B1ad3: "Next season will show if we need to make changes"

The Ukrainian coach conceded that his team is not in the best shape and spoke about the importance of bootcamps.

Natus Vincere coach Andrey "⁠B1ad3⁠" Gorodenskiy has opened up about the team's current struggles, admitting that roster changes might be needed if they underperform during the second half of 2024.

NAVI have been eliminated from IEM Dallas in the group stage following 0-2 defeats to Spirit and HEROIC. It was the second tournament in a row in which the team was sent packing early after they also placed 9th-12th in ESL Pro League 19.

Speaking to James "⁠BanKs⁠" Banks in the post-match interview, B1ad3 said that the team is having a hard time controlling the game when they have to make adjustments in the middle of rounds.

"We're struggling a lot in the mid-round," he said. "Explosive rounds are kind of easy but when we need to do mid-rounds and change direction, we're struggling a lot."

Natus Vincere have been unable to live up to the impression they made during their title-winning campaign at PGL Major Copenhagen. In Dallas, they often looked disorganized and bereft of ideas, and even the team's key players, like Ihor "⁠w0nderful⁠" Zhdanov and Major MVP Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius, were in disappointing form.

B1ad3 said that this is par for the course with a team without ready-made stars who can perform under any circumstances.

"We're not in the best shape like we were at the Major," he explained. "We really rely on bootcamps. [Before the Major], we had a long bootcamp, like two weeks. We worked really hard and saw improvements instantly.

"We need to focus on this more. Unfortunately, the next bootcamp will be at the start of next season, in July, I think. We don't have time to do it before London [BLAST Premier Spring Final].

"Our players are not star players. We got them from a tier 3 or tier 2 level. We expect them to struggle sometimes and not to be super stable. We want to see who can build himself into a stable, elite player. We need to focus on this chain: bootcamp and then instant super good shape. We are a team that relies more on teamwork, not individual performance."

NAVI's Copenhagen Major victory came at a time when there were growing calls for changes in the team. The criticism will be harsh after the latest disappointments, and B1ad3 admitted that the coming months will be key.

"Next season will show a lot of stuff," he said. "We will have more bootcamps after the summer, before the Shanghai Major. This season will show a lot about this lineup, if we need changes or not. For sure. If we play like this, sooner or later we need to do something."