ANGE1: "I like the [new] maps a lot"

11-8-2014 16:34

We spoke to HellRaisers' captain and in-game leader Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow ahead of the upcoming major, ESL One Cologne 2014.

HellRaisers were fairly inactive for a few months after a quarter-final exit at EMS One Katowice, but resurfaced with a promising semi-final run at DreamHack Summer 2014.

In July they were dominated by Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon at DreamHack Valencia, and had to once again do with a 3-4th place finish, in a tournament with much less competition.

Now HR are hoping to break the final four after two 5-8th place finishes at the previous majors. Continue reading to find out what Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow makes of their chances.

ANGE1 is the brains behind HellRaisers

How have you prepared for ESL One Cologne so far? Do you have a bootcamp planned for the final days leading up to the event? Do you feel adequately prepared?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: We had a little break after DH Valencia and then everyone came to Kiev where we are bootcamping until now. It is like 10-12 prac days for us on LAN. Our preparation still isn’t over, but I feel like we are ready to fight any team in Cologne.

After a long hiatus from international competition, G3 took place last weekend. What do you make of the results? Were you surprised by anyone? What comes to mind when thinking about the event?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: We can see the CS:GO scene evolving pretty fast and any team at Cologne is capable of surprising. G3 was just one [piece of evidence] for that statement. dignitas showed that they are in a pretty good shape, and I expect from them to proceed far at ESL.

At ESL One you’ve been placed in group A together with Wolf, NiP and Epsilon. Can you go through each team one at a time, and tell us what you think about them, and your chances against them?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: We have lost semi-finals at DreamHack Sweden and DreamHack Valencia to NiP and Epsilon, so it looks like ESL One gives us a chance to be rehabilitated. Can't say anything about the guys from India, I didn't see their games, but $250,000 tourney is not the best case to underestimate any opponent.

What are your expectations going into the event? I realize everyone will say they are in it to win it regardless of stature, but would you be happy with a quarter-finals exit? Top four? A spot in the grand finals?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: I prefer to solve problems step by step. First of all, we need to pass through the group stage, and then to fight for something more. But to be honest, the last two 250k tournaments we lost at our first playoff match and this time I want to get the better CS:GO in-game icon then "Quarter-finalist at ESL ONE Cologne" :)

Do you have a clause in your contracts regarding the sticker money that will be coming in from ESL One? Is that something you had added later on specifically with Cologne in mind, or did it exist in the first place?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: We didn't discuss the distribution of "sticker money" with our management in detailyet, but I’m sure we will reach a decision that will satisfy both sides. It seems to me, that the money should just be equal to the tournament winnings. The team management as well as each team player will get a percentage.

markeloff & co are one of the teams who don't mind the new maps

It’s now been weeks since ESL announced the new map pool, featuring de_cobblestone and de_overpass. Now that you’ve had a chance to practice them, what do you think about them? What do you think about the new map veto system? Do you think these changes will work for or against you?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: Personally, I like these maps a lot, it’s like a new challenge for me and my team. Matches on ‘cbble’ and ‘overpass’ will show how flexible the minds of gamers are. I think that rapid adaptation should be one of the most important components of a Pro player.

At both of the previous majors we saw a new team win a title (fnatic, Virtus.pro), propelled by new players rising to stardom (flusha, schneider, byali, Snax). Do you expect another new team to rise up this time and if so, who could it be?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: As I said before, I expect a real good performance from dignitas. They were a bit unlucky at Gfinity but I think they have had enough time to fix a lot and to get even better. And take my advice, look closer to the guys from London Conspiracy, they are doing a great job and are getting better day by day.

Many penciled DH Valencia in as the event you’d finally win a title in with HellRaisers, but you wound up getting beat by shox, practically alone, on de_dust2. What do you make of your performance there? How come you couldn’t get over the hump?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: We weren't prepared enough for that tournament and had a lot of random stuff in our game. We found out a lot of fundamental mistakes and immediately began to fix them at our bootcamp. So I just want to thank shoxie for this cold water shower :)

You haven’t complained about the new maps being added and left ESEA due to them not being included in the map rotation. Do you think you’re the best prepared team out of everyone on de_cobblestone and de_overpass? Could they be the aces up your sleeves?

Kyrylo "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: A couple of words about ESEA: this online-league map rotation system is the weirdest thing I have ever seen in Counter-Strike. We need to have 7 maps prepared? Maps, which we don't use for any other tournament? 4x de_train, while other maps are played 2 times? You can play 2 similar maps against the same enemy (and, of course, it’s going to be their strongest one)? I think they got to do something with that or maybe I am the only one who thinks this is wrong?

ESL One Cologne 2014 will kick off on Thursday at 09:00 with the group stage. ANGE1's HellRaisers will begin their run in Germany against French Epsilon.

More pre-ESL One Cologne interviews:

Nicolaj "⁠Nico⁠" Jensen: "Our A-game can beat anyone"

Vincent "⁠Happy⁠" Schopenhauer: "Tired of quarter-final exits"

Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas: "We haven't reached our peak"

Pål "⁠Polly⁠" Kammen: "We are here to stay"

Henrik "⁠FeTiSh⁠" Christensen: "There is no I in team"

Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell: "We can surprise a lot of teams"

iBUYPOWER: "Too many mistakes"

Spencer "⁠Hiko⁠" Martin: "You are in for a treat"

Not

2014-08-11 16:35

3 replies

why not?

2014-08-12 00:26

2 replies

Cuz best

2014-08-12 07:26

1 reply

HR Bestest

2014-08-12 17:39

2014-08-11 16:36

yes shure

2014-08-11 16:37

Agree with him about ESEA map pools being shit.

2014-08-11 16:38

He has the right attitude.

6 replies

"I think that rapid adaptation should be one of the most important components of a Pro player" big +1 for that

2014-08-11 16:48

5 replies

Should use the rng to get a map from the workshop every time. See who adapts then!

2014-08-11 16:54

4 replies

That could actually be interesting to watch, random maps no one has played before, testing skill and adaptation.

2014-08-11 17:12

casuals..casuals everywhere

2014-08-11 17:24

am casual kappa

2014-08-11 17:54

so edgy.

2014-08-11 23:44

gud lak nubki Kappa

2014-08-11 16:50

go marik!

2014-08-11 16:39

markeloff pic: "u have a weed brother?"

2014-08-11 17:09

Rofl.

2014-08-11 18:17

markeloff pic: "wtf are u want dude?"

2014-08-11 18:44

2014-08-11 19:31

lol :D

2014-08-12 07:28

yeah right

Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow: A couple of words about ESEA: this online-league map rotation system is the weirdest thing I have ever seen in Counter-Strike. We need to have 7 maps prepared? Maps, which we don't use for any other tournament? 4x de_train, while other maps are played 2 times? You can play 2 similar maps against the same enemy (and, of course, it’s going to be their strongest one)? I think they got to do something with that or maybe I am the only one who thinks this is wrong? + drölf

2014-08-11 16:40

esea noobs let m0E play u skrubs

2014-08-11 16:42

the hate is REAL

2014-08-11 16:43

"thanks shoxie for cold shower" loled

I thought the caption under the first image is funny: "ANGE1 is the brains behind HellRaisers" Since you always hear people (Thorin, Vendetta) say that they play a mindless, self-serving style that often times looks pretty brainless. Anyways GL to them, talented lineup.

2014-08-11 18:14

he is retarded

2014-08-11 16:44

"and this time I want to get the better CS:GO in-game icon then "Quarter-finalist at ESL ONE Cologne" :)" Love it! HR my favourite EU team because their players' bring back so many fond memories of amazing 1.6 times gone by. GL

2014-08-11 16:45

i will probably start to like the maps if i had 200 hours in last 2 weeks (Y)

2014-08-11 16:46

200?

2014-08-11 18:24

maybe it means they are prepared on new maps and it could be a way to the finals

2014-08-11 16:47

> Matches on ‘cbble’ and ‘overpass’ will show how flexible the minds of gamers are. I think that rapid adaptation should be one of the most important components of a Pro player. > We need to have 7 maps prepared? Maps, which we don't use for any other tournament? Okay.

Although the juxtaposition is funny, the logic is actually sound. In one he is talking about versatility and flexibility if maps get changed up, in the other he is complaining instead about an overabundance of maps, which dilutes the ability to adapt by overloading the workload.

2014-08-11 17:27

The # of maps is exactly the same for each. Stupid argument. Sounds like a nancy boy

2014-08-11 18:37

They van completely ignore a map and veto it every time. Like old navi/ad used to do to nuke, esea has you play every map during the season. If a team that doesn't play train was forced to play train 4 times then that's 4 definite losses on their record.

2014-08-11 20:17

He's not playing it 4 times he's playing it 3. And with the logic you're using, then another team that is forced to play nuke 2-3 times and doesn't play nuke will have definite losses. It really won't make that much of a difference if you're a good team.

2014-08-11 21:11

He's talking about esea specifically. They play train 4 times d2 4 times and nuke once.

2014-08-11 22:31

The right attitude if you want to improve: try to like (or at least not hate) the new maps. Now, in practice, it might be a bit more difficult ...

2014-08-11 16:49

low interview I expected more

he complains about ESEA map rotation but its fine to him for ESL to force down their throats 2 new maps right before one of the Biggest LAN's in GO ? LOL

2014-08-11 16:51

7 replies

What I think he is talking about with the esea thing y is that ESEA more or less set a map they have to pracc every week n so on even if thats a map they otherwise would have veto away. And it works for US cause they dont got so many Online matches as EU does.

2014-08-11 18:04

If you're a pro team, you don't need to practice really hard for ESEA every week. Any pro team will already be confident on the maps in ESEA considering none of the maps are anything new (except for season).

2014-08-11 18:38

Some teams dont play Nuke, some dont play train. You see?

2014-08-11 21:02

And some teams don't play cbble or overpass. It's a stupid argument in both directions. Also I guarantee everyone on each team has done multiple matches on nuke or train in other leagues, way more than overpass or cbble.

2014-08-11 21:13

What i said was that in other leagues(sltv etc) you can veto those maps away, You cant in ESEA. If you want you can Veto away both cbble and overpass.

2014-08-11 21:21

Ahhh, I see what you're saying. Apologies. I guess I can see the annoyance, but I don't think it's too big of a deal considering it's nuke and train and not something super foreign.

2014-08-11 21:31

Well lets see it like this, Navi dont pracc nuke and havnt done it since 1.6. What if their last match would be Nuke and if they lose this they are out of the lan finals in ESEA.

2014-08-11 21:47

Ange1 confirms Volvo Fanboy

2014-08-11 16:56

2014-08-11 16:59

Name of the map ?

2014-08-11 17:05

steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetai..

2014-08-11 17:06

2014-08-11 17:22

obvious bluff

"We need to have 7 maps prepared? Maps, which we don't use for any other tournament?" Dude, "rapid adaptation should be one of the most important components of a Pro player" (c) ANGE1. Thus, just rapidly adapt to all the maps you don't play, and that's it.

2014-08-11 17:13

Seriously. He complains about train (which is only played 3 times actually, not 4), a map that has been used in cs since the beginning of times and is still used occassionally in competitive play but not about 2 brand new untested maps used in the major.

2014-08-11 18:40

I love his replies!

2014-08-11 17:19

[ok]

2014-08-11 17:23

Rooting for HR this weekend!

GL HR

2014-08-11 17:51

I hope to see at least one cobblestone match. CS and OP will likely be banned by teams or just not picked.

2014-08-11 17:56

HR will go with new maps to surprise all :)

2014-08-11 18:02

lurppis, you sure it's Karasiow? I think it's Karasiov. Actually few answers for some reason are confusing, similar questions different answers, lol.

2014-08-11 18:23

whats the difference?

2014-08-11 18:26

should be v

2014-08-11 18:34

vk.com/id4642799 Karasiow

1 of the best teams base on invidual skills but they have no strats. They can beat teams like NiP,Titan,VP but they can be raped by team like Reason (for skins,for fun or random? ). Their power depend on their opponents (lol,but it's true). In their A-game,they are 1 of best teams in the world. IMO,we can't predict HR,out of group stage or semi-final ,Who know ?

2014-08-11 18:25

FUCK NEW MAPS!

2014-08-11 18:33

dota best! CS shit!

2014-08-11 18:41

"Personally, I like these maps a lot, it’s like a new challenge for me and my team. Matches on ‘cbble’ and ‘overpass’ will show how flexible the minds of gamers are. I think that rapid adaptation should be one of the most important components of a Pro player." exactly, finally someone who gets it, people are afraid of change but this is for the better. if there are new maps every once in a while, new tactics will arise and the team that is best prepared will win and this makes for more diversity.

tuscan, season, cpl, old mirage gtfo with your brainless overshit and cobbblbolb

2014-08-11 19:03

I dont think its because people are "afraid" of new maps. Kinda of a strange word to use. Its the logic of enforcing two new maps this close to a major - at least thats the case for me, cant say what the others think. As mentioned in my interview, they could have tested the maps in several leagues before enforcing it. And most teams wont have spend much more than 3 weeks actually playing these two new maps, and thats without counting the days they dont play+days you cant find games on these maps.

2014-08-11 22:33

neverending excuses of not enough time, these maps were announce at the end of may and esl on announced a change of map pool in beginning of july. this means teams had more than a month to prepare, if a team does not have the time or dedication required to compete at such event then they shouldn't complain. I'm sure ANGE1 will disagree with 1 month of intense practice not being enough time.

2014-08-12 04:16

Regardless, I still think new maps could be introduced in a much better way than its the case here.

2014-08-12 07:13

nice

2014-08-11 19:15

""So I just want to thank shoxie for this cold water shower :)"" ""and this time I want to get the better CS:GO in-game icon then "Quarter-finalist at ESL ONE Cologne" :)"" hahaha xD really n1 :P

2014-08-11 20:21

Insertion is the best new map and could have easily worked as a de_ map unlike say office, overpass has too many routes for good 5 on 5 play imo, cbble is alright after they moved the drop down but barely. Whos going to be excited to watch games on either is more important, just admit the veto system sucks for viewers and all you need is 5 maps for a tourney, sigh

And how to pronounce "Karasiow"? [karasi'ou]? He's [karasi'ov], thus Karasiov.

2014-08-11 22:02

Lost an AWP Graphite betting on HR. I learned my lesson.

2014-08-12 00:10

GL HellRaisers <3

2014-08-12 00:31

haha epsilon vs hellZeros again on lan haha. 16;0 never forget.

2014-08-12 02:43

or HR 16-1 vs NiP

2014-08-12 04:17

udachi rebyat!

2014-08-12 05:32

DA WHY e-BUS-h!

2014-08-12 07:40

ESEA map rotation > ESL/Valve map rotation then Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow:"I think that rapid adaptation should be one of the most important components of a Pro player." so why you can't training 3 more maps with 1 that you probably played a lot past days?

2014-08-12 10:24