Dmitriy "jR" Chervak is the captain of Vega Sqaudron, who recently won the CIS Minor Championship and advanced to the offline qualifier for the Krakow Major 2017 .

Ahead of his games in Bucharest, jR spoke to theScore esports about his thoughts on the CIS scene and his team's apparent struggles getting vetted for FACEIT Pro League.

First off, congratulations to you and the rest of Vega Sqadron for winning the CIS Minor over Tengri. How do you feel about the team’s performance going into the offline qualifier for the Krakow Major?

Thank you for your congratulations! I’m extremely happy that our hard work and endeavor paid off for CIS Minor.

We practiced a lot, put in hours to progress and become better. I’d say our run was decent, but we had a lot of close games and we could have been eliminated.

On one hand, it shows that our team has the will to win, we never give up, but on the other hand it also shows that we have to work even harder to achieve our goal.

This isn’t your first offline qualifier for a Major. You nearly made it to the ELEAGUE Major 2017 and notably eliminated Ninjas in Pyjamas. What lessons did you take away from your first Major qualifier? What are you doing to ensure the team qualifies this time?

The first blow is half the battle. Having [the] experience of winning against top teams on LAN is crucial. We proved [to] ourselves that if you work hard, prepare correctly, if you’re confident of your teammates and yourself – you can win against anyone.

I don’t want to predict anything. I just want our team to show our best.

In a video Q&A from the team, your teammates said that Vega would qualify for the Major “when pigs fly.” Joking aside, how is the team’s confidence and readiness ahead of the offline qualifier?

We will practice hard, try to improve individually and as a team. I hope luck will be on our side this time.

Natus Vincere has long been the strongest CIS team, with FlipSid3 Tactics and HellRaisers behind them. Gambit Esports have also made their mark in the recent months. What’s your opinion of the strength of the CIS region talent pool?

As for Gambit, three out of five players (Dosia, Zeus and AdreN) have been playing in the pro scene for more than 10 years each, they got all the experience. Na'Vi lost this experience when they decided to rejuvenate their roster, in my opinion. They have to walk this path once again.

FlipSid3 were off the radar and I honestly don’t know what to expect from them, but I think they’re getting their shape back.

HR are in a great shape at the moment. They have an experienced captain, young and perspective players. In my opinion, they have all the chance to become a stable Top 10 team.

Nikolay "Mir" Bityukov has been considered a rising star for a little while now, but some have said he’s perhaps a bit shy or awkward and is more comfortable playing with friends, making it unlikely that he’d join a new team. Can you speak on this topic? How would you describe Mir as a teammate?

You’ve pointed it just right, Mir is comfortable playing with friends.

I think it should be a key for all the teams. You have to become friends at some point to achieve more, it works this way. Maybe that’s why our roster is that stable as for CIS teams of our tier.

He is a professional with a capital P. He is a very hardworking person, he does a lot to improve and grow as a player. In real life he is just a funny guy, he likes to walk a lot. He goes for a walk every time he gets a chance, like you’d go for a walk in park or just do some sightseeing.

Everything goes easier with your friends, that’s why I’m quite sure you should become friends with your teammates.

Can you speak further on Vega apparently not being able to play on FPL? Has this been resolved, if not, what’s preventing this?

To be honest, I still don’t understand why we can’t get into FPL.

Maybe everyone is afraid that we can’t communicate in English. You never know until you try.

Interesting fact: Vega Squadron players don't have invitations to FPL. I guess winning CIS minor and beating NiP on lan is still not enough🤔 — Ksenia Klyuenkova (@vilgaCS) March 22, 2017

I’m pretty sure it’s not a big deal. We learn fast and the thing is that we’re playing Rank-S a lot. No one ever complained about us being silent in TeamSpeak or whatever.

Anyways, I hope someday, maybe in the near future, we’ll get a chance to compete and improve ourselves as players in FPL.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.