We met with HEROIC player Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia after his team's victory over Chinggis Warriors in the opening match of BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025 Stage 1. In an exclusive interview with Bo3.gg, he discussed the team's form and provided insights into the match. Alvaro also explained why Chinggis Warriors should not be underestimated.

What caused the delay in the match?

To be honest, I don't know. I think it was some technical issue on their side. We really didn't know. They told us that we had more time for one more, so we were just having fun, talking, warming up. It didn’t really affect us.

Why did you perform so poorly on the T side? What was missing?

Sometimes you don’t find the real answer. I think we were hesitating a bit at the start. We were a bit sloppy, and we didn’t take the initiative we should have taken.

What helped you to turn the game around?

Mainly, I was repeating to the boys at halftime: we are really good on CT side. We believed in it. It’s really hard, but at some point you need to make the move, take the initiative, and not wait for them to make moves. And yeah, we did it. It was pretty clean, pretty good, and we managed to close the match.

Was there a moment in the match when the opponent made you nervous?

I don’t think it made us nervous, but it definitely got our attention. Obviously, when we were down 5–1 or something like that, we really said, “Okay, we need to start getting rounds,” because we were on the T side. It’s fine to have an insane CT side, but you always need some rounds on T. I think the minimum is three, maybe five, and we got five, so it’s fine.

How would you describe Chinggis Warriors? Many picked them to go 0–3 in their Pick’ems.

I don’t think they looked like the weakest team in the opening stages. We played against them at a MESA tournament, and they are a bit crazy. I think their playstyle is quite fast, with a lot of moves from all their players.

They can surprise a lot of teams. So, no, I definitely don’t think they are the worst team on the stage. I think they can surprise a lot of teams, and they shouldn’t think they’re bad — because they’re not bad at all.

74% of Pick’em participants on Bo3.gg predicted you to go 3-0. Do you agree with the fans?

In the moment, I try to focus on what I can do, what I can control. And obviously, I cannot control the results. I don't know, maybe we’re favourites — sometimes it happens.

Who would you like to face in the second round?

I don’t care who we play against. I think we’re fine playing whoever we play. Everyone should be fine. Thank you.