GX neT on pushing through after C9 benching: “My girlfriend always kept supporting me”

Michael "neT" Bernet spoke to THESPIKE after their VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2 loss against Team Liquid to discuss the series, his rough year, mental pressure, the team’s environment, and much more.

The loss against Team Liquid

THESPIKE: What are your thoughts on the series?

neT: "It does not feel good to lose. I think they executed their game plan very well, and we did not execute ours. We did not perform, and it is what it is."

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2

Team Liquid

2

X

0

GIANTX

Group Omega, Best of 3 - July 29, 2026 - 3:00PM

13

Breeze

6

13

Split

7

Team Liquid

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

kamo

1.56

300

43/22/8

+21

1.95

79.7%

196.0

27%

71%

10

4

nAts

1.05

232

30/26/7

+4

1.15

72.0%

153.0

21%

67%

6

3

trexx

0.99

174

26/22/12

+4

1.18

84.7%

126.9

27%

0%

0

2

Kicks

0.99

173

25/22/12

+3

1.14

84.7%

116.5

29%

100%

1

0

purp0

0.97

188

28/27/5

+1

1.04

81.7%

114.9

25%

77%

10

3

GIANTX

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

westside

1.20

256

35/30/8

+5

1.17

77.1%

155.1

46%

60%

6

4

Flickless

0.91

182

26/31/13

-5

0.84

66.3%

116.1

22%

0%

0

8

neT

0.80

161

23/25/9

-2

0.92

74.5%

115.2

47%

20%

1

4

ara

0.69

179

22/31/5

-9

0.71

63.9%

114.9

29%

36%

4

7

Jesse

0.43

86

13/35/9

-22

0.37

69.1%

50.5

28%

20%

1

4

THESPIKE: You mentioned in an interview a few days ago that you did not have much time to prepare, and that it was hard to come into the stage with good preparation because of everything that happened with Cihan "musz3kk" Göçer, Adam "Jesse" Čtvrtníček, and the roster changes during the season. While all those problems were coming in, did you practice with musz3kk, or were you already practicing actively with Jesse?

neT: "We were practicing actively with musz3kk, and then once his visa officially got denied, we started practicing with Jesse. We did not really get much time with Jesse at all. We got to play with him one day before the match against Fnatic, and then we have been playing with him ever since."

THESPIKE: Right now, there is a lot of debate around Phoenix, whether he is too strong and whether he will be nerfed in the next patch. What is your opinion on him? Do you think he is too strong, or do you think he is fine?

neT: "I think he is definitely strong. I would not say the problem is that he is too strong, but more that the other agents are too weak. In my opinion, Initiator cooldowns are just, I do not know why they did that, but they did it. And I think Sentinels are super weak too. So there is no real threat of stopping power when you have a Duelist that can do it all, to be honest."

THESPIKE: Coming into this meta change, with Attack being insanely overpowered and Sentinels not being in the best shape, you also switched roles. You went from Sentinel to Initiator, so you kind of escaped the pain of being a Sentinel in this meta. What is your personal opinion on the meta? Do you like it, or do you think it is not the best?

neT: "I do not mind it. I think it is just hard to defend in general because all the Sentinels are very weak. Well, not super weak, but I just think Duelists are very strong, while the other agents in general are pretty weak. I think all the Sentinels are okay, the Initiators are okay too, and there is not much variance in the game right now. Every top team is basically playing double Duelist. I think it would be better if you could play other things and make them work, if that makes sense. But you just cannot right now."

THESPIKE: You just came to Europe, and this is your first stage here. How has the change from NA to Berlin been for you personally? Are you liking the city? How is it going?

neT: "I am liking the city. It is really nice. The whole team is very kind and welcoming, and they are all hardworking. They are a good group of guys to get along with, and they are easy to play with, to be honest. So the transition has not been too hard for me."

THESPIKE: You are now playing in the European ranked queue, and the ranked scene is kind of different. Some people say the NA queue is better, others say the European queue is better. What is your take on ranked? Do you think they are equal, or are there some differences?

neT: "I think EU ranked is better because people grind for high elo more. In NA, people are not really grinding that much. I feel like the pros here actually grind ranked. In NA they do too, but not really, if that makes sense. It is just more fun to play because you have more players actually playing, even though people here are more toxic, to be honest."

Pressure and support

THESPIKE: You came to Europe after not having your best years in NA, because your career was in a difficult spot. It is not easy to stay mentally strong and focused on the goal at such times. How did you manage to handle that pressure and still keep performing and grinding to become a better player?

neT: "I would say I had a lot of support from my girlfriend, to be honest. There were a lot of times when I questioned whether I was good enough, or whether I should still do this. But she always kept supporting me.

She was very supportive and always told me I was very good, that I could be one of the best. It would be a disservice to myself to just quit while I am still so young, especially after working so hard and loving it so much. So honestly, shoutout to her. She has been such a big support in my life."

Team culture and chemistry

THESPIKE: You have changed environments a lot. You have been with G2 Esports, Cloud9, Tier 2 teams, and now you are here with GIANTX in Europe. What are the biggest cultural changes, in your opinion, coming from NA to Europe? In terms of how you work with the team, is it the same, or are there key differences in the working style?

neT: "There are definitely some cultural differences. In general, Europe is a lot more direct. People are not afraid to say how they feel, and I am not either, so I am used to it. It is easier to have healthy, open conversations when someone just says, “I did not like that,” or, “You could do this better,” if that makes sense.

The other difference, compared to G2, is just how long we played together. When I was on G2, we were together for almost three or four years. Over that time, you build a lot of chemistry, and it becomes very easy to be on the same page because you have so many reps together.

Here, I have only been with the team for about a month, maybe even less. It is hard to always be on the same page, or to know exactly what everyone is doing, because we just do not have that much time together yet. Building that chemistry takes a long time, in my opinion, So we are trying to get there as fast as we can."

THESPIKE: How are you fitting into the team and the system? Have you had any trouble finding comfort with your teammates, or has everyone been great from the start?

neT: "No, everyone has been great from the start. They are all a good group of guys, and they expressed that they trust me. It has been easy to do that with the support of the team. It has been easy to fit in because everyone is so kind and easy to talk to."

Strongest opponents

THESPIKE: Since this is your first time playing in EMEA, I wanted to ask you about the teams you have faced so far. Which team really surprised you?

neT: "I think Liquid is definitely the toughest so far. They are in good form. But I think the best team we have played is Karmine Corp, because they are all in good form and their style is very specific to them, and they execute it very well.

So I think they are the best team right now. But we have not played the teams from the other groups, so I cannot say for sure who the best is overall."

THESPIKE: I heard in your latest interview that, after switching from Sentinel to Initiator, you take inspiration from other players and look at their playstyle to learn. Who are the Initiators you look at the most and take inspiration from?

neT: "Right now, I think Trent "trent" Cairns is very good. Daniel "eeiu" Vucenovic is very good. Enes "RieNs" Ecirli is very good. All of these players are very good. Those are probably the players I look at the most right now."

After this loss against Team Liquid, GIANTX will officially have to fight their way through the Play-In Stage. However, the job is still not done as they will face Team Heretics on July 31 to close out their journey through Group Omega.

For all things VCT-related, make sure to stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG as we continue to update you with the freshest game and esports news.

Featured Image Exclusive to THESPIKE.GG.