sidde on being eliminated from StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026: “We’re just facing one problem after another.”

We wanted to try playing a different map against them. Last time we played Dust2, and things didn’t go very well for us, so we thought maybe we should pick Nuke. I really expected them to pick it. So, in fact, it was a map where we felt comfortable playing against Team Vitality, but in the end, we weren’t able to win it. The idea was to play something other than Dust2 against Team Vitality.

Our level of play has dropped significantly compared to last year, when we were consistently able to beat Team Vitality. This year, we haven’t been able to do that. I can’t recall a single time we beat Team Vitality this year. I think this drop in our level of play compared to last year is the reason we can’t beat them. I don’t think they’re playing at the same level they were when they were dominating, but Team Vitality is still playing very well, and their players always play well against us. It seems to me that we haven’t been able to maintain the same level of play we showed last year, while Team Vitality’s decline hasn’t actually been that significant. Our decline has been more pronounced.

Of course, this gives us hope. We want to see at least glimpses of good play so we know we have a foundation to build on. Right now, we need to figure out which key aspects of our game aren’t working as well. A victory over a team like MOUZ tells us that we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve had our ups and downs this year, and we’re still going through that, but a victory over an opponent like MOUZ confirms that we can still make an impact. We’ll work on the areas where we know we can improve, and then, hopefully, we’ll come back even stronger.

I wouldn’t say that the decision to let YEKINDAR take on those responsibilities was wrong. We just wanted to try something different because FalleN wasn’t feeling 100% comfortable on those maps. At the same time, YEKINDAR said he could take on these responsibilities because he’s already been a huge help with preparation and structure. On some of the maps, he almost naturally took charge during matches, so we decided to experiment a bit. But now we’ve realized that the leadership FalleN provides is well-received by everyone during the game. Even if he doesn’t have the best plan in the world, we can trust him and do what he wants us to do. And then, even if it’s not the best idea, it ends up being a very good idea because of how he communicates it to us. That’s why we felt that his leadership is more important than how well he understands the map.

We’re playing in every tournament this season, so we don’t have the opportunity to improve through practice; we have to get better directly through the tournaments themselves. And for me as a coach, it’s always important to see how the team progresses within a competition, even if we don’t always start off on the right foot. If we can improve as the tournament goes on, that’s a good sign to me. I think that’s pretty much what we did here. We showed signs of improvement. I wish we had more time to prepare and the chance to come back for the next tournament. Now we’ll finally have a little time after—I don’t even know how many—days on the road. We’ve got this whole situation with FalleN’s departure and the end of his career, and sometimes that can be a really tough blow mentally for everyone. And when you don’t even have time to catch your breath, it gets even harder. On top of everything else, you have all these health issues. Right now, one problem after another is just piling up for us. It’s a good sign that we’ve shown these signs of improvement. I think we can step away from all of this for a bit and come back with fresh ideas, as well as just take some time to spend with family and loved ones without rushing. Even though this break will be short, we’ll be able to recharge a little.