Miracle- on Nigma Galaxy's New Captain

Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi, the carry player for Nigma Galaxy, shared insights during an interview at ESL One Bangkok 2024 about key moments in their matches, changes within the team, and the current state of their performance.

On the Team’s New Captain

After Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi transitioned to the role of coach, support player Maroun "GH" Merhej stepped up as the team’s captain. Miracle- confirmed this in the interview:

"GH is effectively our captain now. Of course, everyone contributes their ideas, but he’s the one leading us."

The Match Against BetBoom and a Thrilling First Map

The first map against BetBoom Team turned into a real test of resilience. The decisive fight began at minute 57, when Nigma Galaxy tried to catch BetBoom’s mid-laner, Gleb "kiyotaka" Zyryanov, but he managed to escape. Shortly after, BetBoom counter-attacked, wiping out five Nigma players while losing only one hero.

Following a series of buybacks, both teams clashed again, but BetBoom proved stronger. Seeing his team's disadvantage, Miracle-, playing Monkey King, attempted a solo push to destroy the enemy throne. He almost succeeded, leaving it with only a sliver of health. However, BetBoom used Glyph of Fortification to save the throne and finished off Monkey King with Reverse Polarity, eventually securing their victory.

On Strategies and Matches at the Tournament

Miracle- also commented on the difference between the first and second maps:

"In the second game, we played much more aggressively, as we should have. We made more moves and smoke ganks. Personally, I didn’t perform well, but my team carried me. We took the initiative, which allowed us to move across the map effectively."

On the first map, the team tried an unconventional carry pick with Earthshaker, though the strategy didn’t work out. Miracle- remarked: "We had a specific idea for that game, but it didn’t work. Hopefully, it will work next time."

Laning with GH and His Switch to Support

Reflecting on his lane synergy with GH, who now plays as a position five support, Miracle- said: "GH transitioned to the five position quite smoothly. We’ve often laned together before, for instance, when he played Io or Tusk. Of course, there were some aspects we needed to work on, but overall, I’d say it went fairly well."

The ESL One Bangkok 2024 tournament is running from 9 to 15 December in Thailand, featuring 12 teams competing for a $1,000,000 prize pool. Nigma Galaxy began the event with two draws in Group B, placing them in the middle of the table.

These results show that Nigma Galaxy still has much to prove, but the team’s coordination and GH’s leadership bring hope for a strong performance ahead.