Miks “Independent” Siliņš remains confident in the long-term potential of fnatic despite the team dropping to a projected 14% chance of reaching PGL Singapore Major 2026 after 1win Private Club Season 2.
Speaking to HLTV after the tournament, the coach said he does not follow Major qualification simulations and believes the young roster is still progressing toward becoming a consistent tier-one team.
Independent ignores Major qualification percentages
fnatic finished 5th–6th at 1win Private Club Season 2 after losses to PARIVISION and PRIVATE.
The result reduced their projected Singapore Major qualification chance to 14%, but Independent said he actively encourages his players not to focus on those numbers.
I encourage my teammates to never follow them because we’ve seen Major after Major after Major that everything comes down to the last second.
He pointed to the unpredictability of Counter-Strike, where underdogs can beat favorites and Major qualification can ultimately be decided by a single point.
For Independent, the priority is instead on areas the team can directly control.
For me, only things we can control matter, and that’s only the next game.
The coach admitted fnatic underperformed in Belgrade, losing rounds and matches they should have been able to close.
fnatic still dealing with growing pains
Independent believes many of the current problems come from the age and relative inexperience of the lineup.
mazay and cairne only joined recently, with fnatic having played together in the current form for around three to four months.
It’s going in the right direction, just unfortunately not at the speed we want.
The coach highlighted closing out advantages as one of the main issues. Against PRIVATE, fnatic held significant leads on both Cache and Dust2 but failed to convert either map.
Independent said those losses cannot be attributed to one problem alone, pointing to economy management, communication mistakes and decision-making under pressure.
He believes the team need to become more composed in important moments rather than rushing decisions emotionally.
Independent sees massive potential in mazay
Independent singled out 17-year-old Volodymyr “mazay” Iorhachov as one of the biggest long-term prospects in the lineup.
Massive potential.
According to the coach, mazay already has the mechanical ability to compete at a high level but still lacks experience in communication and understanding some situations inside matches.
Independent said other players sometimes spend significant time micromanaging and helping the youngster during rounds, which can affect their own individual focus.
He expects that to change as mazay gains experience.
In one year he’s going to be a completely different player.
Independent was similarly positive about jambo, describing the AWPer as one of the strongest players in his role and an important part of the core.
Ukrainian roster improved communication
fnatic becoming a Ukrainian lineup was not originally a planned organizational direction.
Independent explained that the transition happened naturally through roster moves, with the availability of players eventually making a national lineup the most logical option.
He believes communicating in the native language has produced a clear improvement inside the server.
The speed of decisions, the speed of communication, how comfortable they feel, not overthinking the comms — it’s a big advantage.
At the same time, Independent said the change removes language barriers as an excuse for mistakes, leaving the team responsible for continuing to improve communication and coordination.
Independent expects tier-one future
Despite the current Major situation, Independent believes the lineup needs more time before it can be fairly judged.
He suggested eight or nine months as a more realistic period for evaluating a roster, compared to the three or four months fnatic have currently spent together.
In one year, I definitely see us competing consistently in tier-one events, 100%.
Independent described the current lineup as one of the strongest Ukrainian rosters possible and believes the main missing element is collective experience.
The immediate task remains surviving the Singapore Major race, but his longer-term expectation is for fnatic to become a regular presence at top-level events and challenge for future Major qualification.
