ropz: "You never think you're going to win a series after one map"
After an incredible comeback on Nuke, Vitality have won yet another trophy in 2026.
The series saw them extend their grand final map-winning streak to 15, and we spoke to ropz afterwards to discuss how the final went down, and their future goals if they win the next Major.
“We just couldn't find our footing”
Another trophy win for you guys. Were you ever concerned by the slow start in the group stage?
Not really, the reasons were because we hadn't played enough before the tournament, we had a break after Rio, didn't practice at all. We were rusty, and we expected things wouldn't go well. But, we handled it the right way, and when things got close we played the situations really well.
Coming into the final, you found yourselves 11-0 down on map one. What went wrong, and what did you say to spark the comeback?
There were definitely a few clutches that went wrong, we should've had a minimum of three or four rounds as a safety net to keep it going on CT, but we lost all the T side clutches, we just couldn't find our footing. The rest of the rounds, they played well, obviously, but if we had those clutches we'd have been fine.
As for at half time, we just always believe. It's funny, because we were on the opposite side of the comeback against GamerLegion in the groupstage, but we knew that as long as we won the pistol and kept going, it wasn't going to end.
Did you know you'd won the final after making the comeback?
I was more confident, for sure. But you never think that you're going to win a series after one map when it's a BO5. It was a lot of confidence, though.
You've won 15 grand final maps in a row. Is that a reflection of a fear factor that you now have? Or is it more to the experience and ability to handle pressure?
It depends on the team we play against. If it's the opponent's first time playing against us, I imagine they're pretty motivated. Imagine last year when we were 7-0 against MOUZ after all the matches we've played, for them, it will be a tough thing mentally, and I'm sure that's the case for other teams as well.
It's starting to be the same way for NAVI, and they're an amazing team, but it's just going really well for us.
The Major is the next big step, but what's next on the list of goals if you win that?
I haven't thought about it. The goal right now is the Major, so that's our focus, but I think that the thing to say is that we're not going to stop and keep it going as long as we can.
Natus Vincere
GamerLegion
FaZe
