coolio admitted that Spirit are sharper in communication and reactions, and that's exactly the gap experience brings.
“This is the biggest stage for us, standing here for the first time is completely different from playing at home. They were calmer in the crucial moments.”
He attributed the collapse on Nuke to the meltdown on Ancient — FUT had led 12-9, only to be dragged into overtime and comebacked. "After that we could barely win any duels. Our reads were right, our positioning was right, we just couldn't get the kills, we ran out of heart. That game on Ancient hit everyone hard, we couldn't mentally reset, while our opponents ran over us with momentum."
FUT will next compete at BLAST Open Porto, facing Legacy in the opening round. coolio said he hopes the team can readjust as soon as possible and approach the next event with a "realistic" mindset: "Although we finished second, I don't want to set our goals too high. I just hope the players can bounce back within a few days, which certainly won't be easy."
Q: coolio, you finished as runner-up in the EWC Grand Final, with the series going all the way to the final map. How are you feeling right now?
coolio: First of all, I'm proud of the team, because we never expected to finish second before coming here. Today I think we played our own game, and we lost mainly because they are more experienced in crucial clutch situations and high-pressure moments. They were calmer and were better at capitalizing on those rounds.
Q: For a young team like yours, to fight your way into the Grand Final and push Spirit to the limit in the first three maps, how proud are you?
coolio: Obviously, I'm really proud of them. What we've accomplished here is incredible, and we only made a roster change about two months ago, so to come straight in and finish second is really amazing. We need to take confidence from this event, not be disappointed about "just a second," because we have another tournament in three days and we have to go there with confidence.
Q: Both Anubis and Ancient went to overtime, and on Ancient there were several key rounds you had a chance to win. Do you think Spirit's greater experience was the key to today's result?
coolio: Yes, that's CS. You always feel "we should have won this round," and then sigh "bad luck." But it's not that, it's entirely a matter of communication and handling situations in the moment. On Anubis we also lost three or four post-plant situations — if we had won those, the T side would have been much easier, and the CT side might have just closed out the match. I think they were sharper in communication and reactions, and that comes down to experience. For us, this is the biggest stage, our first time standing here, and it's a completely different environment from playing matches at home. In crucial moments, they were calmer and more experienced.
Q: You knew Nuke would be tough, right? Yesterday dziugss told me "Nuke is not our strong suit." Are you disappointed with the outcome of the last map?
coolio: To be honest, a bit disappointed. But we didn't lose Nuke because we played that badly, it's that we could hardly win any duels. We actually read the opponents' tactics, our positions were all in place, they ran right into our crosshairs, but we just couldn't get the kills. I think we ran out of energy, you could tell how much losing Ancient affected everyone. We couldn't mentally reset, and the opponents just steamrolled us with the momentum.
Q: Your journey in Paris has been incredible. What do you think the players can learn from this experience?
coolio: I hope they can take away confidence, because sometimes I feel they underestimate themselves a bit, underestimate their individual abilities. But in the end, it's just a matter of experience. We gained a lot here — we also played a big tournament at another venue before and learned how to coexist with the crowd, and this time we got a completely new experience. Plus we played a lot of maps, and our synergy with xfl0ud has grown deeper, so there's a lot to learn. But we need to focus more on the positive side and not get dragged down by the negatives.
Q: BLAST Porto kicks off in just a few days, with almost no time to rest and prepare. With that in mind, what are your expectations for that tournament?
coolio: I've always leaned toward being pragmatic. Although we finished second here, I don't want to set our goals too high. Once we're there, we could lose the very first match and drop straight into the lower bracket. Our opponent is Legacy, they finished third this time, so they should be just as tired as we are. But I think we're in a slightly better position, so it will be a good match. I know how they play, I just hope the players can adjust within a few days, which certainly won't be easy.