Team Vitality player Lotan Spinx Giladi talked to Players reporter Sofiia Pikhalo as part of the media day at IEM Cologne 2024.
That was a pretty confident group stage from Vitality. Do you feel that you are ready to win this tournament?
I prefer not to think about lifting the trophy before we are actually there. We are in the semis. Of course, the goal is to lift the trophy and to win the tournament, but we still have some stuff to do before we get there. First of all, we need to win the semis.
In one of your games, you beat MOUZ. Do you feel the difference between the last game with them in Malta and this one, in IEM Cologne 2024?
Of course, there’s a difference. I think in Malta, we underperformed a lot. We weren't in the game at all. They just owned us from the start to the finish. This game we came more prepared, we came with more energy and more everything. I'm just happy it worked out. We got a small revenge.
Did you work with a psychologist to have this revenge?
Yeah, we are also working on our mental side of the game.
Who would you like to play against in the semi-finals?
Who would I like to play against? I don't have any preference, but in my opinion, we are going to face FaZe. So far so good, but I also know FaZe on stage are a better team than FaZe in the studio. So, I think we will face FaZe.
Do you fear FaZe that beat Team Liquid in such a great way?
I wouldn't say I fear FaZe because they beat Liquid in this way. We beat them before and we've done it many times. I think it's definitely help them if they win the quarter-final game.
This comeback against Liquid will definitely come to our game sort of pumped. With a lot of energy probably and a lot of good vibes. So, we need to take care of that. But beside it, nothing special.
Is an extra day of rest before the playoffs an advantage over the team that played in the quarterfinals?
You definitely have advantages and disadvantages if you are in the semi. The disadvantage is the teams in the quarters are a bit more warmed up. They played in the arena before and they are just a bit more warmed up. But eventually every team will still prefer to be in the semi-finals than in the quarters. I would still prefer to be in the semis than to have to go to the quarters.
If the team goes straight to semi-finals instead of quarter-finals, how does the team need to prepare?
First of all you have to play a lot of CS. You also have the advantage of preparation. You will be able to prepare a bit more than the other team. Just keep focusing on staying in good form and have a good preparation for the team. That's it.
Mental too?
Of course, mental is important in any game.
After winning the BLAST Premier World Final 2023, your team reached the decisive stage of the tournament more than once, but failed to make the final step to victory. Do you understand why this happened and are you ready to fix it at this tournament?
This is the question of more than one reason. We are definitely working on it. We are working on solutions. Team Vitality was good in 2023 to win the Grand Finals. We were good in these games. But for 2024, we've been losing these games. We are definitely working on it. In the mental side, in the game side, everything around it. So, I hope we will have the chance in Cologne to show what we worked for.
Do you miss your fan base that was previously at other events? For example Copenhagen was full of Vitality fans on-site and outside the arena.
It's definitely really nice to have the fans in the tournaments. I think in some tournaments, when you don't have the fans, it's a bit boring. It’s like you are playing in the studio for one week, two weeks, whatever. Even in the semi-final, grand final games, you are still in the same studio. I really prefer arena games.
There is so much into it. I think the games in the arena are nicer to watch than the games in the studio. I just love that in the arena with the crowd.
Do you want to play more stage groups? Or is it okay that you need to grind a lot in the studio and then win everyone on the stage?
It's a good format. If you take Cologne as an example, it's okay to have the studio in the start. It will be hard for the teams and the tournaments to do a tournament which is just a stage. So, I think the balance in this tournament is good.
You also have the status in the studio because it's how it works. And then from the quarter-finals, it's good to go on stage.
Do you think the studio side is also good for underdogs? Often they are not prepared for a big arena
I think it's different between teams. Some teams are better in the studio, some teams are better at the arena, some teams are kind of equal. For example, FaZe are better at the arena. And other teams, I don't want to say what names I have in my mind, are better in the studio. It just depends on the eam.
