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The VCT Americas League Week 5 has concluded, with teams like NRG, Cloud9, LOUD, and FURIA securing wins as they progress further. As Week 6 approaches, every team is slowly preparing to bring their best game, as the playoffs are not far off. The first game of the VCT Americas League Week 5 featured NRG taking on 100 Thieves, where the latter faced an unfortunate loss. While 100 Thieves put up a close game against NRG, the second clash was relatively disappointing as the former lost 3:13 on Fracture.
After their game concluded, Kushal Bhattacharyya from Sportskeeda Esports got the opportunity to interview 100 Thieves' coach, Mikes. He had much to share about the game and the VCT Americas League.
100 Thieves coach Mikes on game against NRG and facing LOUD at VCT Americas League
Q: Did today’s game go up to your expectations?
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Mikes: Not at all, obviously. We pretty much just got blown out to 2:0. The second map wasn't competitive at all. In the first map, we started well, but they adapted a lot better than the bar we set for ourselves.
Q: What do you think 100 Thieves could have done better against NRG today?
Mikes: In Bind, I felt like there were a lot of times when we were pretty slow with our decision-making and how we moved around the map. And when our game stalled, we just kind of sat there. I think they took advantage of that very well and how they repositioned it. Especially on defense, I feel like every time, they had a pretty good read about what we were doing just because we were taking too long.
And then Fracture, I felt we were playing like individuals, not a team game anymore.
Q: 100 Thieves had plenty of good clutches in the first map. What do you think the roster fell short of in Bind despite so many good plays?
Mikes: Obviously, it will take 1v1s and 1v2s, but it's kind of sketchy when you are in those scenarios, to begin with. Especially in a 1v4, we were pretty slow, and our spacing was pretty bad.
They took advantage of that. We were in an unwinnable scenario, and we didn't have enough firepower in those scenarios to win the fight. It felt like our decision-making in those rounds was slow and was not as good.
Q: Coming into the VCT Americas League, what do you think 100 Thieves needs to improve upon the most?
Mikes: For the Leviatan match where we showed up, everyone was on the same page. We made quick decisions together. There was not a lot of hesitation. When those things happen, you don't really get to play the game the same way.
Q: After a hectic VCT Americas League Super Week routine, do you think 100 Thieves needed more time before showing up against NRG today?
Mikes: More time doesn't really matter, NRG had less time than us, and they still showed up and beat us. I don't think we can complain about having more time. I feel like we used our time to prepare Bind more because we thought there would be a high possibility of playing the map against them.
It's just how the schedule is, you will have to deal with it. We can't really complain about one thing or the other because everyone else is in the same situation.
Q: 100 Thieves will finally face LOUD in the next game in the VCT Americas League. Arguably the best team in the tournament, what are your expectations from the game?
Mikes: Depending on where the map pool goes, they have had some close games. EG was close to defeating them with 2:0 before the third map came. People are just focusing on that third map where they got defeated 13:0. But I think that on Split, they had some good prep ready and caught LOUD off-guard.
They have been caught off-guard a few times on that map, and I'm not sure what their map pool is entirely like. I don't think by any means they are immortal, but we just have to show up.
