Aleksib: "If we play at our best, the reward will be a trophy"

NAVI captain Aleksi "Aleksib" Virolainen commented on his team's victory over Falcons in their opening match at the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024. In an interview with HLTV.org, the Finnish esports player noted that NAVI had little time to adequately prepare for the tournament after ESL Pro League Season 20.

"Yes, I’m pleased with everything because we had very little time after EPL to celebrate our win or review our games. We had an early match here, and we had a good discussion last night. The team's overall confidence and approach to the game are why we won 2-0 today.

On the attacking side on Ancient, we had several XvX situations that we could have won, which would have completely broken their economy. We were losing round after round, but we knew that once we got into our defensive game, we could turn things around. And that’s exactly what happened."

Aleksib also shared his expectations for the tournament in Copenhagen. He emphasised that despite their recent success at ESL Pro League Season 20, the team is taking this event seriously.

"We all understand that if we play to our full potential, the reward will be the trophy. It’s important for us not to get stuck in the mindset that we can win everything without hard work or humility. That’s what we discussed last night—having the right attitude in any tournament will lead to success."

The BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 will take place from 25th to 29th September in Copenhagen, Denmark. The total prize pool for the tournament is $425,000, to be shared among the eight teams, with the top team also securing a spot at the BLAST Premier World Final 2024.