We sat down with the in game leader of Astralis, possibly the best team in the world right now, to talk tactics, Team Liquid and their chances for the weekend. The interview was conducted by CS section lead Aleksei Louchnikov.
Lukas, welcome to London!
“Thank you!”
Glad to see you here at the SSE Arena. How do you like the change of scenery? We usually see the LAXNESS Arena, Spodek Areana, Elmia Centre and now we're here in London, how do like the change?
“I think it's quite nice to finally have an event in Europe, it has been a long time. I don't even remember the last time - ah we had Ukraine - but it feels like we've been to the US so much in the past, and now we're starting to get back into Europe again. It's really nice for us because of the jet lag and such, so yeah, I'm liking it a lot. Also the scenery is looking really good, I just saw the stage really quick and it looks amazing. I can't wait to hopefully play on that stage.”
The most recent event for you guys was the ELEAGUE Showmatch against Virtus.pro, how was your experience of it?
“It was both a little bit up and down. I'm glad that we didn't just get to the game and sweep them 2:0, because I think we needed to know that we aren't guards. We've been really good in practice and it was great for us to see that if we have a bit of a bad game, we will lose the map. That's what we took from that game, and also we showed the way we have been playing in practice in the past couple of weeks - we can play really well and we showed that in the last two maps. So yeah, a bit up and down, but I'm really happy that we won.”
To elaborate a little bit on the actual interaction between you guys (Astralis vs. Virtus.pro) at the event. It was 2:1 in your favour, but it was super lopsided. 16:7 on the first map for V.P, and then you guys won by single digits. How is it that at the finals the matches were super-close and came down to single rounds, whilst here it was almost a breeze for you guys?
“I think it has something to do with the fact that teams change all the time. Sometimes you have periods where you are really good, and then you have periods where you're not performing that well. I think we played Virtus.pro in a down period, where they haven't been playing that well lately. It feels like they're starting to come up again, but they aren't really there yet. Essentially I don't think they're at the level they were are at in the major. The same thing is happening lately with us, maybe we haven't played that well lately, but we're starting to bring the level back up.”
Last question regarding the showmatch, did you enjoy the format of the event? Would you like to see more showmatch-type events in the future?
“Yeah I think it would be pretty cool, especially if they invite us and it's a high prize, then I'm up for it! But no, I'm not entirely sure, you don't get the same feeling when you win a showmatch like you do when you win an event. I guess if the match was closer then maybe you'd get some kind of a similar feeling, but I still think there's something unique about going through a whole tournament, beating a lot of good teams and then getting to the top of the podium at the end. So yeah, I'd rather see a tournament, but I think it was pretty cool to play in a showmatch and I would like to do it again, if possible.”
Looking at participation for Astralis, this is your final LAN event prior to the Krakow Major. You guys have managed to pace yourself very well, you've given yourselves ample time to prepare for the big one. How are you tailoring and changing your training routine? How are you approaching the preparation for Krakow?
“We are planning to change up a lot of stuff, so that other teams can't expect anything and everything from us. We want to be prepared to a point where we have many a good strategy to run, as well as being mentally prepared for everything the opponents can pose. We plan to watch a lot of demos from the upcoming ESL One Cologne event, to see if the participating teams are running some good strategies, maybe we can steal some, maybe we can make ourselves aware of the strategies they use.”
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Recently you guys have been preparing well from what I understand. How do you feel the team stacks up against the competition?
“I think we're definitely still one of the best teams in the world. I hope we can prove this at ECS, or at the very least at the Major. We are so hungry to get to a final or even win an event again. It feels like it's been such a long time for us, but actually it has only been three months. But yeah, we're really hungry and we want to stand on top of the podium once more. I feel like we can achieve it, because we have been playing really well lately.”
Question for you in particular. You've been with Astralis for over six months now - how have you managed to implement an in-game leading style where it has clicked with the team, it's working and it's functioning?
“First of all I think you need to have the respect of your teammates, in order for them to listen to you. Zonic and I have been working on this, whereby we need me to be a leader and take control - mostly in-game, but a little bit outside of the game as well. We do this to ensure that people listen to you and you can be commanding with your teammates, with them knowing that they can still occasionally take chances and you won't be mad at them. So yeah, Zonic and I have been really working on that aspect and the team has been really good at adapting to my game style as well. They really like the way we play, they're giving me a lot of input on how they want to play. We're having a really good time playing together at the moment.”
Could you outline the principal differences between your style of in-game leading and karrigan's?
“Yeah. I think karrigan's style is a little more loose, I don't think he tells his players what to do at the beginning of the round, he rather lets them take initiative to do what they feel comfortable with, and I think that's a really good style. I admire karrigan for the work he's done with FaZe. When karrigan swapped over to FaZe his play style really fit with theirs, with NiKo, Rain and the rest of the team.”
“My play style on the other hand really fits with the Astralis team, players like Device and, really, all of them. Xyp9x likes to be the defensive lurk, dupreeh likes to be the offensive lurk, Markus (kjaerbye) and I take map control and Device is both an aggressive and defensive AWPer.”
Someone who is now considered to be an irreplaceable part of your roster is your psychologist, Mia. How has she impacted the team? How has she helped Astralis become what it is?
“I think she has been giving us a lot of tools that we can work with at events. In addition to this we have special meetings before matches that help us a lot with retaining focus in-game, even if we're behind and, conversely, retaining focus even if we're far ahead. So yeah, we've been given tools to work with, we're mutually respectful and we've set out some rules for how we manage inside and outside of the game.”
Do you feel there's any need for additional support staff or are you guys in a good place right now?
“I think we will get additional support, but it's not only going to be mentally, it could be something like bringing a masseuse with us to events, for us to be fully prepared for events without worrying about neck/back pains and the like. That could be an addition, but we're not sure if we are going to need that yet, but at some point it could be the new thing for CS:GO.”
Returning to ECS, tomorrow you're facing Team Liquid in the group stage. Any particular preparation for the match-up? I don't imagine you guys get a lot of training with them considering the regional difference.
“Yeah, I watched a lot their matches from ESL Pro League and they have started to play really well. I'm actually pretty surprised with their map pool, it's pretty good now. They are playing really well, I think it's going to be a close match. Of course we're going to prepare the best we can and play our own game - hopefully it will be enough. “
To conclude the interview - could you give us your projections for the tournament? What are you guys aiming for?
“I think the final would make us really happy. There are so many good teams right now and everyone can step up. Of course, the final is our first goal and if we get to the final I hope that we will go on to win it all, because we need that right now, we are really hungry.”
Thank you very much for your time, thank you for the interview. Any shout outs?
“I think the shout outs would be to my whole team, they have been really professional lately and, yeah, it's just been a really good time playing with them.”
Best of luck in the tournament Lukas!
“Thanks!”
Images/media courtesy of Astralis.gg
