G2 clinched the final playoff berth at the IEM Cologne Major after outlasting Natus Vincere in a three-map series. It was a match plagued by advantages squandered by both teams, including a lost 1v4 to Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov that allowed Natus Vincere to win Dust2 13-11, G2 requiring overtime to close out Inferno after dropping a 12-8 lead, and narrowly close out Mirage 13-10 to reverse-sweep the series.
“I’m super, super happy, I think we deserve it,” Nikita “HeavyGod” Martynenko told HLTV after the match. “I think we played way, way, way better than them; I don’t think they [would’ve] deserved this win if they won because we were just better. But I’m happy we closed it out because we played really as a team, and we just trolled a lot of stupid, really stupid rounds away.”
The Israeli anchor ended Stage 3 with a 1.33 rating over 13 maps, far above his next closest teammate, Álvaro “SunPayus” García, who posted a 0.99 rating.
“I always try to give my team the maximum capabilities of myself because I’m an anchor and a lurker; I can catch timings, I can do multi-kills when they’re entering my site,” he said. “This is the most important thing for me, and also communicating what I want.
“I’m really happy with my performance, but I still don’t think I showed my highest level. I think I can do way, way better, I just need to improve in small aspects, like every player. No player is perfect, you always need to drive forward and try to be better in the game, outside of the game, mentally, and in a lot of small aspects.”
Listen to the interview on HLTV’s Spotify channel.
Congratulations, through to the playoffs. A crazy effort from you, an insane series, and one that came down to the wire a bit. Talk me through your emotions after that; I saw you took a little moment to collect yourself before coming over.
Yeah, I mean, I have to collect myself. The Major isn’t easy, every game is a long game, and a lot of emotions in the middle of the rounds, between maps, every round, when it starts, in the middle of the round, in the end. It’s really tough mentally, but you just need to overcome it and believe in yourself, believe in your aim, believe in your team, trust everyone around you.
I’m super, super happy, I think we deserve it, I think we played way, way, way better than them; I don’t think they [would’ve] deserved this win if they won because we were just better. But I’m happy we closed it out because we played really as a team, and we just trolled a lot of stupid, really stupid rounds away. 4v1, 3v1, 2v1s, like tons of them, but I’m happy we closed it and this is the thing that matters the most.
It felt like those rounds were going both ways; they were trolling a lot of those kinds of rounds, and you were too. How do you recover mentally in the game when those are going both ways and it’s swinging back and forth?
It’s tough, I won’t lie. We are just trying to support each other, our coach is taking timeouts to help us a bit when it’s needed. We just try to support each other and say, ‘Alright guys, fuck it, let’s go next. Keep believing, keep pushing. We know what we are worth, we know why we practice, every round matters.’ Everyone knows of each other’s capabilities and what he can do in the round, and also outside of the server as a human, so it’s really important for us.
Talking about your progress as a team, I talked to you in Astana and you were just starting to get into the swing of it working with NertZ a bit. This is a really big result, so what does actually making the playoffs mean to you and the team right now?
It’s a crazy result, I won’t lie. I don’t know if a lot of people expected us to do it, but inside the team we believed in everyone, and the organization behind us believed in us. People cannot see how hard we work and what we try for and what we drive for.
We just want to beat everyone, we want to show our real skill as a team, as individuals, and just push our limits to the end. We want to win every game, every round matters, every small detail and every minute detail.
Individually, this was an immense carry performance from you through Stage 3. I think your rating was 0.30 clear of your closest teammate or something. I know it’s a team game,, but talk to me about that effort and what it means to you to have that kind of performance to get your team into playoffs.
It doesn’t matter [about] my positions or my roles, I know how hard I need to work and I know what I’m worth. I’m just trying to do my best, and if I have a bad game, I will be harsh on myself. I’m always kinda trying to be perfect, but in the end, it’s a team game.
I always try to give my team the maximum capabilities of myself because I’m an anchor and a lurker; I can catch timings, I can do multi-kills when they’re entering my site. This is the most important thing for me, and also communicating what I want.
I’m really happy with my performance, but I still don’t think I showed my highest level. I think I can do way, way better, I just need to improve in small aspects, like every player. No player is perfect, you always need to drive forward and try to be better in the game, outside of the game, mentally, and in a lot of small aspects.
You mentioned it, that a lot of people maybe didn’t expect this result from you. Even in playoffs, you’re going to play Spirit in your first game, and you’re on the hard side of the bracket with Vitality and Falcons. What do you think going into that?
It doesn’t really matter who we play. We should just do our best, prepare; I think we should rest first, after this (smiles), like one day. Then prepare for the match, do the best that we can on the stage, and be grateful for the moment that we qualified. We really want to show what we’re worth, even on stage.
How do you plan to do that when you’re going up against Spirit?
Just play our game and not focus on them that much. We know what we’re worth as a team, we know what we can do, and just push our limits as I mentioned before. Do our best as a team, be united, and help each other and support each other.
