During the next season of the VPG Polska 1st League, three articles appeared on our website about YNG SKiLLZ’s journey in the aforementioned league. It was a journey that was far from smooth or pleasant. YNG spent most of the season in the relegation zone or just above it. Five players left the club halfway through the season, though we covered that in this article. When someone leaves, they’re usually replaced — and this case was no different. Instead of just replacements, YNG also introduced some new faces who bolstered the squad. As it later turned out, this move proved to be a real coup. Let’s return for a moment to VPG’s campaign itself, where they ultimately managed to stay in the top flight, although few would have believed it before the halfway point of the season, when the results weren’t what we’d expect from a team of that calibre.
Ultimately, our partner finished 12th in the league, which of course secured their much-desired survival this season. A 7-point cushion above the relegation zone at the end of the season shows just how effective YNG’s mid-season signings were. They accumulated 32 points, comprising 9 wins and 5 draws. YNG were defeated by their opponents on 16 occasions. They were just 2 points short of 11th and 10th place. To mark the occasion, we also conducted an interview with the organisation’s founder, who has also been serving as the team captain for several months. Let’s return briefly to VPG Polska, however, and more specifically to the results.
Results
No doubt, after YNG SKiLLZ’s first five matches, the players must have realised that this season wouldn’t be one of the easiest, although it’s also worth looking at the calibre of their opponents – GSK Esport, who ultimately clinched the championship, Cunning Foxes, who are also among the frontrunners, and Illegal Esports, whom we probably don’t need to introduce to you. Their first point came in the third round, with a goalless draw against Angry Wolves. After that, it was nothing but defeats until the match against Angry Panthers, which we managed to draw. A crushing defeat to Miami and a point against MF Killers. Draws against teams which, as it turned out at the end of the season, were fighting to avoid relegation; two of them failed to do so (MF Killers & Angry Panthers).
- 0–5 — GSK Esport, D
- 0–4 — Impact Boys, L
- 0–0 — Angry Wolves, W
- 0:3 — Cunning Foxes, W
- 0–5 — Illegal Esports, W
- 1:5 — The Bulls Team, D
- 0–3 — Sokół Ostróda, W
- 1:1 — Angry Panthers, D
- 0–3 — Miami Esports, W
- 2:2 — MF Killers, D
We had to wait until the match against HYPNO for our first win, although the match did not take place. Each team was awarded 6 points due to incidents involving the HYPNO squad. YNG’s results continued to be poor, though not quite as disastrous as in the previous 10 matches. A 0–1 defeat to Iron Ravens, a draw with Impact Boys following an earlier 0–4 loss, and a second win of the season against Angry Wolves. The result against Illegal Esports was also respectable, considering it’s a team fighting to avoid relegation this season.
- 3–0 — HYPNO, W (walkover)
- 2–3 — Zawisza Bydgoszcz eSports, L
- 0–3 — IMS ImmortalS, L
- 0–1 — Iron Ravens, L
- 0–3 — Mocny Gaz Es, W
- 0–5 — GSK Esport, W
- 0–0 — Impact Boys, W
- 1:0 — Angry Wolves, D
- 0:3 — Cunning Foxes, D
- 0:1 — Illegal Esports, L
And then it happened: the match against The Bulls Team, which seems to have mentally unlocked the YNG SKiLLZ players. A win against such a team can easily be considered a surprise in this instance. However, the subsequent winning streak made an even greater impression. A team that had been picking up points mainly through draws – and even then quite sporadically – suddenly won six matches in a row, mostly against teams higher up the table. If you’re going to stay in the league, this is the way to do it.
- 4–3 — The Bulls Team, W
- 1:0 — Sokół Ostróda, A
- 2:1 — Angry Panthers, W
- 2:0 — Iron Ravens, W
- 1:0 — Mocny Gaz Es, A
- 1:0 — MF Killers, W
- 0:1 — Miami Esports, L
- 1:2 — IMS ImmortalS, W
- 3:0 — HYPNO, L (walkover)
- 1:1 — Zawisza Bydgoszcz eSports, W
Six consecutive wins at the end of the fourth season of the VPG Poland First Division were crucial in securing their place in the league. Congratulations to the YNG SKiLLZ players. We hope that next season, survival will be guaranteed and the players themselves will be fighting for higher goals.
Interview
As we mentioned earlier, we conducted an interview with ‘Orkiestra’, the founder and current captain of YNG SKiLLZ – Pricket.
Hi Pricket, to start with, please introduce yourself to our readers.
Pricket, founder of the YNG SKiLLZ organisation, a fan of esports, sport and all kinds of competition in general. A former dancer, but with plans to return
At YNG SKiLLZ, you serve as captain/coach. Could you tell us what a coach does in virtual clubs?
Basically, at YNG I’m the jack-of-all-trades, because it’s worth noting that YNG SKiLLZ has several divisions, not just the ‘Clubs’ team, but in fact, since 10 January, I’ve taken on the role of captain and coach in the EAFC Clubs 11vs11 division. It might come as a surprise to some that this has only happened now, given that YNG itself has been in existence for less than two years, but until now I’d only been a player and a ‘helper’ supporting those running the club or division.
But getting back to the question — what does the coach of a Virtual Clubs team actually do? The role is practically the same as that of a coach in real-life football, namely organising and conducting training sessions, developing players, setting tactics, selecting the squad for league matches, assessing players who might be potential reinforcements for the team, and analysing trials, training sessions and matches, etc.
Can you tell us about the origins of the club?
When setting up YNG SKiLLZ, I started by creating an EAFC 1v1 division. An 11vs11 team was in the plans, but those were more long-term; however, these plans were quickly revised because, even before YNG officially launched, the opportunity arose to collaborate with Arkadiusz ‘Pan Pawłowski’, who had fallen in love with the ‘Clubs’ mode and so, after discussing the matter with Marcin ‘Bocian’ Cylka, I decided that ‘we’d go for it’ And so, on 21 September 2023, we launched with two divisions — EAFC 1v1 and EAFC Clubs 11v11.
You managed to stay up in VPG Polska after a rather difficult season. How does that feel?
Admittedly, fighting to avoid relegation was never our ambition, but given all the circumstances the team found itself in, as well as the fact that never in my ‘career’ in 11v11 mode have I ever had to fight to avoid relegation, this is quite a milestone for me, and I wasn’t ashamed to celebrate it for a single moment. During the team’s greatest crisis in history, as a complete novice (I’d never managed an 11v11 team before) I took on the challenge (which, to top it all, gave me a real hard time at the start), which we ultimately rose to as a team, so we’re still brimming with joy that we were able to prove to ourselves and the rest of the scene that we’re not so easily broken.
Following the mid-season transfers, your play and your results have improved – how much of an impact have the new players had?
The new players were certainly one of the key factors in our ‘success’. They brought a lot of new quality and fighting spirit to the squad, but they also meant we no longer had to worry about whether we’d even be able to field a starting eleven for league matches. Mentality is one of the key aspects in competition, and ours received a massive boost.
After matchday 20, your results took a complete U-turn with the win against The Bulls Team. A run of six wins, which played a major part in securing your survival. Can you tell us what it was like from the inside? What was the atmosphere like after the match against TBT, and generally throughout those six matches?
Even before the match against The Bulls Team, we knew we were making progress, as evidenced by the draw with Impact, our first win of the season against Angry Wolves, and the narrow 0–1 defeat to the ‘Illegals’, who must have been helped by a rebound.
There was a sense of a turning point in the air, but it was actually the match against ‘the Bulls’ that paved the way for us to avoid relegation. Ahead of that clash, I held several one-to-one talks, which ultimately had a real impact on the personnel decisions regarding the selection of the starting eleven for that evening. I won’t deny that I took a certain risk, but the game plan we’d worked out with the players meant we were able to celebrate that evening. I think the key aspect for the rest of the season wasn’t just the win itself, but also the style in which we secured the three points, because it wasn’t a case of parking the bus and getting a lucky win. Right from the start, we dictated the terms of the game; we took the lead early on, which we gradually extended, and ultimately it was the ‘Byczki’ who were chasing the score as it stood at 3–0 and 4–1 to YNG. I think the team surprised even themselves a little with this match. I’m convinced that a 1–0 win, for example, wouldn’t have boosted the team’s morale and confidence quite so much for the upcoming matches. In any case, this match also boosted my own confidence in my role as captain, as it reinforced my belief that my analyses and decisions make sense. Subsequent wins only confirmed this and built an ever-stronger bond of trust between the manager and the players. At one point, we felt that only a disaster could cost us our place in the league, and thanks to proper discipline, we never even came close to that risk.
How do you rate the transfers you’ve made?
I’m very pleased with the choices I made. Every player we brought in added something ‘extra’ to the team, from skill and quality to their positive influence on the ‘dressing room’. What’s more, at the end of the season, everyone expressed a desire to stay with the team, so I have no right to complain in any way.
‘Boskitomasz’ has left you – he played a huge number of matches for the club, as did Robertos – how big a loss is this for the club?
It would certainly be much easier to assess the scale of the loss unequivocally if we’d been relegated to the second division. Whilst Tomek’s time at YNG was a continuous spell, Robertos ‘racked up’ his appearances in two separate stints with the team. This time round, he had far less playing time and was only available on and off, so despite the quality he brought, it didn’t help to stabilise the defensive line (Robert played as our goalkeeper). We certainly felt Tomek’s departure much more keenly; he was always active and had ‘cut his teeth’ leading teams, so he possessed experience that I lack and won’t have for a loooong time yet. Despite everything, we managed, in a way, to ‘cushion’ the departure of such deserving players, and looking at how the team has rebuilt itself, one might wonder whether their departure wasn’t actually the start of some key changes. Nevertheless, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the lads for their time and effort
Which of the new players was expected to ‘fill the shoes’ of Boskiegotomasz and Robertos?
To be completely honest, none of them. The new players were brought into a completely rebuilt team, with different tactics and guidelines, and were selected in such a way that they would fit perfectly into our new approach. What’s more, I value it when a player has the ability to add ‘something of their own’ to our game, so looking for players who will step into someone’s shoes one-to-one is pointless. In ‘Clubs’, everything happens far too quickly, so you have to be flexible and constantly on the lookout for ‘something new’.
What are your goals for the upcoming season at VPG Polska? A stable position that guarantees survival, or are you aiming higher?
It’s difficult to pinpoint our goals for the new VPG Poland season with any certainty, as the league administration has generously backed out of its declared three-season commitment in FC25, so we’ll ‘receive’ the ‘reward’ for staying up – in the form of continuing to compete in the 1st Division – will be ‘awarded’ in 7.5 months’ time, in FC26.
By then, the squads of most teams will have changed significantly, so it’s hard to say what to expect from individual sides. That’s why I’ll perhaps focus on what’s certain – namely, the steps we’ll be taking in the meantime. The main objective will be to build a stable structure that ensures the problems the team has faced won’t recur in the future. I have a specific plan for this, so we’ll try to use this time to put it into action.
In the ProLeague Polska, you finished the season in mid-table; most of the teams there also play in VPG Polska. In the ProLeague, judging by the results, your performance looked better – what do you think is the reason for this? Is it a difference in standard, or perhaps the clubs see the ProLeague as an opportunity to experiment?
In reality, it’s a misleading impression caused purely by chance and the timing of the start of both competitions. The ProLeague started earlier, even before our slump, shortly after our win against Illegal at the end of the previous VPG Polska season, so, buoyed by a good run at the start of the ProLeague, we managed to beat the favourites, The Bulls Team, for example. In this way, we built up a solid points tally (we were in the league’s top three for several weeks), which secured us a relatively high position at the end of the season despite a run of defeats that plagued us in both the ProLeague and the new VPG Polska season. Returning to the final point raised in the question – I think the clubs were certainly able to experiment, as the ProLeague is only just establishing itself in Poland and its prestige is undoubtedly lower than that of VPG. Furthermore, the top division itself included teams that play in the second or third divisions of the VPG, so that also had an impact on the overall standard of the competition.
Thank you for the interview and for your time. Congratulations on staying up – would you like to add anything of your own for the fans?
On my own behalf, I’d like to thank everyone who stood by us during the tough times, for their messages of support and for keeping their fingers crossed. This also goes out to everyone who tuned into our streams and cheered us on in real time. It’s great to have you all here.
Thank you once again for accepting our invitation and taking part in this interview. As you can see, we’ll have to wait over half a year for YNG SKiLLZ’s next campaign in the VPG Poland 1st Division, but no doubt other leagues or smaller tournaments will pop up in the meantime.
Articles about YNG SKiLLZ during VPG Polska:
- YNG SKiLLZ in the relegation zone
- YNG SKiLLZ and their campaign in VPG Poland & Europe
- YNG SKiLLZ escape the relegation zone
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