frozen: "Basically, all I do is sleep, go to school, and play CS"

In our interview with David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský we learned about the youngster's decision to join mousesports, how he fits into the team, and his experience of playing at IEM Sydney.

After stints with Czech-Slovakian squads and a brief one with NoChance, 16-year-old frozen got the opportunity to join MOUZ, an ambitious project led by Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen.

So far, the youngster has been impressive, putting up a great performance in Australia where he finished with a 1.30 rating after facing the likes of BIG and MIBR.

In our interview, frozen talked about leaving the local scene, facing big teams, and his role on the squad.

As far back as 2017 and 2018 you were already playing FPL, people were propping you up, you were the Bold Prediction of a couple of players. But then the period came where you couldn't play in a lot of events because you were 15 and ESL announced the rule change, so you had to sit out of that. Did your motivation drop at all then, did you have any issues with being hungry about playing CS?

My motivation was still the same but I couldn't play a lot of qualifiers for the tournaments, I couldn't play in ESL and also ELEAGUE because it is 17+, I can't even play it right now. But yeah, I think that I was just waiting for the right opportunity to get somewhere so I just kept grinding with the eXtatus team I was playing in before. So after that, I decided I needed to do something so I decided to join NoChance. After that everything just popped off, and now I'm here.

So when did the decision come to leave the Slovakian scene and go international?

I played with Slovakians for two or three years, we had a lot of slumps and, in the end, there were a lot of roster changes, we didn't know which players to pick because there are not a lot of players you can pick in Czech and Slovakia you can play with. So, in the end, I decided to join a European team and get some new experiences there.

The NoChance team, did you think that was something that could've potentially lasted longer? Was it possible for it to be a team you could build your career with or was it chance to just break out and see what happens?

Definitely, in the long term, we could've achieved something for sure. Because the players and the chemistry in the team we had were great, but the problem was [not having] an organization. After that, mousesports came and talked to me so I talked to my parents and in the end, I decided to take a chance and join mousesports.

What is the situation with you regarding school? How is that working out?

Basically, all I do is sleep, go to school, and play CS. It is kind of hard but I want to finish school at least.

Tell me about joining mousesports, who approached you and how did they do it?

The first guy that talked to me was karrigan, he was talking about the lineup, but they didn't even know the final lineup back then, so I wasn't sure [about joining]. But when the final lineup came I was like "OK, I'm fine with this, I'm going to continue with you guys".

This lineup, the players in it, all of them have a lot more experienced than you at least. What was your thinking when you saw these four players, and you having the opportunity to play with them?

Playing under karrigan gives you a lot of experience, you can learn from him, it feels super good, the mix of players we have, and the chemistry as well. I think that is very important to have in a team. We are just having fun.

Do you feel like you are given the room and the roles that you want on the team? How did they incorporate you into the team?

I don't have the same roles I used to play, but I told the boys that they can just put me anywhere they want and I'll do anything for the team to win. I guess I'm kind of an entry fragger now, I'm trying to open the rounds. I would like to AWP as well, but that is not possible [laughs]. I'm like the third AWPer but I'm never picking it up, just playing the AK and AUG.

Coming to this tournament, you didn't play a lot of official matches before this, what was your thinking coming to IEM Sydney, a big event like this?

I didn't have any expectations, I went from match to match. Even though we lost to MIBR I think we showed a good match, and as you said, it was the first event for us. I just want to see where this team goes in the next half year, or next year. I think we can achieve great things.

Did you feel any pressure on the stage?

No, not at all. I felt like I was at home.

You are not someone that gets affected by playing against known, big teams?

Nah.

Did you already go through that period, playing online? Why do you think it doesn't affect you at all?

I mean, maybe I was affected at the first few events, but that was back with eXtatus. So that was the time I got used to tournaments and playing on LANs, I guess.

Moving from here, what do you think, individually and as a team, need to focus on?

Of course, I still need to play a lot, I'm not satisfied with my individual level. I think we have to work on our map pool since Cache was removed and we have to play Vertigo now. I don't like that map, but it is something new. So yeah, the map pool, definitely.