Magnojez on Team Spirit: “They’re not quite in top form right now.”

It was just another championship—there are a lot of them right now, especially this season. Two days later, I felt more like disappointment, but I realized it was a good championship and, overall, everything’s fine.

I think their form isn’t quite optimal right now, especially at the start of the tournament. Usually, they pick up steam as the tournament goes on, just like we do. Our preparation is no different. Artem sits and works. The rest of us train individually. We play a few practice games, add a few things, work on some stuff, and that’s it. Nothing special.

Well, we didn’t really have time to do much team training. We came home, and some of us went to boot camp. There was one “day off” that wasn’t really a day off—I played. I mean, overall, I wouldn’t say we’re particularly tired, because, well, we were only in Malta for a week—no big deal—so I’m not really tired, and we don’t really need much recovery time. The team seems fine too, so everything’s Gucci.

I know him well as a player, just like many other players I follow, because I watch a lot of matches. I generally have a good idea of how people play, how they think, and I pay a lot of attention to that. He’s obviously one of them, because we often play with him as well as against him. So, I’m watching their games right now, and I think I have a general idea of how he thinks and what to expect, but in the game itself, that only helps in specific situations. It’s not like understanding how a single person plays has a huge impact on your game, because there are five opponents facing you, not just one. And fixating on just one player isn’t that important, even if it’s a donk. So, I know, I know—but so what? It’s not that important.