Heroic's situation coming into BLAST Premier World Final is unique among the contenders, but it's one that sjuush is relishing.
Few are expecting fireworks from the team who have so often dazzled and beguiled us in recent years, because of the transitional period that the organisation and the team seem to be in, but maybe that will free them from the shackles of expectation that seem to have weighed them down in the last few years.
sjuush spoke to BLAST.tv about World Final, Heroic's transition, TeSeS as an IGL and whether or not he ever thought about taking over from cadiaN.
Obviously I guess it's a difficult situation in the team recently, what's your perspective on it all these last couple of months?
I think it's been a special situation, and it's hard to really put your finger on how you've been feeling in all of this. I've been keeping myself busy as well, with almost three different line-ups, in online tournaments we had one way of playing, and with Casper (cadiaN) we had another way of playing, and with this one a third way of playing so it's been a lot. I think it's been good as well, because we've been playing a lot and I think it's much-needed playing so we can be prepared for the next year.
Is it the type of thing that you think that, regardless of what happens, you can come out of it better because of the hardships?
Yeah, I think definitely. Worst case, we could have dropped out of everything and it all could have gone wrong, so I'm definitely grateful for actually playing and learning and keeping improving myself, but also team-wise, how we think of the game and just putting a lot of hours into it. I really appreciate the teamplay, because if I was mostly just sitting and playing FACEIT every single day for three months, it would have been awful, so I'm definitely happy to be playing some good CS and some team CS and learning, so I can take that with me.
With the different line-ups you've been playing with, what have you learnt from the various stand-ins?
Obviously with different people, with Casper (cadiaN) for example, there was freedom but it was more micro-managing so there wasn't that much space you could take by yourself. When we played with Chris (Chr1zN) and sirah, it was a lot more me, dupreeh and TeSeS talking a lot and giving ideas and helping Chris, who was IGL. At this tournament TeSeS is IGL, but I still chime in as much as I can with mid-round calls or if something is open or just helping with the strats we have if I see a good opportunity for them. I think dupreeh is really good at helping with that, and just reading the game in general has been really good for me because I think I'm having more impact than I used to before. Just playing you learn something new every game, practicing the grenades and thinking about the game is really good.
What about TeSeS then as an IGL, how has that been shaping up and how is it different to playing with cadiaN?
Obviously they have a similar way of thinking about the game, because we've been playing with Casper for so long, so we are kind of thinking how to react the same. I think he is a good leader - I was surprised how good he actually was. I was a little scared in the beginning because he is such a good aimer and is a really good player, so I was afraid of taking that away from him if he was going to be IGL, but honestly I haven't seen anything different at all on an individual level. That has been a big surprise to me, that I'm really happy about.
I spoke to someone about maybe you becoming the IGL, it seemed like the logical choice to us. Was there any time you were thinking about it?
Heh, I think it's quite funny that people thought that. I remember in the beginning of Heroic, I had a really bad map on Inferno so I made a tweet like "I was IGL in that match" and people actually believed me. It was full troll food! I think I could, but it's not really a thing I want to do. If you take my positions it's really hard to be an in-game leader from those positions and read the game and read the map, how the other team is playing, because my positions are kind of locked and you're kind of left alone. It's going to take away a lot of my overview if I would become the IGL and I'm alone on site and I'm sitting looking at the minimap saying "you should do this" or "be ready for this" and then I get killed doing that, they have the entire site. I think it's bad compared to my positions.
What do you think is the best role for IGLing? Obviously cadiaN was the AWPer, TeSeS is more of an aggressive player, do you think there's more benefits to one of those two?
I think map control is going to give a lot to the IGL because they know everything that is happening. If you take Overpass for example, A control is really good to have and if you as the IGL know you have all the control, and the B player is saying they keep chainsmoking monster, then you kind of have an idea what is happening on all of the map. The B player is saying they can't be out short, as well, then you have a really good idea that are going 2 A and 3 B, or something like that. It's kind of the same for the AWPer, because the AWPer is in the map control too.
So do you not think that there's maybe more of a benefit to AWPing on CT sides because you're the main rotator?
Yeah, CT sides are a little bit different. Obviously on CT side you can have set calls, where everyone knows what they're doing, but most of the time everyone is chiming in. At least in Heroic, we're talking a lot as CTs so everyone has to talk, has to update info, on how many grenades you have left, if they need help on their site, or if we need info. I don't think it's much-needed to have one person who is calling all the shots on the CT side, because I think it's a team effort.
Going back to the people you've been playing with, which of the younger players have you been most impressed by?
I'm obviously impressed by Zyphon's aim. When he's feeling himself, you can't do anything. He's so instant. With Salazar, he's young and he's adapting really well. He's eager to learn as well - they both are - but I'm really surprised by Salazar. AWPing is a really huge role, and I remember in the beginning it was a little bit hard for him to say what he wanted, what peeks he wanted to do, because he didn't want to take up too much space from TeSeS. Coming to the end of practice, he was doing that way more, like "I want to do this" and he was calling whatever he wanted, pretty much. That was really nice, because I think the AWPer has a lot of impact on those types of situations because you can get so much control with an AWP and so much info. There are so many opportunities with an AWP.
Finally, what are your expectations for this event?
I think for us it's just about keeping it simple. We want to have fun, because that's how we play the best. Obviously we are a mix team, we can't play too nervously or too strict in a way. It has to be more loose, because if people are afraid to make mistakes then it's going to go in the wrong direction. People have to trust their gut feeling, and for them to be able to do that they have to work in a nice environment and have fun with each other, and if you make a mistake it's like, whatever. There's another round, and people aren't going to shame you for making a mistake. It's Counter-Strike in the end, and everyone is making mistakes. I think in the big picture, we know how we want to play and how we want to react, and how we want to be a good teammate towards each other.
BLAST ApS., Hauser Plads 1, 3., 1127 Copenhagen