daps on NRG’s elimination from StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026: “We’re not used to the way teams play here.”
NRG coach Damian “daps” Steel spoke in an interview at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 about the team’s struggles in their match against MIBR, the challenges of training in North America, and their preparations for upcoming tournaments.
On the match against MIBR
It was a pretty competitive game on Cache. We lost a lot of close rounds on defense, and, at least from my perspective, it seems that in certain situations we just didn’t get the kills we needed to. As for Inferno, if you’re playing a practice match in North America on this map, you have control of the “banana” every round, and our teams don’t really fight over it.
On the Need for Training in Europe
We definitely have a few maps where we’ve gotten much stronger, and a few maps where we sometimes really struggle. We just need to come to Europe and finally get some proper practice in, because I think we’re one of the few North American teams—like M80, Wildcard, and Team Liquid—that haven’t been to Europe yet with this roster. So we definitely really need some high-quality practice.
On the problems of the North American scene
The main difference is that, when I was playing, North America was the continent where teams from all over the world would go. I mean, we had Australian teams, and Brazilian teams were based in North America. Now it’s pretty empty there. Most teams are based in Europe. I’m almost certain that MIBR trains in Europe or plays there most of the time. It turns out that most teams are permanently based in Europe, and we’re one of the teams that aren’t.
On training in North America
Most North American teams come to these tournaments, finish in last place, and always blame it on training in North America. So we tried our best to change that, but there are just limits to how much you can… You need matches against good teams and high-quality training to get used to it, because we’re not used to how teams play here. Teams in North America don’t play like that.
On NRG’s chances of qualifying for the Major
It depends on how we perform in the next two tournaments. If we play terribly in the next two tournaments, we might have to squeeze in one more LAN at the last minute. But, at least based on what I’ve seen, if we just get five more wins at LAN tournaments, we’re practically 100% guaranteed a spot at the Major. And it doesn’t matter who we beat, because we get a bonus just for participating in a LAN tournament. We’re in a good position. We’re not too worried about the Major. Our goal is simply to finally play against Tier 1 teams on a regular basis.
Earlier, NRG lost to MIBR in the lower bracket semifinals at StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 with a score of 0–2 in maps. As a result, Damien “daps” Steel’s team finished the tournament in 5th–6th place and earned $20,000 in prize money.
Photo — PGL.
