— How is the team feeling after your last two tournaments, Gamers8 and IEM Cologne?
We are currently not playing up to the level that we're supposed to and that we're capable of. That's due to multiple different reasons. There has maybe been a small dip in individual form from more or less all of us, but I'm not talking a lot, just 1% or 2%.When rewatching the games, or during the games, the feeling I have is that we're not all playing to our philosophies and principles and the way we want to handle the game.
I can't say that, with the level we played at, I'm surprised that the results haven't been better. They haven't been awful, but we're definitely aiming to have very different kinds of results compared to the last two tournaments.
— You talk about a drop in individual form. What do you think it is, that results in you not playing to your philosophies?
I wish I knew. I definitely think we tried to address a lot of things in practice the way we usually do, talking about how we want to approach areas of the map, how when we see X we want to do Y, and dry-running strats to try and trick some opponents.
Then, when we play games, I spectate situations I know that we have set agreements about how to react in these situations and we don't withhold the standard that we're supposed to. So yeah, I'm not surprised at all about the losses because I don't think we've been playing well at all. It's very frustrating. Also, to be fair, the bar has just been set super high at Heroic in terms of how we want to play and how we want to perform.
Semis at Gamers8 and quarters at Cologne, it's just not good enough results for us anymore. One thing is the results and the other thing is the process of how you play. What has been disappointing me the most is the way we've been handling ourselves inside of the game.
— Is it anything that concerns you or is it a bit of a rough patch and something you'll be able to get yourselves out of?
I'm concerned, I'm not going to lie. One thing is if other teams are becoming better or if the things you've practiced and done are outdated, and another thing is just not being able to do the things that you're good at, at the same level you once did.
My concern is that it's us dropping in execution and theory, the way we want to do those things. I know that all of the players on the team are more than capable of playing at this level, winning big trophies, and doing the right things, but for some reason, things are not going our way right now and we're trying to figure out how to get back on track.
— You lost to ENCE at the last two events you played. Do you think it's just a case of not being quite there at the top of your game, or are they a tough team for you?
I think they're a tough team for us, but I also think that they have beaten us — at least the last two times —, when our shape wasn't really that good. We should have definitely won the Cologne match. We had plenty of chances to win the first map, we smashed them on the second, and the third one was the one that NertZ had all of those rounds on Mirage. We made mistakes, but it was also great plays by him.
Then we lost in OT on Nuke at Gamers8. I think ENCE has been playing really well, but not for that long. I think people are exaggerating a bit how long they've been playing well because they weren't even top 8 at the Paris Major. But since Dallas, they've definitely been a top 2 team. Super consistent.
They've played really well, they have a lot of players who have done tremendously, and Snappi has called a good play style. He has a good playbook and he knows when to mid-round or when to call fast-paced strats. They've been having a good run, for sure.
— What are your thoughts on Heroic for the rest of the season? It's not sure when CS2 will come out, but it could be after Pro League by the looks of things. Is it a good time for Heroic to change games now, with everyone getting a bit of a fresh slate?
If people were asking me this question after the summer break I would have said the timing was pretty bad because we were No. 1 in the world and we had just won in Washington, so back then the timing was pretty bad.
Now, things have maybe changed a little bit, but I'll also say that I get the questions you ask, and my answers indicate that, but at the end of the day there are only two or three teams in the world having a better time than us right now. Not more than that. Vitality, ENCE, and G2. The rest are feeling supposedly way worse than we are, so it's also about perspective and expectations.
The fact is that we set the bar super high. We've done this ourselves, as well, because we know what we're capable of. Right now we're not delivering and maybe the bubble of waiting for CS2, things like that, they're things you're trying to address mentally, but maybe it's playing some kind of effect.
Right now I'm excited to play the new game, but with what people are saying on social media, I haven't played it myself, it seems like people aren't fully satisfied. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm completely excited, just because it's a new game doesn't mean it's going to make us better. It's all about communication, decision-making, stuff like that.
Let us remind you that tomorrow Heroic will play their first match at ESL Pro League Season 18. Their first opponent is Roosters. The match will start tomorrow at 17:00 Kiev time!
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