Natus Vincere rifler Justinas `jL` Lekavicius shared his thoughts on the team`s current status and his own mindset as they prepare for the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 in CS2. He discussed the team`s bootcamp ahead of the prestigious tournament during an interview with the organizers.
[Question: `How are you feeling before the Major, considering all the results this year?] It depends on how you look at it. Right now, I feel optimistic and look towards the future positively because we are having a bootcamp. It`s the fourth day already, and at first, things seemed a bit difficult, but we are working on some maps.
The feeling is good. It gives me confidence. If I recall the bootcamp before PGL Copenhagen 2024, the impressions were similar. We didn`t have huge expectations back then, but we prepared well, and everything is going great now too. So, if we continue in this spirit, we have a chance.
jL also clarified that NAVI`s recent performance dips are not solely attributed to a lack of physical bootcamps.
He explained: `There haven`t been many opportunities to gather for bootcamps. But, honestly, it`s not just about that. We didn`t win tournaments in 2024 solely thanks to bootcamps.
Of course, a bootcamp — it`s better than just practicing online. But you can`t say that we are playing worse this year specifically because of the lack of bootcamps.
I don`t know. Of course, there are many reasons. Our game understanding clearly lags behind top teams. Outside the game, certain things seem simple, but as soon as you enter the server and have to execute them, it`s not so easy anymore. We`ve all dropped off in terms of firepower, but it all comes down to our team play. I don`t know, there are many reasons.`
Lekavicius further elaborated on the team`s objectives for the upcoming Major.
He stated: `[Winning] is the main goal in every tournament. Of course, we want to perform as well as possible. The main task of the bootcamp is to prepare properly so we don`t have regrets later. Even if we reach the semi-finals or finals – it will be important to understand that we did everything we could, and if we lost, it was because the opponent was stronger, not because we messed up ourselves. That`s probably our goal.`
NAVI is set to commence their campaign at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 starting from the third stage. Matches for this stage begin on June 12th, where 16 teams will compete for eight coveted spots in the playoffs.
Finley Holt