The Spanish esports organization Team Heretics secured an important victory against NAVI, guaranteeing their spot in the next round of the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-Ins. Now, the team is only two wins away from reaching the playoffs.
Following a tense series, team player Enes "RieNs" Ecirli, who has remained one of the most consistent members of the roster over the past few weeks, analyzed the game and shared plans for the remainder of the competition.
Despite the winning result, RieNs remained dissatisfied with his own performance, noting that he made things harder for his teammates. However, he cited unwavering confidence in their abilities as the key factor in the squad's success. According to him, the team did not give up even after losing the Haven map, staying in the game and projecting confidence.
Regarding his individual form, the player noted:
"In general, during Stage 2, especially in the group stage, I played very well. But in these last two games—against Fire Flux and against NAVI—I obviously wasn't at my best. I will do my best to perform better in the next matches."
Assessing the team's journey in Stage 2, RieNs candidly pointed out Team Heretics' main weakness: sharp fluctuations in their quality of play. The team is capable of showing dominance, as seen in the matches against Fnatic and Eternal Fire (13-0 victories), but at the same time, they can lose matches due to their own mistakes and a slow start, as happened in the game against Fire Flux.
"Our biggest problem right now is instability. We used to be consistently good, but now we can be incredible in one game, and then randomly lose others playing very poorly. Our highs are really high, and our lows are really low. If we fixed these 'lows,' I would be truly satisfied."
Despite all the difficulties, the squad remains highly motivated. Team Heretics' main goals remain reaching the finals in Barcelona and qualifying for Champions in Shanghai, as their previous trip there left the players with the best memories.
The next challenge for the team will be a match against Eintracht Frankfurt, a Challengers League roster that previously knocked out Gentle Mates. RieNs admitted that the success of tier-2 teams against VCT representatives came as a surprise to him, but he treats it with great respect:
"It doesn't matter to me who we play against—whether it's the best team in the world or a Tier-2 squad. I just respect them and do my best to win. In the game, it doesn't matter whose tag it is—SGE, NAVI, or anyone else. We really want to win two more matches and advance to the playoffs."
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