I don't take things personally because I want to improve: KOI Wolfen exclusive Strafe Interview VCT EMEA
In Week 2 of the VCT EMEA, KOI took on Giants Gaming in a clash of domestic rivalry. Giants emerges as the victors after a thrilling two maps, the latter one in which KOI nearly came back from. After the loss, Strafe Esports was fortunate enough to speak with KOI player Berkant "Wolfen" Joshkun. In this exclusive 1-1 post-game interview, he spoke about his experience in VCT EMEA so far, the goals of the team, and some of the challenges they currently face.
Sorry for your loss, the comeback was nearly there. You guys played extremely well on Ascent, however, Lotus was a different story. In your opinion, what exactly went wrong in that first map?
They shot better. I was the worst player today honestly…but yeah, they were playing better and so they won. There were many rounds that were very close, but we were not able to win them. Their performance was just better than us today, it’s that simple.
Are you attributing the loss mainly due to performance then? Rather than strategy or other factors?
Oh, for sure, it’s not just performance. Performance was a big thing; we just didn’t play as well. But strategy was a big thing as well, and we didn’t have as good a strategy as them.
On a similar note as well, I wanted to ask about your victory over NA’VI in Week 1. That was a pretty dominant victory, you 2-0d them, and NA’VI was considered a pretty strong team. The form and success you experienced then, is that something that’s replicable and sustainable in the coming future? Let’s say if you had to play against them again tomorrow.
Definitely. Definitely. We smashed NA’VI yeah, and we were playing good.
This is your first official Tier 1 team, and you’re doing amazingly well. What has been your biggest motivation for improving? Also, how are you feeling on this KOI roster so far?
Amazing, everyone has been so good to me, and I feel so good with them. It’s a good team and everyone has been really friendly. As for the second question, I don’t take things personally. I don’t let things get to me, if I lose, I go again. I don’t take things personally because I want to improve. Like, if people say stuff about me, I’m playing in Tier 1, that’s why they’re watching me.
I also had another question regarding your composition. I noticed you in particular were swapping between duelists and sentinels quite a lot, especially Jett, Cypher and Killjoy.
Not at all really. I’m used to the playstyle, so I don’t think it really impacted me. I’m used to swapping the roles.
On your series in Week 1 contending against Vitality, you guys were playing extremely well. You barely lost your first map and you lost the second map in overtime. What happened that series and how difficult was it facing Vitality? What were the main issues you had?
Facing Vitality was really hard, because they played good. It was a really close game and like you said, we lost very close games. There were a couple of rounds that we could have won, a couple of clutches, and it would be different. But communication was the biggest thing missing, the main issue we had in that game. We are still working on our communication and teamplay.
I also noticed that KOI has yet to implement Gekko in an official game. Is there a reason behind it? What do you guys think about Gekko in general?
I actually cannot say too much. I cannot talk about this. But I personally do not like the agent. I’m sorry haha, but I don’t.
No worries! Moving on to your more general experience, what has it been like working with BARBARR and koldamenta. I understand koldamenta is the IGL now and BARBARR is of course the coach. How is it like working with koldamenta and working under barbarr? What has your experience been like?
It’s been really good. They both are encouraging of me, and they are encouraging me to take long walks every day. And it’s good, the two of them are encouraging me a lot to work on myself. The two of them are working to make me feel comfortable and improve myself.
Do you guys have any particular matchup or challenger that would be the biggest challenge for you guys in VCT EMEA?
Fnatic. They are playing so good right now, and they are so clean. They shoot well and they work well together.
Ok, following that then, what is the main thing you think you and KOI are currently missing?
Communication for sure. We need to communicate better. It’s difficult sometimes with different nationalities and different languages.
What do you think were the biggest things missing? I know you mentioned performance was a big factor, but what will you guys be working on and what can we expect to see next week?
We’ll be working more on playing as a team, communication. Strategy, and working on teamplay.
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Credits: Hara Amorós / Riot Games / LVP / lag
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