Image via Ubisoft/@Kirill_Vision
If there is one thing Oxygen doesn’t lack ahead of their matchup against DWG KIA, it’s confidence.
They believe this is the strongest they’ve been — stronger than their top-six finish at the last Six Invitational. Stronger than their first-place finish in NAL Stage 1. In fact, Oxygen has felt this way for a while but hasn’t really had the chance to prove it.
Oxygen felt like they had a chance to prove their caliber at the Sweden Major… But everything fell apart before it started when Davide “FoxA” Bucci, the team’s IGL, tested positive for COVID-19 and was unable to travel.
“It was definitely shambles, given our performance and everything that was going on,” said Gabriel “LaXInG” Mirelez in a Ubisoft-organized press conference at the Six Invitational.
Oxygen bombed out of the Sweden Major in groups, but have started off their SI campaign with a bag. They slapped NAVI 2-0 (7-2, 7-2), and nearly won as many maps as their opponents won rounds.
They say that the key to their success is control of their fundamentals, that creating specific strategies for each opponent is a part of what they do, but isn’t their main focus.
“NAVI was kind of one of those teams where we wanted to, you know, study up on them as much as we could. As long as we know what they’re doing and we know what we’re doing, it’s not anything out of the blue that we’d have to do. We just play our game,” FoxA said.
LaXInG added that Oxygen didn’t specifically target NAVI’s Jack “Doki” Robertson, but knew he was crucial to NAVI’s success. Oxygen held him to a measly eight kills during their matchup.
Playing their game is exactly what’s propelled Oxygen into the position they are now: potentially vying for first in their group. The list of undefeated teams in Group D numbers two: DWG KIA and Oxygen.
They’ll meet tomorrow. If DWG KIA wins, they’ll be 3-0 and have only one match left. If Oxygen wins, they’ll be 2-0 with Team oNe and MiBR, who both have losses, left.
LaXInG says that not letting Doki “get started” was a large part of their success against NAVI. If Oxygen is to have the same success against the Korean DWG KIA squad, they’ll likely need to do more of the same. DWG KIA starts fast and plays fast, and setting the pace will be crucial for both squads.
“Right now, they [DWG KIA] definitely look like the strongest [in the group],” said FoxA when asked about tomorrow’s matchup. He was complimentary of the roster’s depth – all five of these players are good and there isn’t a weak link.
But for Oxygen, it’s about making up for lost time. Playoffs are looking likely based on current form, but there’s still three matches left, and with DWG, oNe, and MiBR up next, there are no easy games.
Said Leo “Kyno” Figueiredo: “Right now, with Fox on our roster, we’re the best we’ve ever been.”