TeSeS: "Beating Astralis once can be lucky, but two times is a little less lucky"

HEROIC are just one win away from a Major after starting their road in the open qualifiers.

HEROIC got their RMR campaign off to a great start by winning a now quasi-Danish derby against Preasy with a 13-9 scoreline, but quickly met a much tougher test in Vitality, who demolished them 13-3.

As faith would have it, the result meant they would face off against Astralis and their ex-players Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund and Jakob "⁠jabbi⁠" Nygaard, who left the organization late last year. The teams met once before at IEM Katowice, where HEROIC prevailed in a close-fought affair, but the stakes were even higher this time around.

René "⁠TeSeS⁠" Madsen and company showed an even better performance and breezed past Astralis with a 13-7 win on Mirage to secure their spot in the 2-1 pool. After the highly anticipated matchup, TeSeS sat down with HLTV to talk about their Major campaign so far, his feelings about beating Astralis, and the adaptation to his first international project.

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You end the second day of the RMR with a 2-1 record after beating Astralis. Talk me through your feelings right now.

It feels really good, I'm proud of how we handle these matchups. I feel like we're very comfortable mentally. Yesterday, we had a really rough game against Vitality and got shut out of the server, but we are very aware of what we are feeling and how we are dealing with it. Being able to reset today is really nice, and of course, it's even nicer to win against Astralis.

This is now your second win against them, and it looked fairly comfortable for you guys this time. Do you think you have the edge against them?

You could maybe say winning against them once can be lucky, but two times is a little less lucky. But of course, it's still a best-of-one. It would be fun to meet them in a best-of-three and beat them there, that will for sure come in the future. We probably have a little edge right now, but we'll see in the future.

You started this qualification cycle in the open qualifiers. How much of a grind has getting to this stage now been for you guys?

We started our first practice day on December 26 and then traveled to a bootcamp on January 3. We were on the road for a month, and no one was home in that period, so it has been a really insane grind. We had some days home after Katowice, which enabled us to recharge fully and get ready for the RMR. All in all, it has been a good grind, and it has given us a lot of stuff. It has definitely been worth it.

How confident do you feel about getting the job done tomorrow?

For me, it doesn't really matter if it's 3-1 or 3-2. We just need to be there mentally and be able to focus on what's in front of us, not what comes in the future.

On a general note, this is your first time in an international team. How has this adjustment been for you?

To be fair, it has been pretty easy. I'm also talking English with my girlfriend, so now I'm just speaking it all day long. It hasn't been that hard for me, I'm pretty used to it by now.

You've been playing under cadiaN for such a long time, who has a very unique playstyle. How has the adjustment been in terms of that?

Playing with cadiaN has given me a lot of things that I can bring to my next team and find a really good balance. This has been a process where you take all the best things from it, learn from them, and bring them into your own game and team. In that way, it's not an adapting period, but using what you have learned before. It has been nice to be on this team because everyone has the freedom to say what they want.

Your role in the team has also changed a bit. What would you say was the biggest change from the previous Heroic to this one for you personally?

I would probably say my roles. On some maps, I'm a little more central on the CT sides, where I would probably have had one of the more anchor roles before. I'm more in the action on some of the maps, which I like, but I can play both kinds of roles.