Team Heretics Wo0t: We Lost Grand Final Because Of Our Mental State

After joining Team Heretics during VCT EMEA Stage 1, Mert "Wo0t" Alkan has made a statement with his incredible performance in his first-ever VCT tournament of his career. The Turkish player has played a crucial role in the team's success and Heretics did not lose even a single series after his addition until they faced Fnatic in VCT EMEA Stage 1 Grand Final.

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Even against Fnatic, they were quite close to do a clean sweep after winning the first two maps and achieving a lead in the first half of third map. You will see Heretics in action in Masters Shanghai and it will be the first ever international VCT event for Wo0t. After the Grand Final, I got a chance to talk to him and discuss his experience and team's plans for Masters Shanghai. You can read the full interview below.

Team Heretics Wo0t Interview

Sorry for the loss today, but the team had a great run in Stage 1. How are you feeling right now?

Wo0t: Bad, for sure. I mean, I think we needed to finish strong in the third map when we were doing so well. But we couldn't, so we lost. Actually, it's better for us because we still need more experience as a team as we're young, so we'll be playing a lot more in Shanghai. So I'm happy about that, but as a team, we're also sad because we lost the Grand Final again. We just need to learn more and prepare better.

What exactly went wrong in the third map (Lotus)? You guys had a good lead in the first half, but then things turned around in the second half.

Wo0t: Fnatic countered us pretty well, and we just couldn't focus. We just couldn't find an answer. Also, I think we played four official matches on Lotus and practiced three games, so we couldn't prepare well. But we will come back stronger for sure and I can say the same thing for myself as well.

I was looking at the stats, and after two maps against Fnatic, you were the number one rated player in EMEA Stage 1. Even after today's loss, you're still in the top 10. I wanted to ask you, did you expect this kind of performance from yourself in your first VCT event? Were you nervous? Also, what are your expectations for Masters Shanghai? Lastly, how has the experience in this stage prepared you for upcoming events, and how much do you feel you've grown as a player overall?

Wo0t: I was always expecting a good performance from myself, like everyone, and I will just work harder to make it better for the future. In Shanghai, I'll just give my all in the game and not think about other things. So, as a team, we will become stronger for sure and I believe we will make playoffs in Shanghai, I trust my team.

Even though we lost today, we only lost one map until the Finals in Playoffs. So, we are still a good team. We just couldn't play well in the last three maps, that's all. We will come back stronger; we are still strong, and we will be stronger.

I learned how to prepare myself for the match, mentally and also with warm-up routines. The overall experience was pretty good and it will help me get ready for next tournaments.

What are your plans at the moment before Shanghai event? Will you guys give yourselves a break to relax and mentally prepare for the big event or are you going to grind even harder? 

Wo0t: We're not going to burn ourselves out. We will just take a break because we've been playing official matches for five days. It's so hard. So we'll just take a break and come back stronger mentally. I mean, today we lost because of our mental state; we were a little tired, and we don't have much experience with official matches yet. So I think it's kind of better for sure if we just take a break. It's really better for us.

You'll be playing on patch 8.08 in Masters Shanghai, and the time you have to prepare is quite limited especially for Viper nerfs. Do you think there will be significant meta changes in terms of team compositions or they will largely remain the same, with only minor adjustments? Additionally, regarding Viper, do you think she will be replaced by another controller? 

Wo0t: I don't think they're going to replace Cypher. But for Viper, I think they're going to replace her and exactly how, it depends on the team. If you're a Viper player and can play initiator, then you can play initiator. If you can play Duelists, then you can play Duelists. It depends on the team. Viper was just so strong, so, the meta is going to change. We will see. I think we have an advantage because I can play the Duelist and I love it. Also, Domi (MiniBoo) is the best Duelist player. So, we will adapt easily, I'm sure.

(Team Update: MiniBoo will not be playing in Masters Shanghai due to burnout, so we might actually see Wo0t as a duelist)

Last question, which team do you want to play against the most in Masters Shanghai?

Wo0t: It's normally Leviatán, but after this loss, I don't care. I'll just focus on my game.