zAAz on playing in mixed competitions: "We're not really ready to play those kinds of teams, and we know that"

Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore had the opportunity to catch up with Zainab "zAAz" Turkie, IGL of Imperial Valkyries, before their match against NIP Impact at the ESL Impact Finals

zAAz commented on her side's performances in the mixed circuit, the difference between playing against male teams versus female teams, and Valkyries' motivation to continue to dominate the ESL Impact League.

Catch the whole interview below or scroll further to read some of the most interesting bits.

We had a chance to talk to NaToSaphiX, the coach of NIP Impact. He had some comments about your match coming up, he said they're feeling really confident and that they think they're in a pretty prime position to strike in a moment of weakness for Imperial.

He mentioned that feeling there is a moment of weakness due to the team's been struggling to find results in the mixed circuit. How do you feel about the team's confidence coming back from the regular competitions into the Impact competitions?

This is something that we are aware of. We were speaking about this right before the games and even two days before this tournament that people will try to use that against us.

We know the difference between female tournaments and male tournaments. It's much harder in the male tournaments, we're not really ready to play those kinds of teams and we know that. I don't really think it's going to be affecting us in this tournament.

You had some really impressive results when you went to Katowice and some of those other tournaments in the first quarter of the year, where Imperial punched above their weight. Since then, the team has yet to claim a win against a mixed team in an HLTV competition. How are you feeling about your results against mixed teams? Has it been an opportunity for growth for you?

Honestly, we just need more experience. We cannot play two or three months and expect to have good results. We just need to practice more against them. We've actually gotten the opportunity to practice better teams now, which is great.

With time, we can probably show up. It's also been a lot of pressure on us. Not going to lie, it's been some rough weeks and months, but we have a strong mentality, that's the most important thing to be able to reset from these kinds of matches. Hopefully, we'll be doing that.

What's the primary thing that Imperial Valkyries need to improve in the squad to start putting up results against mixed teams and to continue dominating here at ESL Impact?

I think we need to get used to their gameplay, it's completely different from girls. It's hard to explain. I think we just need to get used to how they play and maybe shoot harder. [laughs]

What's the biggest difference in the way the mixed teams play compared to the teams you face at Impact?

I think it's the way they think. They think faster, it's hard to explain it. I believe that we women, we tend to overthink stuff and you cannot do this when you're playing. It's hard to overthink stuff when you're playing. You always have to go on your feelings, you have a feeling, you go for it.

If you overthink it, you're going to lose the timing. I think when it comes to men, they are a bit better when it comes to that, because they go for it. I believe it's in their nature, I don't know how to explain it.

Imperial has won every season of the Impact League, people are expecting you to win once again, how do you stay hungry to succeed here to perform at your best here when you've won every trophy possible in the past three or four years?

I think it's just that us five players are, we are on the same page. We have the correct mentality and the hunger. We love this game so much, it's our passion. I think this is what keeps us going, keeps us hungry, it's in our blood.

Imperial Valkyries lost their second group stage match against NIP Impact. They will now have one final chance to qualify for playoffs against the winner of MIBR fe v. FlyQuest Red.