hazed: "We don't have a ceiling"

CLG qualified for ESL One Katowice through the main qualifier last month, beating both Gamers2 and Titan narrowly for one of the remaining eight spots.

They have been drawn into group C alongside the Brazilian team Keyd Stars, HellRaisers and NiP, which was amongst the topics we talked about in the following interview.

Read below to see what the American had to say on the topic of ESL One Katowice, as well as some additional questions not specifically related to the major.

How confident do you feel with your preparation going into ESL One Katowice? Are you having a bootcamp or only practicing online? Is there something you focused on in particular?

Very confident. We really wanted to focus on our own game in terms of knowing our executions and how we want to play each map. So in that sense, we didn't need to bootcamp and we didn't need to really online scrim much. We spent a majority of our time studying our flaws and addressing them.

What do you think about your group? Can you go through each team and tell us how you think you match up against them? Which two teams should be advancing to playoffs out of NiP, Keyd Stars, HellRaisers and yourselves?

Our group, in my opinion, is one of the easier groups. No disrespect to the teams in our group, but I feel like our draw was very good for us. For kStars, we feel like they will be our biggest challenge. We played vs them a lot online and on LAN at the ClutchCon bootcamp, so they know how we play, but we also know how they play. HellRaisers is a 50/50 team for us. On a good day, they are unstoppable it seems. On bad days, we could see us beating them soundly. It just depends on what type of HellRaisers shows up to the tournament. And last but not least, NiP. This is the team we said we wanted to play coming into the tournament. We have never played against them and we feel like our playstyle would match up well against them. I'm super excited to finally get to play these legends of CS. As for who advances? I would like to see ourselves and kStars advance. Realistically, I would say CLG and NiP or kStars and NiP.

What is the minimum placing your team will be satisfied with in Katowice? Do you feel any pressure to succeed, will you be extremely frustrated if you fail to reach your minimum goal?

The only true goal we set was making sure we leave the tournament either winning or feeling like we played to the best of our ability. We don't want to look back on the tournament and think that we could've done something better or that we didn't give it our all. We really don't feel ANY pressure to perform. We would love to perform well and represent NA, but we aren't going to promise anything from our first major.

The professional scene has probably never been as competitive as it is now going into this major, but who do you think will end up in the top4? And who do you see as the most likely surprise, whether to win it all or get out of the groups ahead of some big favorites?

Hmmm, hard question to answer. Top 4 will likely be (in no particular order) NiP, Fnatic, EnVyUs and VP. I think the team who could make the biggest impact on the tournament that people aren't giving any credit to is Vox Eminor. The way they played at the qualifier was unreal. Their T sides were so powerful and I really look forward to seeing those guys play. I could easily see Vox and Fnatic making it out of group A.

Is there a player or two in your team who you will hope to make the biggest impact in order for the team to achieve its goal?

We really need PTR's awp to be on point and Tarik to be fragging. FNS, Cutler, and myself are here to support these guys. If they are on point, we will win no problem. If they aren't, that's when us 3 need to step up and perform.

You switched the in-game leader role to ptr prior to the main qualifier, but during tarik's stream of the iBUYPOWER Invitational, it looked like FNS is back on the job. What's the situation in your team in terms of calling for this upcoming tournament?

FNS will remain the caller indefinitely. We just wanted to try out PTR calling and see how it went. It was never meant to be a permanent change but instead give us a breath of fresh air on how we could play our T sides. It worked! It motivated FNS more and really helped us. And to be fair, people really don't give FNS the credit he deserves. This guy is a mastermind of strats and pick/bans.

You had three wins over European teams in your first two international events, including taking down Titan and EnVyUs (then LDLC), which is more than most non-EU teams managed to do in their beginnings. Where do you think your ceiling is compared to previous NA powerhouses as well as in general? 

We don't have a ceiling. That's why we are so strong. We believe in our ability to perform against anyone because we know the guys on the other team are just other humans. They make mistakes, we capitalize and win. EU teams aren't some superhuman beings! I think C9 is in the same boat as us. They have the right mindset and skills capable of eventually taking titles.

There has been an increasingly high number of online leagues and cups lately, not just in Europe but also in NA. How did participating in them affect your team, do you think it helped in preparation or damaged you somehow? And how does it affect the scene in general in your opinion?

It's fantastic for everyone. It helps us grow not only as a team, but as a community. It also allows some of the up and coming teams to actually show their talents.

What does your team think about the changes to Overpass and Cobblestone? Are the changes for the better or worse? Have you practiced them?

Cobble is a lost cause in my opinion. Overpass is great though! I love the changes they made. The change to the A bombsite makes it much more take-able. Before, the CTs could just sit behind the smokes and hold the site no problem. With the double truck change, you can't just sit in site. It completely changed the CT dynamics of the map. I really enjoy it.

Do you like the current state of the pistols, Tec-9 and CZ-75 in particular? Would you make any changes to them or are they all finally balanced enough for competitive play?

I think I speak for everyone when I say - NERF THE TEC-9! PLEASE! Pistols, in my opinion, do too much damage. The Tec-9 is the main culprit, but I even dislike the 5-7. If they lowered the damage on those two, i think it would be perfect.

Reportedly the sticker money from the previous major, DHW, was split according to how many of each team's stickers were sold. Which way would you prefer it this time, an even split between all legends/challengers or distribution per selling amount? Or perhaps you would like to see a part of it added to prizemoney?

To be honest, I think it would likely be the most fair if they just gave the teams the money made from solely their stickers.

What is your stance on the current tournament system in the majors? Ever since DreamHack Winter 2013, the system has remained the same with a BO1 group stage, as well as a playoff spot securing a place in the next major. Would you change it in some way or keep it the same going forward?

I think it should follow the DotA2 International formats. BO1s are fine as long as there are lots of them. So make it 2 groups of 8 or 1 group of 16 round robin. If it's the group of 16 style, top 8 from the group go to winners bracket, bottom 8 go to losers bracket. It makes it so fair for teams. I personally feel for teams that go to major LANs and only get to play 3 matches. That's just a huge waste of their time. Gamers want to game so make it enjoyable for us, ya know? Just my opinion.

Since the start of 2015 the prize money in most tournaments started rising fast. Although no single tournament "outweighs" the majors yet, do you think that time will come? ESL One Katowice will be a huge event nevertheless - do you expect the viewership record to be broken? How many people do you estimate will watch the grand final this time?

No clue. The sky's the limit right now. I really couldn't tell you but as a player, all I can hope for is more money and more tournaments. KEEP EM COMING! As for viewer count, let's aim for 1 million concurrent! ;)

We are hoping to get a hold of every team attending ESL One Katowice on March 12-15 and present you with a similar pre-interview with each of them.