Karsa: "wanted to play more passive"

The Chinese team is currently playing the winners' match against HEROIC who were able to impose themselves in a Danish derby against Astralis, and are fighting for a place as the top seed of their group. If they lose, however, they will have to face either Astralis or rematch Natus Vincere, but this time in three maps.

TyLoo huddle up before their match against Heroic

Were you guys expecting to win against Na’Vi who are considered one of the best teams to come out of this off-season? How much of an upset do you think this win was and how confident were you?

It’s actually similar to the situation we had against SK where we didn’t expect to win but we didn’t relax or let go of the game just because of it. No one expected us to win. And the fact that we got an upset, just like we did in other tournaments, doesn’t mean we achieved a lot or we are too strong. Maybe some of us over-performed, it’s not a clear-cut thing.

What do you think the keys to the victory against Na’Vi were?

The key for us could be explained with the old Chinese quote “know yourself, know your enemy, and you shall win a hundred battles without loss.” It’s really important to know both sides of the clash. Our players were quite calm—we won a lot of clutches—and played extremely solid, that was another factor.

How and why did you change your style from an aggressive approach to more of a tactical one?

We played more straightforward and quite aggressive before Katowice. Afterwards we found out that both the European and Asian teams knew what we were going to do. They could just anti-strat us quite well. So after Katowice we changed our style as we wanted to play more passive and wished to learn from the European teams from their demos. With this passive style, we can get more information about the other team in a round and play off of that.

One reason you were so aggressive was the fact that you were much better than the other Asian teams, so you could just win using raw aim. Do you think you can bring this new passive style back to Asia to help the scene grow tactically?

We play this tactical style both against the European and Asian teams and we are still in the learning phase. We can get better with the tactical approach and help the already growing Chinese scene. Maybe this style can become a trend in our scene.

You developed new tactics with your new style and teams in this tournament couldn’t predict what you were going to do today. Did you create strategies for the team itself or did you plan against specific opponents, like Na’Vi?

We have actually done both as we play our passive style but also look at what our opponents do to anti-strat them.

Let’s talk about the veto. Mirage was a map you struggled on against Europeans and Americans, but it’s also a map you play a lot and are strong on back home alongside Cache. How did you decide to pick Mirage against Na’Vi?

We knew that Na’Vi were quite strong on every map except Cache, which they always veto. We thought we might have a chance on Mirage and picked it. We also expected to play on this map as we could guess what Natus Vincere were going to veto.

How did you guys specifically prepare for this tournament?

We knew in August that we were coming to this tournament and extended our practice hours to train more. We focused on the tactical side of our game and saw the impacts of our preparation in the first game, but we can’t really be sure how the rest of the LAN will go for us as it’s quite a different environment than online.

Your next match will be against the winner of Heroic vs. Astralis. How did you prepare against these teams and what’s the outlook on your next match?

We actually haven’t prepared for that match yet but we will begin work after our opponent is certain.

Lastly, since I’m speaking to such a hands-on coach I must ask about your feelings on Valve’s ruling which limits the coach’s ability to call in-game outside of timeouts. What are your thoughts on it?

I couldn’t understand why the coaching rule came about as both the opposing teams can have a coach and it’s fair. If the game is to be more professional and closer to the level of traditional sports, coaches should be a part of the game. It badly influences the scene and the future of the industry. It’s as if we were going backwards.