VIT PAL: "I feel proud to say that we are the best team in the EMEA"

Team Vitality secured their second victory of VCT EMEA Stage 2 with a win over PCIFIC Esports. After a demanding opening week that included a defeat to BBL Esports, the French side have bounced back despite an increasingly packed schedule over the past few weeks

So far, the relentless pace has had little impact on the team's results. Following the match, Head Coach Gregor "PAL" Morton spoke with Sheep Esports about Team Vitality's current form and how the squad is handling the demanding run of fixtures.

Gregor "PAL" Morton: “Obviously happy that it was as clean as it was. I think there were definitely a lot of rounds that we could have and should have been executing a lot better. In the first half on both maps, we were not as strong as we would want, but in the second half we were able to close out very comfortably. So it’s good to see patterns and things that we can therefore work on because they're consistent. Ultimately, it was still nice to get two relatively clean wins.

PAL: We should have won last week, in my opinion. I think we just got a lot of small details wrong with simple things like clearing corners or being probably the most prominent one. The win against NAVI was good. Obviously we had to change our Sunset after that, which we saw being much more successful today, so that was a good bounce back from the boys. And the only thing is now really just looking at these first halves on each map. If we can start a little bit better, a little bit more consistently, then I'll be much happier with the performance so far.

PAL: We definitely should have executed details better when we played with those officials. So now in practice, it's been more about making sure we are consistent with those micro details, that we spend a little bit more time on the server. Once we recognize where there's uncertainty on how exactly those details need to be executed and just fill in the gaps as we go. So taking footage from scrims and officials and just clarifying stuff to make sure we're consistent when we play it the next time in scrims. It always starts from practice and therefore once that clarity is there, it translates over to the officials.

PAL: Yeah, massively. Tiredness has had the biggest impact on our performance compared to anything else. I think the boys have been working so hard and playing for so long in a lot of different places, which is a massive privilege for us, but ultimately, mentally trying to reset, restart, go into a new tournament, go relatively deep and start fresh again. It's the third time we've now done it since the end of Stage 1 and that takes a lot from the boys.

We're also still seeing a lot of changes to the game. We've basically played three months and it feels like we've played three metas in the same time, or at least three major agent changes. Having to continuously go through that process of refinding what is best, making sure that we're not behind in the meta, that we're doing things right and not putting ourselves at a disadvantage is hard and we're pushing the boys to do that. So yeah, tiredness has a big impact, especially a lot of the execution of those small details that we mentioned. But the boys are still going, so I am happy with that.

PAL: The first reaction was actually quite positive. I think everyone was fairly honest about it, we had a good tournament, we were more than happy to have come in the top 4. We wanted more, of course, by the time that we got there. And it was an awful way to go out, a gutting way to go out. So we obviously were not happy with that performance in that last match. But to come top four in Masters, having barely made top four in our group during Stage 1 was obviously a big sign of the progress that we've made together as a group. So yeah, that initial reaction to it in the debrief that evening after we lost was actually something I was really quite happy with from the group.

PAL: Yeah, so much. I think we could sit here for hours and talk about what I learned from it. Ultimately, the biggest takeaway for me was just the importance of having things sorted before you go. When you get there, it's very fast-paced; you've got a lot of things going quite quickly. You can't continue to work at the same intensity you would do when you're back at home or during a group stage just because there's not enough time and the boys need to be on form. So I think that as much as we had anticipated what that was going to be like and we really tried to get a lot of work in beforehand, ultimately it's a new thing going there and feeling it and experiencing it for the same time.

I'm very grateful for the support that I get from Scuttt (Benjamin Hutchinson) and slk (Aleksey Lynksov) to massively experienced coaches as well and ultimately that's why they're here on this squad. So when we do go to those events, their experience is also really what's able to carry us through.

PAL: Yeah, we do, because ultimately no matter what you do, you can't avoid the extra pressure. You can't avoid the fact that someone is out there and knows they want to beat you. And it is more of an occasion. Anyone who tries to ignore that is probably not really absorbing the fact or recognising the fact that it's going to be a different environment; you're under different circumstances.

Coming back to Berlin, a lot of it is about really making sure we respect the importance of every one of these games. We literally get an extra Champions point for every win that we get. So just re-grounding ourselves, bringing ourselves back and knowing why each game is important. This is where we want to be. This is the performance we want to reach. That's more important to us than anything. It's what I've reminded the boys about in our huddles both today and in our last game against BBL. We don't care where it is, don't care who we're playing against. The performance that we put in on the server is the only thing that matters. It doesn't matter who we're playing against, that will carry us through. The result will take care of itself.

PAL: I think we should definitely say that we're satisfied with a lot of things. A top four finish at Masters is really good. Obviously, Vitality as a club has only managed to reach that once previously and I think given the progress made by bringing one player into the roster and we're able to achieve that with our first split is fantastic. Ultimately, we weren't satisfied with our EWC results. I think we know that we wanted more out of that tournament in terms of our own performance, but also just on a personal level for all of us. We wanted to make the most of being in Paris and I don't think we did that. So yeah, that was a bit of a disappointment.

Now it's about just really rebuilding ourselves into the last stage of the last home stretch of the year. So yeah, I think you can say we're on par with probably expectations, maybe a little bit lower with EWC, but that might just been a little blip. And now it's about just really making sure that we're proud of the performances each week that we put in. We know we can do it. We've got evidence of that. We don't have to be worried now of the fact that we're not capable of living up to what we hoped for. Now it's about making sure that we've got that safety, we know you can do it.

PAL: Yes, I do believe so. I think that the boys are incredibly talented players. I think when you come together and you watch them on the best day, there's no one in this league that can stop them. It makes me very proud to say that we've brought Vitality to this level. Of course, it doesn't mean we're going to win every single game, every single time. We lost last week in two close 13-11s. But I think in terms of the consistency that we're able to put out and how difficult it can be to actually beat us, then yes, I feel proud to say that we are the best team in the EMEA.”