Fnatic are one of the most seasoned teams at the Major. The organization was founded in 2004, and the CS team was the first in history to win three Majors (DreamHack Winter 2013, ESL Katowice 2015 and ESL Cologne 2015).
Since then, the team has not lifted a Major trophy, and to be fair, the trophy cabinet hasn't seen any addition since their win at DreamHack Masters Malmö in 2019, four years ago.
But that could very well change this week. With a still relatively new roster, fnatic are striving for eternal glory once more in Paris
BLAST.tv talked to fnatic's in-game leader, mezii, who believes the team can improve from the Rio Major, where the team made it all the way to the quarter-finals.
In the last Major you made it to the top 8, are you expecting a similar performance this time?
We are definitely looking to make it to the playoffs and just have a better showing at the Major overall, as we have been inconsistent throughout this season. I am happy with the improvements we are making and getting back to the form we had at the end of last year, where we can make it to the playoffs and even go further this time.
You’re still relatively new to IGLing, how would you describe the experience so far?
It has been a tough process for me but I am very happy with how it is going and the improvements I am making in the new role. I knew it would always be quite rough transitioning into a different role and even more so going into the IGL but with the help from the team, coach and Fnatic staff, I feel I am learning each day not only ingame but also learning how to be a leader outside the game. It's a work in progress.
What are the biggest things you’ve learned from it?
I would say the biggest things I have learned would be mostly outside the game and having more of a voice in the team talks and what I expect from the team, and having a more ‘hype’ personality at times. There are always in-game situations and responsibilities I am learning each day after reviewing games or practices but leadership outside of the game is where the biggest lessons have been for me.
We’ve seen a lot more out of nicoodoz recently, what’s changed in the team to enable him to perform more consistently?
I think we just had a lot more conversations with him to ensure he is getting everything he needs to perform. When he is at 100% confidence, you can really see it, a bit crazy at times, but his impact is incredible, so keita and I are working closely with him to make sure it’s on a consistent basis and I have full faith in Nico being able to do it with how hard he works.
Paris will feature the most UK players ever at a Major with yourself and the three players on ITB, what do you think this will mean for the UK scene going into CS2?
I think it’s great for the UK Scene, we have never had this many players at a major. Not only this, a UK-majority team at the major is amazing to see. I am so happy for them as it's a great achievement. I hope we see more of it in CS2 and it shows all UK players that just really grinding and putting in the time can result in this, it will not ever be an easy journey or just a straight road to tier-1 CS but we have enough examples now to show that a grind mentality is needed and not to give up.
Someone told me you do a lot to help out some of the UK players, could you tell me more about that?
I always tell UK players just to give me a DM on Twitter or Steam if they need help in any way. Whenever I have time, I am looking at my Twitter DMs and try to answer all the questions. I enjoy helping, it's always nice to know that there are UK players/teams actively looking to improve.
Do you think CS2 will see the best version of the UK scene yet?
I hope so, haha. I don’t see why not, a ‘fresh’ start in some way, and we are ending CSGO in a really good position with some UK players really showing what they can do, so I guess we will see, I just hope the scene is not just satisfied with where we are or how we finished CSGO, now is the time to really push on!
fnatic's first game in the Legends Stage is against NIP, Saturday 13th at 13.00.
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