daps: "I started playing a lot more actively the last two weeks"

Our parental website HLTV caught up with Damian "daps" Steele after NRG's fabulous debut at the StarLadder Budapest Major on November 24th. The head coach, who is standing in for Nick "nitr0" Cannella, led NRG to unlikely victories over Ninjas in Pyjamas and FaZe, to secure a 2-0 start in Stage 1.

daps had some pretty decent calls yesterday and played well enough for somebody who had played his last official in March 2024. In his interview with HLTV, he explained how he prepared for the Major and why he ended up playing.

 I forget when the Major cutoff for roster lock was, but when we failed to get a sub, it was always a chance. I'd say two or three months before the major, it seemed more likely nitr0 would play still. But around the last Fragadelphia we went to, a couple of weeks ago, at that point, we kind of knew that I would play. I'd say I started playing a lot more actively the last two weeks, just pugging, DMing and practicing my utility so I don't miss things [laughs]. I'd say that's the timeline.

As for not finding a substitute for nitr0, Guillaume "neL" Ratier already reported on the matter, but daps offered some extra insight on the situation.

daps explained that NRG messaged a "handful of people," and that some weren't feasible as a result of organizations wanting a fee for the players, on top of paying a full salary.

It didn't make sense for NRG to go that route, as nitr0 could end up playing in the end, so they decided it would be better to stick with daps.

Some of the other options just weren't that great, and people didn't feel good about getting them.

And then it's also just our logic was like, 'Even if we get a sub who is individually better than me, they're not going to practice with us because we're prioritizing Fragadelphia and the ESL Pro League qualifier.' Even if we had gotten a sub who is better than me, they wouldn't have been able to practice with the team anyway.

daps and NRG are currently playing versus M80 in the second 2-0 match of the day. The winner will advance to Stage 2, and the loser will drop to the 2-1 pool.