s1mple on rivalry with FaZe: "I have always considered NAVI the best team in the world"

In the press conference for the IEM Cologne 2022 participants, NAVI's AWPer Alexandr "s1mple" Kostyliev shared his opinion on the rivalry with FaZe, which is now the highest-ranked team in the world. The Ukrainian noted that despite the recent success of the European roster, he never ceased to consider his team the best in the world.

Kostyliev added that his team is unlikely to demolish FaZe at the Cologne event the way they did at BLAST Premier Spring Final 2022. Back then, Natus Vincere gave away only seven rounds in two maps.

The parts quoted are the translation from our Russian website.

I have always considered NAVI the best team in the world. At IEM Cologne 2022, everything will depend on how we play individually and as a team. <...> It will be difficult for us to repeat the defeat of FaZe at BLAST. They will play better. Every match is different. It all depends on the number of mistakes made by the opponent. If we make no mistakes, while the opponent makes a bunch of them, this result might be repeated.

During the conversation with journalists, s1mple also spoke about the progress of the new NAVI's in-game leader Denis "electroNic" Sharipov.

He gets better and better. Thanks to B1ad3, he improves his skills as an IGL, gets information from the coach, as well as from all the teammates who express their wishes. <...> In the middle of the rounds, electroNic leads the team much better than Boombl4. He also keeps more things in mind. Boombl4 was good at telling teammates what they needed to do. It worked. Denis' calls are different throughout the rounds. It can be both fast tactics and slow ones. He's also good at feeling timings on maps, which Boombl4 sometimes failed to do.

NAVI will play their first match at IEM Cologne 2022 tomorrow, July 7, at 17:00 MSK. The team's opponent will be determined following the Play-In stage.

Origin: ru.csgo.com