The coach of the biggest surprise at the European RMR B for the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 in CS2, Mykhajlo "Kane" Blaghin, shared what qualifying for the Major with Passion UA means to him. In an interview with Bo3.gg, he reflected on the RMR tournament and assessed the organization of the championship in China.

In the initial best-of-1 victories, what was the key factor: your preparation, the match format, or opponents underestimating you?

In the first best-of-1 against Virtus.pro, our preparation was top-notch. The players knew everything they needed to know to gain a certain advantage in different game situations. That's why even losing both pistol rounds and two force buys didn’t have as significant an impact on the result as it could have.

As for Team Spirit, we had a bit more luck than they did. Thankfully, it ended well. It was a very close match, 13:11. I believe we showed really solid gameplay on Anubis.

In the best-of-3 matches, things got tougher. You managed to take the first map but couldn’t capitalize on the lead. Was this due to mental preparation or purely technical aspects?

Against BIG, we were fairly well-prepared but made many unforced errors on Dust2. Pistol rounds were a major issue for us in this tournament. Their strong map with two pistol round wins always results in a confident score in their favor. Two pistol wins translate to about five rounds. Without them, the score could’ve been 8:5. We had our own tricks but failed to execute them. Dust2 wasn’t our best showing.

Notably, we felt the full impact of jetlag against BIG. I suspect it affected them as well, so this isn’t an excuse. We simply played worse than we wanted. On Mirage, even though I think we’re stronger than them on that map in the long run, losing two pistols meant the win was up for grabs for any team. They managed to do it. They’re a good team, so why not?

In the second best-of-3 against HEROIC, we struggled early on Vertigo but delivered a great performance on Ancient. We focused more on Dust2, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t ready for Ancient. On Mirage, we made mistakes on the CT side but had a solid game plan for the T side with good pistols that opened the door for a comeback. Unfortunately, we still managed to lose that pistol round, despite being in a 2-player advantage and controlling the entire map.

Overall, the impression is that the players were more nervous, which always has a significant impact. Despite the nerves, the mistakes, and the punishment from other teams, we saw positive reactions. Both BIG and HEROIC said their victories against us were incredibly hard-fought and required their full effort. We understood that our ceiling is higher if we can show our game and advance further.

Did your morale drop when you went from 2:0 to 2:2?

We didn’t lose morale. There was always deep belief that we could advance. Starting with a bad seed meant our opponents always had a slight edge over us. In both best-of-1s and at least one best-of-3 against BIG, they had an advantage. Over time, this balanced out. Knowing that earning three wins would avoid a decider match gave us confidence.

We understood we just needed that third point, whether on the first, second, or third attempt. Luck eventually sided with us. On Ancient, in the decisive map against Astralis, despite many rounds starting poorly, the players found miraculous ways to turn the tide in our favor.

And the match against Astralis? What are your thoughts? Was the game as easy for you as it seemed to us? Any specific instructions from you?

People who think these games can be easy are very mistaken. Regardless of the score, we might have a good game plan, but the MR12 system makes every mistake critical. You can have a strong lead, but if the opposing team wins a single round, your lead doesn’t feel so significant. With the current economic system, you still need to play eco rounds.

Even with a five-point lead, if they win one round, you realize you need to win two full buys to secure four more rounds. Every match was extremely tense, and every point was valuable. Against Astralis, we were preparing for the Major, adjusting and improving our game. We knew they didn’t know much about us on the maps we played, but we could analyze their tendencies from this RMR.

So, we approached the match with confidence. It wasn’t easy—far from it. How can you call a close 13:11 win easy? Our emotions after the match showed how much this result meant to us. We have great respect for our opponents and believe we truly earned this spot.

How do you evaluate your team’s performance in the tournament? What are you satisfied with, and what needs improvement?

Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Major. Failing to do so wouldn’t have been a tragedy, but it would’ve raised questions about our next steps. The simplest answer would’ve been to grind even harder because that’s the only way to earn invites to major tournaments.

Regarding individual performances, I have no serious complaints. Everyone did well, and I’m satisfied with all of them. That said, everyone made mistakes—multiple times. But that’s part of the game. We’ll keep striving to improve, adjust our understanding, tweak aspects of our gameplay, and correct our errors.

The goal of reaching the Major is achieved. What’s the objective for the Major itself?

I’m not sure we’ve achieved our main goal yet—securing a good position in the Valve rankings to receive invites to tournaments. Yes, people know about us now, and maybe some tournament organizers want to see us, but with Valve’s new rules, there’s no guarantee we’ll get these invites. Our goal is to become a competitive team participating in tournaments against the best teams and progressing step by step toward a top world ranking.

How will you spend your time before the tournament starts?

We’ll have a rest day after the RMR and another right before the Major. The rest of the days will be dedicated to preparation and practice, fixing our mistakes, adding interesting strategies, and approaching the next stage in good form.

READ MORE: Passion UA to Play Against BIG at Shanghai Major 2024 — All Matchups of the First Round Opening Stage

s1mple mentioned bugs and rule-breaking by some players during the event. Did you encounter anything similar?

We didn’t face any bugs at this tournament, perhaps because we weren’t looking for them. We’re very happy with everything. It’s a top-tier event. Our only feedback for the organizers is positive. If any issues arise, they are resolved immediately. I’d like most tournaments worldwide to meet this level set by the organizers here in China.

What does qualifying for the Major mean to you personally?

On a personal level, I understand how hard it was to achieve this. It’s very important to me that we succeeded—it boosts my confidence that what I’m doing is right.

What made this result almost tearful for me was, first, seeing how much this tournament meant to the players—young guys aged 17, 18, 19. For them, it’s their first major event.

Secondly, I saw the tremendous support from our fans. When you realize how valuable this is to them, knowing you did your best and succeeded, it’s incredibly rewarding. That’s why I deeply value this result. It’s comparable to some victories at other major tournaments.