Aleksib on S1mple playing with Nova shotgun: "I just remember B1T saying, «Sasha, just buy AWP now»" Interview
2023-09-14 17:07:00NAVI captain Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen spoke about the team's atmosphere and behind-the-screen work in a post-match interview at ESL Pro League S18. He shared his feelings about playing with Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev and praised Justinas "jL" Lekavicius for keeping the spirits high at any moment.
Playing with s1mple is exactly what you'd expect. And you see these [kinds of] people in normal sports. Where I feel like esports is a bit soft. But when you compare it to normal sports, you have these stars who have it their way and have a strong mentality. And I feel like Sasha is the same, and you need to respect: Obviously, he's the greatest. You need to learn, but at times, you need to find common ground if you want to move forward.
They discussed the moment when s1mple bought Nova, got four frags against pistols, and then fought with the shotgun again versus full buy. Aleksib said B1T was trying to stop s1mple.
I just remember Valerij saying, "Sasha, just buy AWP now." <...> It might be a bit uncomfortable, but if he's feeling something, he would do it, and I think that's the reason why he's so good. He is confident in all these little tricks he can do. Obviously, if it doesn't work, it looks a bit iffy, but he made it work, I guess, so…
Aleksib thinks jL has a lot of impact on their moral state. He's always in a good mood, saving them from the atmosphere of a "graveyard 24/7."
I think JL is a perfect fit for an international team. <...> All I'm saying is you need to have these key players on teams who are ready to sacrifice and have a good time because if it wasn't for jL in our camp, I think it would be like a graveyard 24/7.
That's one of the biggest things. Because he's keeping a good mood even though things are bad or things are down. A lot of the time, he's lifting an individual up, and that's all it takes for us to be better.
NAVI defeated 5yclone in the debut at ESL Pro League S18. In the next match, jL will have to face his former teammates from Apeks. The series will start on September 14, 16:00 CEST.
