Today the Ukrainian organization Natus Vincere released the first interview with the new coach of Navi Junior team David "Kairi" De Miguel! The interview was released on the official Youtube channel in video format.
When did you first start playing CSS?
When I was only 12 years old, before I even went to high school, I just tried CSS with my friends at Fever Coffee. Fever Coffee, as, you know, it was. There's no such place as Fever anymore. That was about ten years ago, it's all gone. But yeah, we just came with our friends to this internet cafe and started playing. The first game we played on the server was Quake, I think. And then we tried CSS and we couldn't stop playing CSS anymore.
When did you realize there was an entire cybersports community and a big professional scene?
Oh, I think it happened when I went to my first tournament. I used to only meet people online. And when I went to my first tournament in Madrid, Spain, I met a lot of players I had never seen in real life. It was like another world. I really enjoyed it a lot. I really enjoy interacting with everyone in real life and competing against everyone. I didn't know about this world before, you know? I instantly fell in love with it. After my first tournament, I competed in a huge number of tournaments, maybe over 50, before I turned pro. Yeah, I really enjoy it.
And when did you realize exactly when you wanted to be a part of this professional scene?
I think it was in 2004 when I started playing in the best team in Spain. They called me and told me they wanted me to play in national and international tournaments. It was my big opportunity to see it all and compete against the best teams in Spain and in the world.
What about your nickname? How did you come up with it?
I think it happened when I was playing my, um, first or second game on PlayStation. It was Street Fighter. It was a really weird version of Street Fighter. It was Street Fighter Ex3. And there was a character called Kairi. Mmm, it was a big guy with long white hair. And I don't know, I always picked him to play and I really liked it.
Okay, let's finally talk about Navi. How did you get an invitation to Navi? Who put you in touch?
It was on Twitter. I saw that Navi was looking for a coach, and I sent in an application. I saw that application five minutes before I sent it in, and five minutes later I had already sent the application in because I saw a great opportunity there. And because it's my passion, being a Navi coach seems like a dream come true for me. So yeah, when I saw that, I immediately filled out the application, sent it in, and one or two days later I got in touch with AMI. The thing is, Ami has known me since 2006. I think I went to a tournament in Ukraine, in Dnepropetrovsk. I'm not sure if I pronounced it correctly.
What is the main goal of this project: to grow players for the main squad or now to create a strong and good Navi youth team?
I think it's both. Both things have to be good. I think building a good academic team is one of the goals. But if we can just send any player, because he's really grown up and really talented, to be in the first team, that would be really great, we'd be really proud of that. Both for him and for the work we're going to do in the academy.
Maybe you can give us some inside info on the players now?
Well, yeah, I guess I'm not going to name them, but there are some really young 16 and 17 year old players who are very promising.
As a reminder, Kairi became the new Navi Junior coach in August 2023 and he has already transferred all players from Navi Junior to Navi Youth!
As a player, Kairi has played for teams such as x6tence, k1ck, PENTA, Team Heretics and MAD Lions. The Spaniard has attended several S-tournaments during his career, but has never been able to achieve meaningful success at them. As a coach, Kairi has worked with GTZ, Caronte and Iberian Family, where he crossed paths with current ENCE player Alvaro "SunPayus" Garcia.
NAVI has proven time and time again how effective their system of nurturing young talent is. Graduates of the youth system have often gone on to play for well-known teams and prove themselves at the highest level.
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