XANTARES: "NiP's playstyle suited how I like to play"

We met up with Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş after the first two matches at BLAST Pro Series Istanbul to pick his brain on his individual performance in the Ninjas in Pyjamas game, the team's struggle against Astralis and goals for the remaining matches.

Space Soldiers kicked off their campaign with a 16-13 victory against Ninjas in Pyjamas as XANTARES got 36 kills and posted a 1.98 rating. The Turkish squad then lost 16-6 to Astralis, closing out the day with a 1-1 record.

Afterwards we caught up with XANTARES to ask him about how the issues at the FACEIT Major affected the team, their games against Ninjas in Pyjamas and Astralis, the veto system used at this event, and more.

You had to play with hardstyle at the FACEIT Major because of ngiN’s visa issues. How did you feel going into the Major after you knew he couldn't come with you?

Some people attempt to portray the situation as if it was ngiN's fault, but it wasn't. We applied for ngiN's visa a month prior to the event, but something bizarre happened and they took his passport to the United Kingdom. We don't know the reason for it. Even though the tournament is over, they still haven't sent back his passport which is quite absurd. Because of the issue, we were understandably demotivated as one of our guys couldn't be with us in the server. hardstyle hadn't played CS in 6-7 years, so it was also a big deal for him to have to play at a Major.

In order to be at the next Major, you will have to go through the grueling qualification process once again. How do you feel about this?

We are feeling a little bit down, honestly. There is going to be a lot of tough opponents, like North and mousesports. I hope and believe that we can qualify again. We can do it if we work hard and stay motivated.

How did you prepare for this event in your home country?

We were in a different mindset because this is the first time that a big tournament like this has come to Turkey. We are very happy that it is held here and this motivates us even more. The only problem is that when we come back to Turkey, we are having ping issues even though the internet speed is good. That's a big problem here. Working individually on DM servers isn't very effective, so we mostly worked on team tactics.

You put on quite a show against NiP yesterday. At one point you had 24 kills and two deaths, that's how dominant you were. You struggled a little bit to close out the game but you got there in the end. What are your thoughts about that game?

I warmed up quite well so I was ready. NiP's playstyle suited how I like to play, so that also helped. It was a really positive performance on a personal level. NiP's playstyle was a little bit too generic and well-known, so that helped.

What about the loss against Astralis on Inferno?

I mean they are easily the best team in the world and they showed why. We started out as CTs and couldn't get any map control, they didn't let us. They play aggressively, which is a playstyle that I really like and appreciate. They deserved the win.

I also want to ask about your map choices. Three of our five round-robin matches will feature Mirage. Was this a conscious decision or did the way vetoes work in this tournament played a role?

We did the vetoes two weeks prior to the event via emails. Our opponents would ban something, a middleman would tell us which map they banned, and then we would ban something and so on. It went on like that so it was strange because it was different from what happens at other events, where we usually do the veto prior to the game. With the usual method, you can surprise your opponent or be surprised yourself. Because the game gets played a few minutes after the veto, it becomes a very crucial part of the game.

The way BLAST does it removes that factor, so teams can prepare and watch their opponents play on the decided map for two weeks. For example, the game against NiP could have played out differently if the veto had been done right before the match. But our aim isn't to criticize BLAST, this is simply something different. It changes the way teams play compared to virtually all other big tournaments. The concept might be good in theory, but it's different when it comes to practice.

Tomorrow [today] you are taking on MIBR, Cloud9, and Virtus.pro. What are your goals for these matches? Do you think you can reach the grand final?

I am very motivated, and so are my teammates. We have a chance to win every match. I expect some good results and I hope that we can get to the final.

Space Soldiers will take on MIBR at 13:00 to kick off day two at the BLAST Pro Series Istanbul.