xelos: "We are going [...] for fun"

AliGon had a strong showing in the qualifier, as they went through three potential DreamHack opponents in London Conspiracy, ALTERNATE (now Berzerk) and Reason en route to a surprise win.

After qualifying for the first big event of the summer season, AliGon removed Mourujärvi and recruited Mattias "khobra" Heidnert. Read on to find out how they expect to do in Jönköping.

xelos' AliGon were the surprise of the closed DreamHack online qualifier 

How have you prepared for DreamHack Summer; do you feel ready for the event? Have you only practiced online or also bootcamped? How do you plan on spending the remaining time before the event kicks off?

xelos: We haven't prepared as a team at all yet but we will start this Sunday. The reason why we haven't practiced as a team is because I've been away and I’m getting back home on Sunday, then we will practice until DreamHack Summer. With only so few days of practice we won't be ready as a team but individually we’ll hopefully be strong.

Do you believe the lengthy break from LAN competition since Copenhagen Games will affect the results at DreamHack in any way, or does constantly playing official matches online make up for it? Are you afraid of giving up your game plan too much online?

xelos: I actually have no idea, I think all established teams already know each other's playing styles very well. We don't worry at all since we just mixed around in the qualifier without any tactics.

Who do you think will be your toughest opponents at DreamHack? Any potential dark horses who have seemed particularly strong lately that you think might surpass everyone’s expectations in Jönköping? Anyone who might disappoint?

xelos: I think that Virtus.pro will be our toughest opponent, since we are four Swedes it's more comfortable to play NiP instead of Virtus.pro, Na`Vi, HellRaisers or Titan. It seems like fnatic is extremely good at DreamHack in Sweden so I think they will do well once again, not really a surprise though since they are a great team.

Player	Age	Rating
Marcus "Delpan" Larsson	24	1.03
Jerry "xelos" Råberg	21	0.98
Morten "zEVES" Vollan	23	0.90
Hampus "hMp" Netzell	19	0.87
Mattias "khobra" Heidnert	22	-

What do you make of your chances at DreamHack? What would be a realistic goal for your team, and what would you be ok settling at? Is there any extra pressure for you to perform well at this particular event?

xelos: We don't feel any pressure at all since we aren't a team and haven't prepared for DreamHack as well as other teams have. With some strong individual play and a little bit of luck with opponents we might surprise. If we get out of the group stages I'm happy.

What reasons led to removing pyth from the roster? It seems he is very talented and capable in-game, but somehow he winds up being removed from teams nonetheless due to what seem like social issues. What’s your take on it?

xelos: We never knew what lineup we would go to DreamHack Summer with since we mixed all qualifier. We knew it would be me and khobra going (AliGon players). Then we got along really well with zEVES and hMp, and zEVES is our in-game leader.

For the last player we had to choose between Delpan and pyth; we ended up with Delpan because of the AWP and the fact he is used to playing under pressure versus top teams - experience which our team lacks. Pyth is a great player indeed, he just needs to find a team he fits into and hopefully he will. This DreamHack we are going to as a friendly mix for fun, not a hard practicing team that expects to win.

Is there a chance this composition of players could become a more permanent fixture on the scene? Delpan especially seems to come and go, is he still motivated to make a run at CS:GO as a pro? 

xelos: I don't think so, but if we get a good offer who knows. I think Delpan would do it with the right offer, team and organization wise.

AliGon have been drawn into group D, which means DreamHack Summer won't begin for them until Sunday, when they will take on TEAMGLOBAL in the opening round at 20:00 .