CeRq: "I think it is good for a team to be loud and huddle before matches"

We spoke to Tsvetelin "⁠CeRq⁠" Dimitrov following NRG's win over INTZ, which saw the North Americans secure a spot at the StarLadder Major.

NRG cruised through the Americas Minor, not dropping a single map at the event and picking up a dominant 2-0 victory over INTZ in the upper-bracket final of the tournament.

Following NRG's final match before the player break, we spoke to CeRq about the lead-up to the Minor, the atmosphere in the team, and going back home.

Before this event you had BLAST LA and you lost to FaZe over there in the playoffs, how did you assess that tournament as a team before coming here?

We didn't really think about it too much. With Peter (stanislaw), we had probably less than a week of practice, and we plugged him into daps' roles and just played. We played the same way as before, we haven't changed anything. He is probably not as comfortable as he says he is, so we didn't really think about it too much. We reviewed it obviously, we fixed our mistakes and that is pretty much it. We try to fix the small mistakes and keep our head in the game for the Minors because we shouldn't miss the Major.

Touching on that, obviously you had that Minor where you failed to go through, and also the last Major didn't go as expected. So what was the team talk like before this, to avoid similar mishaps at this Minor?

We are not talking about that at all. [laughs] We have already forgotten about it and we were coming back to make it through the playoffs this time.

One of the teams you played against here was FURIA, and you have a 9-2 map record against them. What makes it so easy for you guys against them, why are you so comfortable?

I don't know, we treat them like any other team. I think they are a little bit in their own heads, saying that we know how they play. I don't know, we just play our game, anti-strat a little bit of course, and everything goes as planned.

You played another Brazilian team here, INTZ, Train started with some crazy clutches, tarik pulled off one, you almost pulled off that 1v5. Tell me a bit about the early game on Train.

I don't really remember that much, I just remember it was really back and forth, we won five rounds in row, then they won five, then we won five more. It was just a lot of clutches, we did some mistakes, they did some mistakes, but we were just happy we won the half.

We actually saw you guys getting pretty excited, pretty loud here, I think it was the first time I saw your team yelling. How did that come into play? Did the other team being loud inspire you to do so as well?

Honestly, I brought this up a lot of times, even when daps was in the team, or when Fugly was in the team, that I think it is good for a team to be loud and huddle before matches, I feel like that gives you the adrenaline before the match. After the groups here we got into the practice room and we were talking about it and after that, we started huddling, everyone was down for it. After that, it just naturally came that we started yelling as well. I don't know if it was because we wanted to beat the opposite team, I'm pretty sure every team here was yelling, we have been playing Brazilians only and they are very passionate about the game and they yell. I like that, to be honest. If we keep doing that I think we will step up a lot. It just brings a lot to the team atmosphere.

So you have a player break coming up, going home back to Bulgaria. Has being in North America for so long become kind of a toll on you or have you become used to it by now?

Nah, that is where I live now. I don't even remember Bulgaria, when I went back last winter, I went to my house and I looked around, there is so much new stuff, I don't even remember living there. It is whatever, America is my second home now as I spend most of my time here, it is all good now but I'm happy to go home.

What is the plan for the next couple of weeks coming into the Major?

We are going to take a little break from CS and then we are going to bootcamp for 10 days before the Major. And then hopefully we go far in the Major, that is the plan.