Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy, the coach of NAVI's CS2 roster, shared his thoughts on the importance of the team's victory at the recent Esports World Cup 2024 in Saudi Arabia. In an interview with bo3.gg, Gorodenskiy reflected on the development and prospects of the current NAVI lineup.
He stated that winning the EWC 2024 was as significant as winning a Major. The team had already reached the final at the Spring Final, so they had experience and a better understanding of how to prepare for a BO5 after a particularly intense match the day before.
He explained that following the summer break, they knew they would once again reach the semi-finals and finals, as progress naturally follows this trajectory.
The roster was assembled a year ago, and they had to implement a system, similar to what they did with their previous lineup in 2021. It took a year to implement many things, and after a year, he saw how it could work. The same is happening with this lineup: he sees progress and how it works dynamically, adding some elements and fixing others as the players grow. It’s the same pattern as before, where people improve and build synergy.
They were able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the system in London, and during the EWC, they gained more confidence with each match. Even during the boot camp before the EWC, people had a different approach to the game compared to a year ago.
According to him, the two tournament victories have changed a lot, marking a huge step in their development.
Currently, NAVI is competing at IEM Cologne 2024 in Germany. The team began their group stage campaign with a 2-0 victory over paiN. They then secured a clean win against Astralis and advanced to the playoffs.