gla1ve: "I have a lot of trust in us"

The 21-year-old has been a presence in the Danish scene since the latest days of CS:S, and is now a part of X, #19 team in our Global Team Ranking—powered by EGB.com.

He played for Astralis at ESL One Cologne as a stand-in and performed admirably, averaging a 1.06 rating. He joined X after the Major and they finished second in their first LAN tournament together at the PGL Summer Finals.

We talked to the Danish player about his practice routine, his performance in Cologne, the state of the Danish scene, and what the future holds for his team:

Can you give us a summary of how and when you started playing Counter-Strike? When did you start playing professionally?

As far as I remember I started playing Counter-Strike around the age of 12. As I am 21 years old today it has been about 9 years. Professionally as in making a living out of it happened right before 2016 when I joined Copenhagen Wolves.

How much time do you spend on personal and team practice each day? Does playing the game a lot tire you?

I spend around 3 hours a day which you could say is personal practice, but for me it is mostly because I enjoy the game so much and I am having a lot of fun when I am playing with my mates. With the team we use around 6 hours a day to practice our tactics and keep improving as a team but also as individuals. Personally I am aiming for having one day off from Counter-Strike each week, a day which I'll be using with family or friends. But if we are going to big events we don't take days off, and usually bootcamp before our events.

Although some people didn't think you were a good choice for Astralis at the ESL One Cologne Major, you had a solid performance in both the group stage and quarter-finals. Can you say a few words on your own performance and the team's run to the playoffs without Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen?

I did not put too much thought into people thinking I wouldn't fit into Astralis as a stand-in. I tried to focus on my individual level before the bootcamp, and just learn as much as possible from the boys at the bootcamp itself. I personally feel like I underperformed in the group stage even though I was a stand-in and played solid. That was not good enough for me. When we met Virtus.pro in the quarter-final I felt on point and I am happy with the way I've played against them. It was such a pleasure to be sitting on that stage and almost beat Virtus.pro. dupreeh is an important player for the team, as he is one of the guys who usually go first into sites. It was a big loss but actually I am quite surprised how well Danny "⁠zonic⁠" Sørensen did when you take it into consideration that he never plays CS:GO. I am happy that I helped the guys stay Legends once again, and I hope they will find their old form soon. We need to have at least one top 3-5 Danish team, as we have such a talented scene.

As the lineup of X is quite new, can you give us a role breakdown of the players?

Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså and I decided to join the SK team with Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif, Andreas "⁠MODDII⁠" Fridh and Michael "⁠Friis⁠" Jørgensen but suddenly Magisk got an offer from Dignitas. Thomas "⁠haste⁠" Dyrensborg and I would have been the in-game-leaders on that lineup. After Magisk left we tried out Asger "⁠AcilioN⁠" Larsen, but suddenly he rather wanted to go to the US to play for Splyce. So we brought in Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer, and we tried to find the perfect roles for all of us at the bootcamp right before PGL in China. One day before the bootcamp ended we found out the perfect roles for everybody. So as it is now, Snappi is our in-game-leader and secondary AWPer, Friis is our main AWPer and valde, MODDII and I are our riflers.

You came second to Epsilon in PGL Summer Finals in China with X after a 3-0 loss in the grand final. What do you think went wrong then? Do you think the tournament organization in China was good and do you want to go back there for more tournaments?

It was a tough final for us against Epsilon. Some of our players were really tired and had almost no sleep before the day of the final. But Epsilon played extremely well and that is why we got wrecked. There were problems with the event, but it should be fixable for their next event. Like having Windows in Chinese is not okay, as we used too much time setting up every time. But all in all they were really great people, and I would love to go back there to compete once again!

What is your opinion on the current state of the Danish scene? Do you think Astralis can once again become a top three team? Can Dignitas crack top 10 or can you guys consistently stay in top 20? What is your projection for the future of the scene?

It's a tough question as everything is so new. I don't understand why Astralis keep underperforming; when I was at bootcamp with them we played extremely well in every practice game so I guess it could be something psychological at the events. I believe that Astralis can go back to be a top three team, but if it doesn't happen in the near future I do not think it will happen with the current lineup. Dignitas is like a new formed team at the moment with René "⁠cajunb⁠" Borg as the main AWP, Mathias "⁠MSL⁠" Lauridsen as the lurker, their coach as their shotcaller, and the addition of Magisk. They have a lot to work on, and for me it feels like the potential is there get back in top 10. As of now we are on the top 20 ranking list, and I have a lot of trust in us to go even further.

As of right now Valve intends to hold the next Major in January of 2017. This means the Minors and the Main Qualifier could take place in December and January. What is your opinion about this recent development?

It is sad that we did not have one more Major in 2016 as we had the past years. It will be extremely tough to even get into the Major qualifier, now that fnatic also has to go through the Minor. It's sad for us, because the Major is one of our goals as a team, and going there could be a long shot. But if your team is good enough to be there, you will, so we just do our best and hope we will surprise.

What do you think about the current map pool? Do you think Overpass—a map that we see less and less each tournament—should be removed? Which maps would you like to see in the pool?

I like the current map pool, but I believe there could be made space for Tuscan and the remade Inferno. For me it's impossible to say which maps I could see them replacing. I think you need to look at statistics to see which maps are played the least—both in pugs and at pro level.

Who are the toughest players to play against at the moment and why?

I think the Swedish scene is the toughest one to play against at the moment. Almost all Swedish players have a lot of firepower and that is why I think their scene is the strongest right now.

What are your short term goals as a team (2-3 months)? Are there any LAN tournaments on the horizon?

We want to beat Dignitas at Power-LAN, and be a contender for the top two place in Denmark. Right after that event we are heading to Canada to play the Nothern Arena event in Toronto. As stated we are going to play with a stand-in, which will be Nikolaj "⁠niko⁠" Kristensen from Tricked. He is an upcoming Danish talent, and he deserved the opportunity to go to such a big event. Besides those two events we are focusing on ESL Pro League, and I hope we can make some upsets happen!

Before we end our interview, is there anything you want to say to your fans and shout-outs you want to give?

Thank you for the huge support you gave me at the Major, especially some of the hardcore Astralis fans. It was a big help for me to know there were a lot of people that wanted us to succeed. I hope you guys will follow our Team-X journey which has just started.

X will be kicking off the European division of ESL Pro League Season 4 as they will be facing FaZe. They will also compete at Power-LAN which features the likes of Astralis and Dignitas.

BenjaCS is a staff writer at HLTV.org and can be found on Twitter.