Following 9INE’s incredible run to the BLAST.tv Paris Major, which saw the underdogs take down G2, BIG, and Vitality, BLIX had a chance to sit down with Krzysztof “Goofy” Górski to discuss his team’s incredible run, bringing Poland back to Majors, and what it’s like playing with former ENCE player Aleksander “hades” Miskiewicz, among other topics.
Hugo “TheSwedishJoker” Nilsson Meier, BLIX: Congratulations on qualifying for the BLAST.tv Paris Major. I can only imagine how you all are feeling, so tell me about the game, how did you guys manage to 2-0 Vitality?
Bringing Poland back to the Majors
Krzysiek “Goofy” Górski: Playing on LAN is much different from playing online, itâs easier to play, I think. The top teams we played against in G2, BIG and Vitality played their style and we were prepared for that. If they weren’t playing their things they were playing aggressively, so that was all they were doing! *laughs* So yeah, I donât have much to say.
BLIX: You are the first Polish team at a Major since Virtus.pro at the FACEIT London Major in 2018. Iâve seen players and fans rejoice all over social media, but how does it feel to carry on their legacy?
Goofy: There are no words to describe it, of course. I think that it will help the Polish community a lot because they were waiting for a team to accomplish it. The community is very hyped, and they have something that they wanted all this time!
BLIX: When you saw that you were going to play G2 in your opening match, what were the expectations like? And did your expectations change after taking down the #1 team in the world?
Goofy: Yeah, the expectations changed a lot after winning against G2! Before playing G2 and against G2 we thought it was going to be a very hard game, but the map pool was with us because we would be playing Anubis if not Nuke. We were prepared for that, but they picked Nuke and we also⦠I donât think itâs our best map, because Vertigo I think is the best right now, but itâs almost like Vertigo, so we felt good on this map.
BLIX: G2 had an incredible Nuke win streak recently, did you feel a bit scared coming into the map? Did it get easier for you the longer the match went on?
Goofy: So, we did a 10-5 on CT and we were really happy about that. We had a lot of prepared rounds for the T side and we played some of them, and it worked. Maybe the main reason we won Nuke was that Kamil âKEiâ Pietkun, ed killed Nikola “NiKo” KovaÄ on Outside, I think he had a 6-1 winning [head-to-head] against him. I think that was also the key to success.
BLIX: What was the preparation like going into the BIG game, seeing as you didnât have much time after beating G2?
Goofy: After winning against G2 we were waiting, we didnât know who, and when we got BIG we knew that it was going to be Mirage or Anubis. But we were pretty sure it was going to be Mirage, thatâs not our best map I think, I would say itâs somewhere in the middle. We were confident a bit after beating G2, but we knew it was going to be tough because Mirage is not our best and they are playing pretty aggressively.
Playing with hades
BLIX: The team has a mixed background: hades made the PGL Antwerp Major semifinals with ENCE, while this is the first qualification for the other four and youâve made Legends. Does this raise the expectations even more for the rest of the year?
Goofy: Yeah for sure! Our expectations are a bit⦠a lot higher, and thatâs amazing!
BLIX: Hades is the most experienced player, so how does he help the team? How does his experience come into play inside the team?
Goofy: He helped us a lot, heâs also a great player and our good friend, so weâre all hanging out together. I mean thatâs it!
BLIX: 9INE, IntoTheBreachâs Karol “rallen” Rodowicz, GamerLegionâs Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek and Apeksâ Jakub “kuben” GurczyÅski will all attend the BLAST.tv Paris Major. Do you think this is what is needed for the Polish scene to establish itself in the tier-one circuit more consistently?
Goofy: Yeah, for sure. Before we had Virtus.pro and nothing else, and now Polish teams are getting good actually! We learned our lessons.
BLIX: Last question, how will you celebrate tonight?
Goofy: For sure weâre going to sit in [the] bar and drink a lot! *laughs*
