PRIVATE’s campaign at 1win Private Club Season 2 came to an end after a loss to The MongolZ in the lower bracket final, but the team can take some satisfaction from making the most of the opportunity with notable wins over Alliance and fnatic.
The Russian team’s core previously played for RUBY and came together under PRIVATE less than two months ago with former Nemiga captain Aliaksandr “1eeR” Nahorny at the helm, and has been practicing hard to get on the same page as it looks to become the latest upstart Russian roster to rise up the VRS.
“We spent a lot of time building our game; I spent an enormous amount of time,” 1eeR told HLTV after PRIVATE’s elimination in Belgrade. “We don’t have a coach right now, so I do all the work. We worked literally like 14 to 16 hours, without exaggeration. I needed to get my vision of the game across to the guys, how I want everything to look.
“On top of that, I needed to, in the shortest possible time, make sure we had a shared idea about everything that happens, the same reactions to certain situations on the map, the same ideas on how to play out clutches, and so on. I tried to instill all of this in the guys. I think I did a pretty good job. The guys listened, worked a lot. And here’s the corresponding result.”
Editor’s note:
This interview was conducted in Russian and translated to English by HLTV staff.
Fourth place at 1win Private Club while you were, by some distance, the lowest-ranked team in the event. Are you happy with this result?
Well, no, to be honest. I’d say that this result is to some extent satisfactory, relative to the fact that we got together a month and a half ago. I had no expectations about this tournament; I only saw it as an opportunity to see what we’re capable of against more or less decent teams.
You got together really recently. Tell the story of how you started playing for this team and how you later found the organization. What organization is this?
Well, the guys just invited me to play together, we played as a mix, went to some small LAN, won it, and kept playing. Back then, I was expecting some offers; I was getting information that there was some interest shown by other teams and so on. And I told them right away that overall the other teams were my priority, but after that nothing came of it. Plus, we reached out and talked with Igor, the owner of PRIVATE.
We discussed the terms and the plans. I personally liked it. It’s just important for me that my personal ambitions align with the organization’s views on development, and from talking with Igor, I understood that this was what I’d been expecting. We immediately found some common connection, a shared idea, and so we signed.
Regarding the roster, I immediately talked with Marat, who’s our CEO. I told him that if there’s a chance to bring back H4SAN4TOR, we need to do it, because I need a player like him on the team. Plus, it also worked out well that Nuclear TigeRES decided to bench Timur, z1ka, and we picked him up.
You got together recently and already made it to a pretty good LAN, beat some decent teams. How did you manage that? What’s the secret to such quick success?
Work. We spent a lot of time building our game; I spent an enormous amount of time. We don’t have a coach right now, so I do all the work. We worked literally like 14 to 16 hours, without exaggeration. I needed to get my vision of the game across to the guys, how I want everything to look.
On top of that, I needed to, in the shortest possible time, make sure we had a shared idea about everything that happens, the same reactions to certain situations on the map, the same ideas on how to play out clutches, and so on. I tried to instill all of this in the guys. I think I did a pretty good job. The guys listened, worked a lot. And here’s the corresponding result.
From being some kind of mix, I can say with confidence that we’ve grown into a relatively decent team
You played for Nemiga for five years, and now you’re on a new team. How inspiring is it that you’re already seeing some fruits of your work with a new roster?
Well, I’m pleased. I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made, because we started actually working as a team a month and a half ago; before that we were just a mix. Half of the players didn’t have much competitive experience. And from being some kind of mix, I can say with confidence that we’ve grown into a relatively decent team, again relatively decent at the current level, because there’s still a lot of work ahead.
How soon do you think we’ll be able to see this roster among the many Russian-speaking teams currently performing at a high level and fighting for the Major?
I think we can already talk confidently about the upcoming summer Major, because I’m satisfied with the progress over the past month and a half. And as I said, I viewed this tournament as a way to see what we’re capable of against decent teams. I’d say this is a solid tier-two tournament. Teams gathered here that are contending for a Major spot, and it was very important for them.
We beat Alliance, beat fnatic, and just based on the level of play and how everything’s going, I understand that we can really compete with such teams. We can perform decently; we just need more time to fix a large number of mistakes, like today against The MongolZ.
This game was very telling because we were told where our place is, so to speak
Well, I’d say we ran into a team that, yes, is currently having a certain slump with player changes and so on, but the level of the players is such that they punish any mistakes, especially in terms of micro: they shoot really hard. And this game turned out to be telling. This game was very telling because we were told where our place is, so to speak, because we got punished for all those mistakes that were made out of nerves and due to our skill level.
You don’t have a coach. Are you planning to sign someone? Do you have any ideas?
We had some options, but there weren’t even any concrete conversations. We just had some candidates, but nothing concrete came of it. I’d say there’s currently a shortage of coaches on the market and it’s very hard to find a suitable option. I don’t know how things will turn out going forward regarding finding a coach, but in the long run, well, a coach is necessary, because right now I’m doing all the work and for some period of time that will be enough.
So for another month or two I can give the team a lot, but then I simply won’t have enough time and energy to keep track of everyone, like when we play pracs to see who’s making what mistakes and so on. That’s just physically extremely hard. So we need another person from the outside who understands the game, that’s one. Second, someone who can give useful advice to each of the players, and to me as well, so that we can develop.
