Ahead of ESL Pro League Season 18, we sat down with Astralis’ Buzz to get his thoughts on the upcoming tournaments, Counter-Strike 2, and more, including the potentially controversial MR12 change. Hopes are high for Astralis, with a new roster that has impressed in its early showings over the last few months.
Coming into this season of ESL Pro League, the expectations might be a little higher after the impressive IEM Cologne run. Is that something that you guys are consciously thinking about going forward?
Yes, of course. I would say that just because we had a good run we don’t feel like we’re just gonna smash everyone we meet. But of course, it gives some confidence and we have some higher expectations this time.
Buzz had a killer Cologne. Credit: AstralisCS on Twitter
For a roster this early in its development together, I think most would consider it an overachievement in Cologne. What would you consider to be a similar success at ESL Pro League Season 18?
I mean, of course the ultimate goal is to win the tournament, but it’s not really our expectation, I would say. I think as long as we can make a deep run and show we’ve made good progress, it would be nice.
On a personal note, it’s coming up nine months since you joined this Astralis roster. How do you feel this first year has gone so far, and on an individual level, how do you think it could go on to be better?
I think it’s kinda split into two separate paths – the first six months, and then the months after that. Obviously because we had some roster changes, so we didn’t really manage to get to the point where we wanted to be on our last roster. But yeah, it feels like on this roster and the staff changes there have been on Astralis, it feels like a better place to be now, and it feels like we keep renewing ourselves and evolving and finding out new stuff and getting better.
It’s well known that you yourself play a lot of FACEIT with dev1ce, obviously, he’s one of the constants in that roster. How do you think those matches outside of the tournaments and that friendship benefits your performance and understanding in a professional match?
I think it affects it a lot. It’s something that we have a lot of focus on as well – that we’re not only colleagues, but we’re good friends outside of the game as well. We’re making sure to invest time in each other, have some fun, making sure everybody is happy. So I think it’s a big difference-maker. I play some more FACEIT with dev1ce, and Staehr also. I just think it’s a plus that we can spend so much time together and still want to talk to each other.
Buzz and dev1ce play outside of tournaments, too. Credit: AstralisCS on Twitter
Yeah, of course! As a team, have you guys already been preparing for Counter-Strike 2 already, because obviously we’re running out of Summer and it can’t be long until it releases. Or is that something that’s going to come for you guys after ESL Pro League?
I mean we’ve had some talks and some thoughts about it, but we can’t really practice it yet. Like there’s not really any team praccing in CS2. So I wouldn’t say we’ve prepared for it yet. But of course we’ve had some thoughts on it, and talked a bit about it and did as much as we could I would say.
So looking to Pro League itself, you guys have NIP up first. How do you fancy your chances in that opener?
I would say our chances are pretty good, but I feel like they can be a good team as well. I feel like they are a bit shaky sometimes, like I feel like they are… their results swing a lot. They can have really good days, and some days – not so good days. But yeah, I feel like if we play our best and if we just make sure to play some good CS, we should take the match.
Is there one particular team that you’d actually like to face at ESL Pro League, or are you only ever looking toward the team in front of you?
Not really sure – I haven’t really thought about anyone that I really would like to meet or really would like to win against. I think I’m just focusing on the match ahead of us and we’re gonna see how far that takes us.
Buzz looks like the real deal. Credit: Helena Kristiansson | © ESL
I think that’s the right way to be! Do you think the format of ESL Pro League, in that it’s a slightly more forgiving tournament than the likes of an IEM event, is a benefit or a hindrance to yourselves as a team?
You’re thinking about the Last Chance thing right, you can lose two matches and still have the last chance?
Yeah, in that it goes to a Mid Bracket before it goes to a Lower Bracket.
I mean, I don’t really know if it benefits us. I think, obviously we have more chances, but I feel like it’s equal for everyone, so I’m not sure it’s giving us an advantage. I think it’s just pretty equal for everyone.
We didn’t get to see you guys at the Gamers8 tournament that’s just passed, so you haven’t played a LAN in almost a month. Do you think there could be some sort of rust there, or are you confident in the preparation that you’ve made for Pro League?
I would say we’re pretty confident in what we have. Even though we haven’t been on LAN since Cologne, we still spend a lot of time together, bootcamping and so on. So it’s not like we just go home and don’t see each other until the next tournament. So yeah, still having a lot of fun, getting some good practice in.
Talking about that preparation that we’ve just touched on, what does that generally involve when you’re facing off against a top team? How much does it change from team to team?
I mean, we try to – we have a routine that we try to do against everyone, just because it’s more comfortable that way, we feel like, we do the same thing. Obviously sometimes, we’re a bit limited on time. Let’s say if we would play a match, and have a match the day after, like an early match. But yeah, obviously there’s a lot of preparations. It doesn’t really matter which team it is, I think. We would try to do the same preparations.
Buzz’s performance against Heroic caught the eye at IEM Cologne. Credit: ESLCS on Twitter
This isn’t necessarily about Pro League itself, but it could affect the game going forward. I just wanted to get your thoughts on the potential of MR12 coming into Counter-Strike at some point. We’ve heard a lot about it, we’re not sure if it’s coming in – what’s your thoughts on that?
Kinda mixed. I think it’s gonna be easier for the viewers to watch. The matches aren’t gonna be that long, but I think the pistol rounds are gonna be a bit overpowered. Like if you win two pistol rounds, that’s six rounds probably, unless you lose to a force. If it’s MR12, you’ve won half the match already. So, I don’t know. I think they should add some easier way to break the enemy if they win the pistol round. Otherwise I think it could be really tough to win matches if you lose both pistol rounds.
I mean, we’ve seen how you are in the pistol. We know that should benefit yourself.
Yeah, haha.
Final question for yourself – looking a bit further forward, what’s the big aim for this Astralis roster going into 2024?
I think the big aim for the roster is to be a top team. I mean, the very big aim is to be the number one team – being a team that is contending for the titles, most tournaments making the Playoffs, getting some finals in.
You’ve got the Copenhagen Major coming in 2024, that’d be massive for a Danish team.
Yeah, exactly!
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