After a well-executed opening playoff series against
Fnatic in
LEC Versus,
NAVI ran into a wall on Friday against
Movistar KOI. Already defeated by the Spanish side in their final regular-season match, NAVI suffered another loss and now drop to the lower bracket, where they will await the winner of the series between
Team Heretics and
GIANTX.
Despite this initial setback in the playoffs, the team remains composed and still has a clear path toward qualification for Barcelona. NAVI’s support player, Polat “Parus” Çiçek, sat down with Sheep Esports to discuss what lies ahead for his team this weekend, as well as his own upward trajectory in performance since last season.
What is your first feeling right after the game?
Polat “Parus” Çiçek: “Obviously bad. We can play way better, and I can play way better. In the last game I did a good ultimate on Aphelios and Anivia, but I missed my Q spell behind. Other than that, we didn't really play today. I think that on the map the enemies were playing, and we were kind of reacting to it. So we will try to do better.
It seemed like you weren't able to play your game as you usually do. What went wrong for your team today?
Parus: It felt like they were always winning lanes, especially mid and bot. So when they win mid and bot, they can control the map. They were always up-tempo. They had vision most of the time. And it was hard for us to force a fight. Maybe we could have done better in the first game. But they didn't drop the ball in both games.
It's the second time you’ve lost to Movistar KOI. After the last game of the regular season. Did you prepare better this time with your previous loss against them?
Parus: I think we prepared better, but still we couldn't show what we prepared. We didn't play to our standards. We were not connected well, and we didn't help each other enough. I think our preparation was good, but the execution wasn’t.
Do you think the fact that you haven't been able to place Enes "Rhilech" Uçan on a hypercarry, as you can usually do, made the game harder for you today?
Parus: Not really because we also practice champions in scrims, so it's not a completely different playstyle. In the first game we just had a full-going comp, where we needed to engage and play good in teamfights. We just couldn't do that. We failed it last time as well against
Fnatic. We just need to work on these comps if we want to pick them more. But other than that, there was no problem.
On a personal side, what changed for you between this year and the last one? What's the main reason of your progression?
Parus: I definitely progressed and improved. I think last year, usually, I wasn’t making my own decisions, and I was mostly listening, and when I support listening to other people, it usually doesn't go well. Support needs to take their own decisions and make the calls. I think I didn't play my own game, and I was not performing well on the mechanical side as well. But this year I'm confident I can play my own game, and I feel like I have a better environment. So it helps me as well.
Do you feel like the confidence, as you say, in your own game, in your teammates really helped you to be better overall?
Parus: Yeah, you usually get good confidence from your teammates and how they behave and how they talk to you. My team is helping me; everyone helps each other by giving confidence and playing strong. We are doing well on that.
You only played one year in LEC last year, but you're still the player from your team with the most games in the league. Do you feel like you have a special role in your team, like a leader or someone very vocal?
Parus: Not really. Even though I played more games, I think Maynter (Volodymyr Sorokin) is a bigger guy than us by age and the way he talks. He usually talks and gives feedback the most. Even though I played more in LEC, it feels like I'm not the veteran. I don't have a feeling like that. I would just say it’s Maynter and me who are talking the most.
In-game, do you still feel like you are a vocal player and you are able to make the good calls?
Parus: Yeah, right now I think I have good knowledge about how to play, but obviously some games I fail because we just lose. Still, everyone in the team is talking a lot, except maybe SamD (Lee Jae-hoon). But everyone can shot-call; everyone says what they want to do. When we are on the same page, it goes really well, and when we are not, it makes us make mistakes, as we did today.
What still needs to be improved for you then?
Parus: Mostly decisiveness. I think in-game today, we were not decisive enough on when to engage and when to fight or not. We failed three or four times, and they punished us every time. So it was good by them. And I think that's the most important thing that we should improve.
And individually, do you feel like there’s something you should do better?
Parus: I think that today, my engagements were not good. I had Nautilus and Bard. These two champions should be starting the fight, and I didn't have good starts most of the time. I should be more creative, thinking about where should I go, where should I go from, how do I engage, and who to engage. I think I was not decisive enough, and good on that.
You'll be playing against either GIANTX or Team Heretics in the next round. How do you feel about going into this match?
Parus: I'm still confident, even though we didn't show good performance today. I think we still have really good knowledge, and we know how to play the game. I think we will be prepared, and I think we have a really good chance of winning against both of these teams.
Is your team still in the mindset to play the games as they come and gain experience, or do you have a clearer objective for the rest of this split?
Parus: We just focus on our next objective, but obviously we want to win it all even though we are not there yet. I think we can be, but I still feel like we need time. So far we want to win the next one and go to Barcelona. That would be fun and a good experience for us. I think everyone would be happy with what we got, but if we go to Barcelona, we can even do better.
Do you still feel like there’s a gap between you and the other top teams such as KOI, KC or G2?
Parus: In my opinion, I don't think there is a big gap, but there is still one because you can see they are playing some things better than us. They are more decisive. I think that's the most important thing they do better than us. I think there is a gap, but it's not like a gap that we cannot close or that can’t make us win this split.”
