frozen: You want to prove to s1mple that you're worth his time"
FaZe may have struggled so far in 2025, but with s1mple on board, they're now looking to change all of that.
Defeated in the last two Major finals, frozen knows all to well that FaZe have what it takes to get to the Major final, and he's determined to not make it a threepeat of not lifting the trophy.
Speaking to him at their bootcamp, he tells us about what s1mple has brought to the team, the issues they've experienced this year, and what it will take for FaZe to lift the trophy in Austin.
"That FaZe bullshit has to happen and a little magic, too "
It's been a difficult first half of the year for FaZe, how are you feeling coming into the Major?
Motivated, you know? Even though it's been a rough year, we still want to do good. Dallas was supposed to be one of the tournaments where we did that, but there was some circumstances with rain's kid being born as well. There's nothing we can do about that, so now the focus is on the Major for us.
At the moment we're at the bootcamp, we've stayed in America, so we're preparing and going to do the best we can at the Major.
Was bringing in s1mple that motivational boost that you guys needed?
For sure, having a player of his calibre, even though he hasn't played for a long time, you still want to prove to him that you're worth his time. It's motivating to have him because you can feel that he really wants to win.
Photo: Michal KonkolYou mentioned wanting to prove yourself to him just because he's s1mple, but what does he bring to the team outside of that?
The first thing is that he's very straight forward, if he sees something he'll let you know, so with him saying these things to his teammates is him trying to get the best out of you.
The way he talks, I can tell he wants to play the rounds in the perfect way, he's a very smart CS player.
This is something that we needed, and most importantly, it was also about him bringing that GOAT aura and having that presence on the server. In a lot of crucial situations, he is taking over and that's what we need.
Going back to last year and the run up to the Shanghai Major, you weren't having the best results back then either, but then you went on and did what you did in Shanghai. Going into this Major, has that changed how you feel at all because you know what you did before?
I don't think it changes, I still have the same feeling that I did at the other two Majors I've played with FaZe. Even though we have a stand-in, we still have a good chance of getting a good result.
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but anything is possible. It's the Major, you just need a few good matches and the whole mentality switches, you ride the wave. There's bigger favourites than us, but I think we'll surprise.
We spoke to NEO previously and he didn't seem sure on what the issues you guys have had this year, why do you think it hasn't clicked yet for FaZe in 2025?
It's a good question, if we knew we would have figured it out right now, but we were just in a weird spot mentally, and that's why we brought in s1mple as well, to get something fresh.
Towards the end we were losing many stupid rounds, and it spiralled. Every lost round gave us this thought in the back of our minds that it was happening again, and EliGE said in an interview that we were playing more to not lose than we were to win.
It's hard to point the finger on one thing, it's a mixture of multiple things, and it's just the state we were in with the results we were having. That's why things are the way they are, one good result can pull us out of it and we're doing everything we can to wait for that moment and grab it.
You mentioned there the idea of playing not to lose and the concerns that begin to creep in during games, is one player enough to change that or do you still get that feeling during the games?
We will see once we start playing together, but I can just hope it will get better. It's one of the main focuses we have in our bootcamp, so we're just trying to lose less of these rounds.
Photo: Michal KonkolOne of the issues that have been spoken about as a potential issue is roles, is that something you've been looking at a lot? Has anything been changed to make people more comfortable?
Nothing is changing in terms of roles, but as you say, we're bringing more comfort to players in their roles so that everyone is happy.
Given the extra expectation that comes with FaZe and what you've achieved in CS2, bringing in EliGE to be the new star, would you say this has been the toughest point of your career?
I'm not sure, there was some tough months in MOUZ as well, maybe we didn't have the players that I have around me now, though.
Any situation like this is difficult, it's just a matter of how you deal with it. It's been rough, but you have to keep your head high and look to the better days.
You'll enter the Major in Stage 2, will that be a benefit to you to be able to go in and pick up some wins before the best teams arrive in Stage 3?
I personally like it, we're staying in NA for out bootcamp so we're used to the timezone and everything. For me, I like that we're going to have more games with the lineup before we play the next stage.
I'm looking forward to it, we'll play some interesting teams and it's the Major, anything can happen.
Assuming you guys do go through to Stage 3, how are you feeling about that and the raised level of competition? Does BO1s change how you feel about playing them?
BO1s are always weird for me, but, I think it's just a matter of being ready and bringing the fire.
That's one of the things over the years from playing at Majors and the lower ranked teams, it's just a matter of showing who wants it more, and you can't fall and play to their level.
There will be interesting teams there, but I'm still confident, there aren't many European teams in NA now while we bootcamp, so some of the teams at the Major we're already practicing against. We're getting ready.
Photo: Stephanie LindgrenIs there a minimum expectation for this Major?
Minimum for me is at least playoffs, but we are obviously going for a trophy. We've been in the last two Major finals, so it's hard to back down from that standard, you know? We want to go back and this time we want to grab the trophy, no matter the circumstances.
What will be the key for that to happen, a solid bootcamp or a little bit of FaZe bullshit?
A little bit of everything, that FaZe bullshit has to happen and a little magic, too [laughs].
