nitr0: Any win we get here means a lot to us

NRG have arrived in Barcelona for StarLadder StarSeries Fall, hoping to pick up as many VRS points as possible and close the gap in the race for a PGL Major Singapore spot. They currently sit ninth in the Americas Valve Regional Standings, just 36 points clear of SportsBetExpert behind them.

Although the team's situation is hardly easy, nitr0 is not too worried. After StarSeries Fall, NRG will also attend iBUYPOWER Masters FLM and FRAG University, and he believes the team still has enough chances to shore up its ranking.

“There’s definitely a bit of pressure, but honestly, we’ve still got some solid tier-two events coming up. I’m pretty sure we can beat a lot of the teams ranked above us, so I’m not too worried about it,” nitr0 said in an interview with HLTV during media day.

The “Captain America” also discussed the changes hallzerk’s arrival and Jeorge’s return to the lineup have brought to NRG, the current practice environment in North America, and their opening match against MOUZ.

Q: This is your first top-tier event of this level this season. How would you evaluate the team’s preparation so far? What kind of shape are you in heading into this tournament?

nitr0: Considering the quality of practice we can get, I think we're in pretty good shape overall. Since hallzerk joined the team, this is probably the longest stretch of practice we've had. Even though we can only scrim against North American teams, we've had a pretty solid preparation period since FRAG St. Clair ended.

We’ve had time to fix a lot of mistakes, build chemistry, and tighten up the team and our playbook, so overall it feels pretty good. That said, it’s really hard to truly test yourself in North America.

It’ll be a bit different once we get here, because we’ll be playing against top-tier teams instead of facing North American teams all the time.

Even before we played Liquid, we had already realized our tactics were being tested a lot more. Against stronger teams, if you make mistakes, they’re obviously going to punish you much harder, and that’s the biggest difference we’ve felt.

Even just playing against Liquid is already a completely different level compared to the other North American teams. So right now, the most important thing is to see how we hold up when we’re really tested at that level of intensity.

Q: You’re facing a huge challenge right away, with one of the most talked-about teams at this event, MOUZ, as your first-round opponent. How do you view this matchup?

nitr0: They're a very strong team, and in my opinion, the roster changes they've made recently have worked out well too.

We played them before in China. br0 couldn't compete at the time for personal reasons, so we had daps stand in, but even then we still took a map off them.

Out of all the top teams, MOUZ is one of the sides we understand fairly well, both tactically and mentally. So if we had to pick from among those top teams, I think they’d be a pretty good matchup for us.

We need to bring our best, give it everything we’ve got, and play our best Counter-Strike if we want a chance to beat them.

Q: You just mentioned that MOUZ made some solid roster changes, and you’ve made changes of your own as well. After some time practicing together, what have Jeorge and hallzerk brought to the team? How is this NRG different from last season?

nitr0: hallzerk has slotted in very easily, because he had already played for a North American team like Complexity before, and he built up a lot of experience competing alongside EliGE.

EliGE is the teammate I’ve worked with the longest. The two of us have been through the most together, so a lot of the time our ideas are very similar.I can feel that hallzerk’s approach to the game, terminology, and a lot of other things are very similar to what EliGE and I built together back on Liquid.

So from that perspective, it was really easy to integrate him into the team. He has always been very steady, whether in his attitude, personality, or in matches. Overall, he’s been a great teammate, and I’m very happy with him.

As for Jeorge, he’s improved a lot since we moved him to the bench earlier, and it’s been great to see.

Obviously, he's definitely working harder now than he was with the previous lineup.

Right now, he’s the one preparing all of our pistol rounds. Since he’s the least experienced player on the team, giving him that kind of “homework” has actually been pretty good. It helps him feel like he’s contributing to the team too, and that matters a lot for a player.

Right now, everything is going really well. Both of them have brought a lot of positives to the team, and the overall atmosphere in the camp is very good.

Q: You mentioned that the atmosphere in the team is really good right now, and that a lot of things are gradually starting to click. At the same time, though, you're basically walking a tightrope in the Valve Regional Standings and fighting for a Major spot. Does that put pressure on you?

nitr0: There’s definitely a bit of pressure.

But honestly, we still have some solid tier-two events coming up. I'm pretty sure we can beat a lot of the teams ranked above us, so I'm not too worried about that.

Q: You mentioned that these second-tier events can help you keep chasing points in the VRS. So what are your expectations heading into an event on the level of StarSeries Fall?

nitr0: Right now, we're just taking it one match at a time.

We need to get every win we can, because right now we are not getting much weighting from LAN events.So winning any match here would be huge for us, and just as important for qualifying for the Major.

That’s our main goal right now: win as much as we can here, give it everything we’ve got, and show the best version of ourselves.

At the same time, we also hope not to come away with any regrets once the event is over, because when you're in this position in the Valve Regional Standings system, you don't get many chances to play tournaments like this.

So as long as we can pick up even a single win at this event, it would mean a lot for us.