Alexiiik: “I was watching CS pros when I was 7 and I knew that’s going to be my job” – VCT EMEA Stage 2 Interview

Joining NAVI as one of the newest faces on the roster, Czech player Alex “alexiiik” Hawlasek faced the daunting challenge of stepping into VCT but he’s been able to hold his own. From growing up watching CS:GO players as a child to making his way through tier two Valorant before breaking into the top tier, alexiiik has always carried one goal in mind: going pro. After NAVI’s series loss to GIANTX in the VCT EMEA Stage 2 playoffs, alexiiik spoke with Hotspawn about his journey, adjusting to life in Berlin, and what it will take for his team to find their peak form.

Hotspawn: Did you always want to be a professional esports player from when you were a kid?

Alexiiik: “Yeah, I wanted to do this since childhood. I was watching CS pros when I was like 7, and in that moment I knew that that’s just going to be my job, it’s what I want to do. So I was going for it, yeah.”

Did you try to go pro in CS before Valorant?

Alexiiik: “I did but it was kind of impossible because I got banned multiple times. I was cheating when I was like 12. I started playing in some tournaments and I played FACEIT, I was kind of high elo when I was 14, but I knew I cannot reach higher because of my ban. Some tournaments wouldn’t allow me to play, and Valorant came out, so I went here, basically.”

When Valorant came out, did you like the game?

Alexiiik: “I mean, I liked it. I didn’t enjoy it as much as CS and I was like, I might quit it. But I hit like the highest rank in beta and I figured out there are only 200 people that are that rank, you know, so I decided to go through. And it’s fun, it’s a nice game.”

How was it competing at the tier two level with Enterprise and GoNext?

Alexiiik: “Aim-wise, I don’t think there is a huge gap between tier two and tier one, it depends what teams. But in Ascension, I don’t see the gap in aim, but the strategy and tactics, it’s full different level. It was just everyday grinding. It was fun. You know, we are friends and we tried to reach the top. It didn’t work out sadly, but it was good. Yeah, good times. Good times.”

How did you end up joining NAVI?

Alexiiik: “I got asked for a tryout and it went for like 2 weeks, I think, and then they decided to take me. So kind of easy, you know, I didn’t have to do much, just to play.”

How has it been playing in VCT, living in Berlin and all of that so far?

Alexiiik: “It’s hard, I don’t know. It’s nice, but, you know, I miss my home, I miss my family. It’s… it’s a long time, but yeah, I mean, it’s fine.”

Where are you originally from?

Alexiiik: “I’m from [the] Czech Republic. It’s kind of close.”

Hotspawn: Like Prague or somewhere else?

Alexiiik: “Oh no, I’m from, well, let’s say Ostrava is like the closest to me. I’m almost on [the] Polish. F**k, how is it called? Like close to Polish, you know?”

Hotspawn: Okay, like close to the border.

Alexiiik: “Yeah, that’s right.”

Hotspawn: How many languages do you speak?

Alexiiik: “I can speak Polish, I can speak Czech, English, Slovak, and I can understand Russian, but that’s kind of it. I cannot speak Russian.”

Hotspawn: “That’s kind of it.” You just said five languages.

Alexiiik: “Yeah, but three of those languages are very similar, you know. It’s not like something, I don’t know, it’s not different, basically. It’s almost the same.”

You’ve gone through a lot of role transitions since your time in tier two.

How has that been?

Alexiiik: “We are friends and benjy wanted to try Jett, I wanted to try Killjoy, you know, just for fun. So he tried it. But I’m playing my agents actually, like all the time. I’m not really flexible, I’m just playing Jett/Raze/Neon. Yeah. And that’s kind of it.”

How do you like playing duelist in VCT on the big stage?

Alexiiik: “I love duelist. It depends which dualist. If it’s Jett/Raze, I’m happy. If it’s something else I’m not, but it’s my fault. So I don’t like it (Neon), but I can play it.”

Random question—what’s your favorite dessert?

Alexiiik: “I don’t even know. I’m [a] picky eater. I like four foods, let’s say.”

Hotspawn: What’s your favorite of the four?

Alexiiik: “That’s fries and Schnitzel.”

Hotspawn: Is it good in Berlin then?

Alexiiik: “It’s kind of hard to get to be honest. I actually eat 3 foods for dinner. It’s not nice, you know, it’s hard to eat for me here.”

Assuming you guys make it to VALORANT Champions, what’s your goal?

Who’s your biggest obstacle?

Alexiiik: “I don’t think the obstacle is [a] team. I think it’s us. We just need to play properly. We need to talk properly. This Haven game, I actually shut down and I was somewhere else.

“So it’s like us against us. I think if we are in the best shape possible that we can be, we can beat anyone.”

Heading into the lower bracket, what’s the biggest thing to fix before next game?

Alexiiik: “”e just have to be… I can’t remember the word, like we just need to be there basically. “hen we are playing, we need to be there. We cannot be somewhere else, you know, thinking about something else. Just be present, basically, and play like a team. That’s all we need to fix.”