nawwk on BLEED: "We had five good players on paper, but it never clicked"

The Swedish AWPer feels he "had to take" the opportunity to join fnatic and play the RMR after BLEED missed out.

fnatic and Tim "⁠nawwk⁠" Jonasson's LAN debut is off to a good start, as the European combine topped Group B to secure playoffs early.

nawwk only signed for BLEED in May, but jumped ship just four months later after the squad failed to make it to the RMR.

He landed at fnatic on a six-month loan last month, taking the tough decision to leave long-term teammate Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad behind for a chance to play the upcoming Shanghai Major cycle.

Date	Matches
RES Regional Champions 2024
16/10/2024	fnatic Finished 2:0 UNPAID	Match
17/10/2024	PARIVISION Finished 1:2 fnatic	Match

After mixed online results since the swap, fnatic arrived in Belgrade with a point to prove and looked impressive in wins over PARIVISION and nawwk's old mates, now playing under the tag UNPAID.

By topping their group, nawwk and the team secured themselves a day off and the Swede swung by HLTV's microphone to talk about BLEED, Aleksandar "⁠kassad⁠" Trifunović, and his own form since leaving Apeks.

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Congratulations on reaching playoffs. You started the first map with a lead, like the second and the third, but ultimately you lost it. What happened?

We had a really good match plan coming into the game, on CT side. We really outplayed them, we really played well on sites, we got entries when we needed them. Then on T side, they got the pistol, first weapon round, and had momentum in their hands. We played a bit scared, but it is what it is. We just reset for the next two maps.

You've now advanced to playoffs at RES. It's your first LAN with fnatic, how important is it for you personally to put up a good performance?

It feels really good. It's been hard for me to join a new team where I don't know anyone. So I've been trying to get to know their system, how they play, and get comfortable. It's getting better and better each day, but I feel like the more we play, the better we'll get, and we can do some real damage.

I wanted to ask about BLEED. You didn't stay there too long in the end, how did the move to fnatic happen?

After we failed the RMR as BLEED, I got in contact with fnatic and they wanted me for the RMR if possible. It just kind of happened that way. Of course, it's sad to leave some teammates behind — for example jkaem, who I played with for so long — but when a move like this came, the opportunity to play at the RMR, of course, I had to take it.

Before joining fnatic, you said you had a couple of rough months, what do you mean by that?

Nothing really clicked with the BLEED lineup. We had five good players on paper, but it really never clicked. My form personally really dipped compared to my Apeks stay. It was rough for everyone. We couldn't find any consistency in the game. I don't have anything against the guys or anything, they're all great guys behind the team and the players as well.

What are your impressions on kassad's leadership and managerial style. From the outside, it seems like he is trying to play a different type of game. What are your impressions on him as a coach?

He's a good coach. He understands the game, brings a lot of good stuff to practice. He is, of course, a bit strict, and wants his own way of playing when we had him but I don't have anything negative to say. It just didn't click with the players.

As a general manager, kassad assembled that team, five good players like you said but it didn't click. Do you have any feelings or ideas about that?

That feels like a trick question [laughs]. No, I don't have anything against kassad. The only problem I could see when he brought on the team was definitely roles, we had clashes with the rifles. CYPHER, jkaem, and hampus all wanted to take space and someone had to take anchor roles which was a big problem when we played with that lineup. That's the only thing that could have been bettter.

You're loaned out to fnatic. With the situation at BLEED developing, are you more relieved to be playing under a different team or are you concerned with how that might affect you?

Right now, I don't even know what's going on behind the scenes. We will just see what happens.

With the way you performed in groups,do you feel more confident with the way you're going to expect yourself to play?

I think I will play better every event that comes. Now we have an extra practice day, we can add some micro stuff, so we'll see.