What's your view on this? Does it only feel fun and positive or is it a thorn in the side to have been so close a final that many times but yet had to settle for the third place decider? Why haven't you been able to go all the way?
Hard to answer. In CS it is incredibly hard to be able to win every match due to random factors which can end up playing a big role, such as what kind of shape you're in for the given day/match. To end in the top3 on almost all tournaments we've attended is something that we are very pleased with. There's not many teams that are able to keep up a steady line of performances throughout the span of a year.
I think we will get our hands on our first victory in a major tournament pretty soon if we keep up the same stability that we've shown so far.
No matter what, you've reached the top3 in three straight competitions. Do you think that your team got the acknowledgement from media as well as other top teams as one might say you deserve?
Do they look on you the same way as a international topteam whom have just a big of a chance to win a major tournament just like IEM like, for instance, fnatic, or are you still considered as an underdog?
I don't think people are still considering us as underdogs. It may be that we are underdogs in a sense that they don't expect us to grab the firstplace, but I don't think any team will underestimate us.
Not so long ago your acclaimed player Xizt transfered to fnatic with Gux replacing him. What would you say are the difference between these two players?
Xizt is one of the most stable players I've ever played with, but at the same time Gux are the best player in the world when he enjoys himself. Gux also got more routine on an international level, something that hopefully will benefit our team.
What has the change meant for your team from a tactical point of view?
We've changed some positions as CT and renewed our game as Terrorists. This is on the other hand something we would've done even if we had Xizt still in the team. There's many teams today that are trying to anti-strat, therefore it's important to renew your gameplan all the time.
You've been drawn into Group B in the european IEM-finals, where fnatic and Na´Vi can found but also Team ALTERNATE and TCM-Gaming. How do you predict your chances of advancing from this group and of how big importance is it that you don't underestimate the two last-mentioned teams?
I think we have a good opportunity of advancing if we manage to play the way we've done the last couple of tournaments. We are absolutely not going to underestimate TCM and Alternate even though we see them as the minor threats in the group.
How much do you personally know about these two teams? Have you pracced anything against them?
No, we've chosen to not practice against other teams in our group.
Will you save tactics in your meetings with the germans and danes in the groupstage or are you going to play your hearts out already in these, what you can call, easier matches?
We're going to play 100% in every game. I think it's rare that teams have any special tactics that they aren't using just to "save" them. Most likely those tactics are used for playing anti against a specific team.
How does your preperations look like for this competition?
We are going to practice from home per usual for five to six hours a day. The last two days before the event starts we're going to have a small bootcamp from the internet café in Kiev where the tournament is being held.
The other group, Group A, looks tougher on the paper. What's your predictions for that group?
Very hard to say since everyone got new lineups. If I were to predict the top3 it would be 1. mTw, 2. SK and 3. mouz/eSahara.
How big is the possibility that we are going to see Lions on the winner's stand once more?
Very big I think. We're going into this tournament with a lot of confidence.
If we look a bit further forward, how intense will the Lions campaign be during 2011? What competitions have you planned to participate in so far?
The only thing that's booked is Kiev, but probably will there be a lot of focus on the global finals on CeBIT in march. After that we will just see what pops up.
What event would you rather win? In what tournament lies the most prestige?
Personally I would without a doubt rank a win in the IEM global finals the highest. It was incredibly disappointingly to trip on the finish line last year.
As the ingame-leader you got the ultimate responsibility for your team's success. How much time do you spend on the tactical part of the game? Do you watch a lot of demos and jump around on a listen server to train and test different flashes etc?
I watch some demos and try to talk to the team and hear what they think should be changed and adapt from what they say. Perhaps I spend some extra hour every week on CS compared to the rest of the team.
What's your source of inspiration to come up with new tactics? What does the process look like from when you get an idea until it is implemented in your team's tactical arsenal?
The tactical ideas can come to me anytime and anywhere. Everything from when I sit and study demos to when I'm sitting on the train. When I get an idea I show it to my team and see if they like it. Then we simply test it on praccs and adjust it until it works in the best way possible.
Then we'll hold our thumbs that you and your herd of Lions can reach your goals and at the same time I'll thank you for the interview. The last word is yours.
I would like to thank all the readers on Fragbite whom are cheering for us, and of course our sponsors QPAD, MaxFPS and Kaspersky, and thanks for the interview!;D
Hard to answer. In CS it is incredibly hard to be able to win every match due to random factors which can end up playing a big role, such as what kind of shape you're in for the given day/match. To end in the top3 on almost all tournaments we've attended is something that we are very pleased with. There's not many teams that are able to keep up a steady line of performances throughout the span of a year.
I think we will get our hands on our first victory in a major tournament pretty soon if we keep up the same stability that we've shown so far.
No matter what, you've reached the top3 in three straight competitions. Do you think that your team got the acknowledgement from media as well as other top teams as one might say you deserve?
Do they look on you the same way as a international topteam whom have just a big of a chance to win a major tournament just like IEM like, for instance, fnatic, or are you still considered as an underdog?
I don't think people are still considering us as underdogs. It may be that we are underdogs in a sense that they don't expect us to grab the firstplace, but I don't think any team will underestimate us.
Not so long ago your acclaimed player Xizt transfered to fnatic with Gux replacing him. What would you say are the difference between these two players?
Xizt is one of the most stable players I've ever played with, but at the same time Gux are the best player in the world when he enjoys himself. Gux also got more routine on an international level, something that hopefully will benefit our team.
What has the change meant for your team from a tactical point of view?
We've changed some positions as CT and renewed our game as Terrorists. This is on the other hand something we would've done even if we had Xizt still in the team. There's many teams today that are trying to anti-strat, therefore it's important to renew your gameplan all the time.
You've been drawn into Group B in the european IEM-finals, where fnatic and Na´Vi can found but also Team ALTERNATE and TCM-Gaming. How do you predict your chances of advancing from this group and of how big importance is it that you don't underestimate the two last-mentioned teams?
I think we have a good opportunity of advancing if we manage to play the way we've done the last couple of tournaments. We are absolutely not going to underestimate TCM and Alternate even though we see them as the minor threats in the group.
How much do you personally know about these two teams? Have you pracced anything against them?
No, we've chosen to not practice against other teams in our group.
Will you save tactics in your meetings with the germans and danes in the groupstage or are you going to play your hearts out already in these, what you can call, easier matches?
We're going to play 100% in every game. I think it's rare that teams have any special tactics that they aren't using just to "save" them. Most likely those tactics are used for playing anti against a specific team.
How does your preperations look like for this competition?
We are going to practice from home per usual for five to six hours a day. The last two days before the event starts we're going to have a small bootcamp from the internet café in Kiev where the tournament is being held.
The other group, Group A, looks tougher on the paper. What's your predictions for that group?
Very hard to say since everyone got new lineups. If I were to predict the top3 it would be 1. mTw, 2. SK and 3. mouz/eSahara.
How big is the possibility that we are going to see Lions on the winner's stand once more?
Very big I think. We're going into this tournament with a lot of confidence.
If we look a bit further forward, how intense will the Lions campaign be during 2011? What competitions have you planned to participate in so far?
The only thing that's booked is Kiev, but probably will there be a lot of focus on the global finals on CeBIT in march. After that we will just see what pops up.
What event would you rather win? In what tournament lies the most prestige?
Personally I would without a doubt rank a win in the IEM global finals the highest. It was incredibly disappointingly to trip on the finish line last year.
As the ingame-leader you got the ultimate responsibility for your team's success. How much time do you spend on the tactical part of the game? Do you watch a lot of demos and jump around on a listen server to train and test different flashes etc?
I watch some demos and try to talk to the team and hear what they think should be changed and adapt from what they say. Perhaps I spend some extra hour every week on CS compared to the rest of the team.
What's your source of inspiration to come up with new tactics? What does the process look like from when you get an idea until it is implemented in your team's tactical arsenal?
The tactical ideas can come to me anytime and anywhere. Everything from when I sit and study demos to when I'm sitting on the train. When I get an idea I show it to my team and see if they like it. Then we simply test it on praccs and adjust it until it works in the best way possible.
Then we'll hold our thumbs that you and your herd of Lions can reach your goals and at the same time I'll thank you for the interview. The last word is yours.
I would like to thank all the readers on Fragbite whom are cheering for us, and of course our sponsors QPAD, MaxFPS and Kaspersky, and thanks for the interview!;D
