NBK-: "In the past where I was leading you could see that some players had doubts... here you can feel a real unity"

French legend Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt discusses Falcons' games so far at the RMR, as well as what it's been like settling in with his new team.

NBK- joined Falcons as part of a revamp that also saw ex-Vitality man Kévin "⁠misutaaa⁠" Rabier bolster the ranks, and the changes brought about immediate success with the team grabbing a top-four at CCT Central Europe Series and qualifying for the European RMRs.

Their campaign in Malta began with a convincing victory over K23, but faltered with losses to two strong sides in the form of ENCE and later OG. Thus they head into series play with their Major dreams on the line.

Having had time to reflect on their run so far NBK- took a moment to discuss his thoughts with HLTV, as well as providing some insight into what his early days on Falcons have been like in general.

Obviously you opened with a strong win against K23 on Dust2 with all the individuals firing, how was that game from your perspective?

To be honest, that game in the first half we didn’t play very well. We missed a lot of utility and all that kind of stupid shit and it really would have hurt us in that sense, but then we managed to go on the T side and to actually play a flawless game and actually play our game. So that was the most important thing for us, finding that footing, and as soon as we had it we knew we would beat a team like K23.

What do you think it was that made the T side so strong, you had nine rounds with only one in reply I think?

Everyone just stopped thinking and started actually playing and just headshotting people, right? Just following the plan and then being able to react to whatever was happening, and I think that’s the main part so far with all the games we have played, we are a bit too much in the expectations of other people calling and stuff like that, and not really ready for chaos.

When we started then on the T side, which is one of the maps, Dust2, we are most confident on, it’s just easy when you’re comfortable with it. Then you just start rolling with the rounds, and then you take control of the economy, then you always have an answer, so that’s why it felt pretty good on that side.

Your next game against ENCE was a little bit rough, what happened there?

I think it comes down to overall the idea of feeling a bit stuck and with a weight on our shoulders. A lot of the phases where we needed to take space or to move forward or we needed someone to support with utility were a bit absent compared to what it would be in practice for example, and so that’s why you see a lot of the time we were just not on the same page. For example since I’m entrying on the map just moving more forward with my teammates, the things were just not linked together very well, despite all the system and everything we put in place.

That’s kind of what we’re trying to put together because it’s also our first LAN together and so we have to have the same ideas, the same point of view and go in the same direction. It takes a bit of time to get that together. The main rule I said was don’t let ENCE catch fire, because if you start getting ahead of them you can really anticipate what they are doing. If you start letting them do whatever they want individually, that’s where you saw valde get the 1 on 4 on the pistol and then they started just doing bullshit everywhere, and then we just died like bitches every time, every place on the map.

That’s the thing we really needed to counter to win the game, and we just couldn’t manage that.

You just played against OG, I imagine you were relatively confident coming up against them because you beat them in the qualifier to make it here to the RMR.

Yeah we’re confident that we definitely have the same level as a team, we don’t feel like it would be a big upset if we beat them or the other way around. I think the game was pretty level to be honest throughout everything really, and then we just started losing like… we lost two weapon rounds on the CT side and then just things crumbled because we didn’t have any money.

I think both teams felt the same way, we were both confident coming into this matchup (laughs) and then we came playing Mirage with a game plan and an idea of what we wanted to do, we got what we wanted on the T side, six rounds, and then on the CT side we started doing the comeback and then just crumbled in two or three rounds and that was it. The only annoying part is that we couldn’t really take away too much from the game because it was level-headed, there was nothing exceptionally good or something exceptionally bad.

Just individually, except misutaaa that played a very good game, I think all of us were a bit under the level individually of the others, and its hard to take something away where you just come out of the game your like “oh yeah if I was just better individually, we would have won the game,” you can’t really take away too much. So that’s the thing that is a bit annoying, because I personally, I think I was -7 in entries or something like that, which is something terrible, and so yeah that’s going to put the others in a good situation. You just have to think, can you do better the next time to not get entried and then you can play your game, but that’s really what it comes down to, so it sucked.

Considering that you say it comes down to a couple of rounds and some individuals maybe not firing, are you more comfortable now you’re going to be moving into the series play? You’ve kind of got more of a chance to show your true game, I guess?

Yeah, I think the fact that we have a day and a half to get ready mentally for it and really speak things through. The extra practice, that doesn’t really change too much, it’s just a matter of finding our footing in what we want to do and the mentality that we’re gonna approach it with, that’s gonna be the main part to be honest.

Aside from that, we’re very confident with our preparation and our map pool, that’s why for example we played Mirage against OG, because we had the time to prepare a lot of things on a lot of maps, so we just want to… if we lose because they played better and our gameplan didn’t work and all that kind of stuff, fair enough, you can’t change that. If you lose because you played bad in the moment, it’s like “fuck!”, you can’t even show what you’re capable of, so the fact that we play best of threes now really allows us to show our preparation a bit more and our depth in the map pool. That’s why we're confident anyway, regardless of who we play, because we know we’re able to play any map really, its just the matter of making the right choices to put ourselves in the best spot.

You’re one of the newest members on the team alongside misutaaa, you haven’t been playing for too long now with Falcons, but what’s it been like in the month or two you’ve been with the team?

It’s been quite refreshing, especially in the dynamics of the team. In different teams in the past where I was leading you could see that some players had doubts, were not 100% behind it and all that kind of stuff. Here you can feel a real unity behind what I’m calling and the way I want to play, and a real trust from the coaching staff, from the organisation and the players. For me personally its very refreshing to feel that and I really enjoy practicing on a daily basis and bringing new things.

That’s why I also put extra pressure on myself because I know things are going so well in that sense, that I have responsibilities that are there, I want to maximise it, but not everything is my responsibility in the end as well (laughs). I’m trying my best with that, but yeah I’m really enjoying what I’m doing, I feel like this is the spot where I need to be.

In game as well I’m allowing myself to do a lot more things, I enjoy that because of the experience that I have. Just being a support player in that sense is hard when you do that for like 10+ years, so I’m trying new things, being much more in the entry department, and just enjoying it really.

The plan, since it’s a new team and a team that is trying to make it out of the top 30 to go into the top 10-15, is going to take a bit of time, especially with the individuals who are not used to the highest level. It takes time to get there, and so I’m trying to really focus on myself, enjoying as much as possible, to bring the most potential, and then bringing the whole team with me. That’s what I’m trying to do on a daily basis and trying to share that.

Thanks very much for talking to us, before you go are there any words you would like to say to the fans?

Yeah sure. Don’t be afraid, the moustache is not saying (smiles), it was just a forfeit for charity for a big event, and so it’s not staying. So there’s that.

Thanks for everyone that is believing in us and following us, we all read social media and websites and that kind of stuff, so if people are supporting us we will always appreciate that very very much. Thanks for the time, thanks for the interview, and hopefully we’re going to make it through, but we don’t know! We’ll see, but we’re going to try our best anyway.