HuNter-: “I regret that I didn’t try to become a captain before”

Before the start of FISSURE Playground #2 we had a chance to sit down and talk with Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač of G2 Esports. They were coming in hot after unexpected victory at BLAST London, and we got to ask him how that happened, how G2 adapted to losing their superstars, and what is his plan for the team.

— You’re an IGL for a couple of months, how do you feel about it?

— I feel good. It’s going good so far. I’m really happy with the progress we are making as a team and me as an IGL. I think it’s going pretty good. I just need more time, more experience, and it will get even better.

— You say you regret it. So you feel that you have potential to become one of the best IGLs right now?

— It’s hard to say. There’s a lot of great IGLs and I don’t want to put myself at all near them yet. I need to prove a lot to say that I’m on the same level as them. But I regret it because… I think first of all, I am good for that and for the job, and I regret it because I didn’t do it earlier. Maybe, it would have been bad and I would stop it at some point. You never know. But maybe that’s how it should be now. I decided to do it now and that’s it.

— There are a lot of examples, when big names become IGLs and start to lose their firepower. Are you concerned about this?

— I’m not afraid if I have good teammates around me, and I definitely have good teammates around me who are helping me a lot and who are great players. So even if my individual skill is going down, I know that I have somebody who will carry me. And I’m trying my best to keep the individual level as much as I can on the level of what it was where I was happy with myself, and I’m trying to have a routine and work on that. That’s the only thing I can do and I can promise that I will do it, but everything else will come with work.

— Game wise and, in terms of tactics, what are the main differences between playing with m0NESY and playing with SunPayus?

— We all know who m0NESY is. And he’s still young, he has a bright future in front of him. He will win a lot. That’s what I can say. And he is just great. I have been playing with him since he was a kid coming from NAVI Junior to G2. I saw him growing up, and it’s a bit different compared to SunPayus, who came here as a complete player. And we are just together for two months. But I can see experience from SunPayus, he is the guy who is helping a lot, calling around a lot. Ilya was doing his things, focusing on himself more. And that’s the main difference.

— How different is the team without superstars like NiKo and m0NESY?

— It’s quite different. First of all, I was not a captain in the team with NiKo and m0NESY, and I regret that I didn’t try to do it before to see how it will be. Because from this perspective as a captain, you can see the best from your team. But, of course, it’s a bit different.

NiKo was a guy who was helping a lot in a lot of aspects, not only our captains, but everybody in the team. He was trying to be a great example of a player, of a leader, and of someone who has a lot of experience. And Ilya is amazing and the best AWPer in the world right now, I would say, and he will have a great career. So, of course, it’s a bit different, but we are trying to be the best. That’s all.

— You say you regret it. So you feel that you have potential to become one of the best IGLs right now?

— It’s hard to say. There’s a lot of great IGLs and I don’t want to put myself at all near them yet. I need to prove a lot to say that I’m on the same level as them. But I regret it because… I think first of all, I am good for that and for the job, and I regret it because I didn’t do it earlier. Maybe, it would have been bad and I would stop it at some point. You never know. But maybe that’s how it should be now. I decided to do it now and that’s it.

— There are a lot of examples, when big names become IGLs and start to lose their firepower. Are you concerned about this?

— I’m not afraid if I have good teammates around me, and I definitely have good teammates around me who are helping me a lot and who are great players. So even if my individual skill is going down, I know that I have somebody who will carry me. And I’m trying my best to keep the individual level as much as I can on the level of what it was where I was happy with myself, and I’m trying to have a routine and work on that. That’s the only thing I can do and I can promise that I will do it, but everything else will come with work.

— Game wise and, in terms of tactics, what are the main differences between playing with m0NESY and playing with SunPayus?

— We all know who m0NESY is. And he’s still young, he has a bright future in front of him. He will win a lot. That’s what I can say. And he is just great. I have been playing with him since he was a kid coming from NAVI Junior to G2. I saw him growing up, and it’s a bit different compared to SunPayus, who came here as a complete player. And we are just together for two months. But I can see experience from SunPayus, he is the guy who is helping a lot, calling around a lot. Ilya was doing his things, focusing on himself more. And that’s the main difference.