Zeus: Tried to fix our map pool

Gambit are certainly a team who have snuck under the radar over the last year. After catching the eye with a quarter-final finish at ESL One Cologne, the team brought down the curtain on the 2016 event season by winning DreamHack Winter in convincing fashion, moving up to 12th place in our ranking by the end of the year. 

The team began 2017 on a very positive note and repeated their playoff finish from Cologne at the ELEAGUE Major before reaching the quarter-finals at DreamHack Masters Las Vegas.

Gambit have been working on their map pool, says Zeus   

But Gambit, who currently sit 10th in the world, still have some issues to resolve, including a somewhat limited map pool, which we wrote about a few weeks ago.

Read on to find out what Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko had to say about the team's quarter-final "curse", Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov's rise to the top of European Counter-Strike and the recent coaching changes in Na`Vi, the team he represented for seven years. 

Looking back at your two last big tournaments, you were able to reach the playoffs but couldn't progress further. How have you dealt with that as a team, what have you identified as the problem and what do you think you need to improve to get wins in BO3s?

I would say that getting to the playoffs at those events was a pretty good achievement for us. We wanted to win those quarter-final matches to go even further, but those were some tough matches that sadly we could not win. It was not like we got torn to pieces. We played well against Fnatic and North but it was not enough; perhaps we were tired. We have had some rest and two weeks of preparation for StarSeries, where we will play bo1 in the Swiss stage. If we can advance from this challenging format then maybe our new practice system will help us to win our first quarter-final at a big event and get to a semi-final.

You have been winning against great teams on Overpass and Cobblestone recently, but unable to transfer that form to other maps. Do you feel that your map pool is imbalanced? Aren’t you worried teams will outright ban those two maps against you?

We know that we have issues with that, and during this bootcamp we tried to fix our map pool. We will most likely play more maps at StarSeries and we will see how that goes. 

As a team, you are in a weird position as you are placed among the top 10 in the world and now regularly receive invites for LAN events, but you are still playing in the ECS Development League and ESEA Premier—where you often face tier 2 and 3 opposition. What was your experience from playing against these teams, do you lack the motivation that you have when you play against the top, is there anything different?

First of all, online matches are always different from LAN games, and these "tier 2" teams play really well online and sometimes it feels like we are playing against the best teams in the world. We sometimes lose matches, and even if we do not it is never an easy fight. We understand that and we know that a lot of top teams lose online to lower skilled teams. We are still very disappointed that we could not go through to ECS, we needed a bit more to go through, but we will prepare for next season. In ESEA Premier we are through to the playoffs (although it was by the skin of our teeth) and now we will play best-of-three matches to try to secure the first place, which is our goal. 

HObbit has enjoyed a fast rise to the top of the scene, winning an MVP award and getting to the playoffs of a Major only a few months after he first started playing on the highest level. How do you think all of that has influenced him? Is there anything you have been doing as a team to help him adapt to playing against the best.

He is a talented player. Our coach and I have done a lot of work with him. He has a great desire to play well and win as a team. He has never strived for individual awards, but he played really well at DreamHack Winter and has a good chance to shine at StarSeries. I wish him the best.

Zeus was full of praise for HObbit 

Recently, Starix stepped down from his coaching role in your old team, Na`Vi. Were you surprised by the move, what were your initial thoughts? Also, did you consider adding him to your roster as a coach, seeing the success you had together in the past?

I will not lie, I knew that Na`Vi had issues with starix and that they even had a defining period in which the team had to show results otherwise they would be forced to remove starix. They did not achieve the kind of results they wanted and did what they had to do. I was not surprised. I think we are making very good progress as a team, and I do not see the reason to change anything. We have reached the top 10 pretty quickly and now we need to cement that position. 

Gambit have signed an Academy team featuring five young Russian players. Do you interact with that team at all, what are your thoughts on Academy teams in general?

I think it is a really good idea. Organisations opening Academy teams give young players the opportunity to prove themselves and rise to the top. It is a great idea, and I really support it!

StarSeries will feature a Swiss format, which you are familiar with from the Major qualifier and the Major itself. How do you think this format compares to the others, are you happy they decided to use it in Kiev?

Honestly, it is a new system to me and I am still not very familiar with it because of how hard it was for us to go through at the Major (even though we were 3-1), and it was the same for the other teams there. I think it will be very tough for all teams and I would be very happy to get through to the playoffs. 

What goals have you set for your team at SLi StarSeries Season 3? Is there a certain team you wish to beat, a certain placing you wish to reach or something else you would be happy to achieve in the tournament?

For starters, we want to know where we are at and to get through to the playoffs. But our main goal will be to reach the semi-finals and get a top three/four finish.