z4kr on Major qualification: "It feels like a dream"

Lynn Vision will be the first Chinese team at a Major since PGL Major Stockholm in 2021.

Lynn Vision hit the ground running at PGL Major Copenhagen Asia RMR, kicking things off on the first day of play with two BO1 victories over Twisted Minds and TYLOO. Although the Chinese squad proved to be no match for The MongolZ in the first qualifying match, Lynn Vision were provided another shot at the Major with a match versus Grayhound.

After a hectic series, Lynn Vision ultimately prevailed in the all-important matchup, concluding the BO3 with a dominant 13-2 finish on Nuke to deny Grayhound the Major berth. This victory secures the presence of a Chinese team at a Major for the first time since PGL Major Stockholm, while also marking the first time that an Australian squad has failed to make it since PGL Major Krakow in 2017.

After his team's victory over Grayhound, Sike "⁠z4kr⁠" Zhang spoke with HLTV in an interview translated by Chinese commentator Yunqing "⁠Searph⁠" Hu. z4kr spoke about the preparation that Lynn Vision put into this event, their initial thoughts on facing Grayhound in their qualifying match, and their intense emotions during the game.

---

Congratulations, you made it to the Major! Some of you guys were crying, I haven’t seen anything like that. Was this a dream of yours?

Yes! Actually, it’s the first time playing in the RMR. We didn’t actually imagine qualifying for the Major. But we tried and worked so hard, we even skipped the Chinese New Year to prepare for the RMR.

TheMongolz were the favorites of the whole event and did indeed qualify first. But what did you think of Grayhound? They’re experienced, but did they seem to you tough to crack before the event?

Of course, TheMongolz are way beyond the level of the Asian teams. But we’re used to Grayhound, we practiced with them many times. We actually had confidence to beat them.

With your team, China returns to the Major for the first time since Stockholm Major 2021. What does it mean to you to represent such a massive scene?

I don’t think we can be the representative of the entire Chinese community, but it’s still an honor for us.

At CAC, many were surprised to see the amount of excitement the Chinese fans have for Counter-Strike. Has the scene gotten bigger in recent years?

Not really, because in China we have only a couple professional teams. Maybe it is so about the audience, but not the professional scene.

Is getting to the Major here even more important because of the next Major? Just so you’re more experienced by the time the Major comes to Shanghai.

Definitely. The first Major on our home soil is a pleasure for us. By entering the Copenhagen Major, we’ll have more chances and time to practice. We want to fight for our home audience.

Your team was visibly emotional not only after the win, but also during the matches. It was hard for me because I don’t speak Chinese, but were you guys asking each other to keep the emotions down during the match?

Of course! Yes, a lot of emotions! It went up and down. We needed to control the emotions, and we couldn’t focus in the game because of that.

In general, did these high emotions help or were they more of an obstacle?

Most of the time it helps, but sometimes when we didn’t play that good, when we were down on the score, it affected us because we couldn’t control our emotions.

Now, you’re going to the Major. Do you think you have developed since the last time when you played against top teams? Are you ready to surprise?

To be honest, it still feels like a dream that I entered the Major, I cannot believe it. So I can’t say that we’ll shock the world or something, we’ll just try our best to be our best.