After a stellar performance in the semi-finals of IEM Cologne, his debut appearance in the iconic LANXESS Arena, we spoke to Mihai “iM” Ivan about the explosive series he had just played. 

NAVI managed to secure a hard-fought victory against the German organization MOUZ with a 2-0 map score (Inferno 16:14, Mirage 13:11). iM shared with us why the first map of this match was so intense and how prepared the team is for tomorrow's showdown against Team Vitality.

Interview was taken and written by Sam "AN1MO" McKenzie

How are you feeling after securing the Grand Final?

I’m feeling pretty good now.

Was the match against MOUZ a bit closer than you expected?

It was close, and there were things we didn't expect. The Inferno pick, for sure. But I'm very happy that we managed to win both maps!

The T-side on Inferno didn't go well for you. What do you think was the problem?

To be honest, we hadn't prepared for this map. We didn't expect it; we thought they would pick another map. But they chose Inferno. It caught us off guard. But like I said, I'm pretty happy that we managed to win two maps without any preparation. I think that shows something, don't you?

You are the best team in the world on Mirage. Why is your Mirage so good?

Our Mirage is good because we understand each other very well, knowing how to react in almost every situation, even ones we haven't encountered before. We have great chemistry on the map.

How are you feeling about tomorrow?

I don't know, I'm feeling amazing. I can't wait to play another final.