During the Blast Premier Major EU RMR B, we sat down with Lotan “Spinx” Giladi to discuss his team’s performance in a tournament, their preparation for matches, his thoughts on CS2, and what it takes to build a full Israeli team. He also shares his views on the pressure of playing in an RMR tournament and the need for experience to build a successful team.
Hugo “TheSwedishJoker” Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Congratulations on winning your 1-0 game! You’re now in the 2-0 pool, how does it feel?
Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi: It feels great to be 2-0, especially in this kind of tournament. It gives us a lot of room to breathe and also adjust to the Legends Stage. So yeah, we are happy!
BLIX: You guys played just a few hours ago, so how did you prepare for this matchup?
Spinx: We stayed in the studio after the first win, so first of all we just relaxed a bit, we have some time until our game so just relax, don’t lose our energy and eat. Then we just did kind of a preparation, of course, we didn’t do it normally because we don’t have physio or anything. But yeah the coach did his job and told us all the information we needed.
BLIX: Can you talk to me a little about the game? Because it actually seemed a bit closer than what the result suggested.
Spinx: Yes, I think the game was a bit closer. It was a 16-13 after all so it’s close, but I felt we had control [for] most of the game. I think we had a slow start, but after that, we had control. Even so, we lost some T rounds, I think there [are] some T-side rounds we should [have] won, and then the game would have come a close earlier. But yeah, it’s part of the game and I’m just happy we won.
BLIX: I had the chance to interview you at BLAST Spring Groups, and you mentioned that there is no real additional pressure knowing that the Major is in France. Now that you’re really here and so close, does it feel more real and add a bit more pressure to push this French team to the Major on home soil?
Spinx: I think there is pressure but not like ‘pressure because it’s in Paris’. I think there is pressure because it’s an RMR, and I think with every team right now, we can see it on all the tier-one teams, everyone has pressure. Yeah, it’s part of the game, we do have some pressure, but for myself, I have the pressure of a normal RMR tournament, not as an RMR to Paris tournament.
BLIX: We’ve seen some really great Israeli players come forward, like you, Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan, and even Tal ‘meztal’ Hahiashvili who played in the Asian RMR. What do you think is needed to see a full Israeli team at the Major?
Spinx: First of all I think the most important [thing] for us is experience. I think the most experienced players we have in the Israeli community are me and flameZ, and I don’t think we are experienced players overall if you consider tier-one teams. So I think experience overall, and maybe one of us with the experience can turn into an IGL, and then you would be able to build an Israeli team.
BLIX: I wanted to talk a little bit about CS2. I think almost all players in tier-one got the beta, so have you been able to play it?
Spinx: I played it for a bit, yeah.
BLIX: What are your thoughts on it so far? Have you noticed anything that needs to change before the official release?
Spinx: About stuff that will need to change before release, I actually don’t know. I think they did a pretty good job. Of course, there is only Dust 2, so it’s hard to say, but overall I like it. I think everyone, the old players and the new players, will need to adapt quickly, because of course with the new nades and everything, this means that it is going to be CS with a huge difference in the meta.
BLIX: Obviously some of the next events, like the Major in Paris, will still be played on CS:GO. The next ESL Pro League season, as far as I know, will be played on CS2. Have you guys talked about how you will divide your playtime? Will you play CS2 so as to not fall behind, or will you keep focusing on CS:GO?
Spinx: We didn’t really talk about it. I think for the moment we’re just focusing on CS:GO, the tournaments we have in front of us, and that’s it!
