karrigan: "I knew it was going to click from the beginning, but seeing it in effect is super nice"

Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen explains why his reunion with David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský was "a no-brainer" and how easily the former teammates have clicked.

FaZe have entered the BLAST Premier World Final fresh off the signing of frozen to the team, a move that reunites karrigan and Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool with their former MOUZ teammate.

The new lineup passed its first test together in Abu Dhabi, UAE, beating HEROIC in a more difficult affair than many predicted. Throughout the match FaZe looked in great spirits despite their Ancient woes, where they had to fight through overtime to beat the Danes playing with three temporary members.

Following the victory, HLTV spoke with karrigan about the reunion and how the in-game leader is utilizing frozen, who has had to change some positions as a result of some role clashes with ropz.

The Dane also touched on his friendship with the Slovakian star and how well he fits in the team in terms of personality, and spoke about FaZe's goal always being to win, regardless of recent changes.

---

A 2-0 victory to start off the tournament, although the second map was probably a lot closer than many would have expected. Were you surprised by their reaction on Ancient, and why do you think it took so long for you to find your footing on the CT side?

We had no information on how they play. It’s a completely new team, a new IGL. I think we had a good T side on Ancient, I think we were in control. We had some good ideas on the CT side, but we hit the timings wrong. Maybe we wanted to play heavy B, they went A, and the opposite: we played heavy A and they rushed B one round. I think they didn’t have that deep of a playbook, but they hit the right timings with the calls. And that’s what happens sometimes in CS. And I think they did a great job of making us uncomfortable. Hats off to them.

How important was it for the team to find a bit of that FaZe magic, where you are able to grind out these sorts of wins? After the match, you said, ‘Welcome to overtime clan.’ Was it important to get a win like this after changing a player?

Yeah, of course. We have only lost one best-of-three in CS2 on LAN so far, so our main focus is to stay like this, to keep playing and keep improving all the time. We’ve got a new player now, and the chemistry might change. David is now used to, suddenly, it looks good, then it looks very bad, and then we come back again. And, yeah, that’s what we have done a lot of times.

So yeah, welcome to FaZe Clan, David.

Can you tell me how you are utilizing frozen? It seemed, at least from this first match, that he changed some of his T spots, whereas on the CT side, he was doing pretty much what he was doing on MOUZ. How are you using him, and who has sacrificed a bit of their spots in order to give some room for frozen?

I think the question isn’t about sacrifice. I think everybody knows how good David is and how well he played some of the roles on MOUZ, right? But obviously, there are a lot of overlapping roles with ropz on the T side, and ropz is really good in those positions as well, right? So maybe long-term something can change, but for now, I think he’s doing a great job of mixing some of his spots, especially on the CT side. And he knows the way I want him to play on the T side, so it just felt natural from day one that he understands that he has a lot of freedom, and it comes down to him taking that freedom and wanting to go to different places on the map and trying to read the game.

So far, I’ve been super impressed by how much he has improved. It’s his first time changing a team, and you can’t really feel it. It has just felt natural. He has also known me and ropz for a long time, so he is kind of used to the system that I run.

What did it feel like to play once again with ropz and frozen? Did it feel like the old days, in a way?

Yeah, for sure. These two players were part of my journey of revitalizing myself after a bad FaZe stint. And seeing them now, as we’re trying to compete for the biggest titles… It’s very nostalgic and it feels like nothing has changed. We’ve all just got a little bit better at what we do. I’m just super proud that I can now see two of the best teammates that I had in MOUZ and that I've had in my career sitting next to me with two other awesome guys who have been here for a long time in FaZe Clan.

You're now going to face the winner of the match between G2 and MOUZ. Are you confident that you're going to be able to finish at the top of your group?

I'm confident but I'm also aware that everything is new for everyone here. Having a good day means a lot, but I think the problem every team has is consistency when it comes to new players. As we played today, I think one bad half… The rest of the half was really good, right? So I think that as long as we keep the consistency and keep the chemistry up… And we need to understand that our map pool is not as strong as it was prior to this event. But I'm sure we can top the group, and obviously I will be a little bit disappointed if we don't, but I will understand It's just part of changing a player.

frozen said in an interview that everything has been a lot smoother than he expected, and I saw during the match that everyone was cracking jokes, everyone was laughing. How important is it to keep the mood up during these first matches with a new player?

It’s no surprise that David is a really good friend of mine. I know how he is, and when I saw the opportunity for us to get him, it was a complete no-brainer. There was no other solution for us. Plus, I know he fits right in with every single personality on the team, and I also think he will improve us.

Sometimes, I think we got a little stale in the way we were thinking and the way we were playing. So having a completely versatile player like him come in and shake things up is just super awesome. I knew it was going to click from the beginning, but seeing it in effect is just super nice, especially during the game, laughing at half-time. The second we get a little bit behind, we get more focused and make sure that the overtime plan is coming back.

Vitality won their first tournament after changing a player. Do you think the same thing can happen to you here?

I think anything can happen. When Vitality had to change a player, we had no information about how good they were on different maps, right? And I think it's the same situation with us now. Maybe people don't know which maps are comfortable for us and which aren’t, right? I think it’s possible. In FaZe Clan, even with a stand-in, the pressure is to win. That’s why I wear this jersey every day, and that’s why I will do everything I can for us to win. But you just have to understand why you don’t win sometimes. But the goal is to win. It’s as simple as that. But, obviously, our eyes are mostly focused on next year, to make it a FaZe Clan year.

Read more

frozen: "I'm enjoying every moment"

Do you regard Vitality as your biggest threat to the title? And are you looking forward to the opportunity to get revenge against them after what happened in Copenhagen?

Yeah, I think for sure that Vitality is the biggest threat. They beat us last time, the only team that has done it in a best-of-three so far. For sure, we want revenge against them, but let’s take it one game at a time, make sure we top the group, make sure we make it to the semis, and, whoever is in front of us, we just do our best.

Like I said, everything is open, but ending the year with a huge win here, at the World Final, with the eight best teams in the world, would be awesome, right? So I think we just look forward to [facing] whoever we play. Obviously, it would be very nice to have a Vitality-FaZe final, but let’s see. There are many days left in the tournament.