It’s a clean sweep for
Team Vitality on the opening day of the bracket stage. Despite a shaky group stage, the Hornets rose to the challenge and defeated fellow European representatives Ninjas in Pyjamas in a 4–0 fashion, advancing to face Spacestation Gaming next, one of only two remaining North American representatives at the
Rocket League Paris Major.
In an exclusive interview,
Brice “ExoTiiK” Bigeard sat down with
Sheep Esports to discuss Vitality’s current form and recent results, as well as what changed within the team to spark this turnaround, before closing with a message to Karmine Corp should the two teams meet later in the tournament.
How did you find today’s match against Ninjas in Pyjamas?
Brice "ExoTiiK" Bigeard: “We played a really clean match. From start to finish, we had good control of the game. It’s quite different from the last two days, which were a bit more complicated, so we’re happy. We’re satisfied with the team’s performance today, and we’ll try to keep that confidence going for the rest of the tournament.
Last year NiP eliminated Vitality in Lyon at the Worlds. Was there any sense of revenge going into this match?
ExoTiiK: No, not really, because it’s not the same players at all anymore. And losing once to a team isn’t necessarily something that creates a revenge mindset anyway.
Honestly, I didn’t think too much about it. Before the match we just said, “Ah yeah, we’re playing NiP,” but that was it. We didn’t really give it any special importance.
In this series, you took on a lot of responsibility early on. How did you feel individually throughout the games?
ExoTiiK: Yeah, I had a good start. I made a few small mistakes in the first game, but after that I felt much better. Especially in game two, where I think I had a really strong performance.
Then in games three and four, I kept that momentum going and zen (Alexis Bernier) also started to step up. And from that point on, when he’s in that rhythm, we just let him make his plays and support from behind.
After a somewhat shaky group stage and a difficult day, what did you tell yourselves and put in place to bounce back today?
ExoTiiK: We mainly went back to scrims, worked a lot, and talked together a lot. We reviewed replays to understand what we needed to change. Even this afternoon before the match, we were still going over things and discussing.
We had two really difficult days, so we took the time to talk things through and come in with a fresh mindset. And today, it worked.
Can these more difficult group stages actually be a good thing for you in the end?
ExoTiiK: Sometimes starting badly can give you a bit of a wake-up call for the rest of the tournament. So it can be a blessing in disguise. That said, I’d obviously prefer to go 3-0 and be comfortable, but maybe this will help us stay more switched on for the lower bracket.
Tomorrow you face Spacestation: what do you think about that team?
ExoTiiK: I think they’re roughly the same level as NiP. We’re confident. As long as we manage to play our own game, it should go well.
You have the longest streak of LAN qualifications, but people in France often talk more about zen or Axel "Vatira" Touret. Do you ever feel underrated?
ExoTiiK: It’s something I’ve kind of stopped thinking about. No matter what I do, I think I’ll always be in that category of players who get talked about less. But honestly, I don’t really care anymore. As long as I’m winning as a team, I’m happy.
I’m satisfied with my personal achievements, and what people say on social media doesn’t really matter to me.
You’re a former KC player and could potentially face them with Vitality in front of a French crowd. Do you have a message for the Blue Wall and the Golden Hornets?
ExoTiiK: If we face each other, I think it’ll be a really cool match. The last time I experienced that matchup was when I was on Karmine Corp against Vitality at Worlds 2023.
For the Blue Wall, I hope there will be a lot of them and that they bring an incredible atmosphere to the arena.
And for the Golden Hornets, thank you for supporting us and keep it going. It gives us a lot of strength, as you could see today. We won 4-0 today, and it’s partly thanks to them. It motivates us a lot, so keep it up starting tomorrow as well.”
