FNC Boaster: "After big losses and stuff, we are able to maintain our trust and our camaraderie"

Eliminated from the VCT EMEA Kickoff in the final match of the tournament on February 15, Fnatic returned to competition this Wednesday with a victory over Eternal Fire in the opening match of Stage 1. After more than a month without playing, the region’s multiple-time champions needed some time to regain their rhythm but ultimately secured a 2–1 win, closing the series with a dominant 13–2 stomp on the final map. After securing the win, IGL and team captain Jake “Boaster” Howlett spoke with Sheep Esports about the weeks following the team’s elimination and their return to the stage.

Jake “Boaster” Howlett: “If it's a 2-1 and it's a close game, I always like being the winner of that. Losing a 2-1 is always hard, but winning a 2-1 means there's stuff to improve, stuff to learn from, with also the satisfaction of getting the win. So I'm feeling pretty good. I think it was “first day back on the job” vibes.

Boaster: I was expecting them to play pretty well, to be fair, maybe not at this level, especially this echo (Ömür Serkan Şenol) guy. It’s his first time, so I wasn't expecting that level of performance, and I wasn't expecting our level of as well. We had a really slow start, really slow time to get into it all.

Boaster: I think we do a little bit better every year. We're slowly improving. I think we could have obviously qualified; it would have been fun, but I think this is where we thrive. When the season is really long, we get to play every week and grow, and we have such a good atmosphere within the team that we're able to challenge each other and get better over time. And this is why Fnatic is always so good in the middle of the year as well, because it also gets a bit more sunny outside.

Boaster: I think my performance wasn't very great, but also I think we didn't adapt very well to what the enemies were doing to us. We weren't able to take risky plays; we didn't have a full macro setup sorted out on some maps. And so on maps where we needed to come in clutch, we weren’t able to do so, and we weren't able to win specific maps that we needed to pick or ban. We felt a bit suffocated in kickoff, it was too late to learn Breeze and some stuff.

Boaster: No, I think one thing our team is really good at is bouncing back and resetting. So after big losses and stuff, we are able to maintain our trust and our camaraderie. We're able to believe in each other and enjoy each other's company and that kind of perseverance through the losses. So the losses hit us hard, but they hit us together. And then we also bounce back hard, and we bounce back together.

Boaster: Honestly, I was just playing a lot more ranked. I've changed my routine a little bit to be focused less on strategy stuff and more on my individuals even more, because I feel like the meta doesn't require that much strategy right now. And so you might see like a lesser macro or lesser IGLing display from me, but I'm hoping that you'll see a slightly bit more firepower when I'm able to like do a little bit my role if they're running at me and stuff. Today wasn't the best day, to be fair, but I just have to keep improving and learning.

Boaster: I think our ability to try different things. We're really playing a style that's not really suitable for us and suitable for me. It's very fast. There's Neon walls, Waylay flying, Skye flashes, a lot of things for your mind to process in the heat of it. And so it's just getting used to that and taking that to our advantage. It's very chaotic, even for my 30-year-old brain.

Boaster: I think they had a really good experience. They had the right resources or the right way to bounce back; maybe they could have. I think the level in EMEA is not as high as always at the start of the year. And I think those teams that we sent to internationals were good, but they lack the extra source that the more experienced teams have, like G2 or NRG. But that doesn't mean that they can't get it. I think the more experience they get, the more practice they get, and more. It depends on whether they fall off as a team or keep growing as a team, that is going to be the big play.

Boaster: I think there are quite a few. It's so hard to tell at the start, but it's anyone's game normally. I'd say there are obvious ones with BBL, Heretics, Gentle Mates. Liquid, let’s see how they bounce back here. Vitality now have their full roster in form. PCIFIC could have been cooking more. It's so hard to tell. I think all these players, all these teams have a good player or two good players or three good players. It's just whoever shows up on the day right now. Look, our first game today, echo was pushing his team through so many big rounds, and I think it’s very important.

Boaster: 100%. I think the level seems to be a bit more balanced this year in EMEA. NA doesn't seem to be that balanced. It seems very top-heavy, but EMEA seems very, it's a fiesta, that's for sure. We don't know what's going on.

Boaster: It’s so hard to tell, we've not scrimmed them. Obviously, Sayonara (Ștefan Mîtcu) is a player I know very well, and so are Derke (Nikita Sirmitev) and Chronicle (Timofey Khromov), all players I've played with. I’m not sure how the meta will suit them. I've been looking at their scrims sometimes, but you can't really judge how the scrims are going, whether they're doing well or getting absolutely owned. All we can do is keep improving on ourselves. The big thing is going to be this Waylay Nerf coming in. It might have to change up some of the comps and stuff. So it's going to be an interesting week for us, that's for sure.

Boaster: We played them once when they had a sub. This time I'm looking forward to playing them when they don't have a sub, and I hope they give us a good game. It's always fun to play my ex-teammate, and obviously I hope that we can win, I want to keep the dominance.”