G2 Nexa

nexa: “I would like to play NAVI… for sure it will be a spectacle”

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G2 vs NIP might have had the craziest atmosphere of any quarterfinal — the home favourites taking on the Major villains. It was a fantastic win for G2 in dominant fashion. We were able to talk to the mind behind the plays, Nemanja “nexa” Isaković. We discussed G2’s up-and-coming match-up, the new coaching rules, and what it would take to win it all.

You won your game yesterday but in both maps NIP kind of looked to make comebacks. Was there a specific change in the game plan or did you just play your game and counter them?

Well, they were kind of looking to make comebacks, but honestly it felt like we had the game in our control throughout the whole match on both maps, it felt pretty comfortable. Like we knew even though we were losing the rounds, what was the reason for us losing them and what we needed to change and to start winning again basically, and once one round went our way on both maps we stopped their streak and we just took over full control again and we closed it out pretty comfortably. I think we played pretty well the entire match, but i also think they didn’t play up to their standards. It felt like they were really under stress and pressure playing and they were making a lot of mistakes – individual and team stuff like post plants, clutches we were winning a lot of clutches in that game and it just seems everything went our way.

How does it feel to beat the home team in their home arena?

I think it’s the best feeling having the whole crowd going against you booing you and you know, cheering for everything the other team does and then just shutting them up and completely dominating the home team. It felt absolutely amazing and I think we all prefer to be playing the villain. I think that’s what we represent and what we feel comfortable doing, I guess you could say we really felt at home playing this role.

What team do you think you would like to meet in the final from the other bracket?

Honestly I don’t mind, I would like to play NAVI because we already lost to them twice but it was in best of fives so maybe in best-of-three it goes a bit different. But honestly that would be, like if you meet NAVI in the grand final and you manage to beat them that would really solidify our standings and prove that this was a legit run to win the Major and not just some fluke getting weaker, easier opponents, but you know anything is possible. They are going to play Vitality in the quarters and then potentially Gambit in the semis so they also have a tough bracket for themselves as well. If we make it to the Grand Finals for sure it will be a spectacle to play against them.

For you guys to win the Major who or what has to be the difference-maker?

I think NiKo has to play as he has been playing, he is really in his peak form right now and its helping us tremendously and he’s taking over certain maps and games all by himself. But if we have at the same time huNter- performing as he is expected to and then I think the X-Factor for us is definitely AmaNEk. I think me and JaCkz can fill out the tougher roles and do the clean up for the team basically, and if we have AmaNEk just play above what we expect from him and have a great game or two to just help us out, I think he will make things a lot easier for us. He is our x-factor because if he is on and he is having a good game we will not struggle against any opponent.

For your next game, you are playing against Heroic. How do you shut them down?

I watched their game in the quarterfinals and it didn’t seem they were popping off individually or having some crazy star players showing up and taking over and carrying games by themselves, they have a good strat book. I think they were also playing under a lot of pressure. Who knows how they will play in the semifinals. I think it’s true they maybe have more individuals whose skill ceiling is a bit higher than us but throughout this tournament I think our individuals have showed up way more and have been punching way harder than they were, so its gonna be an interesting match up for sure. We both come from Europe, we played each other multiple times and, again, I think the deciding factor will be just who comes with less pressure into this game and who has their individuals perform better in stress situations like in the clutches and retakes, post plants, all this will be the main deciding factor in the game.

In the last game, we saw NiKo and we saw huNter- especially playing with passion after every clutch, after every win, they were celebrating against the crowd, like the villain thing you were talking about. Heroic will show a very passionate team, do you expect both of you to play with equal passion or one of you to play with more or maybe one of you become more reserved for this game?

No, I think definitely we are all going to show passion, we are all going to scream and yell and cheer up. If it’s against the crowd or with the crowd, it doesn’t matter. I think cadiaN has always been very passionate, he has shown that multiple times even during online. For us in G2, when we were online we were not really that, but being in front of a crowd on a stage, we are just a different team and it shows.

You mentioned how easy it is to cool around NiKo and huNter-, does that become easier on LAN, do you find it easier when you are all in the arena?

I think we just hit another level when we are on LAN. We play with way more confidence but it also helps that on LANs teams are not taking the same initiative on the CT-side. Like they are never pushing and making instant decisions, flanking you, not giving you any space – Its very different playing T-side against CT-side on LAN and online, and I think also maybe it has something to do with coaches being able to give input and push players to make some moves and do some stuff that they are not able to do on LAN. Even just the pressure of playing on the stage can make you not make the same decisions as you would at home, and its really opening up the map a lot, and I think on LAN our T-sides have always been really really good. They were our main thing why we were having big runs, whereas online we were really struggling to get our T-sides rolling just because of our play style is so set on individuals taking map control and creating space, which is easy to shut down when you have a voice in the background telling you, “he’s gonna do this, he’s gonna do this”, “watch out here, watch out here”. On LAN when there’s a bit more pressure and you have more space to work, actually stretch out the map, having people like NiKo and huNter- take 1v1s which they win nine out of ten times. Of course, it makes life very easy.

The coaching situation at the moment has changed. Has that affected your game style or maybe even your game plan or just the way you play at all?

No, not at all. I mean, we always do the prep before the game and we have everything ready if we need to take a timeout for our coach to step in and say something if things are not working that well. He still has the same space he has always had, just he cannot really cheer and scream and yell behind us which kind of sucks for him because I know he really likes to feed off the energy and then pump up the players as well. But overall I don’t think it really changed anything in the context where like, how he’s helping us if there needs to be a timeout or preparing before a game. I think it’s more like a mental thing where he just cannot pump up and cheer his players on.

Is there anything you want to say to G2 army at home or in the stands?

I want to tell them that first of all, thank you for supporting us throughout the whole online period. We had our ups and downs, we were sometimes playing in grand final, sometimes losing 0-5, and thank you for sticking with us throughout all the good and the bad. Now we are in the Semis of the Major and I hope we continue to get your support.
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