We had the chance to talk with ADAM " ADAM " Maanane, who recently joined Natus Vincere . He shared how he spent his vacation, his adaptation to the new club, and his motivation following setbacks at Rogue . ADAM also spoke about team communication and the new players on the roster, upcoming challenges in the LEC, and NAVI’s goals.

ADAM , let's start with how you rested and how your vacation went overall. You had like two to three months of vacation. What have you done?
Well, I didn’t really do anything, to be honest. I just played “League” and stayed in Berlin. I mean, I did nothing much, to be honest. I was just waiting for the summer split to start with NAVI.

How many games did you play per day while on vacation?
I don’t know. I actually went to Korea for about 10 days, but apart from that, I was playing “League” quite a lot.

So you didn’t want to take a break from “League”?
Yes. I just went to Korea , spent 10 days there, but that’s all. I didn’t do much after.

Right now you’re playing under the NAVI tag, which draws significantly more attention to you. Do you feel any additional pressure on yourself or your teammates? Maybe on social media, or from fans coming up to you in the streets for photos?
So far, no, because NAVI has more of a CS fanbase, so it needs time for a “League” fanbase to grow. I don’t really feel pressure because I’ve been in organizations with a lot of fans like KC and Fnatic . I’m not really pressured by a fanbase or community in general.

Do you have your own fans reaching out to you on Instagram or Twitter, maybe sending bad words or good words?
I’m followed by a lot of different communities. It’s pretty big. So yes, I have a lot of people who support me and watch my games, sending me messages of support on social media. I’m pretty lucky in that regard.

You have played your first game with NAVI. How did you feel after it? What was the atmosphere like within the team?
I think the atmosphere was pretty good. We played against Karmine Corp , who are really, really good, so we didn’t really have a chance to play our game and show how good we are with NAVI. But hopefully in the next games we can show a better face.

Have you received any texts from friends? What were they saying?
It’s more like a Twitter world, you know. Since Karmine Corp is my old team, a lot of people were making funny jokes about that.

Who in the team do you communicate and spend the most time with for now?
I think Hans SamD . I talk a lot to Hans SamD and to Malrang . The mood in the team is pretty nice — everyone talks with each other. So yeah, it feels nice.

Who is helping you adapt more in terms of team strategies and chemistry? Maybe it’s your manager or a psychologist?
For me, it’s pretty normal. It’s like a job — you have to be able to adapt to anyone. I don’t feel pressured, and I don’t think anyone is specifically helping me to do that.

Previously, Malrang said that one of the key problems in Rogue was miscommunication when players didn’t follow the calls. What is the situation with that now?
Right now, I feel like we make better plans overall and have good communication. So yes, it’s way better than in Rogue for sure.

In the match against Karmine Corp , there was a noticeable difference compared to Rogue . Despite the loss, each player tried to make plays, and we saw some interesting and active moves. Do you and the rest of the team feel more motivated now than during the last split?
Yes. We’re pretty motivated because we know that we’re actually good and that we can make plays. In Rogue , I think people lost hope pretty quickly because we were really, really bad. But now people are hopeful and know we can do things together.

Are we using the previous strats from Rogue now, or are you trying to make something new? Maybe new combinations of items or something like that?
Not really. We’re just trying to play good League of Legends. I don’t think it’s specific to Rogue or any team.

You once said that you joined Rogue with the understanding that they were selling their slot and that someone better would buy it. Now share your thoughts. Are you happy that NAVI became your new home?
Yeah. I joined Rogue because I knew they were selling, so I was hoping that a new organization could come. I didn’t know it would be NAVI. The fact that it’s NAVI makes me really happy because I think it’s a great organization, and I also like watching CS esports, so it’s pretty cool.

Who is your favorite player from the CS2 NAVI team right now?
S1mple, but he left.

Thayger and Hans SamD joined your core from Rogue . What are your impressions of them? Have they fully adapted to the team yet?
Yes, for sure. Hans SamD plays really, really well. I’m really happy. He’s doing what I expect from an ADC to do, so he’s playing really well. I’m really happy about it, and hopefully he can show in LEC how good he really is.

What about the positions and roles? Malrang switched from jungle to support. Can you see why? And what do you think about his performance in the new role?
Personally, I was not the biggest fan of Malrang going to support, but so far he’s been learning the role and playing better every day. I’m really happy about that, and I hope he learns even more so that we can play better as a team. It’s always hard for a player to learn a new role, especially at the highest level of EU .

What do you think you lacked in the first game? What exactly went wrong? Looking at the first map, you looked very solid up until the 15th minute, especially considering you were playing against one of the best teams in the league.
We had a pretty good early game, but our weakness sometimes is the mid game and transitioning. KC is probably the best team in the LEC, so they punished us well on our mistakes. I’m pretty sure against any other team we could have won.

Your next game will be against Movistar KOI on August 16. What do you need to change or practice more to 100% win this game?
We should just focus on fundamentals, learning from the laning phase, and applying good concepts in the mid game. I feel like we have good chances against MKOI, but we should not be scared and should be confident that we can win.

What should people expect from you and your team? Will there be any special preparations for them? Maybe new tactics?
I don’t think so.

So you will play like a different team, but with better preparation?
Yes, I think so. We’ll just play like we usually do in scrims, and hopefully we manage to win against MKOI. They’re a good team — they won LEC — but they haven’t been practicing for long, so maybe we have a good chance.

If you look at your group, there are two clear favourites for the upper playoff bracket — of course, MKOI and KC — and the rest will fight for a spot in the lower bracket. How do you assess your chances of making it to the playoffs?
I mean, to be fair, yeah, making top 2 looks pretty hard, but not impossible. I think making top 1 with KC is not realistic, but I think top 2 we can achieve. I don’t think MKOI is that good. I don’t think Vitality is good, and I don’t think GIANTX is that good as well. I would say that we can win against everyone besides KC for now. So yeah, only the future will know what will happen.

KC is very hard to beat right now. Can you say why?
I don’t know, they’re just really good at the game. First of all, individually — I think in every role they have one of the best players in EU . They play well as a team, with really good macro, and they don’t make many mistakes. They’re super strong in teamfights. It’s just a really good team.

Do you always watch their games to find something new?
Yeah, of course. It’s not only KC. In EU right now we can learn a lot from KC, but I’m also watching a lot of Asia, especially LCK. They always do things that can help you improve. I also watch every LEC game and try to understand how every team plays, so maybe if we face them, I can come up with a good strategy to beat them.

Great. Are you currently in some sort of adaptation phase, or do you already have clear goals for the summer split — possibly qualifying for Worlds?
Right now, saying that we want to qualify for Worlds is a bit too much. I don’t think we currently have the level to beat KC, G2 Esports , or even Fnatic in a best-of-five. But if we qualify for playoffs and get more experience together, then who knows? We could be really strong. First, we should try to qualify for playoffs and not be eliminated.

You said it would be very hard to win a best-of-five. What do you feel is missing in your team for that?
Pretty much everything. The better teams aren’t necessarily stronger individually, but they’re better as a team. They play the map better, they teamfight better. That’s what we need to work on.

What are the team goals for the upcoming year overall?
I’m not sure. I guess NAVI wants to win LEC, NAVI wants to go to Worlds — that’s completely normal. It’s a big organization, so they have high goals. But I don’t really think about the future, I just focus on what we can do now.

And your own goals for this year?
For this split, I just want us to play the best we can and perform the best we can. I don’t set any specific goals or challenges. For me, it’s just about playing better and seeing where that takes us.

You’re one of the players with a wide champion pool in your position. What do you think of the Fearless Drafts? Do you like it?
Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of Fearless Draft. In a best-of-five, the more games you play, the weirder the drafts become. There’s more chance for a team to completely outdraft the other and start the game with a huge advantage before it even begins. I prefer playing the same champions over and over, but being so good at them. I’m not the biggest fan of Fearless, yeah.

But what are the best hero combos to play in regular games right now? Not necessarily at the highest rank, but maybe for me—what should I pick and my friend pick to make a great combo?
Yeah, I mean, what you usually see on stage or in official games is not what you see every day if you play solo queue or normal games with your friends. The meta in pro play is so much different. Overall, if you’re just trying to have fun with “League”, you should just play what you want and not care about what pro players play. That’s my opinion on this.

Hmm, but what is your favorite hero for now?
My main is Darius, and it has always been Darius.

Very soon we will learn more about the new season in LoL. What would you like the developers to change? Or maybe add or remove something?
Hmm, I feel like the game is pretty balanced right now, so I’m kind of happy with that. I’m not sure what they could bring or change.

What first got you into League of Legends?
It’s pretty basic—my cousin was playing League and he introduced me to the game. When I got home, I downloaded it and that’s how I started playing. I think I was 13 years old.

I had problems with my parents when I was young and wanted to play games—they put a password on the PC, even took the cables to work so I couldn’t play. Did you have any problems like that, and how did you tell your parents you’re now a pro LoL player?
I just told them, and they were pretty supportive, so I think I was a bit lucky.

Do you have any pre-game rituals or routines before ranked matches or pro matches? Maybe some music playlists?
Before an official match, I like to do some physical activity—anything really—just to get my heartbeat up a little bit.

Do you prefer playing solo or duo/trio in regular matchmaking?
Always solo.

Why solo?
Because if I join with someone, maybe one day someone will say, “You won because your duo helped you, you did nothing,” and so on. I just want to climb for my ego, so I can say, “Look, I climbed alone.”

Do you have some—not pro players—but some of your good friends who play LoL at a good level, and maybe sometimes you play together?
Oh, nah. My friends play League of Legends, but they’re just normal players.

And you don’t want to play with them?
No, I play sometimes for sure. It’s always fun to play normal games with my friends.

What has been the most memorable tournament or event of your career so far?
I think it was Worlds 2023 when we reversed with Team BDS against PSG Talon in the Worlds Play-In. This is probably the best moment of my career.

Maybe you want to say something to your fans or supporters before we wrap up?
Yeah, especially to the NaVi fans—I hope we make you proud, and we’ll try to win as much as we can. Just watch us, it’s going to be really fun.