insani: “We just need everyone to play at their own level”

I think it’s because it’s a Major. We might be nervous, we might feel the pressure. And I think what changes things the most for us is the Bo1 format. Rounds go by very quickly, games go by very quickly, so absolutely everything matters. And the small mistakes we make in a single game can cost us the entire match. I think that’s exactly what happened in the first match, which we lost. We made a few minor mistakes that cost us the match.

The main thing we needed to improve compared to the first game was to be more active and take the initiative in-game. Because we all know that when we find ourselves in a bad situation in a round, we can get lost and stop communicating. And if no one says anything, everything starts to fall apart, and the situation only gets worse. I think that’s exactly what we were missing in the first game. We lacked an active voice, initiative, and intuition to speak up and make decisions during the round that would have created more favorable situations for us. That’s exactly what we discussed the most and tried to fix.

You can improve your readiness for a match in various ways. You can do certain exercises to activate your brain and get your blood flowing. You can listen to music. But I think the main thing is that we don’t want to start the game when we aren’t communicating enough or making enough decisions. That’s exactly what I mean by readiness: being active, energetic, shouting, and supporting each other. That’s exactly what we need, especially in matches like these.

I don’t think I feel any extra pressure. I know I’m capable of a lot, just as I know my teammates are capable of amazing things too. That’s why I trust them—I trust every single one of them. And I understand that I can do anything, but if my four teammates aren’t by my side, I won’t be able to do anything. So there needs to be a balance here. It’s not that there’s any particular pressure on me. We just need everyone to play at their own level.

What they’ve brought to the team are really good things. And they’re very good people themselves; they’re easy to work with. So I didn’t feel like it was hard to adapt. And I think we’re doing great. We understand each other. We need to talk a lot, right? Especially when you have a new captain and a new coach. We need to discuss every situation. So that everyone is on the same page. And that’s the most important thing—being on the same page and thinking alike when you’re a team.