Rodion “fear” Smyk, the captain of Passion UA, recently played one of the most important tournaments of his career. As part of the youngest team of all European RMR participants, the guys were able to demonstrate incredible skills and team spirit, which allowed them to defeat such rivals as BIG, ARCRED and OG and advance to the next stage of the competition. In an interview, fear shared his thoughts on the team's preparation, emotions after the victory, support from Oleksandr Zinchenko, and plans for the future.

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In this interview you will find out about:

• Challenges of the match for the RMR spot
• The problem of Passion UA's lack of experience
• Zinchenko's reaction to the team's success

What were the team's emotions after the victory over OG?

The emotions were only positive, we were able to build a system in a short time, which was enough for us to advance to the next stage of the competition. We gained additional time and experience to be even stronger in the next stage.

On the second map, you gave up a 10:1 comeback, what did you say to the teammates before the decider?

I said that there was a ten-minute break between cards and we needed to establish an emotional balance, nothing terrible happened and everything depends on us. The fact that we gave them half due to poor communication, we need to reconnect for protection and hear each other. Hear my voice.

You started the closed qualifiers with the defeat of BIG, did you feel then that you would get to RMR without any problems?

No, we will never have such thoughts. This tournament lasts until three wins or losses

As a team, we knew and felt that we could go further.

In the match against Cloud9, you had a lead, what did you lack to push your opponent right there?

Against Cloud9, we lacked a cool head and simple decisions, and after that game we changed our approach, which was already noticeable in the following games. Mechanically, I failed this game.

Have you watched other teams from Ukraine play, what can you say about their results?

Yes, we watched all Ukrainian representatives. The result is natural, those who worked harder and longer as a team passed.

This will be your first LAN of this level, are you and your less experienced teammates ready to step up in terms of pressure and conditions?

Thank God, I have a lot of close friends and acquaintances who have played at tier-1 events many times. I will definitely use this opportunity and be curious about the setup, both technically and emotionally.

RMR qualifiers are a rather chaotic pool of opponents. What part of your preparation was crucial in getting a slot?

We started preparing in more detail for the opponent after the first game day. I won't talk about the crucial part of the preparation.

What did Zinchenko say after you achieved the result?

Oleksandr wrote to us before and after every game, we felt his support. This is an incredible result for the organization. He, like us, was happy.

s-chilla had one of the best tournaments of the year individually, did it happen by itself or is it the result of changes in the team's game?

Vsevolod is the calmness of the team. He turned on at the right time for our team. s-chilla is a very hardworking and talented player. His performance is the result of his hard work.

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Are you satisfied with your own performance? What else do you need to work on?

This tournament was not like the others, there was much more stress and difficulties. I realized that the guys could slip up in terms of transmission and perception of information, which is normal for a young team. I, as captain, assured them that I would be able to help and control them at the right time, just give your best.

Individually, I'm not satisfied with just the game against Cloud9, I would rate this tournament a solid four for myself.

What opponents would you like to play against at RMR?

I don't care who I play against. I really want to win one pistol round.