seized: "LANs always charged me"

The Russian veteran says CS2 has rekindled his competitive drive.

Denis "⁠seized⁠" Kostin's 9 Pandas team came into the $100,000 PARI Please tournament as the second lowest-ranked team, with pre-event expectations for the Russian squad on a low level ahead of their opener.

Despite that, they flawlessly progressed through the group stage and then comfortably dispatched FURIA to qualify for the final, where they met Eternal Fire. The seized-led team came into the match as massive underdogs but once again prevailed to secure the trophy and the $60,000 grand prize.

Ahead of their grand final appearance, seized sat down with HLTV to talk about making a long-overdue LAN final and his career since leaving Vega Squadron. He also gave a short comment after their grand-final victory on what this achievement means to him, which you can find at the end of the interview.

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You made it to the final of PARI Please 2023 and are about to play against Eternal Fire. Your last LAN final was with NAVI at ESL One New York 2016, which was 7 years ago. How does it feel to make it to a LAN final again?

Yes, the previous international LAN final was a long time ago indeed. Getting through to the final here means a lot, even though this tournament is much smaller than New York in all respects. But this shows that it was worth spending all the time in the last half a year with all these marathons. We probably have the most officials played in the last six months for sure. And the fact that we are starting to beat great teams shows that we are moving in the right direction. This is very nice and makes me happy.

You departed Vega Squadron in 2019, and you have been mostly under the radar of the international audience since then. Can you summarize what you were up to in the last 4 years?

I think everything coincided. Like everyone else, we probably didn’t have a LAN for two years due to the coronavirus. I also experienced some problems in life, if you can call it that, in conjunction with CS [problems]. And that's why I went missing. At some point, I decided that I wanted to move on with young players. I made this decision with my first team [after Vega]. That roster also included clax and glowiing. We split up, some left for another team, and we played in various other lineups. And now, four years later, we are together again with a great lineup.

Many new players appeared because of COVID and because everyone was playing online on an equal footing, and there was no pressure of LANs, the generation began to slowly change. And there were different teams, there were different rosters, different organizations: good and bad. Now I finally feel like I have everything I need to show myself again.

In August you played PARI Dunav Party and also performed very well by reaching the semi-finals and narrowly lost to Spirit. Meanwhile, you haven't had much success online. How would you explain such good performance on these two LANs?

Most likely, we are a LAN team, we just play better both individually and as a team on LAN. Now, when you and many other tier-two teams play a lot of online tournaments, they all turn into some kind of routine, and you cannot concentrate on one thing. You just play a lot of matches to gain points to rise in the rankings and get invitations to better events. I don’t know about everyone else, LANs always charged me. I always played better here than at home. And it’s the same with my boys.

And thanks to the transition to CS2, everything has been reset. All teams began to develop from some starting point in this game, they’re getting to know it. We’re playing so well because we are devoting a huge amount of time to the game now, we did a month of bootcamp before this tournament.

I, and probably everyone in the building, have noticed that your team is exceptionally loud. So loud even that you were calling on your team to tone down the yelling during the match. Do you see that energy as your team's strength? Or is it rather a problem that you have to work on?

There are both positive and negative aspects to the yelling. Positive ones are a boost to the team, increased motivation, and energy. We should let our emotions out. We are very different from Europeans. They are quieter and calmer, this is their routine. Our mentality is different, we must yell. This gives us a huge bonus and a huge advantage over your opponent.

But there are also bad moments. You can win some kind of incredible round, and because everyone will rejoice and yell, the person will not pick up weapons, grenades, and so on. Or there are still moments when a round is going on, and, for example, our coach Andrey starts shouting at us “nice, nice, nice!”. Since we sit in the same room, we have a very big echo, and because of this, sometimes you don’t even hear the CS. Chaos begins, and this may result in a lost round. We just need to find a good balance.

Among the louder members of your team is your coach Xoma. You said in an interview that you share a vision with him. Can you tell us more about his role and impact on your results?

He makes a huge contribution to the team's results and building our game. The training process is entirely on him. He gives us advice and sets the game plan. I do everything else in the game. I suggest and direct the team, whether dead or alive. CS trends have changed so that in a good team the coach plays a huge part in its success. And our team is no exception.

d1Ledez is the star of 9 Pandas as you said. What do you think about his potential? Do you see your influence in where he is as a player?

Of course, I see my influence in his growth. I try to pass on my experience to all the guys on the team, all the things I went through to make them progress faster so that they don't have to make the same mistakes.

d1Ledez has a huge potential. He can become one of the best players in the world. He's already playing really well, and no one knows what his ceiling might be. He is very hardworking, and because of that, his potential simply does not have limitations. He can become the best, but it will all depend on him, how much he wants it, and how much he will work on it.

Many now talk about the issue of age in Counter-Strike. In 2020, you said in an interview that age impacts CS due to the responsibilities that come with maturing. At 29, how do you reflect on your age and its impact on your performance?

In the last year and a half we, fortunately, began to break the stereotypes that people after 27-28 can’t do anything. There are a lot of great examples, like role players such as rain. He won the MVP at the Antwerp Major as the oldest player ever, and then he also won the IEM Sydney MVP. karrigan is even older, he is 34, and he is the captain of the team.

There are many such examples. Stereotypes are already crumbling. It all depends on the person, how much one can immerse themselves in the game, and how much one is ready to devote all their time and life to this game as if they are 16 years old. In terms of physiology, there are no differences between 16, 20, 25, or 30 - the reaction speed does not change.

Three years ago you also said in an interview that you wouldn't quit playing when the game stopped bringing you pleasure. Considering all the issues, does CS2 bring you more or less pleasure than CS:GO?

Despite all the bugs and problems that the game now has, CS2 brings much more emotion and pleasure because I have been playing CS:GO throughout its entire existence, which is about 10 years. Everything has been studied, and nothing new appeared. And when you do one thing for so long, interest, desire, and passion begin to fade away.

Now, although the game’s concept has not changed, with the release of the new version there are many more variations in tactical and even individual terms. I mean, it's such a nice breath of fresh air for me personally, as well as for the team. And because of that, I'm glad CS2 came out.

You said that your goal is to get to the first CS2 Major. But do you have a goal for the CS2 chapter of your career as a whole? What would you like to have achieved in CS2 by the end of it or when you stop playing?

First of all, of course, to check the box that I was never able to do in CS:GO, which is to win a Major. But I don’t set any such specific global goals for many years to come. I set small tasks and small goals both for myself and for the team. Right now, the most important goal is to get to the first Major in CS2. And then we’ll see.

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The following questions were asked after 9 Pandas' grand final win.

Denis, congratulations on winning. The first victory on LAN in 7 years. How do you feel?

Thank you. It’s difficult to convey my emotions, even though this is not some major tournament. But it’s incredibly nice because incredible work was done. I have no words, I’m very happy.

3-0 map score in the final. Did you expect this result?

I didn't expect such a result. Our plans for the game worked very well, everything worked out. If we had not thrown our rounds, the match would have been even easier. However, in the end, it turned out beautifully. The last map was contested, 13-11, I think this is a beautiful culmination.

The last question. Is seized back?

We’ll see. I hope so!