NRG, led by Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella, suffered a setback at IEM Dallas 2025, being eliminated after meeting two of the world's top teams in the first matches. Nevertheless, the team captain is optimistic, believing that these defeats showed what needs to be worked on before BLAST.tv Austin Major. The team will start the tournament from the first stage, and nitr0 spoke about the development of NRG, the difficulties of playing in North America, and the upcoming match against TYLOO.

Lessons from defeats, regional challenges, and plans for the Major

At IEM Dallas 2025, NRG faced serious challenges, losing to two top 10 teams, including Falcons, which nitr0 considers one of the best in the world. Although the team was eliminated early, nitr0 sees this as a positive development.

In a way, it was really nice for us to get beat because we just don't really get beat that much in NA, especially in scrimmages

Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella

He added that 2025 was better than the previous year due to the roster changes, but the lack of practice against strong opponents in North America makes it difficult to prepare.

Difficulties with practice in North America

Nitr0 said that due to regional characteristics, NRG has few opportunities for quality practice, as European teams are concentrated in Europe and Brazilian teams are concentrated in Brazil due to qualifications.

It's honestly pretty bad, I think in NA it's probably the worst it's ever been to have solid practice in the last couple of years

Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella

He noted that the only stable league in the region is the ECL, but many teams there do not get paid, and it is not always possible to find worthy opponents for training. NRG plans to revise its schedule to organize more boot camps in Europe.

NRG's progress and new talents

Nitr0 is not completely satisfied with the team's development over the year, as he expected better results having had a lot of experience in Tier-1. Although NRG achieved the goal of entering the VRS top 24, ranking 22nd after winning the ECL playoffs, the defeats in Dallas forced the team to rethink its approach.

We have to take a step back and see how we can make our team as good as possible before the Major, and we only have a week and a half before we go there and start instantly

Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella

As for the new players, nitr0 praised Jeorge for his mechanical skills, but noted that he needs to work on his macro game. About br0, a European newcomer, he said that he brought initiative and became a valuable asset.

Long term, it was a very good investment on our end, and it will pay its dividends in the future

Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella

Starting at the Major against TYLOO

NRG will start the Major with a match against TYLOO on June 3. Nitr0 has not yet prepared for the opponent, but recalled their game at the Pro League.

Macro-wise, I think we beat them in every department, but we just have to show up on the day and beat them individually

Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella

He believes that this is a good match to start with if the team plays with confidence.

Nitr0 emphasized that the team approaches tournaments gradually, trying to qualify for as many events as possible. The Austin Major will be an important milestone for NRG, which aims to reach at least the second stage and show its potential.