fnatic's Counter-Strike 2 run at 1win Private Club Season 2 ended in 5th-6th place, leaving the team's chances of an invitation to the PGL Singapore Major slim. HLTV's VRS simulator currently gives them a 14% chance of reaching the Major. Even so, coach Miks "Independent" Siliņš remains upbeat about the team's future.
He admits he is disappointed, saying the team lost rounds and games it should not have. He pointed to the defeat against PRIVATE, where fnatic had led on both maps, and called such collapses a recurring problem. In his view the causes vary: poor economy management, miscommunication between players, and sometimes a flawed game plan.
Independent says he has never followed the simulation percentages and urges his players to ignore them, since Majors often come down to the final moment. The team's next stop is Spain, and he does not plan drastic changes, preferring to improve the economy and the execution of what is already in place.
The roster is very young: about 40 percent of it is new, and the five have worked together for three or four months. The newcomers include cairne, who arrived from Ninjas in Pyjamas, and 17-year-old mazay, formerly of Spirit Academy and ranked #27 in HLTV's prospects list. Independent says mazay has massive potential and will be a completely different player in a year, while he described jambo as the team's backbone and one of the best AWPers in the game.
Looking ahead, the coach says a roster can be fairly judged after eight to nine months together. He expects fnatic to compete consistently at tier-one events within a year and to reach the next Major, adding that he believes the team is one of the best Ukrainian rosters possible.