NEO: "It's not easy to grind it back but it's not impossible, especially with this team"

The Polish coach opened up about his team's recent struggles and the importance of IEM Cologne.

FaZe beat Liquid 2-0 on Saturday to get their IEM Cologne campaign off on the right foot, inflicting the first loss on Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken as an IGL.

The victory comes as a significant boost for FaZe, given their recent struggles. They are currently ranked sixth in the world, and their latest tournament runs ended in disappointment. At the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, they were knocked out by Ninjas in Pyjamas, which Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen said was "not good enough" for the caliber of players on the team.

Still, Filip "⁠NEO⁠" Kubski sees no reason for panic. The Polish coach believes that the team can bounce back, and he praised the amount of work everyone put in for Cologne. "It's been what, a couple of months? So it's not like a lot of things have changed," he said. "It's not easy to grind it back, because everything moves forward and things change, more teams step up, but it's not impossible."

Most people would say that FaZe have just an outside chance of winning Cologne, but NEO isn't writing his team off, stating that this event is "a top priority" for the team. "We did everything we could before coming here to just make it happen and play our best."

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NEO, a 2-0 victory in your first match in this tournament. How important was it, considering the recent results, to get off to a winning start here in Cologne?

I would say extremely important. We've been working very hard to get back. Also, the atmosphere around the team is not perfect. And many people stopped believing in us at some point. There was a moment when everybody was just thinking we were going to reach the finals each time, and then we started dropping off a little bit. Then there was the player break. We didn't come back strong from this one. But it's constant work, and we've been grinding a lot and it was really important to win this one.

You said that many people have stopped believing in the team, but do you still see that belief in the players? Or do you think it's a little bit difficult to judge that, considering the latest results?

I mean, not so long ago, we were at the top of the scene. It's extremely competitive and there are so many great teams. But just as fast as you drop, you can grind it back. It's been what, a couple of months? So it's not like a lot of things have changed. It's not easy to grind it back, because everything moves forward and things change, more teams step up, but it's not impossible, especially with this team, with these guys, they're all capable of playing extremely good CS. It all just has to connect. Like I said, we've been putting in more work. This was only the first game. Let's see the next ones.

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Is Cologne make or break for FaZe?

Can you walk me through the series? I guess Mirage were trying to capitalize on some of your weaknesses on Mirage in recent games, but you were able to find some success on the A site as Terrorists. And then on Nuke, you had a very strong performance on the CT side.

Nuke is the map we used to pick the most. That used to be our comfort pick. We were thinking about leaning towards other maps, but this it made more sense to just pick it. Actually, we were surprised with their Mirage pick, because it didn't feel like it was going to happen. So we got to play two really good maps of ours. At some point, we were really good on them. So yeah, it was just a solid game from us.

I think we had a really good team performance. It was not like one guy was carrying the team, everybody stepped up at some point and we had good comms and good energy. Even though we made mistakes during the game, we still managed to win. It's all about mistakes, right? Who is going to make more of them. This time, we came out on top.

Talking about the map pool, Anubis was by far the most played map during the Play-in. That's a map you guys almost never play. How do you see that playing out in the vetos moving forward? And do you think that maybe that's a map you guys are considering playing?

We've been practicing it a lot. There are different opinions on the map inside the team, but I'm really hoping for someone to finally pick it, because I believe we're capable of playing really good CS there. We banned it this time, so they couldn't do it. But yeah, maybe next time we'll get the chance to play it.

You had just one week to prepare for this tournament after coming out of the BLAST Groups. In the pre-match interview, karrigan said that you tried to change some things, set a new foundation, a new play style. What can you say about this new FaZe and how different is it compared to the old one?

If you look at it from a different perspective, it's new old FaZe, I would say, because things were working out at some point. karrigan is such an experienced player and IGL, he's been through rough times in the past and he bounced back. So he knows how to handle those situations. Of course, we've been struggling a little bit in the last couple of weeks, months. But, like I said, it's constant work and trying to find the solutions to the problems. Normally, there are more problems than just one. So, yeah, just trying to stay [together] as a team, connect and work on all of the stuff.

You worked with Twistzz for a while at the beginning of your time with FaZe. What is your opinion about the current Liquid roster and were you surprised when you learned that Twistzz was becoming an IGL?

You could always say he was able to be a caller. I mean, that's what happens with a lot of star players. For example, there are rounds when they play on a team with a different IGL and they help him make calls sometimes. When Russ played on the team, he was able to call for the team. So I knew he was capable of doing that, and he understands the game so much. As players grow and develop their game with experience, I think that some of them, at some point, are able to transition into IGLs, and I think that it was just the perfect time for him to do that, with Liquid struggling under cadiaN's leadership.

After watching them play under Russ' leadership, he's been doing a great job. He's a smart guy, so I'm not surprised they're doing really well because they've got a pretty nice lineup. I'm happy to see a Polish guy, ultimate, on the team. Looking forward to cheering for them, because they're nice guys.

Considering how rough the past couple of months have been for the team, did you set any goals for this tournament? What would you be satisfied with?

At the beginning of the year, and a couple of months later, when talking about goals, after the Major, I think Cologne and Katowice are the biggest goals for every team. And especially with the current situation with the Grand Slam, I think Cologne is a top priority for the team, and we did everything we could before coming here to just make it happen and play our best.