TeSeS: "You feel invincible with karrigan in those big arena games"
Falcons run to the IEM Cologne Major championship will go down as undoubtedly one of the greatest Major wins of all time. A full-circle moment that closed many narrative threads within CS; unfortunately, the team has struggled thus far to turn that win into dominance over the CS scene.
With the team now playing their third event of the season at BLAST Open Porto, where they now await G2 in the quarter-finals, Falcons will be looking to turn their season around and lift their first trophy of the second half of the year.
At the event, we spoke to TeSeS about comfort in his roles, the boost of karrigan, and the feeling of losses after winning the Major.
“All of us on the team are ready to fight for what we believe is ours”
The end of last season was as good as it gets for you guys, but this season has started a little slower. How are you feeling so far?
I have mixed feelings, of course. I wanted this season to go smoother and better, but this is the situation we're in; all of us on the team are ready to fight for what we believe is ours and what we want to achieve.
How does it affect you when you come off such a high like in Cologne and then the first two tournaments go the way they did?
It's very annoying; you feel like the best team in the world, and then you lose to teams who, and I don't want to speak badly about them, but on paper, it is what it is. You can't take anything away from Legacy's form, but this isn't where we want to be. We want to do better.
In terms of EWC, the loss there also had wider ramifications for the whole competition with the Club Championship. Were there any expectations placed on you there from the org itself?
There are big expectations for us there, yeah. We're one of the teams they've spent the most resources on, and we also play in one of the games where it's the most competitive. It's not like they voice that pressure, though; they're very good with those sorts of things, but there were big expectations because they wanted to get the three-peat.
It wasn't meant to be this time, though, and we didn't help them in that area, which sucks because it was something we really wanted to do.
How does the wider scale of EWC work from the players' perspective? Is the Club Championship something you keep up with and feel ambition to win?
Yeah, for sure. We were watching some of the other games throughout because there's just this Olympic feeling with it all; it's a very cool tournament format for the entire esports scene. I like it a lot, and I'd feel the same if I played for any team.
You've spoken a few times in the last couple of years about being comfortable in positions; you changed spots again when karrigan came in. How are the comfort levels at the moment?
I definitely feel more comfortable than I did a few months ago. Back at the Major, I had some maps that I was the most uncomfortable I had been on in forever, so it was quite interesting to win with that feeling.
Right now, I do feel better, especially in practice and on the CT sides. T sides are still up in the air a little bit because I have a mixed role where I need to go first sometimes and lurk at others, but I've got better at finding when to do what.
Looking over the past few years, do you think all of these role changes have made you a stronger player overall, or do you think it may have prevented you from hitting a peak you would have otherwise?
Of course it's prevented a peak; it would be irresponsible to say otherwise. If I were able to develop in the same position, I would be much better than changing everything. But this is also one of the reasons why I've been able to be in this team: my ability to adapt and still perform where the team needs me to. That's why I'm still here, and I'm here to adapt to any situation that might come.
The difference this time, of course, is karrigan, so how has he helped with the adaptations?
There's a clear vision of how he wants to do things, and it's easier for me to follow and play under, so definitely.
There was also always the choking narrative about Falcons, so how was it different with karrigan next to you in Cologne?
Oh, it was great. You feel invincible when he's with you in those big arena games, and it was amazing. The whole tournament, I felt like we could never lose; it was like God was with us, and I almost turned religious at that point.
Getting the impression you believe karrigan may be the second coming of Christ.
[laughs] Potentially, yes.
