ropz: "It doesn't feel real to be in the top 3 next to ZywOo, NiKo"

The Estonian rifler talked about his individual level and FaZe's expectations ahead of the new season.

FaZe began the CS2 era with a dominant run, winning three back-to-back events in the new game. Their end to the year was marred by Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken's departure from the roster, however, with David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský coming in as Vitality took over the mantle of the number-one team in the meantime.

The start of 2024 was calm for Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool and company as they avoided the RMR qualifiers, meaning they had ample time to further integrate frozen into the roster.

Ahead of their BLAST Spring Groups opener, ropz sat down with HLTV to discuss his individual form, FaZe's changes after the roster switch, and a potential match against Twistzz's Liquid.

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You've been without officials for about a month, so how is the vibe in the FaZe camp right now?

The vibes are always good, no matter what. Sometimes we're under pressure, sometimes we're not, it depends on how it goes. We had a good rest, which is the most important part. We had a rough end of the year, maybe not rough, but a long end of the year with a lot of back-to-back tournaments, and we went deep in every one.

It takes a lot of effort to go through those events, and I think it feels good for everyone to have that break, that rest, and then come back into the games and matches fresh. That's the most important part, we want to avoid this kind of burnout because it gets harder and harder the more you play. So it's good that we have time off.

You were also named the number three player in the world and Closer of the Year recently. How does it feel to get such recognition from the community and your peers?

It feels great. Thank you to everyone, first of all, who voted for me as the Closer of the Year. Thank you to the fans and also to HLTV for being a part of creating such a legacy and awarding players, it feels amazing. I've been grinding for a long time for a spot at the top, and it doesn't feel real to be in the top three next to people like ZywOo, NiKo, and even s1mple. It's going to be incredibly hard to keep this up, I hope I can do it, but this is the next level for me.

You also avoided the chaos of the RMR qualifiers, both open and closed. How did this year look for you guys so far?

We just did basic preparation. We came off the break, and we still don't have much stuff nailed down yet. We had frozen just for one event so far, and we've been going through a lot of different maps, different defaults, and a lot of new strats. So it just takes some time to get a new player into the lineup and get everyone used to the feeling of playing.

It's also a different environment when you go to a match and play there. BLAST groups are a great place to start because you have these low-pressure matches here. And the best place to learn is when you play an official, that's when you make the most mistakes. You can look at them after, fix everything, and go into the next tournament with more preparation.

You mentioned that you need to get frozen integrated into your system. So how would you say he integrated so far? Did he bring a new outlook on things?

With frozen we're doing some position swaps throughout the maps, mostly between karrigan, rain, and frozen. I'm being left untouched, and obviously, broky is the AWPer. So those three players are swapping around in some maps. frozen has a few new spots on some maps and a lot of his old ones, which he had in MOUZ.

He has good ideas on how to play those positions. He has demands for the team and an idea of how to play, which I think that's a good thing. Especially when he is in some key positions, it's good to have a player like him who knows how he wants to play, because you want to see a confident player when you play in a team like this. I think he's a great fit.

He came in for Twistzz, with whom you played some spots together on the CT sides, and he was often supporting you. So even though you didn't move around any spots, did anything change for you individually on the server?

Not much changed for me, other than the fact that I get to play with a new teammate in some bomb sites. I guess that's the biggest difference for me, but I think the rest of it is more or less the same. It's always a different vibe when you get a new player, but that's not hard to get used to. Playing with rain, for example, in a bomb site, or playing with frozen in some spots is a bit different, but over time it will be perfectly normal.

Moving to the BLAST groups. You have Spirit, who can't play with their full roster, the new LIquid, and also GamerLegion in your group. You said that you will take this as more of a preparation, but do you still aim to make it to the Spring Final?

Whenever you play in these BLAST groups, the number-one goal is to avoid Showdown, because you make your calendar even bigger when you go to Showdown. I think every team here wants to qualify, and so do we, that's the number one goal. Liquid being in our group, we make jokes about it, but I think we meet Liquid at every BLAST Groups. So we saw it coming, and I'm excited to play against Russ [Twistzz] again.

How will it be for you to play against him? Because when you parted ways, it felt like it was on very good terms at the end.

We are on very good terms. All of us still talk to each other, it's been a very nice farewell, I would say. It will be weird to play against each other on the server, but every player at one point is going to play against some former teammates. I don't know if it will be nice to play or if it's going to be a grudge match. Each team wants to show that they're better than the other, especially when it's your former teammate on the server against you. So there's going to be some things happening on the mental side of the game, but all in all, it will be an interesting match. I'm excited to get back on the server.

To finish on a more general note. FaZe were the dominant team as soon as CS2 came out, you won pretty much every event that you played, but then Vitality won the last two and you finished second. Do you think they are your biggest opponents for titles this year?

For the year, I would say it's impossible to predict. But for the foreseeable future, let's say the next three months, maybe even six months, they're definitely the hardest opponent. CS is a game where your form matters so much, and it really shows that players who hit better headshots are going to win at the end of the day. Now there's even more of that in CS2. All these timings, who can get the better peek, or who hits the headshot first is going to win the round.

The meta is still evolving, and no one knows what strat some team is going to pull off. You're probably still going to see new things being played day by day, match by match, it's going to be an interesting couple of months for sure. I think teams in really good form, like us and Vitality, are going to have an easier time, but we'll have to see.

About your general goals for this year. Katowice is coming up straight after this, and the Major follows soon after. So what would FaZe be satisfied with until the player break?

Our sights are aimed at the Major, that's the number one thing. It is the first CS2 Major, and everyone is aiming to peak with their performance at that event, and it's the same for us. Results-wise it's great to go to playoffs and go deep at the Major, but at this point, you take it step by step. It's the RMR first, so getting to the Major is the number-one goal for now, and then you take it from there.

I think the end goal would be a great result at the Major, but we're not going to get too far of ourselves and just take it step by step. Katowice is also coming up, that's also a very big event, and we're going to go for that as well. It's after BLAST Groups, so it's going to be a long time on the road with many events back to back. I think it's BLAST Groups, Katowice, and then the RMR, and we'll also do a bootcamp for the Major so we'll be extra prepared. Our aim is to get through the next few months because there are a lot of events. We want to make sure we're ready for the Major so that everyone feels good and isn't burnt out.