their peak, still makes me feel like if we're in a grand final like that, we have the edge.

Joreuz: What we tried to do for this tournament was not think too much going into it. We played more on instinct, and I think we're going to keep doing that. We didn't even bootcamp for this tournament, but I think we will for Worlds.

The mentality is just to hop into the game, play with each other, not think too much about it, and let those thousands and thousands of hours show themselves on the pitch. I think we're going to continue playing like that for Worlds too.

Joreuz: I definitely feel way more positive about my career right now than I did a few years ago. Last season was maybe a better season for me, but right now it feels up to par. I feel like, I wouldn't say I'm in my prime, but it does kind of feel like that.

I don't feel like I'm having the best year I'll ever have right now, but it definitely doesn't feel like I'm trending downwards. I feel like I'm more of a contender at the top than I was even a year ago. We only didn't win a regional this year, but I definitely think I've taken a positive turn in my career. It's hard with Rocket League because you can fall off really quickly, but I feel so much more secure in my longevity than I did two years ago.

Joreuz: Back then, when they first teamed, I thought they were a promising young team, but they really showed that they could crumble under pressure. It wasn't world-stage pressure, but in top-eight matches or even in Swiss, you'd see that the moment they played against an experienced team, they didn't really know how to handle themselves.

But I think they've grown a lot over the years. I still don't think they're at their peak yet. I don't know how this final is going to go. Maybe I'm going to get proven wrong, but I do feel like Falcons will have the edge over them.

They've made huge steps. Being in the grand final of the EWC is not an easy thing to achieve. It shows that they've grown a lot as players and probably as people too. They have proven themselves. That vision people had of them two years ago maybe came sooner than expected, but they've done a really good job and have promising futures ahead of them.

Joreuz: LBP is more of a mental coach than a gameplay coach. He's very good at creating a team atmosphere. He's good at assessing people's mental and knows what to do with different players, what works and what doesn't.

Overall, he's just a very kind and pleasant man to be around. He'll always try his hardest to come up with solutions and fix things, and he'll always make sure you're heard. He'll help whenever you ask and whenever he thinks you need to have a conversation.

He can also have difficult conversations, which is great. It doesn't feel like he's just being a friendship coach, trying to friendship his way into being a job. He genuinely does this with a passion and love for the game, which is a really big thing for me.

Joreuz: That's a really difficult question. I would love to say Worlds, but if we keep our momentum up, I'd say Worlds. But nass (Nassim Bali) is a great player, so I'd say it's pretty even. There's a very big chance for both, but it could also go completely the other way. For Worlds, I'd probably give us around a 10% chance. For ENC, I'd give us about a 25% chance. Probably more, yeah.