TaZ: We strive for greatness

Virtus.pro travel to Kiev hoping to make amends after being sent packing in the group stage at the IEM World Championship, in Katowice. 

But despite the early exit at the IEM event, 2017 has been a great year for Virtus.pro thus far, with the team launching a title-winning campaign at DreamHack Masters Las Vegas after finishing runners-up to Astralis at the ELEAGUE Major.

TaZ believes Virtus.pro's era will come 

Read on to find out what Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas had to say about coping with the early elimination in Katowice, the team's continuous struggle in online tournaments, the rivalry with Astralis, and more.

You began the year with a third place at WESG but then bounced back with a second place at the ELEAGUE Major and a first-placed finish at DreamHack Masters Las Vegas. Was that a slap in the face of those who seemed to have forgot about you?

I do not think people forget about us, regardless if we play well or not. Haters will hate, no matter what, and some fans come and go, that is just how it goes. We used to have very poor results at the beginning of a year, so I am just very happy that we were able to get some good runs early on this time around.

After those incredible runs in Atlanta and Las Vegas, you went out of the groups at IEM Katowice, on home soil. Was it a hard blow to take? How did the team react?

It is hard to describe the feeling after such a loss, it was painful, to say the least. I think that we would gladly give away our earlier runs just to be able to play on stage for that crowd. We are from Poland, and there is nothing more exciting and rewarding than playing on stage for the people who support us fully with their hearts. I am glad we will have one more chance this year... and we will do our best to make it count.

What do you think that the team is still missing to reach the level of consistency required to finish in the top places at every event?

We have been playing with the same roster for three years, I do think that we are pretty consistent with our results, we always want to win every event, our attitude will always be like that, and we show no fear to other teams. You cannot always succeed, but one day the so-called "Era of Virtus.pro" will come. I want us to win three-four events in a row and we have time to do that. We do not go at each other's throats after defeats nor do we get carried away by our successes. We continuously strive for greatness. Hard work, dedication and belief will guide us to that goal, but we cannot forget about having fun. Playing games is fun, competition is fun. Victories will come.

You were very critical of the format used in Katowice. Why was that? Do you prefer the Swiss format that you will find in Kiev?

I was just crying, I am a very emotional person. I hate to hide my feelings, so when I feel something... it kills me from the inside if I do not say it out loud, but we can agree that Social Media is not the place for that! It is obvious that I prefer the Swiss format or the bo3. Still, losing in Katowice was a big blow and I could not control my temper. I live and breathe Counter-Strike, every loss hits me like a train. I am just that kind of person. I guess that is why I am still here. 

There has been some friendly banter between you and device on Social Media of late. What is your opinion about the rivalry between your team and Astralis?

Honestly, I do not see any banter. For me, there was only one statement after the Major, we made it happen and I moved on. Still, it is fun to sometimes bring up the heat! I guess we always have that kind of rivalry against the No.1 team. It is like a game for us, if we get beaten on "normal mode" we turn the "night mode" on and go for another brawl! 

What was practice for this event like? Was it just online or did you have a bootcamp? What aspects have you been focusing on?

We only practised online for this event. After so many years together, I believe we understand what the team needs, and sometimes playing 24/7 just kills your hunger. Once again we worked on our weak spots, and we will see on LAN if we have made any progress. So yet again... Virtus.low or Virtus.plow! Vote now! 

TaZ admits that the early exit at IEM Katowice was a hard blow to take 

You are currently ninth in the Pro League while you had to go through the promotion stage to retain a stop in ECS. In your opinion, why is it that you keep struggling in online leagues?

Most of the time when we play online, there are minors things that take away our focus... we whine too much when we play in these leagues about everything. We know better on LAN. Internet just makes us brain-dead. Perhaps Polish internet sucks? 

At the previous StarSeries event, you finished 13th-16th, and it all begin with a defeat against an Asian team (VG.CyberZen). Now, you are going to face another Asian team in your first game (MVP Project). What sort of precautions are you taking to prevent an upset?

I am happy to see more and more teams from Asia play at events like this, hopefully we will have big events in Asia just like in the 1.6 era. We will travel to Kiev one day before the event, and this will up our chances greatly! Then again when I think about the results we are getting in online practice... Fingers crossed, and seatbelts fasten!

You have been part of the FACEIT FPL Player Council. Do you think FPL is a good way for emerging talents like Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool to break through, or do you think that the best way to do is through teams and qualifiers?

I do think FPL stands for two things: high practice level for top players outside a normal team schedule and finding new talents. I believe that even if only one of these two happens to be true, the system works! It is impossible to make everyone happy, but I like how much easier it is now for teams to find good players. The only downside to it is the cheating witch hunt. I left the council some time ago, but one day... we will make FPL great again!