Hello Vincent, the transition from 2014 to 2015 was a consecration for you and your team. What was nV’s mindset before the first major of 2015?



I think we had a quite long off period. After MLG, we just couldn’t have a productive training session, and we haven’t been playing to our full potential. Since a few days and our bootcamp at Gfinity, we managed to bring everything back together. We will have a short, but productive preparation for this major. We need to keep the mindset we have today for this major. Our playstyle has changed, and we will need to be mentally strong for this major.



The team swiftly improved, let’s take a quick look back on the first months. The strategic set-up seemed to be very erratic back then, especially with the in-game leaders being frequently switched. Could you get back to this stage and tell us how the strategic approach is worked on now, what is the role of each of your players in and outside the game?



When I joined the team, Nathan was at the head of the project, he had a clear idea in mind, that’s why he led. After a few time we changed to Richard, then it was my turn. It was chaotic but I think that we finally found the perfect set-up after some LANs. Even as a player, I brought a lot in strategy and even more in tactics. So this stayed as a constant of the team, including today. Generally, I do things my way, then I show that to my mates and we do some adjustments needed for the well being of the idea. As regards everyone’s role, it’s kind of simple, Fabien, Richard and Eddy are mainly in the attacking trio, whereas Nathan and I are mostly wingers, him being more aggressive and me passive. Outside the game, everyone brings in his own contribution to the creation of our play style. Then comes the first positions with probably the best results at the DHW and the X-Games. Do you realise yet ? Will these trophies be some of your best career’s memories?



I realised quite fast the performance we did at the DHW, even at the moment, with all the drama that happened during the semi final, we were a little away. The DHW is definitely the best memory of my career, winning a major feel a little like accessing a private club and be part of the players who do important things on the game, that’s how I always considered it. Regarding the MLG, even if the lan was great, it’s still a small event compared to the majors, even if many top team were there. I also think it was important for us to win the X-Games, just to show everybody that we didn’t steal the DH, that we are able to access and stay among the best European teams.

"DHW is definitely the best memory of my career" During this time, you switched to nV. How did you contact them? You personally evolved for a pretty long time under LDLC’s name. How did you live it?



Nathan has always dealt with the “off-game” part of the team, he has contacts and it’s him who introduced us to the project. Globaly, at the end of the year, many structures wanted us, but the one which surpassed the others was EnVyUS, so we made the choice, after thinking about it for a long time, without regretting it. For myself, I’m always a little… let’s say... retreated when it comes to things outside of the game, so I’d say it was hard to leave LDLC which supported me for a very long time, also pretty sad to see our coach MoMaN leave, but this change was necessary to step up and access the next level, once again without regretting it. On a personal level, it seems like you’re at your best. After having shone at the DHW, the VaKarM readers rewarded you with a few Awards for what you’ve done in 2014. Do you manage to remain that good since then ? Do you expect to perform at the same level again in Katowice? I always feel a bit uncomfortable talking about that, because my insight on personal awards is very specific. While I’m very glad and thankful that people enjoy watching me play and value me as one of the best CS players, the most important thing to me remains victory. What’s an award or an MVP performance worth if your team doesn’t get to raise the trophy in the end ? This is the reason why I appreciate a lot more when people praise me for being a good leader than for being a good player. As far as my personal skill is concerned, it’s a bit up and down lately, but since I’m always performing much better in clutch or stressful situations, I don’t really know what to expect. I try to maintain my level as high as possible, but there are so many random factors (match-up, physical and mental fitness, preparation, team’s global level etc…) influencing my own performances, so I’d rather not think about that and focus on what happens when the moment comes. After you won the gold medal at the Aspen X-Games, you appeared to be the uncontested number 1 team in the world. Since then, a few defeats have tarnished that domination and Fnatic seem to have risen again to give you a hard time holding that spot. Do you agree on that? There’s no doubt Fnatic is in top shape and we are having a bad period right now. I’ll even add that a few other teams have improved a lot lately. (VP, Titan, TSM, Penta…). This major will be the occasion to spot which teams are going to rule for the rest of the year. I see it as a small 2015 preview, unless VP find their legendary mojo back and win this fingers in the nose. "The best team doesn’t always win, the team with the best mindset does" We’re only a few days away from the first 2015 major tournament, how is your preparation going? Are you bootcamping?



Yes, we’ve been bootcamping for the past 5 days at Gfinity’s HQ. As I said earlier, lots of things had to be told in order to perform well and give us the best chances at Katowice. At this level, the best team or best prepared team doesn’t always win, the team with the best mindset does. We’re starting to get it back, I hope this will help us shine mid-season. You’re going to face Titan in the groupstage, is an early derby a good thing to start with? The Titan match-up is… almost funny, even more as I predicted it before the groups were announced. If you wanna predict the outcome of the match, you’d rather just flip a coin, since I believe our win ratio is about exactly 50%. We win, they win, we win… No team has the upper hand over the other, and it’s always 1 for 1. If I recall correctly, they won the last match against us. What is your goal for this major ? Which team do you fear the most?



I would love to win a second major in a row, especially now as it would boost the team and put us back in track for the the whole season. But we have to stay realistic, right now I would say we are within the top 4-5 world. We will need to pull out our best event, and we will be underdogs in a lot of matches, but the potential is still here. Fnatic is the team to defeat right now, and VP is the one to beat before the final phase. TSM is still a team to watch out for. "Fnatic is the team to defeat right now" What do you think about Allu joining NiP? They have been stable for almost 2 years, and they change their sniper 3 weeks before a major event. Do you think they can come back to the top?



This is… special. I am not a big fan of the changes NiP are doing right now. This is strange to me… they are trying things out. At the moment, I can’t consider them as opponents who are on point, but they still remain dangerous. We have kind of a history with NiP. Since the creation of our team, out of almost 10 matches we only lost 1, which was when our team was just created.



Thank you for answering our questions. As always, the last words are up to you. Good luck for Katowice !



Thank you for interviewing me, and a big thanks to EnvyUs, Monster, SCUF gaming, Astro and Gaems. And of course thank you to everyone who is supporting us !