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"When the moment came, I instantly said 'yes'" Team Liquid nAts on accepting the mantle of leadership
After a nail-biting Upper Finals, Team Liquid became the first team to qualify for the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Playoffs Grand Finals - their second domestic finals of 2025. In a series that truly went the distance, Team Liquid and BBL exchanged mighty blows in their fourth consecutive faceoff of the year – with the highly coveted Champions spot on the line for BBL (and Heretics). With one final hurdle to overcome here in Berlin, Team Liquid will need to face the Grand Final stage and GIANTX.
In the aftermath of the series and ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Finals, Strafe Esports sat down with Team Liquid captain and IGL Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin to speak on the team’s pivotal victory, the upcoming Grand Finals, their journey throughout 2025, and so much more in this exclusive interview.
*The following interview has been slightly edited for readability.
Hi nAts, thank you for taking the time to take this interview. How are you feeling coming off the back of such a series?
nAts: I feel good. I mean, it was a hard series, I would say very, very close. It could go both ways on all of the maps.
With how back-and-forth the series went, it must have been incredible playing that series. What thoughts were running through your head, on Sunset and especially on Bind?
nAts: In these kinds of moments, there isn’t much running through the head. It’s just, each moment you live, is a different moment. You cannot live in the past; you cannot live in the future. And when this moment happens, when the game is 8-8, 8-9, 9-10, 10-10 – you always come back, then they come back… You can only think about the upcoming round, and you don’t really think about what’s going to happen or what’s happened before because you’ll lose focus.
Given how the series played out, do you think coming into the series, the way you approached preparations, would you have done something different to prepare for BBL if you could do it again?
nAts: I wouldn’t say that we would change the preparation. Preparation would be the same. But we definitely need to not lose the rounds that we lost during this series. And I mean, I think the same is from their [BBL] side. Both sides today were losing rounds that in theory you cannot lose.
You’ve now qualified for another Grand Finals after Kickoff, what are your thoughts, your feelings?
nAts: Yeah, I mean, it’s good overall this year, I think. We were in doing pretty good in EMEA – second in Kickoff, third in Stage 1, and as I said on-stage, there is only one goal – we want to try our best to win. Yeah, and that’s it. And after that only are we going to think about Champs.
This is the first year you’ve been tested as the IGL for the team and already we’ve seen incredible results for this squad. What do you personally think is the secret to such a successful recipe for all the team has achieved this year?
nAts: I’m not sure there is a successful recipe. It’s just hard work and trying to improve every day, day by day. And that’s it. Not just from my side, but from all of the players and coaching staff.
I would say it’s hard to know the secret recipe when you switch to the role for the first time ever. One year is not enough to know. I was even saying at the start of the year that I don’t even know what kind of playstyle I like to call. Now that one year has passed, there is much I’ve learned this year – so much I’m still learning that I cannot say, okay, this is what I only like to do.
Did you have any doubts when you were approached to be the IGL? Did you have doubts in yourself, or did you have full confidence that - yeah, this is something I can do. This is something I want to do.
nAts: I wouldn’t say I had any doubts. When the moment came where I got asked, I instantly said “yes”. There was not even a single, maybe 0.5 milliseconds to think – it was instant. So, I would say no doubt.
Do you think there’s something that separates you from the IGLS that have come before you on Team Liquid? What about the other IGLs in the region and globally?
nAts: I mean, there is a lot that separate. If we watch, there is a lot of IGLs that are very experienced. But I’m still learning. I don’t know from my side. There is a lot that I need to work on definitely. If we’re speaking about my past IGLs, I was just learning a lot from them. I don’t know for the rest of the IGLs, if they’re just IGLs or if they’re leaders as well. I’m not sure.
But for myself, I’m IGL and I’m a leader. That’s what I want.
Unlike many other IGLs, you’ve managed to retain your very unique playstyle whilst IGL-ing this team at such a high level. Can you talk to me about how you’ve managed that?
nAts: Maybe naturally? Because I was doing that before in Gambit. I was doing that when Redgar was in Liquid. And I was trying to do that with Enzo last year, where I was helping with second IGL anyways. So, right now, I still see the map in the same way what I was doing before. So, I would just say naturally. And I’m not going to say I was IGL when I was in Gambit and with Enzo and Redgar on Liquid. But the staff helping me to understand what’s happening on the map – I was doing that before and it was just natural for me.
Final team-related question. You’ve undergone quite a few roster moves this year. First paTiTek introduced, then replacing kamyk with first SerialKiller, then penny for a brief time, and finally trexx. And from past, when other coaches and other players, when they speak, when they say even replacing a single player can change so much drastically about the team, you've gone through it three times in the span of one year. And somehow you've managed to come out with a top 2 placement, a top 3 placement, and now at least the top 2 placement in this last one. How have you done it?
nAts: I would just say that it’s been an amazing year in terms of learning experience that I would never think that I would face. Because, yeah, that’s definitely something that maybe most of the teams wouldn’t like to do. Whenever you change a player, you need to push yourself back. The new players needs to understand how you play and he needs to adjust. That’s why it’s just an amazing experience. And I like that I’m part of this experience. I’m learning around that and I’m very happy for myself, for everyone, for the coaching staff, that we’ve managed to pass and still show the results that we’re supposed to show, even with all the changes.
As a fan looking in, this year has probably been one of the most competitive EMEA has looked. We’ve had Vitality at the start of this year, Fnatic, BBL, teams like GIANTX and NAVI, both of whom have not made top 4 in quite a few seasons now make it to this point. We’re seeing obviously yourself Liquid, poised for a trophy lift. Do you think personally, this is the best spot EMEA has been competitively since its inception?
nAts: I’m not sure how to answer that question exactly. Because this year, I would say, has been a bit random. There’s been a lot of changes in terms of agents, in terms of map pool. We’ve also got an extra tournament this year that some teams attended (EWC). So, it’s a totally new year for everyone.
That’s why, yes, if we purely watch the results, yes, it looks like what you’re saying. I think we need to see next year. This year, what I liked about it is that if you don’t adapt, it’s going to be hard for you.
This year did see some of the most drastic introductions we’ve had, including Tejo at the start of the year, Abyss now coming back just in time for Champs, Icebox out. I know you said on-stage that you’re not thinking about Champs at all for now. But with all these changes, how do you face and compartmentalize them as the leader for your team?
nAts: I like it. Honestly, I would prefer it to be like this rather than just the same thing for the whole year. Because you need to adapt always. You need to see the different stuff. And I think that’s what makes it more beautiful. You don’t just have the team who’s going to dominate because they have the same roster or better protocols. And the things also look cool to see.
The changes are also what gives a bit of randomness. That’s why some games were just crazy during this year.
Second-last question. Who would you want to see in the Grand Finals?
nAts: I said on-stage that I would like to face BBL again. But I want to see how the results of NAVI is going with GIANTX. It’ll also be interesting to see how BBL will play against one of these two teams, because I think they’re in very good shape also.
Final question. Do you have one bold prediction for Champs?
nAts: I think it's... I'm not sure. Because for champs, again, meta is changing. It's completely different, yeah.
It's going to be crazy.
You either come out looking like a genius or you miss completely.
nAts: Yeah, because there is a lot of big updates again.
And updates can be good and can be bad. And for example, Tejo. I mean, it's not going to be the same as Tejo, right? But Tejo went a bit too crazy.
So that's why I would just go with crazy again.
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Featured Image Credit: Michal Konkol/Riot Games
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