enkay J on Neityu: "I believe he is the best solution"
enkay J’s job as the new coach of FaZe was already set to be a harder one, but it was quickly made much harder as it was announced karrigan would be departing for Falcons.
However, in his debut event with the team, FaZe have impressed, picking up huge upset wins over FURIA and G2 to find themselves in the semi-finals of BLAST Rivals Fort Worth.
At the event, we sat down with him to discuss his start to life as FaZe coach, the future of the roster, and the atmosphere in the team despite all the setbacks.
“The atmosphere is surprisingly good”
You haven't been with the team for long. How are you finding your start to life as the coach of FaZe?
It's very exciting. Somewhat challenging as well, with the level difference between where I was with ENCE and now here with FaZe, but it's exciting. I'm happy to be here, I'm eager to get to work, and I'm also pleased to be joined by a friendly face in Neityu. The atmosphere is surprisingly good, too.
So the departure of karrigan hasn't affected the atmosphere of the team?
I wouldn't say it has at all, maybe it was the opposite of what people would expect, that now they want to prove themselves and that there is opportunity out there. I wouldn't say it took a hit because of it.
I was a bit surprised by that. When you think about what has happened recently, you'd think everyone would be quite down, but it's the total opposite. I'm very pleased with that.
Everyone has said that karrigan's departure came as a surprise. Was that really the case, or was there a bit more of a warning?
It was actually a surprise. I had a lot of interviews with FaZe, and one of them was with karrigan. It was a surprise to me and, obviously, the players as well. I can't say much about it, though, as I wasn't involved in the process.
You mentioned the step up in level, but with the results FaZe have been having and the VRS slip, does it still feel like that much of a step up? Is it more of a reputational thing?
Given the circumstances and the situation we're in now that we're not under the same leadership as before, you can definitely argue that it's not necessarily the same level. If you think about it, it's a completely new team, even if we only brought in one new player.
You can say because of that, that it might not be that much of a step up anymore, but if you look at the players on the team with broky, frozen, and Twistzz, they have almost won it all, so it's definitely a step up on the individual level.
Collectively speaking, we have to find our identity. karrigan was the face of FaZe, and he's left the team, so now we have to find our own footing.
So, it's definitely a step up in terms of being at a prestigious name, but maybe not anymore in terms of where we're at VRS-wise.
In terms of the team itself, there's some uncertainty about the future of the roster. Is the plan for Twistzz to continue as the IGL?
I can't actually say much; there's a lot of planning going on.
Is it something that won't be decided until after the Major, or can people expect to see things before then?
I would believe it will probably be after the Major, but it's not up to me; it's up to the upper management.
Has there been much of a discussion with you? The way it has seemed in the last year or so is that a lot of the decisions are made by the upper management rather than the team or the coach. How involved are you in those conversations about the future?
I would say I'm very involved, actually. I don't know how much I can say, but I'm in conversations with upper management. I don't know how much I can say about previous years; it's not my position to talk about that, but I would say I'm pretty involved in terms of discussions about which directions we should be going.
In terms of Neityu, he's a stand-in right now, but he's someone you've worked with before. Is he someone you think is ready to step up right now and could impress enough for it to become permanent? Or do you think he still maybe does need some time before tier one is right for him?
I do believe he does have what it takes to fit in naturally, but given the experience he has and his age, there's definitely still room for improvement. For our current situation, role-wise, I do believe he's the best solution.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, what are the key things for you to see despite the uncertainty?
I'm also fairly new to the team, right? I haven't dealt with the players before joining, and we also only had six days of practice because the team was on a short vacation after missing out on the Major.
I'm quite limited in having the time so far to understand the players both as players and also how they are as people, how they operate, how they think. For me, it's a really good opportunity to get to know the players on a personal players and to see their strengths and weaknesses, and also get a good understanding of how I can help them develop and feel comfortable.
