HeavyGod: "You need a connection, and I really hope we find it"

Cloud9 aim to save their season at the Shanghai Major RMR.

Cloud9 were forced into a rebuild during the summer after the remnants of their super team fell apart with the departure of Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov to Virtus.pro.

The organization kept only Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov and Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov and signed Kaisar "⁠ICY⁠" Faiznurov, Timofey "⁠interz⁠" Yakushin, and Nikita "⁠HeavyGod⁠" Martynenko, of which the Israeli rifler came with the most amount of fanfare.

HeavyGod spent the first part of the year in OG, where he showed his potential despite the team's troubles. He was thus a part of many roster rumors and eventually landed on Cloud9.

The start of the team has been far from ideal, however, as the roster currently sits at No. 66 in the world rankings before coming to the RMR, where they aim to turn their year around by making the Major.

Ahead of the tournament in Shanghai, HeavyGod spoke to HLTV about the slow start to the season, his adaptation to a new language and in-game role, and his expectations for the tournament.

If you cannot see the Soundcloud embed above, listen to the interview here.

---

You're here at the RMR with Cloud9. How is the team feeling coming into the tournament?

I think the team is feeling really nice, we have a good atmosphere overall with the team. I think we're prepared and we want to show everyone what we're capable of, we're going to do our best.

You've also returned to a Russian-speaking team after previously playing in OG and Endpoint. How has that been for you? Do you prefer Russian or English-speaking?

I think for me, because I came from English, it's taking me time to adapt again to the Russian language. I think maybe English is a bit easier for me, but Russian is fine as well.

What is the biggest change? Not just the language, but is there a difference between Russian and English teams in terms of communication or playstyle?

The [biggest difference] comes with culture, European culture and CIS cultures are a bit different. Maybe they work a little bit harder, I would say, but overall I think both Europeans and Russians are nice.

You broke out in the tier-one scene with OG, and there was a lot of talk about you joining different teams. Why did you choose Cloud9 as your next project?

I chose Cloud9 because I believe in the process, and I believe that we can get to new heights and achievements. For me to play with such experienced players and a coach, I think will help me develop as a player and as a person. I chose Cloud9 because I believed in where I joined.

And how is it playing in the team? You mentioned some experienced players like Ax1le, Boombl4, and your coach as well. How has that been for you? Is it a different type of team to come into compared to OG?

OG had great players as well, but I would say they were a bit less experienced. Boombl4 won a Major, Ax1le was top 5 for two years in a row, and he is the kind of player I grew up watching and learned a lot from, and Boombl4 is a great IGL from what I saw in the past.

First of all, it's really nice to play with them both because they taught me some stuff that I didn't know. They explore stuff with me, [help me add] new stuff, and the same with the coach, he's been in CS for about 20 years. The experience is showing for me as a new player coming in because I haven't been playing CS for a long time.

Even with all the experience, the team hasn't matched expectations yet. Why do you think that is? Why have you gotten off to a slow start?

We had a really slow start, and I hope we can fix it now in the RMR and qualify for the Major. I think it was slow because we needed time to connect and learn stuff because every personality is different.

Everyone has different opinions and is expressing different stuff in different ways, so you need a connection, and I really hope that we find it. I think that was the main issue. It's not like we played badly, I would say it's just the small stuff that made us lose big games.

You mentioned you want to fix everything for the Major. When the team came together, was the Major the big goal all along?

The biggest goal for every player who hasn't qualified for a Major yet is to do it, and he will do his best and always try. For sure, our big goal was the Major. We had small goals in the middle of the way that we didn't have success with, sadly. I really hope we can do it this time, we're going to do our best.

You've played one RMR with OG, but you didn't make it through. How important would it be for you to make it?

It's my dream to qualify, first of all, because I haven't done it yet. I will do my best. There's a lot of emotions and it's kind of tough, but you also really want it. I'm going to do everything to fulfill it.

You're the second lowest ranked in terms of HLTV ranking at the tournament, and you're facing FaZe in the first round. How do you feel about your chances of making it through?

Cloud9 and FaZe have a long history, they always face each other. We played FaZe at BLAST when we were just a new team and had like two weeks of practice before the first game. I think we should be way better than last time, I believe we can beat them.

For you personally. You played more anchor roles in OG, and now you've moved more into a star role. How have you found that adaptation?

I don't really mind what role I have or what I need to do in the server, it's just about what the coach and players need, I will just fit in the team. I can do everything because I'm universal, so whatever the team needs, I will do. I will always try my best and learn everything new that I need.