Perfecto: "My adaptation is going well, I just need to be more confident"

We spoke to Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy prior to Natus Vincere's BLAST Premier Spring matches to find out more about his adaptation and his thoughts on the new organisation.

The 20-year-old had at ICE Challenge his first tournament for Natus Vincere following his transfer to the CIS giants from Syman last month. The Russian rifer, who replaced Ladislav "⁠GuardiaN⁠" Kovács on the roster, averaged a 0.99 rating as Na`Vi finished runners-up to mousesports at the event in London.

Na`Vi will immediately move on to their next tournament, BLAST Premier Spring, where they are the scheduled to face Vitality in their opening match, at 16:30 .

In a pre-event interview, conducted prior to the ICE Challenge grand final, we spoke to Perfecto to learn more details involving his transfer to Na`Vi. We also discussed his in-game role and how he has managed to adapt to the map pool of the new team.

You were part of Syman for just over a year. How was it, parting ways with your first big organisation?

It was difficult because I had gone through a long journey with the guys. They had practically become my second family because we had gone through so much together over the course of the year.

You could say the organisation took me in, I hadn't played anywhere before. I am very thankful to my ex-teammates and the Syman organisation, they gave me all the conditions I needed to grow as a player. It was difficult parting ways and I'm thankful that they worked with me on the decision to sign with Na`Vi.

How did you end up joining Na`Vi?

Andrey (B1ad3) sent me a message asking if I was interested in joining Na`Vi. Later, he said we should play some practice matches and test things out with the guys. We played for a couple of days, and after that, we started discussing the transfer with the organisation.

What are your initial thoughts on the team's matches so far and how the chemistry is working out?

In my opinion, considering the short time that we've been together, it is going really well. We trained around four days maximum, played praccs and broke down some stuff. Obviously it was difficult because of communicational difficulties and the adaptation to new positions.

All in all, I think my adaptation has been successful, I just need to be more confident. All the guys in the team are extremely skilled, and it's a pleasure playing with them.

Na`Vi has a very outspoken following, and when GuardiaN was unable to show results while on the roster, he was placed under an immense amount of pressure and criticism. Do you feel an added pressure to perform with this in mind?

I'll say that helping the team is definitely something that I wish to do. Of course, there's a little pressure, but I try not to think about it. I just want to play with the guys and demonstrate our level, I really hope it works out.

In our interview with B1ad3, we learned that he is working very closely with you. Could you explain what this process involves, both in-game and out?

I'll start with the in-game stuff: he helps me adapt to the system because everyone has their own habits and personality. He helps me with those aspects and the tactical movement on the map in order for me to be able to better adapt and come up with new moves to add to my repertoire. Outside of the game, he helps me by boosting my confidence.

In the short space of time that you've been with the team, have you had the chance to work with Gleb, the team's psychologist?

Yeah, we had a brief conversation about my general condition and shared a few things with each other.

Na`Vi and Syman have overlapping map pools, but Nuke is a map that you aren't really acquainted with. At ICE you played it against GODSENT and it worked out pretty well. How did you find adapting to it in such a short space of time?

When we had a few days of preparation before the tournament, we played a lot of maps, but we never even touched Nuke. For me, it was my first official match on it in like a year, I hadn't played it before in official games. I had played the position in random mixes and FPL, so it wasn't that difficult to figure it out. We focused on communication, so it played out quite well. Besides, B1ad3 explained a lot of things before the match, which helped us win.

Lastly, in the very same conversation with B1ad3, we learned about your in-game roles. What are your initial thoughts on your designations?

Some aspects of the roles are quite new to me. I think I'm still in the process of adapting to it, I haven't yet broken it down and I'm not yet fully used to the roles. In general, if I work a lot, I think I'll be able to show a solid performance in these roles. But, all in all, I like them, they fit me quite well.