"Southgate is a fraud"- ardiis talks about England at Euro 2024, NAVI's win against Gentle Mates and expectations for playoffs [Exclusive]

NAVI has managed to defy odds and qualify for the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Playoffs after a woeful start in the Group Stage. The EMEA team went 0-4 without winning a single map before winning 2-1 against Gentle Mates in the all important matchup to scrape their way into the Playoffs thanks to their 4-1 record in Stage 1.

After an exciting series of Valorant, I had the opportunity to have a fun conversation with Ardis "ardiis" Svarenieks, the man who famously walked on water.

Ardiis discusses last-minute victory against Gentle Mates, Stage 2 struggles for NAVI, and predictions for Euro 2024 finals

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Q: Hello ardiis! Congratulations on the win. NAVI has managed to make it to playoffs in one of the craziest ways possible. How are you feeling right now?

ardiis: I am feeling good. It wasn't even close. We always knew we were going to qualify. We just left it for a little bit later but we knew we were going to qualify. You just can't choke a 4-1 lead.

Q: We saw ANGE1 return to smokes and Shao playing initiators akin to the FPX roster we are familiar with. Can you give more insight into the role swaps and team comps in today's match?

ardiis: We just went back to the Split 1 comps on a lot of maps where we kind of felt comfortable. We kind of knew what we were doing. We went back to the blueprint that worked for us in Split 1 and that was our main goal.

Q: Was there a reason why it took a little bit longer for NAVI to fall back to the blueprint that worked in Split 1?

ardiis: We slowly fell back to the blueprint. After the series against FUT, we fell back on some maps but it wasn't a thing like where we had to change everything in a single day. You also have to understand that we have to adapt to the meta. On some maps, Breach is meta so you can't really play some Agents as they can get countered.

It's a lot of meta stuff right now. We have fallen back to our roots in a lot of the maps but we aren't fully back to our old comps. We understood it wasn't going well so we changed to the stuff which was going well for us.

Q: NAVI had a very strong comeback on the attack half of Split after a 1-5 start. What were some of the important things discussed to get back into the game?

ardiis: The primary thing was Shao and me when I dropped my Vandal to him during Round 10. He got two kills and then I stunned nataNk in B Heaven the next round which allowed Shao to Omen ult and kill him when nataNk had ult. These two rounds shifted the momentum for us.

After this, ANGE1 had some great calling which definitely helped and he really stepped up today. It was just a mix of things and us winning two swing rounds helped us get momentum.

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Q: Do you think this extra time before playoffs can fix some major issues in NAVI and replicate the form shown in the previous split?

ardiis: No. We don't have enough time. We have three days and we have a map that we haven't played.

Q: What are your thoughts on Abyss coming into playoffs?

ardiis: We practiced on it a few times just to get a feel of it. I don't think any team has practiced on it well enough. Maybe some teams started to practice on it like a week ago, such as Fnatic. I think there is going to be a lot of messiness on Abyss when it comes out. The meta will probably change every week. Only after two months down the line can we see a proper meta comp. I think the start is going to be super messy.

Q: Do you think the messy start on Abyss could help teams that are more focused on raw aim such as Heretics, FUT, and NAVI?

ardiis: I think it could. I think teams who focus more on strategies will have a disadvantage maybe. The map is super long-range and very aim-duel-heavy. So even if you have good strats, you still have to hit the shots. It's going to be very weird to see how it plays out. If I am basing the map off of ranked, I don't mind it but it needs to get removed in Deathmatch.

Every time I load up into an Abyss deathmatch, six people have already left. It's got to the point where I am one of the six people leaving when I see Abyss because I know five other people have already left. We need to stop this map in Deathmatch.

Q: Apart from d00mbr0s leaving the roster, what would you pinpoint as some of the biggest struggles for NAVI in Stage 2? Could the lack of confidence in the team be assumed as a reason?

ardiis: The loss against Heretics was a bad one. After losing against FUT, the atmosphere just went bad and sour. Everyone was thinking about different things. Everyone started pointing fingers and it was just a bad atmosphere.

However, to be honest, it is very weird if you have a team which is 0-4 in series and 0-8 maps having a good atmosphere. It is very strange and I don't think that can ever be a thing. Hopefully, these losses help us bounce back and get back into good form.

Q: Do you still believe NAVI can make it to Champions if you can bring back the form shown in Stage 1?

ardiis: I think it's very doable since it's double elimination. All you have to do is win two games and you are through to Champions. When you word it like this, it seems doable regardless of whether you play FUT, Heretics, or Fnatic. We also have one chance to lose. When you put it like that it's a lot more doable.

There is a lot more pressure in a scenario like this. A lot of teams right now play without pressure because they know it's whatever if they lose as they have already qualified. I think we will do better when other teams feel the pressure as much as we do.

Q: Do you believe it's coming home against Spain on Sunday? Do you believe in Southgate and his boys?

ardiis: No. Southgate is a fraud and he needs to get sacked. This guy has got the luckiest streak of a manager I have ever seen in my career. Despite this, he has still not won a trophy. Listen, he needs to win or I still think he needs to get sacked if he doesn't win.

This guy has robbed the second golden generation of England. It's terrible to watch. Like I watch Spain play and these guys are brilliant. I watch England play and I am half asleep.

Siddarth: I think one of their few good games this tournament was against Switzerland.

ardiis: That was the only game I didn't watch *laughs*

Siddarth: I feel like Southgate had some pretty good subs against the Netherlands though.

ardiis: That's the first time. It's the first time. He hasn't played Trent and he is playing Trippier at left back. There is so much stuff I can talk about. If Bellingham didn't score that overhead kick against Slovakia, Southgate would have got f****** sacked.

Q: Final predictions for the Euro 2024 finals?

ardiis: 3-1 to Spain. Listen, Spain is very good. When you watch Spain, they give the ball to Rodri, he gives the ball to Pedri, Yamal, or Nico Williams. These guys know what they are doing. England is like "Okay boys. Let's hope we win."

It feels like 11 good players just turn up and go "You know what, let's just see what we can do." With Spain, it feels like an actual team. I don't know what happened to France as well. They looked terrible. I think they didn't score a single open goal the entire tournament.

Siddarth: Kolo Muani scored the only open goal for France against Spain in the semis.

ardiis: Oh yeah, he did score. Sorry. That was the only open goal they scored, which is questionable.

Q: Any thoughts that you would like to share with the fans supporting NAVI and you despite the rough times?

ardiis: Sorry for being s***. Hopefully, we will step up more during the playoffs. Our fault for being s*** and sorry to the fans, sponsors, and the NAVI management because we have been dogs***.

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Edited by Abhipsito Das