Independent targets tier-one consistency for Fnatic within a year

Fnatic captain Miks “Independent” Siliņš expects the team’s young Ukrainian roster to compete regularly at tier-one events within a year after finishing fifth-sixth at 1win Private Club Season 2.

Fnatic lost to PRIVATE after building leads on Cache and Dust2. The result left the team with a slim chance of receiving an invitation to the PGL Singapore Major. The VRS simulator gave Fnatic a 14% chance of qualifying.

“I encourage my teammates to never follow VRS simulations,” Independent said. “We’ve seen Major after Major after Major that everything comes down to the last second.”

Independent identified economy management, communication and decision-making under pressure as recurring problems. Fnatic held a 12-6 lead on Dust2 but lost weapons while hunting opponents, reducing its chances of winning later gun rounds. On Cache, a miscommunication after Fnatic led 10-6 or 10-7 cost the team another round.

Fnatic had traveled to Sweden before going directly to the tournament and had little time to review its matches. The team plans to work on its existing system before its next event in Spain rather than make major changes.

“We need to become more ice-cold,” Independent said. “Instead of playing from emotion, sometimes playing what’s in front of us and how we should approach a specific round regarding economy, map, enemy.”

Fnatic has used its current five-man lineup for three or four months. The roster includes Ukrainian newcomers Artem “cairne” Mushynskyi and 17-year-old Volodymyr “mazay” Iorhachov, who previously played for Ninjas in Pyjamas and Spirit Academy, respectively.

Independent described cairne as a source of energy, consistency and new ideas after his time in a different system at NIP. He characterized mazay as an aggressive player with a sharp style who still needs experience with positioning, communication and reading situations.

“Massive potential,” Independent said of mazay. “When he has a proper duel in the game, it’s very hard to kill him.”

The captain added that Fnatic’s senior players sometimes focus so heavily on helping mazay that they lose track of their own responsibilities. He expects the teenager to be “a completely different player” in a year.

Independent also described Dmytro “jambo” Semera as one of the team’s strongest players. The AWPer now contributes more during freeze time and helps prepare rounds, while speaking Ukrainian has made him more comfortable in team discussions, according to the captain.

Fnatic’s Ukrainian lineup formed through several roster changes rather than a long-term plan. The addition of jackasmo and the departure of previous players eventually created an opportunity to build a Ukrainian core.

Using the same native language has increased the speed of the team’s calls and reduced hesitation, Independent said. He added that Fnatic still needs to improve its coordination, while the shared language has removed a communication barrier.

“I think any roster that stays for eight or nine months, this is the timeframe where you can fairly judge any roster,” Independent said. “In one year, I definitely see us competing consistently in tier-one events.”

Independent said Fnatic had been ranked around 60th or 70th several months ago and had recorded about a 70% win rate in recent months. He added that the team needs to improve faster and estimated that another eight or nine months of experience could put Fnatic in contention for the next Major.

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