olga: “We’ve never limited ourselves to just the women’s scene.”

It’s an incredible feeling—a sense of relief. Finally, after so many times when we were so close—not just to qualifying for world championships, but also to reaching the finals, which we would then lose. So today, after Nuke, it feels like the specter of those finals has finally vanished. Because we lost on Nuke so often—it was a map where it was very hard to play as the attackers—and today we executed it perfectly. We were able to get back into the game even under immense pressure. And then, I think, the pressure shifted to their side. Overall, it feels like we were able to put into practice everything we’ve been working on: playing under pressure and achieving what we came here for. I’ve been trying to achieve this for a long time, so right now I feel relief, happiness, and joy.

Sometimes, at the start of a match or even at the beginning of a tournament, our nerves get the better of us a little. We start to get nervous, we can’t show what we do in practice, and it feels like there’s no way out. You have to do what you’ve practiced, but nothing works out. But we never give up. We always stay resilient and always believe. We tell ourselves, “This is possible.”

There are no weak teams on the scene anymore. So achieving these kinds of results against such strong opponents means our performance is truly consistent. It’s not just luck, not a fluke, and not a situation where the opponent played poorly. No. We’re truly strong. And even on our off days, we still give them trouble. So when we play our best, it’s really very hard to stop us.

It’s a team effort. It’s not just my doing, nor is it solely the coaching staff’s doing. It’s thanks to all the girls who remember our strategies, recall our discussions, analyze match replays, reflect on mistakes and situations we shouldn’t have lost, and then apply that experience correctly in similar situations. That’s exactly what teamwork is. Of course, we look to Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams—the champions who serve as our role models. But we don’t copy anyone. We have our own style. That’s exactly what you’re seeing right now.

I’ve just achieved what I wanted most—I became world champion. And on top of that, I was named MVP, which was also part of my dream. Everyone wants to be MVP. But for me, the most important thing is the titles. That’s why I want to keep fighting for titles and keep competing. We’ve never limited ourselves to just the women’s scene. That’s why we’re still striving to reach new heights, to play in the CCT and other open tournaments where we can participate without conflicts with other teams in the organization. Our goal is to constantly improve. We don’t say, “Okay, we’ve become world champions, we’ve achieved everything—now we can stop training and stop improving.” No. We understand that we still have room for improvement. Even as world champions, we know that on the mixed scene, our level isn’t yet close to where we want to be. So, perhaps this title will give us an extra boost of confidence, and we’ll be able to deliver better results at other tournaments. That’s exactly what we’ll be striving for.