es3tag: "I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't think I could help FaZe qualify"

Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen kicked off his FaZe substitute performance in style with a 30-bomb on Overpass.

FaZe's roster situation at BLAST Premier Spring Groups was the main talking point over the last 24 hours, as the European combine got denied the chance to use Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke in place of Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard at the final moment.

That left them scrambling for a fifth with time running out, with es3tag the man they chose to join the team on such short notice.

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BLAST acknowledges miscommunication in FaZe replacement situation

After a dominant opening victory against Complexity, HLTV sat down with es3tag to talk about his last 24 hours and his feelings after his first game.

First of all, congratulations on the win. You came here at short notice, how did the game feel?

All of the guys are extremely welcoming, and it's such an easy system to slot in because a lot of the calling that karrigan does is kind of on the fly sometimes, and he's really good at just freestyle calling. So that makes it extremely easy for me, that I don't have to remember ten different strats and ten different setups. I was just getting to know the guys, and all of them have a really good vibe and have a lot of fun. So it was super easy getting into the team.

Okay, so the game seemed relatively straightforward for you guys. Did you expect a game like that, considering the situation?

I'm not sure what I expected, but I was kinda hoping for it, especially since I haven't played Anubis yet in practice. When the map came out, we weren't practicing in NIP, so I still need to practice that at the pro level. I played a single show match on it and then I've played lots of pugs and matchmaking on it, but besides that, I haven't really seen what's new on Anubis, and the same goes for Ancient.

I don't know exactly what happens now with the spawns, but I can kind of figure it out on the fly, I guess. T's have an easier time taking middle, and Cave is also easier to take control over on the offense. But then again, I haven't faced it yet at a pro level, and it's hard to know how everything looks before you play.

You had a fantastic performance on Overpass with 31 kills. Can you talk me through that map and your performance?

I mean, it's all in the roles. I have a good role, as I'm playing A control. So if an eco comes up my way, both CT and T side, I would say A site is really good to get good stats. I feel like if you don't get good stats while playing that role, you haven't really done your job correctly. And I would still say, even though I had a good performance, I think there were one or two situations I wish I could have done better in. But then again, it's maybe a bit too much to ask for myself after just having 9 hours with the guys.

So just looking back at the whole process of FaZe contacting you, how did your last 24 hours look?

I woke up with a lot of calls on my phone at 10 AM, it was a bit stressful, to be honest. And then I was like, okay, now I'm awake. And then about an hour or two later after they found out they weren't going to be able to play with k0nfig, I slotted in. I live four minutes away from where their hotel is, so I just walked over there, and then I just wanted to spend the entire day with them.

Touching on your next games at the tournament. You won your first one, do you think you can help the boys qualify for the Spring Final?

I don't really care about the performance today, because each day is going to be a new opponent. It might be tougher, we don't really know what we have and how well we play. But I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't think I could help them qualify. So, yeah, that's a definite yes.