Once close to a roster change during the player break, they ultimately stood pat; voluntarily skipping BLAST gave them a nearly two-month "recharge period"; with Overpass removed and Cache returning — B1ad3 sat down with HLTV for an exclusive interview at EWC to detail all of NAVI's off-season decisions.
Q1: B1ad3, congratulations on your first win at EWC. I want to first go back to our conversation after you were eliminated from the Cologne Major, when you talked about possible changes during the offseason. Can you tell us what happened during the offseason and why there was ultimately no roster change?
B1ad3: At the end of each season, we review and plan the direction for the next season, taking into account the overall development of NAVI's CS division. We received a lot of offers, and we did consider making roster changes, were in contact with different agents, and explored various possibilities.
We've also talked to the players, and if we can see the potential to become a stronger team next season, we'll make adjustments. Because while NAVI's goal isn't necessarily to be exactly like Vitality, it's at least to be on the same level as them. Every team is like that — winning one or two trophies in a season is nice, but if there's a chance to become stronger, everyone wants to take it a step further.
We did try to negotiate, but it didn't go well. At one point we were very close to changing formation, but in the end we realized it wouldn't work out.
Q2: Is it a club-level issue, a problem with the negotiations, or do you feel it's not worth it? Where exactly is it stuck?
B1ad3: Actually, there are problems at every level. Sometimes we were already deep in talks, but as days went by, everyone kept weighing things back and forth. We make an offer, they make an offer, and then another team might jump in halfway with a bid. Frankly, we want these players, but others are competing fiercely for them too, and there's really nothing we can do.
Of course, you're talking about top players, and given the chance we'd love to bring them in to inject fresh blood into the team and make us more competitive in the future. But at the same time, we also know that sticking with this roster is the wiser choice — because what five people build up as a complete team, the knowledge, the chemistry, the system, is incredibly valuable and extremely efficient when used well. We can't underestimate that. Winning two titles last season was thanks to us having played together long enough.
We also understand that we cannot let the team stagnate and lose its enthusiasm with the same lineup. So we place great importance on this — it's not about "just playing casually because there were no roster changes," but about reigniting motivation and starting fresh.
Q3: You said you would become stronger. Can you elaborate on what you have specifically done in terms of "mobilizing emotions" and "stimulating motivation"?
B1ad3: My principle has always been to return to reality. I don't like self-deception, saying empty words like "we are strong, we can do it." We just look back at the matches we've played before and figure out why we lost and why we won. Then tell the players straightforwardly: if you really do a little better in the details, are a little more united, a little more creative — these are all tangible things. As long as you work hard, anything is possible.
I feel last season we showed a lot of potential, and there were a lot of possibilities. In my view, we are a competitive team — when playing against top teams, we could almost always go toe-to-toe with them and were very hard to beat. I've always believed that keeping the same roster together for another year is a huge advantage in itself — and that's not just talk, because the tactical system we've built is enormous, and rebuilding with changes takes time. So for me, this has always been a strength.
On one hand, the current roster is experienced, has great chemistry, and has built up a huge amount of team knowledge; on the other hand, bringing in new players and starting over — both paths are viable, just different directions. Plus, Cache is back in the map pool, and we will try to surprise our opponents at this event.
Q4: You went nearly two months without playing an official match during the off-season, which is rare in the current schedule. Can you talk about why you decided to skip BLAST Bounty and give yourselves such a long break?
B1ad3: This decision was requested by me. We discussed for about two hours, not a negotiation, more like a brainstorm. I convinced management to skip this tournament because it really wasn't necessary.
First, the break is very important — you need to fully relax and recharge for the new season. Second, I think you can't go into the new season feeling "rusty" — you need to be clear about your strengths, refresh the tactics in your mind, and get yourself into top form. This is crucial. My logic is simple: if you don't have enough training time, it's unrealistic to force the team to play with intensity. After the break everyone forgets a lot of things and needs to pick them up again. Time is the most important thing, we just need more time to train.
I think tier-one teams, strong teams like NAVI, must deliver results at the start of the season. You can't lose the first match, especially in a single-elimination tournament. If you only have six days, you can't even practice all six maps, it's simply not enough.
Also, this tournament is an online event and doesn't contribute much to VRS points. Losing could actually cost us points against lower-ranked teams, and it could be even worse when the points are recalculated in a few days. So all things considered, not participating is the wise choice. Fortunately, management agreed and said, "Okay, then let's skip it." This off-season has been the best preparation for a season start I have ever experienced.
Q5: What kind of state was that?
B1ad3: We were in no hurry at all. We found a great place to bootcamp in Barcelona, everyone was contributing ideas. The season started slowly, practicing map by map, fixing mistakes, always staying in a "work in progress" state.
You're right, we really haven't played an official match in a long time. But the key is, during this time just training is not enough — you can practice a lot of things, but if you can't pull them off in an official match and the execution isn't there, you'll still get eliminated quickly, right? So for us, it's very important to activate the team at full strength, no slacking off, no slow starts. We've discussed it many times: go all out from the start, don't underestimate our opponents. I saw the commitment from every player.
Q6: You just mentioned Cache. I'm asking because earlier this year you said one of the factors holding the team back early in the year was the map pool change after the Major. Now Cache has been added, and more importantly Overpass has been removed — that was your permaban. Does this help NAVI heading into the new season?
B1ad3: Yes, it was unfavorable for us before, now the "luck" is back and we fully benefit from it. I think this is great — when you have a lineup that has gelled for at least a year, map pool changes are always an opportunity you can take advantage of. Because everyone has played so many matches, analyzing the same maps and the same tactics over and over in the practice room, you slowly just get used to it, you just "know how to play" them. At the T1 level, everyone is so precise that you have the spare capacity to switch to practicing other maps. Although it can be difficult, that's my point of view.
We'll try to surprise opponents on Cache. Obviously we'll pick maps based on the opponent, looking at whether they're good at them or not. You always have a chance to analyze opponents — because we haven't played official matches and they have, we can watch how they play, what style they have, and then prepare specific tactics. For example, 3DMAX have played a lot of officials on this map, but in a BO1, picking Cache might not be the best choice.
Q7: Does this mean you have invested a lot of training time in Cache?
B1ad3: I can't say that, but some people should know how much we've practiced, because we've faced other teams in scrims and some teams may have seen us working on this map. But yes, I think we can play all maps now. We're still in the exploratory phase, because the start of the season is important. You can practice a lot of things, but only official matches truly test the results — scrims and official matches are completely different, there is no room for error in official matches, the pressure and in-the-moment decision-making are the real test, and that's crucial.
So I'm really excited because the new season kicks off with two back-to-back tournaments — which is also part of our strategy: skipping BLAST Bounty, having a solid bootcamp, and then playing two events in a row. Through these two tournaments, we can build enough depth in the map pool, which was our problem at the start of the year.
Q8: Final question, what kind of signals would you want to see to prove that sticking with this lineup was the right decision? What signs will you be watching for early in the season to confirm that "this is the right path"?
B1ad3: Our goal remains the same as before. The situation for Tier 1 CS teams is very stable right now, at least for NAVI — the future schedule and which tournaments we can play in are all very clear. All teams are in the same circuit, and everyone now has plenty of time to deliver results.
This period has given us a lot of room to play, with no urgent pressure. I don't feel like we're under high pressure right now. For example, Vitality is under pressure at the Major, or maybe Falcons are definitely under pressure right now — they're probably under even more pressure.
For us, the mindset is the same as at the start of the new season, but the map pool has changed and we've been playing together as a team for longer. We're still starting with the same goal — to do our best in every tournament and keep improving. Staying immersed in the "process" is the most important thing, and then play well at the Major and aim for the best result. At the end of the season, the results will speak for themselves — if we don't win a title, management will definitely say "we need to make changes", that's for sure. It's like that at the end of every season.