Graviti: "We have the capacity to beat all the teams here, but the event is very stacked"

Graviti's stint as 3DMAX's IGL is off to an encouraging start.

3DMAX decided to switch the IGL role from Bryan "⁠Maka⁠" Canda to Filip "⁠Graviti⁠" Brankovic ahead of EWC, and results have picked up almost immediately.

They ran The MongolZ close at EWC before winning Perfect World CS Challenge Series 1 in Shanghai, and then went one better to beat the Mongolian side in the opening round of FISSURE Playground 2.

"We beat the best team in the tournament right now, so I think it will give us some confidence," admitted 3DMAX's new IGL Graviti. "It's really difficult because when MongolZ have the momentum, they don't let you win a round."

The 21-year-old also spoke about his vision as the IGL, the impact of Pierre "⁠YouKnow⁠" Marco, and the impact of their recent tournament victory.

Listen to the audio here.

---

First of all, congrats again on the win, you finally got the better of MongolZ. How does it feel to start this tournament with a scalp like that?

It feels good. We beat the best team in the tournament right now, so I think it will give us some confidence that we already have. Because the last match we played, we won a tournament in China, so it's good for us. But now, we need to keep working hard to get two more best-of-three wins to get to the playoffs, and in the playoffs it will be different. Of course, we will face the best teams in the tournament.

In the pre-match interview you said that playing MongolZ on the third map is super annoying, but in the end you got the job done. Can you share some more about that statement and why it went better today?

Actually, it's really annoying because as you can see, we were leading 6-0 and we fucked up a round and lost a 4vs3. They played very well, but we fucked up. We made some small mistakes and they punished us, and then they came back, and as you can see, it's really difficult against them because when they have the momentum, they don't let you win a round.

Even if they are making some mistakes, sometimes they are not doing the best play, they are still killing. It's really annoying. Still, when we finally played on the T side, we lost the pistol also, so it was really hard. Then we lost against some force buy when I called to rush A, and they retook us, and they fucked us also. I made a mistake and we lost the round, so it's just super annoying to always play against them on the third map because they are really skilled.

You said that you've made a mistake. You're obviously a new IGL, but do you feel you started to imprint your vision on the team? And what was the biggest thing you changed? Because results are certainly on the up since you picked up the role.

I'm pretty sure we are playing my vision right now on the T side. Basically, I try to make everyone in the team happy. I just saw before how they were reacting when Maka was calling, sometimes where they were not happy. For example, Ex3rcice, he was always close to me. So I know exactly what he needs to be good, and I'm trying to put him in the best situation.

For bodyy, Maka, and Lucky, it's a bit different. I'm trying to leave them some space, but at the same time keep up the control on the rounds. So for example, depending on the map. But on Inferno for example, they are calling a lot, but in the mid-round, I'm taking the lead. And everyone is listening to me, so it's very nice.

A new piece on the team is also the coach. How has it been working with him, considering it's your first time in the IGL role?

He's helping the team, he's really important for the team, because he's someone really calm and kind. He's an honest man. I don't know how to say it, but he's a good human, and we need it. Because sometimes, we know how it is. We are traveling a lot. We are always together in the practice room, always at a tournament, so sometimes, it's quite difficult.

Even more when you are not performing. For the moment, we are performing, so everything is good. But sometimes, it can go fast, and we have some little issues. It's important to have someone like this in the team, and we are lucky we have this man. Some teams have performance coaches or stuff like this, or even a manager, but he's doing two jobs in the team at the same time, I would say.

You said it's easier to feel good when you are winning. I wanted to ask about the tournament in China that you mentioned before. You won it, so how important is it to get some good results under your belt? Even if it's not the biggest tournament, how much confidence does a trophy add?

First of all, it was really a difficult event. Because we are European and we go to China, it's really not the same. For example, to have practice there, you have to find it on WeChat, it's not like how it works in Europe. To have a good server and to have good conditions to practice, it was difficult also.

For example, Tyloo and Lynn Vision, they have their bootcamp there, so it was really easy for them to be performing from this aspect. It was important because we are in the running to qualify for Stage 3 of the Major. It started with the tournament in China, because if we won it, of course we won more VRS points. Now I don't know where we are after beating MongolZ, but we are in a good position if we get a good result.

And speaking of the future, you said before that you want to reach the playoffs. But is the VRS also a big part of this tournament? As you said, you could qualify for Stage 3 if you get far here.

Stage 3 is really important because of the difference with the sticker money between Stage 3 and Stage 2. For example, in Shanghai, we qualified for the Legend Stage, so the Stage 3 now, and the money that we made at this Major was way more than bodyy, for example, who was playing in the Stage 2 in fnatic.

Same for Austin, we qualified to Stage 2, and the teams who qualified in Stage 3, they have more money. Of course, it's normal because you have the best teams in the world with the capsule, but it's making a big difference. Also for the organization, they would have more money to do whatever.

MongolZ came into FISSURE as the highest ranked team, and you took them down, and there's obviously Falcons as well. Do you feel you finally have what it takes to battle these teams for the trophy?

For sure, we have the capacity to beat all the teams here, I think it's the same for everyone. The level is really stacked. MongolZ are maybe better than everyone, that's the only team. We beat them, but maybe tomorrow they will beat us if we play again.

But the event overall is very stacked. I feel like all the teams can beat everyone… Maybe not all the teams, like Virtus.pro, for example, they just made a change, and Perfecto is taking the IGL role. But Falcons, 3DMAX, Aurora, MongolZ. This kind of event is really stacked, I think.