npl: "Maybe we'll have the Major aura and make it all the way to playoffs"
One of the youngest teams in the BLAST.tv Austin Major, B8 will head to Texas with a point to prove.
The only team flying the flag for Ukraine in the event, they have some solid experience with the likes of npl and headtr1ck, and the former is also paving the way for the IGLs of the future as he also acts as the star of the team.
Ahead of the event, we sat down with npl to discuss the season so far, his decision to take up the captaincy of B8, and whether it's a job he'd like to do long term.
"I don't think it's good if teams receive invites four months before a tournament"
We're coming to the end of the first season of 2025, how has it been for you?
I think that we've played pretty good in this half of the year until the Major, so the Major itself is the last point of our journey, hopefully we'll play good there, too.
The only real tier one tournament we've seen you guys in this year was BLAST Bounty, were you expecting to play in more tier one events at the start of the year?
We didn't expect to play a lot of tier one tournaments, but the ranking system especially didn't allow for it, most of the invites were given out at the start of the year and we just didn't even have a chance.
Some teams played one tier one tournament, like BLAST Bounty, and they managed tow in some games and get a lot of points and then got invites for tournaments like IEM Dallas or PGL Astana, invites are given so far ahead so I don't think it's fair.
So for a team like B8, it's a big problem with the current system?
I like the system, but yeah, there's some big gaps like this. I don't think it's good if teams receive invites four months before a tournament. Some other teams need to have more chances to get those invites.
You recently came second in the CCT Global Finals, were you happy with that result?
I think we were happy because we managed to beat some good teams, we lost to HEROIC in the final, but we beat them earlier on in the tournament. They just prepared for us and we weren't able to show our game, they outplayed us. We're happy, though, we gained a lot of points.
Photo: B8Let's talk about your journey to where you are as a player today, a couple years ago when you were on NAVI, did you expect that two years later you would be the star and IGL of a completely different team?
No, I'd say not. I always knew that I could be a captain, I'm fine with the role, but I didn't think it would happen this fast. I thought it would happen in five years or longer, at the end of my career.
But, this is how it is. There was no options back then, so I have to take the role and be the guy to lead the team.
You've said before about how the time in NAVI prepared you to be the IGL of this team, if you hadn't have had that spell on the NAVI team, do you think you wouldn't have said yes to becoming B8's IGL?
I think no, the NAVI time gave me good experience, but I don't think I would've said no. Maybe I just would've needed to spend more time to become a better IGL and gain more experience by myself.
You've also spoke about how you see the future of IGLing and having stars as IGLs, we've seen a few players try this and struggle, so what has allowed you to succeed in doing so?
We're only playing against tier two and three teams, so it's easier for me to play as both the star and the IGL. In tier one, there's a lot of good players and it's harder, so I think that's why someone like Twistzz might have decided to take the step back from IGLing.
In that case, let's say you become a consistent tier one team, how do you expect your role to change? Will you still look to be the star and the IGL, or would you have to take a step back from one of the two roles?
I have no idea, I'll have to decide when the team will need it. It's too hard for me to say right now.
Would you prefer to keep IGLing? Would that be the primary focus?
I think no right now, at least. Maybe in five years I'll take a full IGL role, but right now, no.
Photo: B8headtr1ck had similar experiences to you, he went to NIP and got a lot of tier one experience there, how important is having that tier one experience to the team when it comes to big moments like the MRQ?
One hundred percent, yes. We have three players who haven't played in tier one and they don't have that experience, sometimes they get nervous in stressful situations, but we have headtr1ck and myself and we both try to say to the guys to calm down and stick to our game.
It also helps because we can feel it in the games that we aren't stressing, and that gives you confidence and good decision-making.
You also played on NAVI Junior together before those times in tier one, how did he change as a player in the time you weren't on the same team?
He became calmer, back then, he was angrier in some situations, that's the main thing that changed.
When you get to the Major, what are the hopes? How far do you need to go to say that it was a successful result?
We'll see, but for me, I want to get to at least the second stage. We're a high ranked team in the first stage, so we have to get out of it at least.
Then we can try to show our best game against better teams than us, try to go to the third stage and maybe then we'll have the Major aura and make it all the way to playoffs.
You'll also be flying the flag for Ukraine in the Major, which is a rare thing for teams to get to do given the amount of international teams nowadays, is that something you take a lot of pride in and gives you extra motivation?
For sure, we're really proud to represent our country and we're happy that we get to do it at the Major. i think we're also the youngest team at the Major, so we're very happy to play here.
What do you think being the youngest team in the event says about the potential within the team?
I think it means that we have a lot of time, we still have two or three years looking at the average ages of other teams, so even if we show a bad game here, we'll probably come back in one of the next couple of Majors.
We're a young team, we have a lot of potential, and we play tournaments just to gain experience and get better and better.
