ANGE1: "I could say we are top 2"

2-4-2013 18:37

We kick off our pre-SLTV StarSeries V Finals coverage with an interview with Virtus.pro's Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow, who recently led his squad to a third place finish at Copenhagen Games 2013.

Prior to that Virtus.pro proved they can play at TECHLABS, where they defeated ESC Gaming twice and took home a second place fnish, after even giving NiP a run for their money in the upper bracket final.

Now the Russians, Ukrainians and the sole Kazakhstani are hoping to try break through in Kiev, where the SLTV StarSeries V Finals will kick off on Thursday with them facing off against Na`Vi.

With only a couple of days to make adjustments based on Copenhagen Games, what are the things you will focus on during this little time off?

Virtus.pro ANGE1: We will watch demos, and look for key mistakes that were done at Cph games. Then we will find options not to make those in the future, and practice as much as we can.

What did you learn about your team at Copenhagen Games? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What is the one thing that can push you over the top?

Virtus.pro ANGE1: I'm glad that we can concentrate on the key maps, even if it's not our best, and win those. And I can't say our way to the upper bracket final was as confident as I want it to be. And now, looking back, I think we showed half of the level we will be at in 1-2 months.

You will face Na`Vi in the first round of upper bracket. How much will you prepare for them specifically, knowing it a few days in advance? What do you predict will happen in the match?

Virtus.pro ANGE1: Na`Vi started to prepare for SL, while I was still in Copenhagen. So the main thing I could be sure of, there is no easy game for us there.

You saw NiP and ESC play at Copenhagen Games. Who do you expect to win that match? Who would you rather face and avoid? Why?

It's obvious that NiP is the favorite in any match, especially when it is on LAN. And if I had an option to choose enemy for the second day of StarLadder, it wouldn't be NiP :).

Virtus.pro talking things over with ANGE1 in the middle

ANGE1's Virtus.pro is looking to break through in Kiev

Do you think the relaxed schedule of SLTV StarSeries V Finals which allow you to only play one or two matches a day is better than Copenhagen Games' packed one with multiple matches? Why?

Virtus.pro ANGE1: I slept around 3-4 hours per day at Copenhagen, while we played 17 maps for 2 days. So yes, its was veeery hard, especially cause of 6-7 hours pause between NiP and WW games. StarLadder schedule is much better for teams, but maybe less comfortable for viewers.

You have made a solid case for yourselves being a top four team in the world. Where do you rank yourselves right now? What do you make of your chances versus VeryGames? Do you think being tired affected your play versus Western Wolves (who were fresh off a match while you had to wait for a while to play)?

Virtus.pro ANGE1: If everything is ok and conditions are equal for both teams, I could say we are top2. But we still haven't played against VeryGames @ LAN, so it's difficult to compare us. WW is a good team but I think the result would be different if we played this match on time.

Why did you not participate in RaidCall EMS One qualifiers? It can't be easy having to watch both RC EMS One and ESEA Finals from home, especially due to visa issues, while you seem to be in good form. Do you have anything planned for later in April or May? Does that increase your motivation for SLTV StarSeries V finals?

Virtus.pro ANGE1: There was some personal issues our players had to fix, at the same time as EMS qualifier. We are going to attend TechLabs at Minsk in ~1 month, and every big tournament this year. And StarLadder is not just a regular tournament for us, it's a chance to compete with the best teams from Europe before the eyes of Ukrainian audience.

After looking like you were going to take a map from NiP in Copenhagen, a five-on-two loss led to your team losing composure and ultimately falling off a cliff. What happened?

Virtus.pro ANGE1: That was a regular B+C fake on dust2 :). Me and kucher were faking middle, while our mates with bomb were on catwalk. We killed 3 NiP players while faking, but someone continued to advance to A plant with bomb, where he was successfully killed. Then we found ourselves in a 3v2 situation, which we couldn't win :)

We will publish another pre-event interview today, followed up by members of the final two teams tomorrow, as well as our usual viewer's guide, event preview etc. so stay tuned to HLTV.org for your SLTV StarSeries V Finals coverage.

I could say Na'Vi are good.

2013-04-02 18:38

1 reply

youtube.com/watch?v=ztVMib1T4T4 ? EDIT: ^_^

2013-04-02 19:56

Nice :D Gonna Read

Virtus.pro definitely top2. Hope to see great games @ SLTV finals! :)

51 replies

definitely? nah not really. I still see VG beside them and WW above.

2013-04-02 18:40

50 replies

not vg, ww i agree

2013-04-02 18:42

Virtus.pro won versus WW in bo3 and lost in bo1. And I'm pretty sure VP will win over VG in bo3.

14 replies

So? WW finished 2nd at CPH Games and Mad Catz

2013-04-02 19:08

13 replies

VP are better than WW.

2013-04-02 19:15

5 replies

based on what?

2013-04-03 00:06

4 replies

based on bo3 upper bracket cph games

2013-04-03 07:25

3 replies

they played a total of 4 maps, 2 of which were won by VP and 2 by WW. WW destroyed VP on inferno and also won quite comfortably on d2. VP won one game with 16:8 score, the other one they won in an overtime. how exactly does it make VP a better team?

2013-04-03 12:31

2 replies

Because bo3 is less random than just one map. Also, because VP puts up a fair amount of rounds against NiP, which is the best team.

2013-04-03 21:36

who cares if it was bo1 or bo3, they played a total of 4 maps and the result is equal. not to say that in the lower bracket WW beat VP on vp's best map (the map VP were most likely to pick in bo3). if it was bo3 WW would've either picked inferno (the map where they 16:3'd VP a few hours ago) or train (which VP avoided during the whole cup) andsecured a 100% victory.

2013-04-03 23:57

VP didn't participate at the first one. WW finishing 2nd is one of the downsides of a double-elimination system! The actual map result between was 2-2 and the reason why they lost dd2(a map at which they previously) is fairly obvious.

2013-04-02 19:21

6 replies

obviously they veto'ed maps at lower bracket, VP wouldn't have played d2 if they weren't confident of winning it. which means they preferred to veto two other maps instead of dust2, which means they're even worse on other maps, which means they would've been raped anyway.

2013-04-03 00:09

I missed a map at which they previously won, so they were obviously confident at it.

2013-04-03 01:27

Okay, then tell me how come they have managed to top the group and reach the upper bracket final with all matches played BO3? Dust2 all the time? Anyway I advice you do what you alias says.

2013-04-03 09:19

not sure what your point is... their group was extremely easy. xapso, publiclr and overdrive's mix are all mediocre teams, teams like vp should beat them on any map. check out which maps they played during this lan. d2, inferno, nuke all the time. they haven't played train at all, while WW played it twice. WW beat epsilon on train, and train is probably epsilon's strongest map (they beat navi and fnatic on it). WW on the other hand never played mirage, however neither did vp (well, they played it vs. publiclr and nostalgie but these teams are a level below VP, they havent played it vs a decent team). d2 is probably vp's strongest map, they played it in ALL of their 7 matches. they got destroyed on their strongest map in the lower bracket, they were destroyed on inferno and no doubt would've lost on train which they eliminated all the time. not sure about mirage, both teams prefer to avoid it. the only map VP are better at is nuke. cant see how all of this makes vp stronger than ww...

2013-04-03 12:55

VP's group was easy for them cuz they are a top team. WW had an easy group as well. Don't forget than they still won that BO3 in quarterfinal but suffered six hours delay between upper bracket final and consolidation final and were playing that match really tired while WW were on fire after beating fnatic and VeryGames. I have played a lot of LAN tournaments and I know how it feels :) So conditions were a little bit different and WW handled the situation a little bit better than VP did. I can't see anything what could possibly make WW stronger than VP. And I feel this conversation pointless, you won't make me change my mind.

2013-04-03 13:29

waiting for 6 hours is boring, but that doesn't exhaust you. playing for 6 hours straight however DOES exhaust you, anyone wants a break after playing for so much time. nip had to wait much more than vp yet they had no trouble beating WW. vp only played 3 maps throughout the whole event, and got beaten by WW on 2 of them. you MIGHT call them equal, but there's no way in hell you can say VP are better.

2013-04-03 17:27

VG???!!! LOOOOOOOOOOOL. you must be trolling.

2013-04-02 18:50

Must not be, first event where they didn't manage to get top3

2013-04-02 19:10

And you're wrong again :) 2 events with ScreaM in the line-up and they failed to reach top3 at both! Don't forget that they also skipped an event!

they finished top3 in vienna with scream

2013-04-02 19:26

Yeah my bad :) But the point is that they are declining, they were extremely not to get eliminated in the 1/4 finals

2013-04-02 19:36

Lol scream is only good for filling the youtube channel of hltv with highlights.

2013-04-03 09:43

u can see anything, but Virtus.pro manages to win ~10-13 rounds against NiP, while your 'above team' cannot do that

2013-04-02 19:05

25 replies

So what? it doesn't matter how many rounds they took from NiP, then I guess !nfaculty or esc should be 2nd? WW ended 2nd at CPH Games & Mad Catz, that tells more.

20 replies

And you're wrong again....VP does it on LAN not online :)

2013-04-02 19:22

Who does it online? bot WW and verygames have better results than VP on LAN

2013-04-02 21:22

Yes overall VG do have better results than all of the other teams except NiP, but we're talking about now, not 4 months ago. VP played better than both WW and VG at this tournament (please don't bring up that WW finished 2nd again), and they're the only team at the moment able to give NiP a run for their money. Only a blind fanboy cannot see that!

2013-04-02 21:27

12 replies

They are the only won giving NiP a fight, yeah maybe, but at Mad Catz WW lost one of the maps 16-13 so I guess that's pretty close too. Because VP are better against NiP doesn't in particular mean they are better than WW - that's my opinion.

2013-04-02 21:35

11 replies

Well they did beat WW! And then played WW where WW were coming in hot and VP had to wait for miserable 6 hours, losing momentum and as ANGE1 said in the interview extremely tired! I don't see a ground on which you can say that WW is a better team than VP!

2013-04-02 22:35

10 replies

Better results.

2013-04-02 22:55

9 replies

Which better results? They placed 2nd at MadCatz, VP were 2nd at Techlabs! VP played better and beat WW at CPH!

2013-04-02 23:14

8 replies

I'm not for or against any of the teams, but at cph Games they played: VP vs WW - BO3 dd2 19-15, inf 3-16, nuke 16-8, BO1 dd2 11-16. Which sums up to 49-55. So WW won in rounds. But I think we can all agree these two teams are the top contenders to be the first to beat NiP at LAN atm. imo people should keep their eyes on Virtus.pro as they have two chances coming up, with ESEA Finals and sltv finals around the corner amirite?

2013-04-02 23:50

They sure are the prime contenders, because VG played them so many times and they came close only once! Counting the total rounds is really stupid actually, because it depends a lot on the side you start etc. Regardless I don't want to continue arguing so let's just wait and see what happens :)

2013-04-03 00:01

VP are not going for ESEA Finals.

2013-04-03 09:22

Oh wait that's true

2013-04-03 22:38

2nd at cph and 2nd at mad catz, that's better results.

2013-04-03 00:12

I don't see anyone without a Danish flag saying that WW is better than VP!

2013-04-03 01:28

I actually agree with you; Virtus.pro is a better team than WW, something they showed in the upper bracket of Copenhagen Games by beating WW and playing close up with NiP. Not said that WW is not good; they are. I just think that Virtus.pro are more stable when they're prepared; as in the BO3 map (it's pretty clear that they were tired and lost momentum due to waiting ~7 hours for the match against WW in the lower, while WW was warm after just raping VG). i would consider Virtus and ESC as the two teams whom in the near future will defeat NiP on LAN; at least take home one map. :) No doubt that the next big event; with the same attendance as there was in Copenhagen, will be legandary!

2013-04-03 09:12

It's still my opinion, nothing further should be discussed.

2013-04-03 16:38

are u idiot? vp beat WW in bo3 and lose lucky bo1 and stop to copy text about that ww ended 2nd at CPH iam not blinding

2013-04-02 19:40

Don't insult because I disagree with you. How is that copying text telling the facts? WW & VG's results have been better than VP's oh yeah this event VG haven't shown it but ALL the other events they had a good finish. I can't see how I'm an idiot saying the best team is the one with the best results lately.

2013-04-02 21:25

hey rtd... sltv.... so plizzzz stfu! :D

2013-04-08 00:19

this was before sltv, btw don't call other people retards if you are planning on being on this site, ok buddy?

2013-04-08 12:39

That does not mean they are better. WW still has the best results so I would have to agree they are better at the moment. Stop that logic if team x > team y that means x is better, come on. I would love to see you apply that logic to Football.

2013-04-03 14:46

at mad catz WW lost nuke by 3 rounds vs nip, so your point is not valid.

2013-04-02 19:12

Doesn't mean anything. Curse played a close match vs. NiP @ Thor Open and also took them to overtime online if i'm not mistaken. Where are they now?

NiP is strongest team. And VP can put most pressure on them [at the moment]. How does that mean nothing ? :/

2013-04-03 01:32

curse used to play very close games with nip however they placed top32 at cph. some teams are just a difficult enemy for other teams. i think navi havent lost to mtw a single time; navi themselves always sucked vs. CIS teams; same goes for k23, they could play very good vs international teams but fail at CIS cups. eolithic were extremely good vs. sk etc

2013-04-03 13:08

Ww equal, VG below Well that us my view ofc :p

2013-04-02 19:16

As much as i'd love to agree with you, but VP are better than VG, now for WW it's still unknown statistically WW are better but VP didn't participate in Mad Catz so we can't say for sure. And for CPH, they beat them in Bo3

2013-04-02 19:30

Great team.

2013-04-02 18:39

it's true

LOLOLOOLOL

IMO: 1. NiP 2. WW/VP 3. VG 4. Rest

I agree. I think one of the main reasons that VG isn't as strong as in source yet is that ex6tenz still havn't been able to adjust 100% to CS: GO and the different new styles of gameplay.

2013-04-03 09:14

they are definitely top 2.. only they are able to put up a decent fight against NIP whereas everybody else just gets raped

2013-04-03 00:13

lol? comparing curse to VP??? after that game curse had a change in their lineup with aslak and after that it was a big downhill for them...they were on a losing streak and still its going on where as everytime VP has played NIP they have given a fight like 16-12, 16-13 etc etc not like rape of VG or WW like 16-2 16-5 16-3 looool

2013-04-03 07:24

#132

2013-04-03 13:09

u can ww nothing vs nip while vp was so close... and we all know vp > ww but ww very strong team i gonna say top 2 vp/ww

2013-04-02 18:45

and we all know vp > ww but ww very strong team i gonna say top 2 vp/ww rip logic

2013-04-02 18:56

rip fan of ozstrik3r... i just mean dat vp gonna win ww but ww still top 2 for me since they both fuckin good and maps currently 2-2

2013-04-02 18:58

maybe but they sucked against WW

... bo1 bo3 - win

I slept around 3-4 hours per day at Copenhagen, while we played 17 maps for 2 days. So yes, its was veeery hard, especially cause of 6-7 hours pause between NiP and WW games.

2013-04-02 20:06

like only he slept for 3-4 hours. Everybody had the same amount of time for sleep so things were harder for everybody.

2013-04-03 10:33

1 nip 2 vg (on points overall) 3 vp/ww

2013-04-02 18:53

Nope, you aren't top 2.

2013-04-02 19:03

...said the mad boy who doesnt even have a team of his country to reach at least TOP10.... jk ;)

2013-04-02 19:11

And what is your point, mate? I know that our country is poor in all. :)

2013-04-02 20:21

So you can't share an opinion in public without having any results yourself? I hope you were trolling.

Go Ange1! You are so good last days!

2013-04-02 19:04

I think they are.

2013-04-02 19:06

never speak 2 much

2013-04-02 19:09

Lovely interview. Hopefully you interviewed NaVi! :)

1.NiP 2.VP/WW 3.Fnatic/Navi 4.VG/Epsilon

LOL NO WAY VG beat epsilon 16-5 and didnt even play fnatic/navi but finished higher in CPH how could you say that ROFL

2013-04-02 22:00

Atm NIP VP WW VG

1.NIP 2.VG 3.VP

VG arent top2 anymore.

2013-04-02 19:18

1. NiP 2. WW 3. VP 4. VG Sounds about right to me (:.

2013-04-02 19:19

+100000000000

NIP VP WW/VG Fnatic

2013-04-02 19:23

I think they're top2, closely followed by WW and VG is right behind them. I think that Na`Vi would've beaten VG given the opportunity to play against. I know Na`Vi haters are gonna flame because of the Epsilon loss, but seriously, never ever underestimate Na`Vi

2013-04-02 19:24

people love to rank professional teams when they are far from pro level, if ange1 says VP is top 2, they are.

2013-04-02 19:25

Yeah, i think they are in a better position to evaluate themselves, and i agree with him since they're the only team to make NiP sweat in a LAN match.

2013-04-02 19:34

lol that logic is so twisted... Results decide who are at what rank and the public know the results just as well.

2013-04-02 23:21

But his opinions makes sense aswell, I won't believe any pro :D

2013-04-02 23:26

Well that makes more sense, you are of course entitled to your own opinion :)

2013-04-02 23:33

VP is #2 in the world atm.

agree, VP is really amazing now, their aim is on f0rest's level

2013-04-02 19:27

they are

2013-04-02 19:28

I agree, VG and WW are right behind NiP, WW just a tad behind VP imo. only then comes VG, and then teams such as ESC navi fnatic anexis etc etc etc but this is all still evolving so who knows which teams clinch on to, comet past their opponents, or drop off the radar into oblivion. for now I give VP the best chances to beat NiP, as they have proved to be close to their level 3 maps in a row now

2013-04-02 19:51

1. NiP 2. WW 3. VP Hinting that they lost cus of the wait time between theyre games, is the worst dogtalk i've heard so far lol... WW was just the better team.

VP won versus them on bo3, what about that?

2013-04-02 20:05

Tough to call. Really not much in it, VP give NiP better/closer games but WW have better LAN finishes. Logically I think you have to place WW 2nd because of this fact.

2013-04-02 19:57

A comment with sense, is this hltv?x)

2013-04-02 19:58

^this

2013-04-02 21:32

you wrong but i gonna say they are both rly good team and if every thing was fine with the time vp would won this map

2013-04-03 01:41

Anyone who isn't a gloit and looks at this impartially will arrive at the same conclusion. It's not about being wrong or right, it's about looking at the black and white results/evidence and coming to the obviously correct choice based on them. Please change your flag you're an absolute disgrace.

2013-04-03 15:31

i am not maltese .. so i want to disgrace .. and i have my opinion so stfu pls

2013-04-03 16:30

I'm all for expressing opinions, but when you reply to someone saying "you are wrong" and have nothing to back it up with apart from a jumble of random words you decide to throw together to form a sentence I am going to question the legitimacy of your opinion.

2013-04-03 17:37

he's right, they are top2 atm. vg weaker, ww on their level, depending on conditions. but vp has much more potential to grow up in future

2013-04-02 20:03

NiP WW VP VG fabulous

2013-04-02 20:09

no brother VP top 2

2013-04-02 20:22

hmm im not sure in that.. bcs in the last two big events WW took second place and I don't remember some good results from VP except StarSeries(2nd place) correct me if im wrong.. :)

2013-04-02 23:57

3rd place at CPH Games? Won BO3 against WW? No?

2013-04-03 09:50

Nice article, I agree with ANGE1.

2013-04-02 20:12

Na`Vi 4ever.

2013-04-02 20:20

is he the igl? because he can frag a LOT, amazing skill

2013-04-02 20:39

Yes he's the igl. Imo the best one fragging-wise atm, maybe even better then xizt.

2013-04-02 20:54

I think we showed half of the level we will be at in 1-2 months. Wow I expect more from them in the future but if they pull off extra 50% they can beat NiP!

2013-04-02 20:45

they are top3

2013-04-02 21:24

Will Na`Vi stay at this event?

2013-04-02 21:45

lol vp played 1 event...

2013-04-02 21:51

I kinda agree, they share the 2nd spot with WW. 2. WW/VP 4. VG/ESC/Na'Vi/fnatic

2013-04-02 23:23

You're putting vg on same level as ESC,Na'Vi and fnatic? lol

2013-04-03 21:42

yep, VG is as shaky as them. I'd put Na'Vi and fnatic on the upper hand though becuase for some reason VG and ESC are going from bad to worse way more rapidly.

2013-04-03 22:45

It does mean nothing, every team has their bad time...

2013-04-03 23:02

Yeah I agree that top2/3 with WW having a chance aswell! But I'd like to see VG play decently finally...

Couldn't agree more. I hope they'll beat NiP on lan in the near future :)

2013-04-02 23:39

I think skillwise they are top2 at the moment, but they will never be the first team to beat NiP.

2013-04-02 23:55

At least they were very close to it on d2 at CPH upper final.

2013-04-03 12:32

fail ahahah

2013-04-08 01:28

NIP VP ESC Navi

2013-04-03 00:30

Fnatic, WW, VG are stronger the NaVi and ESC

2013-04-08 14:13

I think Virtus is the strongest contender to dethrone Nip rigth this moment. WW very good, but honestly I feel the schedule didnt favor Virtus and resulted in WW performing better. But not take any credit away from WW, they definitly prove to be just at same close level to virtus

2013-04-03 00:42