Taras Bortnik

Special to VPEsports

If you are looking for a talented yet humble Counter-Strike player that understands the in’s and out’s of the esports ecosystem look no further than Big Clan’s Fatih “gob b” Dayik. Gob b and his BIG Clan teammates finished second at ESL One: Cologne, losing to Natus Vincere 1-3 in the best-of-five. Affectionately known as God B, he was instrumental in the success of BIG Clan in Cologne. The numbers he compiled doesn’t tell the entire story of the clutches and rounds he helped win. We were fortunate to talk with gob b immediately following the Grand Finals.

You just played a hard-fought match against Natus Vincere in the finals here in Cologne. How are you feeling about reaching the finals? What emotions are hitting you right now?

“Na’Vi is very great team and I want to say that I’m happy for them. They played hard and never quit. They also had a really difficult path and I want to be the first to congratulate them. For us, it’s obviously heart-breaking. We really wanted to claim the trophy. We tried everything, gave everything and in the end we did very well. We can be proud for second place, but right now we feel disappointment and angst that we didn’t win. That it feels a bit weird right now, but in one or two weeks we will look back on our performance and be very happy.”

You saw tweet from Janko about your invite. What expectations did you have before the tournament and did you expect that you would reach the finals?

“Honestly, we didn’t expect to be in the finals, but I can say that we really didn’t expect anything. I felt like I saw this group as being very hard. We take a lot chances when we play. We played like we didn’t practice and tried to learn what we did wrong in Belo Horizonte. We didn’t prepare well for that tournament. I was like one and a half week sick too. I could even practice and my hands weren’t good. I had a cold, so overall I can say that we couldn’t prepare as we wanted to, but in the end it was ok. I am very happy we made it to the finals, but honestly we didn’t expect that.

You and your team appeared to be getting better with every match you played. Why? Did you gain more confidence from victories? Did the crowd help?

“Definitely. It wasn’t just a crowd, It was a best crowd I have ever played in front of. Our success was a combination of several factors. Confidence for one thing, we’re getting more comfortable playing on stage, playing close matches on stage, and also we have learned a lot from close a game we had and that’s why we played better and better. We didn’t play better than against Na’Vi’, that’s why we lost, period.”

What do you think about pundits and fans saying BiG doesn’t have a big map pool for best-of-five matches or even best-of-three’s. Did that hurt you at all in this final against Na’Vi’?

“Yeah, I think we can say that. That’s probably true, rules are the rules, but I think that in final to play a best-of-five it should actually be a best-of-three. But I guess a best-of-five is better for spectators. For the players, I think it’s better to play a best-of-three, but I get it. Obviously, that’s why it’s a best-of-five and unfortunately our map pool isn’t that good to play against really good teams in a best-of-five. But it doesn’t need to be, because we play more best-of-three matches and best-of-one’s, and now, if we make more finals, then our map pool needs to be absolutely ready for that forma. We are still a young team and have been playing for just two months. We will grow.”

What is it going to take to make sure you continue to grow, get better, and not stay stagnant?

“For sure we need to do the same things that we did before the tournament. We talk about our mistakes and what we did wrong in Belo Horizonte, so after that, everyone gives his opinion and then try to create something really great together. We need to watch our demos, keep working hard, and not be satisfied with our current achievement. We need to stay hungry for more and that’s how we can stay on a top.”

After the Krakow Major you were criticized for using the jump-spotting bug. In addition to that, you had rough first half of the season. but beating the odds now. What power inside you makes you strong enough for resisting all those things?

“First of all, after we achieved top eight in Krakow, we felt like we could also win without the bug. But obviously, everybody who judges us also forgets that Valve allowed it. They said that we can use it and they cannot do anything and it’s not against the rules. So we said ok. But when the others teams had a problem with it, we stopped. I think we deserve a little bit of credit for out sportsmanship, but people just want to focus on the negative I guess.

And back in the day, even six months ago, we had some problems and players changed. But our core, me, nex, and tabseN have a really good understanding of utility usage.”

When Na’Vi formed in 2010, you were already a legendary player. And both you and Zeus played today in a Grand Final. Any words for Na’Vi?

“Yes! I am really happy for them with no jokes. I like them. I also like the new players like electronic, s1mple and, obviously all other players as well. I really appreciate playing against them in a Grand Final and I am really happy for them.