cadiaN: I think overall, we’re like a pretty consistent team in terms of results

BLIX.GG spoke with Heroic leader and sniper Casper “cadiaN” Møller after his side’s 2-0 defeat to FaZe at BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2022.

BLIX.GG: So, let’s start by touching a little bit on the Major, you obviously made the Major final. You guys were the favorites, on paper, coming into the final, what do you feel went wrong in the Major final?

Casper “cadiaN” Møller: Yeah, I think overall, we’re like a pretty consistent team in terms of results. But we have some matches where things go very wrong. And we’re looking into how we can try and make that better. Because as you said, I think going into the final we felt like the favorites as well. And yeah, it’s not like we didn’t feel that against Spirit or FURIA.

So, it’s not like it was just because we felt it for the first time or anything like that. So yeah, we need to be even better at being consistent and making sure that our agreements are where they should be.

BLIX.GG: You talked a little bit about consistency. Semmler sent a tweet out recently, asking you guys if you had a Mental Coach and the response was, that you did have one and he is a previous elite player in Handball, how’s he been helping you I have so far?

cadiaN: I think the addition of Lasse has been really good. We also have some good tips and tricks and memories from our time with Troels Robl, who is now at NIP, who was our Mental Coach before. So, he taught us some things, and now Lasse is teaching us some new ones. And, yeah, he has a very good aura and calmness around him.

And obviously, he’s won a lot in his own career and therefore he knows a bit about what it’s about. And I think he’s been good at creating some extra structure around the evaluation and I think he’s also had some good individual talks with people, which has made a difference. So yeah, so far, so good.

BLIX.GG: He hasn’t been in the Esports space before, has he? Has he been applying some stuff from more traditional sports?

cadiaN: I mean, I think he’s drawing a lot of, like, experience and how to get the most out of each individual from his own career. But, it is his first job since stopping his Handball career, he’s coming like straight off, straight off that.

So, I think that also means that he remembers what it is like to compete and stuff like this. And yeah, he doesn’t know too much about Counter-Strike yet but he’s learning every day.

BLIX.GG: And talking about Troels going to NIP, what would you say so far is the difference between Lasse and Troels?

cadiaN: I think Troels has a background, which is more based on psychology, but he’s also had a nice career in fencing himself. So, he’s also tried what it is like to be an athlete at big events. But, Troels was insanely strong in the team setting, where we talked about emotions and feelings and stuff like this. Where Lasse may have a little more experience due to his age and his long career in terms of specific performance-related stuff.

But I think they’re both super talented at their job and, yeah, that’s probably the main difference, I would say. But Lasse is also developing and learning how to cope with the team sessions as well, where we’ve had some really productive ones.

BLIX.GG: I want to talk a little bit about BLAST. Now, it’s not been too long since you played in a Major final and participated at BLAST, how have the practice and preparation been going into here?

cadiaN: Yeah, we didn’t really have much preparation, we had basically two days of practice coming into this tournament. We were home like Tuesday evening, and we had to play again, like Tuesday and we had some Red Bull Flick event with our sponsor — Red Bull and stuff like this and some days off.

So yeah, not a lot of time to reset but that’s how the Counter-Strike circuit is, and you need to try and maneuver around that as best as you can.

BLIX.GG: This year you’re the only Danish team, in previous years there has been Astralis and usually one other Danish team. Does this put a little bit more pressure on you, knowing that you’re the one and only Danish team and you want to, like, play in front of your home crowd and reach the arena?

cadiaN: I personally haven’t thought too much about that. I’m thinking a lot about wanting to play in the arena, but not so much like who the other teams are or what effect that might have. Obviously, knowing that Astralis is not here, we can expect bigger support for us, when we play the games.

But I think overall, we try to have the mindset that we focus mostly on ourselves and what we can do and stuff like this.

On Heroic’s current roster

BLIX.GG: And it’s been a few events now that you have played with jabbi. How would you say what the progress has been and what the team is like? Do you feel like you’re happy with the progress that you made so far?

cadiaN: Yeah, I think so. I think that Jakob (jabbi) has been a really good addition to the team. I think his communication is good, his mood is good, and we’re very satisfied with the development we’re seeing from him. I think also, he’s had some, I think also, he’s had some, really good individual rounds and games and I think we’re seeing his impact more and more from each game we play.

And yeah, he’s still super young and still learning a lot. So, I think the future is very bright with him and yeah, we’re super happy and lucky to have him on our team.

BLIX.GG: How would you, what would you say about this iteration of Heroic that you have now? How would you compare it to the teams that you used to have with refrezh in the team?

cadiaN: I think not that much has changed. I think as I said, jabbi is really good at communicating. So, he has some strengths and takes initiative and stuff like this in specific moments, which we have used a lot. But also, when Jakob (jabbi) came in, I also told him, we don’t need you to try and make us like fifteen or twenty percent better. We need you to make us like two or five percent better.

You know, we’re talking marginals, in terms of making it deeper into tournaments, we always made it to Playoffs, but we never lifted the trophy. And it’s always like small things, so yeah, so the difference is not that high. I think maybe also I, individually, have been playing a little bit better ever since jabbi came and yeah, I have a good connection with him inside the server.

BLIX.GG: And do you feel like you’ve had to step up a little bit on being the more experienced guy with jabbi, he’s a bit less experienced. He’s still been playing in the Majors for Copenhagen Flames, but now, he is on a big, big team, like Heroic, with a larger expectation on him. Do you try use your experience to help the younger players?

cadiaN: I think I always try to use my experience for the team and for the younger guys and that’s the same with Jakob (jabbi). I think that he doesn’t have that much experience but like you said he had some good major runs but in terms of being on a stage, his first real-time, in my opinion, was in Rio. And he had a lot of games there where he performed well and managed the pressure and stuff like this, I think that’s super important moving forward.

Also, like adding him there were a lot of things in our system that we made sure to talk about again. So, it’s things that you sometimes forget, or you know, and so it was good to refresh that and make sure that those things were up to date. That Jakob (jabbi) understood them and that all the rest of the team did as well.

BLIX.GG: Let’s talk a little bit also about Xizt before we get into some more general questions. He’s been with the team now for about a year, since the Stockholm Major, maybe a little more than a year. How would you say he stands out from other coaches that you have had, and what would you say has been his impact on the team?

cadiaN: I mean, I think that Richard (Xizt) has been developing a lot. It’s his first team coaching. So, he didn’t have much experience in terms of coaching but obviously, he’s had a tremendous career, one of the best in Counter-Strike history. And, yeah, we try to use this experience from all the tournaments has played and all the important matches he has played. I think his timeouts have actively become better and better. He’s been more specific in what he’s communicating and is demanding more.

And I think, also, Richard coming from the Swedish scene, I think that Danish humor is maybe a little bit different. But he is getting better and better at that. And he’s also delivering, we have the saying, right, where he’s delivering some jokes that the rest just couldn’t, because of the way he is, you know, a bit more quiet and stuff, it really fits good into the dynamic. And yeah, I think, you know, you can also see that we’ve had a bit of an easier time competing at bigger events ever since he joined us.

BLIX.GG: You talked a little bit about him and him joining a Danish team and obviously him being Swedish, though not particularly from the Southern part, where he might understand Danish humor a little better.
How has the communication been, now? Let’s say, since he joined, has he started to talk a little bit in Danish, what’s the communication like, during tactical breaks and such?

cadiaN: We all communicate in Danish and then Richard will do his communication in English. He’s picking up more and more Danish words. So, he will use those and also when we are having fun, he, you know, the way he is pronouncing the words is obviously a bit fun at times, but it’s part of it. I think he has an easier time understanding some players than others, but he’s understanding basically everything that’s been communicated in the game.

So, that also helps him to have better timeouts because he understands what’s going on. So yeah, other than that, I think he sometimes communicates in English and sometimes we can communicate back to them in English as well.

Thoughts on the new update

BLIX.GG: Some general questions about the new update that recently came out; fixing some guns and they added Anubis in place of Dust2, have you had any time to look into Anubis since coming back?

cadiaN: I’ve actually never been inside, like, the map Anubis. So, I don’t know too much about it yet. It seems that we’re going to be playing at the World Finals and the map is going to be played there. So, we are in a bit of a rush because this tournament doesn’t have it, so we haven’t looked at it yet. So, that’s a little bit of a disadvantage but yeah, I think it’s good that Valve is making changes to the map pool.

If I would have removed Dust2 and added Anubis, I’m not sure. But I think just overall, the fact that they are changing is good. And it doesn’t have to satisfy everyone, you know. So yeah, I think it’s nice that they’re making some changes. Also, the silencer seems a bit more balanced now. So, I think it’s good, a good update so far.

Read More: Twistzz: Anubis is going to be great for the scene

BLIX.GG: And they also nerfed the AWP, from ten bullets down to five. What do you reckon about this nerf, is it something that was unnecessary by Valve, or do you think it was something that will make the game a little bit better?

cadiaN: Yeah, I think, you know, in my opinion, the AWP doesn’t really need a nerf. And I think the nerf that they made, doesn’t change what’s strong about the AWP so much anyways. Like, usually, if you miss five bullets, or if you use five bullets with AWP and you’re still alive, like a lot of people are dead, or, you know, like, it doesn’t change so much for me.

I think it’s fine also like that they’re not trying to move in some crazy wild direction, making the damage reduction or whatever the way it scoped to the movement speeds or something, you know, I think they can start with the five bullets, you can see if it has an effect if it has the effect they like and if not, they can make more changes. So yeah.

BLIX.GG: Do you think that will affect your play style?

cadiaN: Not really, no, I think maybe we just need to be a little more wise about when you have to reload. Obviously, it gives a sound cue that the opponents can hear. So on some, some maps like Vertigo and stuff. If you spam the wall towards yellow, or through the smokes or something, and you forget to reload, and all of a sudden you only have one bullet when you are executing the site.

That’s not too good, so, you need to think about that a bit more, which is something that as an AWPer, you know, you’ve never had to reload before.

BLIX.GG: And, the very last question, you’ve been through a lot. You started in the Danish scene, then you were in Cologne, as talent, you’ve been with an international team with Rogue and you’re finally here. Have you gotten a chance to like, you know, just breathe in and take in everything that you’ve gone through? You’ve done almost everything in the scene and now you’ve finally made it to a Major final.
Have you just been able to step back? Have you been able to take a step back, appreciate what you have done and make sense of it?

cadiaN: Yeah, I think that I’m slowly realizing that my position in the scene is different now than it was a few years back. But I think first and foremost, I just like enjoying the team I’m playing on and the people who are around the team, which makes it a lot easier to continue playing a lot and grinding and stuff like this.

Because at the end of the day, you want to have fun and you want to be around good people and it’s one of the first times I’ve tried that in my CS career, which also shows that you can be on good teams and stuff like this, but it doesn’t mean that you have fun, or you have nice teammates. And yeah, I think that maybe looking back at it in a few years from now, I’ll realize even more like the gap which has happened in my career. But so far, I’m still just chasing extra, you know, chasing being better, chasing the extra trophy and stuff like this.

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Feature Image Credit: PGL Esports