YEKINDAR feels that despite stumbling through the PGL group stage, FURIA is benefiting from their title-winning run in Malta.
After winning the Thunderpick World Championship, FURIA made it to the PGL Masters Bucharest playoffs, but it wasn't easy, as the Brazilian-majority team had to scrape through with a 3-2 record.
“It's great to make the playoffs. That's the minimum requirement for us,” YEKINDAR told HLTV after beating Liquid.
“Of course, it would be nice to reach the final and maybe win this event after Thunderpick. Of course the competition is stronger, but for example Spirit, who are considered the favorites at this tournament, we almost beat them.”
Despite a shaky group-stage run, YEKINDAR still believes FURIA are feeling the benefits of winning Thunderpick and, more importantly, are moving in the right direction.
“I think we played better, definitely better after winning the championship, everyone is a little more confident. But that's life; there's always something you want to do better, you want to improve, and that's what we're doing.”
Q: Tell me about that series. Especially Nuke was very close, sometimes a bit crazy.
A: I think any match against Liquid is pretty crazy. The style we play, and what I see when I watch back their games, is completely different, especially on the CT side. I think they play very dynamically, and at times a bit gamble-like. But they're fine with that. They know what risks they're taking and stuff like that.
So for us, it was important to control the game, show them we can also play fast, play tricks, and try to get them a little stuck in overthinking. Like, 'Oh, we can't leave this spot alone because they'll rush it,' and stuff like that. That was pretty much our plan, and it worked really well.
We got seven rounds on the T side of Nuke, which is very good. On the CT side we lost a couple of situations, a bit... in the moment we were a little too excited. 'Oh, rush rush rush.' Everyone wanted to close out the map, and there was one round where it was especially obvious, the other players, yuurih and KSCERATO, couldn't react to their A split when FalleN and molodoy ran out from Heaven.
In hindsight, in a perfect world, you wait a little, try to understand, and make a plan together. But that's part of CS, that could work too, so it is what it is. Luckily someone up there wanted us to win, because those Five-SeveN rounds we got don't happen very often.
Q: Is there anything extra for you when facing Liquid? Because obviously both you and FalleN have history with this organization. Is there a bit more spice when playing Liquid?
A: At least I wouldn't treat them that way. Maybe deep down in my mind there's a bit of that, but I wouldn't go into a match thinking something like 'Oh, I want to destroy them.' No, that's not my priority.
Q: Looking at this tournament overall, you made it to the playoffs, but the process hasn't been the smoothest. How would you evaluate FURIA's performance so far?
A: I think we're making progress. Especially at this tournament, we have a goal in mind, which is what we need to fix: starting off quiet, sloppy, and a bit hesitant. This has troubled us for a long time, and we're very focused on playing the first map well instead of slowly warming up into the match, already discussing and making a plan going into map one.
This is something we're trying to hold everyone accountable for, to be ready going into a BO3, because I don't know if... we might lose a lot of first maps in BO3s and then have to come back from being down a map. This is what we're focused on.
Regarding our placement, it's great to make the playoffs. That's the minimum requirement for us. But of course, it would be nice to reach the final and maybe win this event after Thunderpick. Of course the competition is stronger, but for example Spirit, who are considered the favorites at this tournament, we almost beat them in the group stage. So everything is in our hands, but there are some things we can't control. That's what we're dealing with.
Q: I think some people would expect you guys to have a bounce-back after winning the championship, right? Maybe find better form. A, do you think that happened? Do you think winning the championship had an impact on you? B, if not, is it hard when you're so busy with so many tournaments?
A: After winning the championship we definitely played better. Before the Thunder Cup, we played much worse. Now we can't be angry about our form or performance. Yes, there was one particular match at this event, against NAVI, but that match was a bit unfortunate, because we saw the problems coming beforehand but didn't fix them, and then the problems happened again in that match and everyone was a bit frustrated.
So I don't really count that match, but fortunately NAVI have now qualified for the Major. It wasn't intentional, but it's a good thing. I think we played better, definitely better after winning the title, everyone is a little more confident. But that's just life; there's always something you want to do better, you want to improve, and that's what we're doing.
Q: You're probably the busiest team in the Tier-1 scene, right? I know this has been talked to death. Are you trying to peak at the right moments, especially for Majors? Because I think it's almost impossible for a team as busy as yours to stay at the top in every tournament.
A: I think the only way to plan to peak is to deliberately schedule rest you can control before going into the Major, based on how your body feels. This time it was a bit out of our control, we couldn't control it, so we were basically fighting against ourselves. When we played Fissure Universe in China, we were complaining. After Fissure Universe, we've reached the point where we just deal with it naturally. Everyone is taking as much responsibility as possible for their own body and mindset, and sometimes it's hard.
In the EPL and here, for example against NAVI, we struggled to control our frustration, which is completely natural considering how many matches we play. But at the end of the day, this is our path, and it's not something we can change anymore. I feel like everyone has now overcome it and instead of complaining, we're looking for solutions on how to make ourselves less tired and better.