Natus Vincere's path to the VCT EMEA playoffs has become increasingly uncertain. After opening Stage 2 with a victory over FUT Esports, the Ukrainian organization has since suffered back-to-back defeats, the latest a 2-0 loss to Gentle Mates on Thursday. Despite Emirhan "hiro" Kat continuing to deliver standout performances and Abdullah "ExiT" Al-Twaijri appearing to have settled into the roster well, the results have yet to follow.
NAVI will still have two opportunities to turn their campaign around against BBL Esports and PCIFIC Esports, but their chances of securing a direct playoff berth have already diminished considerably. Having joined the team ahead of Stage 1, in-game leader Caide "chloric" Heaton spoke with Sheep Esports about the numerous changes NAVI have undergone in recent months.
What’s your first feeling after the game?
Caide “chloric” Heaton: “Disappointment. I think we should have won on Sunset since it was our map. So yeah, just a little disappointed right now.
What do you think went wrong during this game during both maps?
chloric: On Sunset, I think we were playing a little bit too passive at first and then we switched modes. We had these rounds that we should have just won and we ended up playing too aggressive at the end of the day. So we just kept overpeaking. Like we had rounds in hands and then we overpeaked. But I think we started our game too passive and then at the end of the game maybe overpeaking a little bit too much. And then Haven, they were just able to run away with it. We lost bonus and we just kept getting picked one by one and didn't really play much as a team.
Are you satisfied with the way your team began stage 2? What do you think could be improved in your team?
chloric: I think there's a lot of improvements right now. But for me, I'm not really focused on this game and what happened. I'm just focused on improving every week because obviously, no matter what, everybody makes play-ins and that's when you need to show that you're the best and you need to be the best. So I think that my main goal is just improving week by week with the team and looking at the mistakes and making sure we're ready for the play-ins or play-offs, depending on how it goes, and winning there.
Your teammate hiro had a very strong first map today and also had two great games to start the Stage 2. A lot of people consider him as one if not the best players of the league right now. How is it to play with someone like him?
chloric: It's fantastic. His aim is just so absurd to watch. You watch it every day, it feels some days that he legit has an aimbot, he can't miss. And it's fantastic to watch. It's a blessing to have a player like that.
You also have two new players in the roster compared to the last stage How do you feel like their integration has been to the team?
chloric: Their integration has been good. I think right now we're working out a few things and hopefully we can start facing them rapidly week by week, but I think integration has been honestly good because everybody's really open to feedback and we're learning a lot. So as long as we can apply what we're learning, I think we'll do very well in playoffs or play-ins. So I think the integrations went very well.
On the personal side, you also joined NAVIi during Stage 1 to make your debuts in VCT. How was your own integration?
chloric: My integration was quite difficult because during Stage 1, we had constantly moving rosters with ExiT having visa issues. So my integration was difficult, but I made sure to make the best out of it. I hope that at this stage, we can prove what we're capable of because I believe we can make it to the Champions and do great there as long as we keep working hard and playing correctly. Obviously, we didn't show the greatest things today, but we can do it.
How did NAVI contact you? How did you end up joining the team?
chloric: It was after kickoff. They reached out to me when I was playing with NRG Academy. I was waking up at 3 to 4 a.m. my time in the States to play some trials with them. Then after a couple of trials we clicked really well, they wanted me and then that's how it went.
Is there any player that you've been playing against that you particularly felt impressed by since you joined the league?
chloric: Honestly, the player I get props to is Minny (Patrik Hušek), since he just beat me. He's been switching roles and he's actually been playing very good on the duelist, so I'll give my props to Minny.
From the outside, the level of the league looks pretty stacked and a lot of people are saying that a lot of teams can actually pretend to qualify for Shanghai. People are not necessarily mentioning Na'Vi among these teams. Do you feel like your team is kind of underestimated right now?
chloric: I think that we are the Dark Horse team and the underdogs. I feel like if we show our true potential, then we can make it to Shanghaï. But right now, we're not able to show it. There's stuff blocking us and if we're able to get over that hurdle and just keep the momentum up, I think we can make it all the way to Shanghai and be the Dark Horse team that makes it.
What is the biggest thing for you that needs to be improved as a team to qualify then?
chloric: I think right now, it's a lot of individual frustration. Everyone is getting frustrated at themselves or maybe they're getting down on themselves for how they're performing but I think if we just learn to let things go and focus like round by round which is the thing we're focusing on right now, then I think we could make it. I would say It's us versus us, not us versus the enemy team.”
