As one of two Brazilian representatives in the ESL Impact Season 3 Finals, Black Dragons had a difficult road to the playoffs as they faced their archrival B4 Esports in their opening match of the event. Despite falling to the team in their opener, BD rebounded by defeating HSG in the Group A Elimination Match to set up a rematch with B4 in the Decider Match.
In the rematch, Black Dragons were able to force a third map against their dominant rivals before unfortunately crashing back to Earth after dropping ten rounds in a row on their T-side to be eliminated from the Dallas-based event.
Following the series against B4, BLIX talked to Camila “cAmyy” Natale of Black Dragons Female to discuss the team’s performance in the last day of their run in the Season 3 Finals, playing against star Brazilian player Olga “Olga” Rodrigues, cAmyy’s biggest takeaways from the event and more.
Pedro Romero, BLIX: I want to start by covering the series against B4. You guys were up 9-6 but lost ten consecutive rounds on the T-side. How are you currently taking this loss?
Camila “cAmyy” Natale: For each of the four maps we played against B4, we started winning but they have a good mental. Sure, they also have a good game, but they have a good mental. Whenever we play against them, we lose because of the small mistakes that the girls were doing during the match and you can see that. In the first match on the first day, we started winning and then the mental hit and the minor mistakes allowed B4 to win and the same happened today.
We started winning and created a difference but the mental again in the small mistakes made B4 win and it’s tough to play them. We have been playing against B4 in Brazil and it’s always like that, but it was a very good [series]. They are really common for us to play them so maybe next us.
BLIX: I want to rewind to the early part of the day where BD faced HSG which has Olga in their ranks. Since BD is familiar with Olga due to her time playing in FURIA, what was that series like against her and the rest of HSG?
cAmyy: It was not a hard match. It was a good one because Olga has a style of playing aggressively. She’s an aggressive player but, and I don’t know if it’s because the team is new or it’s a new way of communication, this aggressive style wasn’t found in the match. Maybe the girls [in HSG] missed Olga’s aggressive behavior. Also, in competing against a team that we don’t have a lot of material to know their strategies are different because they can play their own style and so can the other team.
That’s because [the other teams] don’t know all the plays that are normally done. I really respect Olga. I think Olga is one of the best players in Brazil and I have high respect for her.
BLIX: With the team’s loss against B4, BD reached the end of their journey in Dallas for the Season 3 Finals. When it comes to looking back at how the team performed, in addition to the positives and negatives from the things the team displayed, what is going to be the biggest takeaway from this experience?
cAmyy: I’ve had some experiences in the past championship events. I’ve had a long career and 100 percent for the first time, I’m really happy about the energy and vibe of the whole team. Maybe it’s 100 percent the first time that I felt comfortable and happy with all my teammates. We lost but even during losing, we’re still proud of what we’ve done here and what we are also gaining from the experience. We won one map against B4. We didn’t do this in the past, and even with the loss, we conquered one match and it was close so it was minor mistakes as the reason.
Maybe we will consider these mistakes to understand what can be improved for the future, but by far, I’m only proud and good with the energy of the team and this is the start for a new future. There will be no changes and I believe we are heading in the right way to make it better and better for them.
Black Dragons Female at ESL Impact Season 3 Finals. Credit: Black DragonsBLIX: With that in mind, what do you think BD’s performance in Dallas means about its place in the entire women’s CS scene?
cAmyy: I’ve had a really long journey, around ten years, competing in CS:GO so I saw every level. I saw the beginning, the transformation and the rising of ESL Impact. In the beginning, it was really tough for a woman to compete and gain some space and we have been conquering more spaces like ESL Impact so having that is an important thing because it shows we have the space and same opportunities. In the past, I used to play certain championships where the playoffs were similar to booths. We didn’t have the same opportunity to play on stage so playing in this event is very important to gain experience and have an audience.
One thing that I think should be seen is that, within the IEM event happening on the other side of the DreamHack convention and this Impact event happening over here, which are both separated by a long distance, maybe we should consider creating a mixed space because that way the IEM crowd can help make the ESL Impact crowd bigger. It’s with the union of both events that will increase women’s space. It’s not dividing it and putting it at one side from the other. It’s making them together to make a better environment for us women in the future. But in general, the women’s scene has been improving and I’m really proud about it.
BLIX: You mentioned how much you enjoyed your experience with the team for this event. Where does it rank among all the tournaments that you’ve been a part of throughout your career in terms of gameplay, cohesion, and personal enjoyment?
cAmyy: If I could grade it, I would give it a nine out of 10.
BLIX: Given how you and BD continue to be at the top level of Brazilian women’s CS and with a look towards qualifying for Season 4 Finals, what is it going to take to maintain your form for the future?
cAmyy: First of all, we need to watch the matches and understand and study what we did in both the good and wrong way. In the beginning, it was only one team that could qualify for the world championship and now we have two teams at least for the Brazilian scenario, but in general, it was always the same teams. It was B4, BD, FURIA; it was always the same group of teams so I’m really proud and confident about the evolution of the team and we must continue the same job because we’re in the right direction. Maybe we’re going to be changing and aligning small things but we’re on the right path and continuing this type of work.
