GeT_RiGhT: "VG will be well prepared"

Our last interview prior to the Mad Catz CS:GO Invitational is with Ninjas in Pyjamas hot-shot Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund, who shed some light on the team’s preparation for the Austrian event.

The Swedish giants entered 2013 as the team to beat after winning all tournaments they attended last year, including the ESWC finals and DreamHack Winter.

After coming out on top of the Fnatic Raidcall CS:GO league, NiP will be looking to build on that campaign with the gold at Mad Catz, as events like Copenhagen Games and the LAN finals of both EMS and ESEA are all around the corner.

In this interview, Alesund talks about the teams he think will pose the biggest threat to NiP in Vienna, VeryGames’ recent poor run and the group stage match-ups, among other things.

 How have you prepared for Mad Catz? Have you bootcamped or only practiced online?

We have been playing online for a while now, as different parts of qualifiers and online leagues have been rolling on, as usual. But between Monday and Friday, we bootcamped at my parents’ place and at Inferno Online. So my answer would be that we did both.

We have often seen the teams who are at the top go downhill after getting sloppy. Do you practice as much as you did prior to ESWC and DreamHack Winter?

We are trying to play as much as we did before, and I think we haven't lost the "touch" yet on that point, but we got some things that can motivate us more and make us practice more and stuff. For example, this tournament makes you want to play more, because you want to win every tournament out there (at least me!).

Going into the tournament, who do you think that will be the biggest threats to your team? Do you think that Na´Vi can cause a surprise?

I think that Na´Vi will do well in this tournament, as they have been playing a lot! Other teams like ESC, VeryGames, n!faculty and the rest will be good opponents as well. I am not writing anyone off at all! 

GeT_RiGhT has been high on form in CS:GO

Ceh9 told us that your team refuses to practice against Na´Vi. Can you elaborate on this?

I think we have played against them once, but that's all. There are always teams that you try to avoid playing against and Na´Vi are just one of them

Recently, we have seen Fifflaren putting up big numbers in NiP’s matches. Has he improved that side of his game, or did the team change its tactics to give him more of a free role?

I have no clue what to say about this, as the only person who can really judge him (if he played poorly or didn't, and so on) is himself, so I’d rather avoid this question. You should ask him about this :p

VeryGames added ScreaM to their team last month, but that change does not seem be working out that well for them. What do you think about the way they have been playing?

They will be playing well as always, they have been preparing hard for this tournament, also bootcamping if I'm not mistaken. As people know, they have been losing some online matches, but that's about it. We've been losing them as well. But I think that does not really count. It's more about LAN in this game and in all other games, if you ask me! I think they will come to the event well prepared! 

You picked up where you left off last year, winning the fnatic Raidcall tournament. Both Stavros and ceh9 said that your team will eventually be defeated.  Is fact that you are the team to beat an increased source of pressure?

Haven't felt this pressure in a long time, and in a weird way it feels good, if you ask me. It only motivates me to get better and better. I don't feel I have reached my full potential in this game, nor did I feel that in 1.6. So it feels good in a way! I know that it will happen someday, that we will eventually lose. In a way I'm looking forward to it, and at the same time I am not, because I know I will get mad about it, haha.

Can NiP continue on a winning path?

You have been drawn in the same group as Imaginary Gaming, TCM-Gaming and Nostalgia. What do you think about these three teams?

I think we have a pretty good chance to make it out of the group and we are of course trying to aim to get the first spot so we are safe to playoffs. Second group stage or playoffs, I’d be happy either way.

We have a lot of LAN events coming up in the next months, like Copenhagen Games, ESEA, SLTV and EMS. At the end of the year, we have Game Evolution’s $40,000 tournament. Do you think that CS:GO is finally starting to gain some steam?

It's getting more attention and I think that is good for our community, even though we should have more players playing the game, if you take a look at the Steam stats, but as far I know, they are pretty unstable and not correct, according to what the guys from Valve told us. But I do think that CS:GO is getting some steam.

Thank you for this interview. Is there anything that you would like to add?

I'd like to say hi to my family, friends and my girlfriend, Anna. I’m glad that you're always supporting me! I’d also want to thank my team and our sponsors, Telia, SteelSeries, CDON, BenQ and CKRAS for making things easier for us and allowing us to focus on playing. Also Emil, Anton and Niklas for making sure everything works in the organization! I haven't forgotten anyone, right? Oh yeah, our fans! Without you guys, we would not be playing this well!