device: "I like that the AWP is not as OP as it was in CS:GO"

The Danish sniper says he is adapting to a new style of AWPing in CS2.

Astralis are one of the few top teams yet to experience Counter-Strike 2 in a LAN setting after they missed out on an appearance at IEM Sydney. Their only officials in the new game came at the online Roobet Cup, where the Danish squad suffered a last-place exit.

CS Asia Championships 2023 is thus a new experience, and Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz admits he isn't sure what to expect when it comes to LAN play. The Danes have been matched up against Lynn Vision in the opening round and are massive favorites to advance from a group that also features a Paweł "⁠dycha⁠" Dycha-less ENCE and TYLOO.

device joined HLTV for a chat about his thoughts about CS2, his recent contract extension, recent allegations of the team's interest in HEROIC players, and Astralis' expectations for the Shanghai tournament.

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It's been a busy media day for you, a lot of different things going on. Just tell me about that, the amount of obligations, but also the kind of things that you're doing here compared to other media days.

It has been a special day. We did some stuff with our own partners and of course with the tournament organizers as well. Different from what we do in Europe, but I think that's to be expected.

It's been really fun and a little bit challenging as well. We enjoyed it and as you said, it's been a long day, but it's also because everyone is still a little bit jetlagged, so you don't have that much energy.

As Kasper [Kasper Straube Hansen, Astralis' Sports Director] mentioned before we started this interview, you're very popular here in China. How do you feel about that and being back here?

I mean, I loved it when I was here in Beijing. Being popular down here is different because usually, we don't really travel here that often, so it's not something you are accustomed to or you see in your life. It's a pleasure and it's very different. In Denmark, Astralis is really popular as well, but the culture here is just different, and it's a fun experience so far.

We've spoken to you about working with Kasper before, but that was pretty early on into him joining the team. Do you have any update on how you feel working with him now?

He's working the same way as he's always been. For me, it's a really nice and positive approach to the whole mental aspect and performance aspect. We're working in the same path and direction we have been since he joined the team, but yeah, getting to know him better is something that I've liked.

Both him and Jan, the other sports psychologist and performance guy we're working with, are working on a lot of stuff individually for me as well, which is really challenging, but in a good way. I think that it's something that can help me reach new heights, both in CS2, but also just in my career in general.

Let's talk about CS2 a bit. You've talked on Twitter about it being difficult to AWP and it being a different game. Tell me about your feelings about it.

In the beginning. It was really hard to AWP. I think they're already doing a lot of stuff to help with interpolation and a lot of stuff, so it's hard to say because you don't really get direct comments on what the direction is with the game.

But I think I'm learning to figure it out more and more and to abuse the mechanics as much as I can. In general also with MR12, the rifle is really strong, especially on T sides.

I like the direction of the game and where it's headed with the AWP, that it's not as OP as it was in CS:GO. I feel like the challenge has been really nice and hopefully there's a little bit of difference with the LAN ping and stuff like that to how the AWPing feels when you look at the peeker's advantage and interpolation and stuff like that.

It's going to be a really exciting experience for me, I'm going to try to reflect on it. Maybe not think too much about it when I'm playing, but just reflect on it afterwards. I think I've learned some game mechanics that's going to help me.

You're known as Mr. Consistent in CS:GO, do you feel like that is something you can keep up in CS2 even with this uncertainty right now?

The game will change a bit in the coming months and perhaps years as well, so hopefully. For me it's also like, consistency in numbers is one thing, but consistency in the way you work and the way you treat yourself and everything is really important.

It's not just the consistency in statistical numbers, but also what you can give to the team and stuff like that, and that's also a really important aspect that you have to reflect more on when you get older.

I don't think the skill level is necessarily meant to drop or anything, but you can add more layers to yourself in which you can be consistent. But yeah, of course I'm aiming to be consistent in the server as well, but there's a lot of exciting challenges in that regard.

As you said, you haven't had a chance to play games on LAN yet, you weren't at Sydney. You did get the chance to play in the Roobet Cup, but that probably didn't go as you would have wanted. Can you tell me about that experience and that result a bit, and what you've been working on during this period?

We practiced very hard and have been also after going out of Roobet Cup. It's also, I wouldn't say devastating is the right word, but it was a rough tournament because I feel like the more officials you play, the more accustomed you get to playing the game as well — practice is one thing. We really hoped to get more reps in some sort of way, so it sucks that we lost. For me, there were a few defining moments individually in how to treat some of these situations differently from CS:GO and to learn from that, so I think I learned a lot as an individual but the result wasn't that good.

But also in my opinion, in these online tournaments, there are so many games that are played and I think you'll just see that the teams are so close to each other. Us losing to 9INE and Apeks, it could happen at a LAN tournament as well, but it's just how it is with a new game and everything. A lot of teams can beat each other and we just have to work harder to get more consistency to be able to punch above those numbers of the middle teams that can all beat each other.

Two pieces of news came out recently, one was that you extended your contract with Astralis through 2026. Right now there's a lot of talk about roster moves, big names moving between teams, so tell me about that recommitment from you to Astralis.

For me it was a good time to sit down with the guys at Astralis, it was a year after I came back from basically not playing for a year. Getting a deal that reflects what I think I can bring to the table and everything was important for me, and just to renew it was obviously good. There was some interest as well from other teams, and I just feel like Denmark, and especially Astralis, is the place I want to be.

I'm just happy that I got to renew my contract, it's always a positive thing especially when you turn 28. Really happy with that, and for me it's just about putting the working gloves on and doing all I can to be the best version of myself in this new game and show that I'm still here.

Another piece of news that came out was obviously that Astralis has expressed interest in jabbi and stavn from Heroic. Can you tell me about that and if you have any insight into what the organization's process is for that?

I mean, I don't really know what's going on at the top-level direction, so it's not something I contemplate too much about. The same thing happened when we were about to sign Staehr, who's sitting right over there, and it was also right before a tournament so it's always one of those things where it's a bit weird as a player and as a team to deal with that.

But it's quite natural for all teams to have interest, especially Astralis and Danish players, so I understand that it's tough. When you work together as a unit you really have to be tight-knit, so whenever there is something that can interfere with that, it's something you need to work harder on the mental aspect and ensure that people are comfortable. It's something we've been working and talking through with the team, but yeah, it's also just a part of the game that there's a bit of job uncertainty. The same would be for me if I didn't play well or there was another great Danish AWPer out there — cadiaN (laughs) — so it's just how it is in the game. You have to be really good at dealing with that yourself.

Is that potential move something that you feel like Astralis has to do to be able to get back to the top and be title winners?

I wouldn't necessarily say that. I think so far we've had a decent showing on LAN at least, like getting to playoffs at all tournaments we've participated in, so I think we've been on a steady track. But also there is no denying that stavn and jabbi are really great players.

Again, I don't know what is going to happen so it's hard to say, but I'm also really happy with the teammates I have right now, and everyone knows that stavn and jabbi are really great players too.

Turning back to this tournament, your first match is going to be against Lynn Vision. You really only need one win to get into the playoffs, how do you feel about that?

It's definitely a goal for us to get to the playoffs. The first task we have is Lynn Vision, as you said, so going into the match it's just about finding a rhythm early here in China with both the jetlag, but also there's some new stuff with different monitors than we're usually playing with and stuff. It's just about getting some reps in, playing together, getting the right rest and stuff like that.

We're focusing on that game and I know that no matter what, you play right after, so we have our eyes set on them. We're also expecting a good game, they just won the qualifier for Shanghai next year, so we know that they're probably the best team in the region and we have to be playing a good game to beat them.

And eyes set on the trophy as well? A lot of teams are potentially making changes, there's a lot of uncertainty around some of the big names at this event, so thoughts on that?

It's always dangerous to have the mindset heading into a tournament that you want to lift the trophy. It's about taking it one step at a time, but obviously as you said, it's not the most stacked tournament of the year. But I also do think with a new game like this, it's hard to say who are the strongest teams.

Just one game at a time, I think we can do a really good showing down here and yeah, I hope we win, but for me it's also just about if we lose, the way we lose, is it to ourselves or is it to opponents that are better on the day? That is very important for us to have the feeling that we were beaten by a greater team than just losing to ourselves and not committing to the things we want to do.