NAVI CyvOph on the team's playstyle: "We work a lot on strats, we don’t play at all individually"

Clement "CyvOph" Millard spoke with THESPIKE after Natus Vincere's loss against Gentle Mates at VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2, where he discussed the team’s current issues, Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow's coaching style, differences between tier 1 and tier 2, and much more.

The series against Gentle Mates

THESPIKE: The maps didn’t really go how I think we expected, What are your first thoughts on the series?

CyvOph: "I think in the attack side there was a lot of hesitation. Misunderstanding or something like that. The CT side was okay, on Sunset at least. A lot got reads, and then stuff goes wrong."

THESPIKE: We know that at the moment, the meta is really focused on the attack side. Attack is pretty stronger than defense right now. On Sunset, you opted for a more defensive composition compared to Gentle Mates, but we see players tend to play a lot more for the attack instead of the defense. Why did you decide to go for a more defensive comp on Sunset?

CyvOph: "You have to play like that I think. You have a strong side and the other one... For example, I’m alone and you let them come. I think we just played maybe in the wrong way on CT side as well.

Because, for example, Gentle Mates like to just walk on A, for example. And we let them have so much space, and the retake wasn’t good as well."

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2

Gentle Mates

2

X

0

Natus Vincere

Group Alpha, Best of 3 - July 23, 2026 - 5:20PM

13

Sunset

10

13

Haven

7

Gentle Mates

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

marteen

1.48

282

43/28/14

+15

1.54

86.3%

183.6

26%

89%

8

1

starxo

1.22

238

39/23/8

+16

1.70

74.8%

154.8

31%

50%

5

5

Minny

1.08

215

34/28/7

+6

1.21

74.8%

134.0

29%

57%

8

6

Proxh

1.06

189

25/29/28

-4

0.86

82.0%

126.7

25%

43%

3

4

bipo

0.85

156

27/24/4

+3

1.13

72.6%

97.8

30%

100%

3

0

Natus Vincere

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

hiro

1.06

223

35/29/7

+6

1.21

69.1%

146.9

41%

63%

5

3

Ruxic

0.94

221

32/36/7

-4

0.89

63.8%

137.4

21%

63%

5

3

chloric

0.81

183

27/35/7

-8

0.77

57.9%

138.8

29%

50%

2

2

CyvOph

0.66

148

18/32/16

-14

0.56

57.9%

101.1

30%

27%

3

8

ExiT

0.57

137

20/36/8

-16

0.56

51.1%

92.2

30%

8%

1

12

NAVI's current issues

THESPIKE: Do you think that as a team you rely more on strategies, or are you just more aimers?

CyvOph: "We work a lot on the strats, etc. We don’t play at all individually. Just like if we play Duelists, we have to bring someone with you for peeking and those things. So yeah, we just play with more strategy. But I think sometimes you have to play individually and do your own thing."

THESPIKE: Today we heard ANGE1 in the mid-game interview speak about how you had some comms issues and that you tended to get nervous when things got harder. During this week between the games, how did you try to work on those factors as a team?

CyvOph: "We have to focus way more on the communication. For example, when the round goes wrong or we just get fcked, we bring this back at the end of the round to hype each other. And we come back to the basic thing, just the communication."

THESPIKE: Are you the type of player who tends to hype up your teammates when things get rough? Or are you the one who tends to struggle when something is not working?

CyvOph: "Normally, I’m someone who hypes each other. But on this team we have Abdullah "ExiT" Al-Twaijri. He has a lot of energy, so he hypes for us. And I don’t have to do a lot. But yeah, I just hype each other. But on this team it’s a little bit different."

THESPIKE: You joined NAVI for this Stage after you swapped some teams in VCT. You played a bit in DuendePablo, you played in Team Vitality. Since you had the chance to play for more orgs, what are the biggest differences between each other? I mean in terms of management, culture, all of this stuff.

CyvOph: "I would say there is not a lot of change. The top teams, for example Fnatic and Vitality, are the organizations we want to win. They have a lot of expectations for NAVI, obviously. But yeah, there is just a lot of pressure, because you want to make Champs, Masters, and those things. And when things go wrong, it’s a little bit hard. But nothing changed, just a lot of pressure."

ANGE1’s coaching style

THESPIKE: ANGE1 is a former pro player, he has tons of experience, he played for a long time. As a person who had the chance to work with both a former pro player coaches like ANGE1, and a normal coach who has never played the game professionally, what is the biggest difference about having someone that experienced?

CyvOph: "Someone like ANGE1, for example, knows how to play, obviously. But he also knows how you have to behave in the game. A lot of things on the mental. He’s a lot focused on the strategy as well. The difference is that ANGE1 knows a lot of things. And every day he brings some new stuff, and that’s really going on a lot."

The differences between Tier 2 and Tier 1

THESPIKE: Yesterday, Wadir "WADDLE" Taraki said that the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 is not that big. And that there are some Tier 2 teams that are actually better than Tier 1 teams. What’s your take on that? Do you agree with him, or is there still a gap in your opinion?

CyvOph: "I think there is still a gap. Because obviously low Tier 1 and high Tier 2, I think there is not a big gap, but the biggest gap is just high Tier 2 and high Tier 1. Because overall the game is more smooth and things go really fast. In Tier 2 you have the time to read things. It’s kind of slow, prepare your execs, etc.

So it’s kind of reliable. But when you play a big team everything goes really fast and you have to be aware of everything, etc."

THESPIKE: And how big is the difference in the work culture? How much more training does it take to play in a team like NAVI instead of a high Tier 2 team competing to win Ascension, for example?

CyvOph: "I think everyone can go Tier 1. But in Tier 1 you have a lot of things to deal with. You have to take really more care because it’s really important in Tier 1, I think. And you produce a lot more work, I would say. Every day you wake up and you go instantly into the environment.

You finish your day with the team, etc. And you can see the people as well. You are living with them, so it’s kind of mandatory to work a lot. So yeah, I think that’s the biggest part."

THESPIKE: It’s also funnier, at least, no? Like you spend more time with your teammates.

CyvOph: "It’s not bad, it’s not bad."

THESPIKE: Last question, how are you liking Summit so far?

CyvOph: "I like Summit, I think it’s a good map. I really like how it is."

After the loss against Gentle Mates, NAVI are now sitting on a 1-2 score at the bottom of Group Omega. If they wanna reach champions, a shake up is definetly needed. They will face BBL Esports on July 26 in a match that will probably very rough for them because of their struggles with the current meta.

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.

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