Liquid enters a pivotal season in Counter-Strike. The iconic banner has endured a rough 12 months, with early exits far outweighing any deep tournament runs.
Leading the Liquid side will be Viktor “flashie” Tamás Bea – a fresh and promising head coach – who has been brought in from NAVI’s backroom staff this off-season.
In an interview with Pley, flashie opens up about his move to Liquid, the challenge of handling big personalities, the decision not to make any roster changes this summer, and much more.
“I always wanted more”
After two years at NAVI working as an analyst under Andrij “B1ad3” Ghorodenskyj, flashie has now been given the chance to take the reins as head coach of his own top-tier team.
An offer he couldn’t pass up, he explains.
– I have always strived to get to this level, either as a player or a coach. Obviously, it sounds good hearing it out loud, and I’m really proud of this achievement.
– Even though I was working with the best coach and players in the world at NAVI, I always wanted more. Because I know that I am capable of coaching as well, and this was an opportunity that I just simply couldn’t turn down.
The biggest challenge
The Liquid squad that flashie took control of this off-season includes several star players and strong personalities such as Twistzz, NertZ, NAF, and siuhy, all known for being outspoken and vocal.
The new head coach acknowledges that his first and most important task is finding the right way to manage these individuals.
– I think my biggest challenge probably would be finding the balance in terms of how to treat different personalities. Even though I have experienced it beforehand, I didn’t work with these kinds of individuals as the head coach, but more like a background figure. So basically, taking this job, the biggest challenge is to learn how to handle the individuals in this team.
How will you tackle these big personalities?
– Them having quote-on-quote “big personalities” doesn’t mean it’s hard to work with them. It just means that they always have input, they always have opinions, and that’s completely okay in my opinion.
– My coaching style is based around creating a system for them to thrive in, and this is going to take time. It is really important to be transparent with each other and be realistic about the path we are on.
Are you ready to draw the line and say, this is how we do it, and that’s my plan?
– Yeah, so basically I’m trying to build a common knowledge in the team that kind of eliminates this problem already, but it just takes time.
– In our system, everyone can have their inputs, but it has to match with our goals, and I will control that. We will play in a way that suits everyone, and the small adjustments can obviously be made by the players as well.
Who is flashie?
- Full name: Viktor “flashie” Tamás Bea
- 29 years old
- Former pro player
- Previously coached CLG Red, FlyQuest Red and Budapest Five
- Worked as an analyst for NAVI from 2023-2025
- Won the Major with NAVI
“Lack of system and fundamentals”
In our conversation with the young head coach, we asked him to identify what he believes caused Liquid’s struggles over the past year. Flashie pointed to a lack of structure and a clear foundation.
– I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to why they have been struggling, looking from the outside. But after joining and being inside the team, I can see that there is a lack of system and a lack of fundamentals. This was the biggest piece that was missing to elevate this incredibly talented team.
How did you see that?
– Just by talking to players, you can get an idea of how they see the game. I consider my players in this squad really smart, but being smart doesn’t always mean that you are focusing on the right things in the game.
– It matters what you are focusing on when you are playing and when you are creating a team structure. What are your priorities? And these priorities, I think, were not the best in Liquid.
Sticking with the roster
After the conclusion of BLAST.tv Austin Major — a tough outing where Liquid failed to win a single match — many expected roster changes.
That speculation only grew when Keith “NAF” Markovic admitted he was unsure about his future on the team, following a difficult individual season for the Canadian rifler.
We asked flashie if he was part of the discussions and decision to keep the current lineup intact. He confirmed he was, though he didn’t want to elaborate on the reasoning.
– Yes, I was part of this process in the off-season, and I’m happy we decided this way because I think everyone feels a lot more comfortable now in the team than befor,e and everyone is happier with what we are trying to achieve, and I think we are on the right path now.
Speaking specifically about NAF, flashie said:
– I want to help him feel more included in the rounds. I want him to be more involved in the strategies and in the rounds we play. And we have already started to implement this, which is something that will help us in the future, both for his comfort and our results.
– NAF is a really important pillar of our team. He is an anchor, and when you are playing as an anchor, it can sometimes not be as rewarding, but at the same time, a lot of things rely on you.
You have a lot of responsibility, and we trust and believe in Keith to deliver for us.
[post_preview url="https://pley.gg/naf-i-honestly-dont-know-if-ill-be-on-the-team-after-this-event/"]Tough debut
The first big test for flashie and Liquid will be IEM Cologne. The first stage of the prestigious tournament started yesterday, with Liquid securing an important victory against paiN.
Here’s what flashie had to say about his debut event as Liquid head coach:
– Cologne is one of the biggest tournaments, and is a special one for everyone. It’s extremely important, and we all want to do really good in this tournament.
– All I want from this event is that we compete with every team we play, which means that I just want to see us playing good Counter-Strike and outplaying our opponent at times. And I want to see the things we implemented on the bootcamp work out for us.
In the coming days, we will publish the second part of our interview with flashie, where he discusses the big influence of B1ad3, his new partnership with siuhy in Liquid and more.
