npl: "It means a lot [to be here], it's a big step for me"

The NAVI Junior youngster has put two maps to his name with the main team in Abu Dhabi.

Natus Vincere has given its academy team youngster, Andrii "⁠npl⁠" Kukharskyi, the opportunity to show himself. The youngster, who flew to Copenhagen for the BLAST Premier Fall Final but didn't play in Denmark, has now tallied two maps in Abu Dhabi with the main team — both times on Inferno, in the loss to Vitality and the victory over HEROIC.

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The exposure to top tier CS at the BLAST World Final is so far a positive learning experience for npl, who hopes to eventually become consistent at the highest level. "I try to listen to B1ad3, he's telling me about my mistakes and how I should have played, how I could play better," he told HLTV. "And the guys are also telling me what I should do in this or that situation."

The best moment for the neophyte has been beating one of the teams he looks up to, HEROIC, and he's poised to keep making improvements game by game. "I'm just playing and becoming more experienced," he said. "So that the next matches will be easier and I'll make less mistakes."

You played your first maps with NAVI, what's has it been like being here and playing with the main team?

It has gone pretty well. It's my first matches at a tier one tournament, a tier one LAN, so of course it's hard for me and I make some stupid mistakes, but I try to fix them after the match like I did after the match against Vitality, and I'm getting used to it.

What was it like the first time you sat down to play with NAVI's main team, what went through your mind?

I was focused on my game, I wasn't nervous at all. Maybe it's because I was at the tournament in Copenhagen and I was watching how the guys are playing, how they set up, how it's going on, etc. It was easy.

So going to Copenhagen helped you even though you didn't play?

Yeah, going there made it easier for me coming here [to play].

What have you learned so far from your time here?

I'm just playing and becoming more experienced so that the next matches will be easier and I'll make less mistakes... It has only been two maps, so I can't say a lot about it.

What's it like playing at this level? It's a big step up from the academy.

There's a difference in the players. When I was in NAVI Junior the level was less than now, of course. I'm playing with tier one players now so they react to situations much faster than it was before. Sometimes it's hard in a way, but I try my best and I learn a lot from them. We'll see.

What are you applying to your game so that you'll be able to stay at this level?

I try to listen to B1ad3, he's telling me about my mistakes and how I should have played, how I could play better, and the guys are also telling me what I should do in this or that situation.

How was your time in NAVI Junior?

I played in the academy for eight or nine months, we played four academy seasons. I was really bad the two first seasons, but in the next two seasons I was at the top. I got used to the system of those tournaments and became a more experienced player, so the new players that joined other academies weren't that experienced and it became easier for me to play against them. Sometimes I'd see them make mistakes that I did three or four months before.

You've only played a couple of maps so far, but what has the transition been like going from the academy to the main team. Does the academy help prepare you to make the jump?

I think so, yeah. It's the NAVI system as an organization, so you have the academy and the main roster and you can move a players up to the main roster.

What does this opportunity mean for you?

It means a lot, it's a big step for me in my career. I'm going to try my best to stay on this level and become consistent.

What has been your favorite experience of playing at this event so far?

Winning against Heroic, of course. I like their play style a lot, but I won against them now on in Inferno, so... [laughs]

Do you feel comfortable playing here?

Yeah, I do, I feel comfortable while when I'm playing, but like I said before sometimes I make stupid mistakes because this isn't the level of game that I was playing before, but I'm trying my best.