xertioN: "siuhy is my favorite IGL"
After a stellar 2-0 victory over Natus Vincere in their opening BO3 match in Group B of IEM Cologne 2023, Dorian "xertioN" Berman has seen a revitalization in his performance when compared to the Play-In Stage. From a 0.8 rating to a 1.27 rating, the Israeli player is now shining on the sever alongside his teammates.
After their opening match win, Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore spoke with xertioN to touch on what changed since the first stage of the tournament, what it's like to be reunited with Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek from his MOUZ NXT days, and also briefly to talk about the two Israeli stars of Vitality.
Please note that the full interview can be found below on YouTube, while the transcript has some key snippets from their conversation.
How does it feel to be reunited with siuhy as your in-game leader after previously achieving greatness together on the NXT roster?
To be honest, siuhy is my favorite IGL; he's the best I've ever played with, and I really connect with the way he views and calls the game. I really trust him a lot. Comparing him to dexter, for example, they have a very different style and personally I like siuhy’s more, but dexter is also a great IGL. I'm just really excited to be back with siuhy; he brings a lot of good energy to the team, and I think that's very needed.
Comparing your performance in the Play-In Stage and now the Group Stage, you went from around a 0.8 rating to a 1.27 rating. Did something change since the Play-In to allow you to step up into gear on Overpass versus NAVI?
Yeah, I was not great mentally in the play-in. I had some problems that I kind of solved in the two or three days that we had. That is something that is one of my strengths, I can lose myself a little bit in some games or some events, but I know how to bounce back really good. I think frozen really helped me, I had a good talk with him about my mental and also with siuhy. I mean I'm just really excited to have them alongside me and I think that's a big help for me.
As an Israeli player, seeing Spinx uniting with flameZ on Vitality, what's your reaction to that news of those two coming together in a real Israeli power duo?
I mean they're both incredible and both amazing players and I'm just really happy for them and I think that their team can do a lot of damage and probably win a lot of trophies as well. In my opinion, they’re a top three team no matter what, so I think they will be a really good contender for titles and I'm just happy to see my brothers do well.
You can catch the full interview here:
