NRG are just one win away from advancing to Stage 2 of the StarLadder Budapest Major, after upseeting both Ninjas in Pyjamas and FaZe Clan, on the first day of the tournament on November 24th.
Nobody expected NRG to pick up wins against these European teams, as they’re playing the tournament with their head coach, Damian “daps” Steele, instead of Nick “nitr0” Cannella, who’s on paternity leave ahead of the birth of his third child.
Although daps is no stranger to competing in big tournaments, having played at tier-one tournaments and Majors before, he had played his last event in March 2024. Many expected daps to flounder and sink NRG’s chances of making Stage 2, but it’s fair to say that the veteran held his own against NIP and FaZe, and came up with some creative calls as the IGL.
In the 13-7 victory against NIP in round one, daps finished with a 9-13 K/D. The numbers, however, don’t tell the whole picture, as he got some important kills, especially on the T-side of Overpass.
Against FaZe (13-10 on Dust2), daps played even better and finished with a 14-13 K/D. He also had an incredible call toward the end of the game, which won NRG the round, and put them in map point territory.
As NRG fans are saying, ‘uncle’ daps still got it. Credit: © StarLadder
Daps revealed in an interview with HLTV.org after NRG went 2-0 in the StarLadder Budapest Major Stage 1, that he had been preparing for a while, just in case he needed to replace nitr0.
I forget when the Major cutoff for roster lock was, but when we failed to get a sub, it was always a chance. I’d say two or three months before the major, it seemed more likely nitr0 would play still.
But around the last Fragadelphia we went to, a couple of weeks ago, at that point, we kind of knew that I would play. I’d say I started playing a lot more actively the last two weeks, just pugging, DMing and practicing my utility so I don’t miss things [laughs]. I’d say that’s the timeline.
The Canadian veteran also explained that even if NRG secured a substitute for the StarLadder Budapest Major, the player wouldn’t be able to practice with the team beforehand, as nitr0 was still playing in tournaments until the Major.
NRG will play their fellow North American rivals M80 today, November 25th, in their first advancement game in Stage 1. Daps said they need to focus on their comms and the environment.
M80 is a solid team, I think s1n is a good IGL, he has a good system for their team, and all their players are solid. So it’s not going to be an easy game. But, again, it’s just about focusing on our communication and our environment. That’s what’s kind of carrying us at the moment.
Also read: “Sorry for letting you down,” StarLadder apologizes after tumultuous Budapest Major day one
Feature image credit: © StarLadder
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