NAVI b1t at IEM Cologne: “It would be a very interesting match from both sides ” against Vitality

Counter-Strike

August 17, 2024

Bruno Sobieraj

NAVI show no signs of slowing down, with their incredible group stage form booking them an IEM Cologne semi-final spot in the LANXESS. We had the chance to speak to Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy ahead of the playoffs.

Credit: ESL

Bruno: Congrats on qualifying to the semis. You lost only one map to SAW along the way.

How would you rate your team’s performance so far?

b1t: I feel we’re playing a lot. We have good individual form and good team performance. We didn’t have many days off, we’re grinding a lot, so it’s good.

Bruno: You’ve made Mirage your home map, you have a big win streak on it.

Is there something specifically about Mirage that makes your playstyle shine and makes you so good on it?

b1t: Basically about Mirage… we’ve played this map a lot. We spoke a lot about this map and we reviewed a lot of games, so we grew up from every game and upgraded our map basically. For sure we can upgrade more, it’s about knowledge and taking lessons.

Bruno: You’ve been playing really well individually, especially after the summer break you’ve taken a step up.

Is it because you’re doing something personally or the team’s system is just clicking very well?

b1t: I mean, I don’t know. It depends. It’s hard to say.

Bruno: You won Cologne before with NAVI, although it wasn’t in the arena.

If you were to win this tournament, would it mean more than the previous one?

b1t: Sure. This kind of event is very important to every player. It would be very good for me and I would be very happy.

I remember one time when we lost against FaZe Clan in the Grand Final. It was the fifth map, 14-14 and it was a very painful loss.

So basically it’s a very important event for every player.

Bruno: This is probably the best NAVI has looked since the 2021 Major-winning team.

How do these teams compare? Are they similar in any way?

b1t: It’s hard to say, because every player, every person is an individual. For sure there are some differences. If you took every team, every team has differences and they can not be similar for sure. Basically, of course, every team is different.

Bruno: After s1mple went on his break when CS2 came out, and w0nderful joined the team, then after some time you’ve had this success.

Do you think you could have done the same with s1mple? Would he fit the style of the team?

b1t: I think that it’s life and it happened like this and you can’t think what would happen: if it would be like this or if it would be like that. I never think like that, because it’s not good I guess.

Bruno: Now you’re in the semis. Some players don’t like going straight to the semis, because of no warmup.

Do you care about that at all?

b1t: For me, it’s obviously better to go to the semi-finals instantly, because you need to win less games to win the tournament. And you have some time to watch how your opponents will play, so you have time to prepare as well. So, I think it’s better to start from the semis.

Bruno: On the other side of the bracket there’s Vitality, FaZe, and SAW.

Which of these teams would you prefer to face in the final?

b1t: I mean, we need to qualify for the final first of all. Second of all, I think we didn’t play a lot against Vitality. I mean we didn’t play this year at all against them, so it would be a very interesting match from both sides, for sure. If we talk about FaZe, we played a lot against them in 2024, so it would be a very good match.

Lastly, what’s your favorite Cologne moment, either playing or watching?

b1t: When we won in 2021.

Bruno: Thank you and good luck.