“Players-wise, I don’t think there’s much issues. I think there’s just not as much competition” – Vitality’s Derke on EMEA Region’s Struggles

You couldn’t play kickoff with Sayonara. Now you’ve played one split and now this event with Sayonara, how would you say he’s maturing? What do you think he’s learning in the game?

He’s definitely adjusting to the stage and to the people still and how to work in this kind of environment when you have a lot of media, and you have a lot of stuff dragging you around.

You don’t have much time sometimes between games. So I think he’s still adjusting, but doing really well.

This year has seen a lot of meta changes in his first year in Tier 1. How do you think the team’s handling it, and how do you think he specifically is handling it?

I mean, he’s handling it well. I think it was unlucky. Like, Initiators got giganerfed for him, but he still stepped up on the second Duelist at some point and did really well.

For me, I mean, for our team, I think the changes were actually good and helped us a lot in London. But we still have to see and re-evaluate if we need to change something.

So just look at it in general, because now a new map is coming, so a lot of the meta might be still different.

What do you think specifically helped you in London?

Just playing Jett a lot more. I wasn’t a big fan of Neon back then.

I talked to Team Vitality CSO Nicolas Maurer in Cologne, and he mentioned the importance of talent pulling more talent to a roster. Do you feel like you were the driving force in pulling Chronicle to the team?

Yeah. I mean, I think there were a lot of different factors with pulling Chronicle. I think Chronicle just likes the org a lot, and he got a good opportunity for him.

And even though he had a lot of good offers and stuff, I’m still happy he chose us, and I could reunite with him because he’s still a beast of a teammate and a very good player, too.

Did you notice anything different about him or his playstyle from the time that you were apart?

Not really. I feel like he’s still the same and very critical of himself. I mean, not that he explains anything, but he knows what to do, how to talk, reviews a lot of stuff and tries to fix it, and does a good job in our team with that, too.

In terms of attracting talent, do you feel like a lot of other players want to play with you and him?

I think when you see a few experienced players in one team, and especially if they’ve played before, I do think it’s a bit more attractive to go to that one because the synergy might be good.

Experience is also very important, and if they’ve been handling their game for years on the same level, then I do think it’s a big factor that people look into.

It’s like how in Fnatic we got Chronicle and Leo at the same time, in one moment because me, Alfajer, and Boaster were one of the most experienced cores back then.

So, of course, I do feel like it does attract a lot.

How do you see the competition between regions at the moment? Which region do you think is ahead?

I think APAC is right now leading most of it, like most of the teams. I think, NA are still doing good. I mean, especially Leviatán.

I think every region has one team that can participate for trophies and stuff, which is still good.

Sadly, EMEA hasn’t won in a long time, and a lot either, so it’s kind of sad, but I think it will get to a good level.

I mean, a lot of teams and orgs have rebuilt a lot, so I think we’ll see it soon, too.

Four teams in these playoffs for EMEA. What do you think can kind of push you to the next level?

I mean, could have had five, but I don’t know. Three already lost, so it’s only one left. It’s, again, a bit of a meme.

It’s just funny, but I don’t know. I feel like players-wise, I don’t think there’s much issues. I think it’s just not as much competition, I’d say, and stuff.

And for me my biggest part of the franchising and Tier 2 was that all the regions got split into seven different sub-regions in terms of ‘Oh, if you’re from here, you have to play with three people from the same region’ and stuff.

I kind of feel like it did kind of damage and stuff to our scene because, I mean, I spoke to a lot of players in that scene, and they say it’s annoying when you cannot get a very good team and players just because of that lock. But then they removed it later on and didn’t help us yet, but we’ll see.

I mean, I do think, with time… We have really young teams. We’re still a young team and stuff. We have two, I would say, rookies in Saya and PROFEK, even though PROFEK played last year.

But also, BBL is doing really good. FUT is starting to get back on the map, too. So I think we’re just getting there.