MODDII: "In a final anything can happen, but I want to win"

HEROIC have managed to secure a spot in the DreamHack Valencia playoffs after beating both Misfits and KPI by 16-8 scorelines.

MODDII's Heroic are through to DH Valencia playoffs

We caught up with Andreas "⁠MODDII⁠" Fridh to get to know his impressions on matters concerning HEROIC's matches, their map pool and the preparation for Valencia.

I'd like to start to talk about your first match, in which you lost just two rounds in the second half after taking a three-round lead on the CT side. What are your thoughts on the match?

We felt pretty confident on Overpass. We talked about the potential maps before the game, and I said to my team that it would be a huge surprise if they put Nuke or Overpass in the pool. So when they picked Overpass I was so surprised, and even though we struggled a bit on the CT side, I was pretty confident. We just got six rounds as CT and then we managed to close it out as Terrorists. I knew our T side was pretty good.

Do you feel confident on all maps, or are there any you would prefer to avoid? 

We have one permanent ban, I don't really feel confident on that one. But then we have six maps we are pretty OK on. Of course I prefer our stronger maps, such as Nuke and Overpass, but I feel pretty confident in the maps we have.

In your second match, you met KPI for first place in the group. You easily won the match, but the Spanish team put up a fight. What do you think of them as a team?

I was surprised. We practiced against them quite a few times, and they didn't seem that good, I'm sorry to say it. But here, on LAN, they gave us a fight, of course, we needed to focus and play seriously. They got some good headshots, so I'm surprised.

I know you guys did not have that much time to prepare, but how was your preparation for Valencia?

We actually lost pretty early in Cologne, so we used those days there to do a quick bootcamp, that was basically our preparation. Then we had the Malmö qualifier before coming here, and we took that as a practice as well, even though we lost. It sucked, but we have had enough preparation.

What are your goals for this tournament?

Right now, after qualifying for the playoffs, my goal to reach the final, of course. In a final anything can happen and only good teams can make it, but I want to win. That's my goal.  

Snappi said in Cologne that he was feeling pretty confident about the team and the way it worked, despite some mistakes. How do you feel about it?

I could not agree more with him. Our players have good work ethic, so we're doing fine, and even though we can lose a game, we are able to sit down and discuss our mistakes, so I'm super happy.

Who else do you see as favourites for this tournament?

I think CLG are going to do well. They were good at their last event and had that super overtime versus fnatic, for example. They have had some pretty decent results lately. I hope NiP beat CLG so we do not have to face them in the semi-finals. In my eyes, the dark horse will be CLG.