Jame: "There is an option where electroNic becomes the captain"

Virtus.pro's IGL provided plenty of insight into the team's future development with electroNic among the squad in an interview with BetBoom Esports.

Virtus.pro headed into the player break in the wake of a relatively drastic revamp of their team, the blockbuster signing of Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov mid-way through April having recently been followed up by the replacement of their long-time coach, Dastan "⁠dastan⁠" Akbayev.

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Xoma named new Virtus.pro coach

With the shifting of personnel has come a shifting of Virtus.pro's long-established style, the slow and methodical grind now complimented by more shifts in pace and more improvisational moments than the Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali-led squad typically utilized in the past.

Whilst this new-look Virtus.pro bagged a semi-final berth at BLAST Spring Final to end their season, it has not all been smooth sailing with regards to incorporating electroNic's desire for a faster pace, as explained by Petr "⁠fame⁠" Bolyshev in an interview with HLTV.

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fame: "We need to keep the balance between our play style and those [faster] things"

In a Russian-language interview released on BetBoom Esports' YouTube channel, Jame has given more insight into the process of Virtus.pro incorporating electroNic into the team, explaining that they are still in the very early stages of finding the right formula.

This interview was conducted in Russian and translated by HLTV.

"We are in the process [of finding a common language]," Jame stated. "I'm not going to lie and say that we are very tight friends. We are from different planets and have different views, but we are trying to find a common language because without it, we will never build a team that competes for titles."

Jame also revealed that Virtus.pro quickly realised a significant shift in playstyle would be necessary if they were to fully realise their potential with electroNic among their number.

"It's not like he joined and we started implementing him into our system. When he joined, we realized we couldn't play our system anymore, so we had to either combine our systems or do as he wants because he has a strong voice and can't just be silent. Everyone needs to be comfortable to achieve results, especially the leading players."

The Russian IGL admitted that it is a double-edged sword having such a vocal player on the team, as it helps but also hinders him as the caller.

"He can and does it [make calls during matches] a lot. On one hand, it interferes with my calling, but on the other, I'm an AWPer and it makes my life easier. Without him, I would be a weaker player.

"There is Captain AWPer and AWPer Captain. I used to be the former so my sniper roles came second, but now we need to make sure I'm a sniper first and then I'm a captain because we have a player who can help make that happen."

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Jame: "Every team should change its vision and destroy long-standing partnerships to improve"

Interestingly, Jame was of the opinion that much of the difficulty in integrating electroNic stems from the rifler's time as a Natus Vincere player working under Andrey "⁠B1ad3⁠" Gorodenskiy. Jame went so far as to state that there could be a world in which electroNic took over as the team captain to remedy these issues.

"It's also important that he played on a team where the coach, B1ad3, was the center-forming element that controlled everything," Jame began. "While on our team, I was this center-forming element that formed our vision and game.

"Right now, there is a certain disconnect on the team because he is not used to seeing a player that is allowed to do so much during matches and theory. We are trying to fix this. There is an option where he becomes the captain, but there are also all sorts of options. He can become the captain, someone else from the team can as well."

Jame went on to give plenty more insight into Virtus.pro's traditional slow playstyle, admitting it was predicated upon his wishes and influenced by players like Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo, and give his thoughts on topics like saving and roster building. You can check out the full interview on BetBoom Esports' YouTube channel.