Dima: "Really believe we can qualify for the Minor"

After being eliminated in the Pro League relegation stage following defeats to Envy and Windigo, Spirit got off to a good start to the Global Challenge tournament with a convincing win over Swole Patrol in their opening game, but then they were no match for BIG, who ran out 16-1 winners.

Spirit will take on ORDER in the group's decider match

Ahead of the match against the German side, Dust2.us's Michael "DuckMoriarty" Moriarty sat down with Dmitriy "⁠Dimaoneshot⁠" Bandurka to discuss matters including Spirit's performance in the relegation stage, their path in ESEA MDL and the upcoming CIS Minor qualifiers.

How do you think your team has performed in the matches you have played here?

We came to this LAN in a pretty bad form. We had a week-long bootcamp prior to the event, but two days in, one of our teammates got sick and we waited a week to get him back in form. We basically had two days before this LAN to practice. We have given a poor account of ourselves, but we believe we can do better. 

To get to ESL Pro League Season 7 Europe Relegation, you beat Kinguin and Virtus.pro in the ESEA MDL Season 27 Europe playoffs. In those matches, how were you and your team thinking? Were you glad you got the results and were you expecting them?

We were ready for the matches against Kinguin, Virtus.pro and all the other opponents in the league. These matches were pretty difficult for us, but the main problem we had, even in the match against BIG in the playoffs, was about the mental aspect of the game. But in the end we managed to get here, to this LAN. The biggest reasons for those wins was our coach and all of my teammates, who were trying their best.

Before this tournament you guys were in China for StarLadder IMBATV Invitational Chongqing where you finished 2nd. You also played some online qualifiers and narrowly missed out on getting to some events. Is this a sign of your form being on edge or are you always trying to improve and reach some more LANs in the future?

Our form, for now, is not the best, we just had a couple of results in online qualifiers that were not really the best. But it could be the downgrade after about three months of our form. We won a local Russian LAN and we played well in ESEA MDL. The second place in China was really tough for us. We are always trying our best and training to become better.

With the upcoming Major and Minors, your team has been invited to the CIS Minor closed qualifier. How confident are you guys that you can beat the teams in it and secure a place in the Minor itself?

We really believe that we can qualify. Still, our region is really difficult, even in the qualifiers. There are a lot of mix teams who will take part in the qualifier. Hopefully, we will make it to the Minor and play our best game. The Minor will also be difficult since there will be some teams who have been to some Majors.

On Saturday afternoon, Spirit will take on ORDER in a best-of-three decider series for a spot in the playoffs at the ESEA  MDL Global Challenge, featuring a $50,000 prize pool.