device on being an IGL: "It has given me the passion and happiness back"

Astralis could not have a more perfect start with device as the newly minted in-game leader, but he says the job is not done.

When it was announced that Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz would take over in-game leadership in Astralis, the community's reaction was largely full of doubt and questions quickly arose about whether the AWPer would manage to remain as consistent as his alternative nickname suggests.

Early signs have quelled those doubts. The Danes, empowered by the resolution of several role clashes in the team with the addition of Alexander "⁠br0⁠" Bro, could not have looked much more dominant so far in their debut at IEM Chengdu. They are yet to lose a map or even drop double-digit rounds after matches against Steel Helmet, FaZe and Virtus.pro.

A rematch against Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's men awaits them in the semi-finals, and ahead of the clash HLTV sat down with device to hear his thoughts on the team's run, his experience as a new in-game leader so far, and the unfinished job Astralis have ahead of them in China.

Nicolai, first tournament with the new team, straight to the semi-finals. You didn't lose a single map in the group stage, and none of your opponents even got to double digits. Would you say this is the perfect start to this new era of Astralis?

Yeah, I would say so. More than we may have hoped for. I'm really happy and proud because we put in a lot of work. Perfect start, but, for us, the job is not done. I think we have a lot to show. So yeah, a good start.

Coming into here, what were your expectations? You had no prior matches, only practice to form an opinion about how you were playing. Did you expect everyone to click right away?

Practice has been good for us, but it's always hard to say how a team will react in a tournament. We also didn't have the Major, so we had more preparation and less stress before this tournament. Expectation-wise, we didn't really set anything result-oriented. I think we just wanted to play the way we were playing in practice and do the same things, and then we would see how far we could go. And we have been doing that really well so far, good game plans and stuff. So, yeah, really happy with everyone.

Tell me about this first few weeks as an IGL. Obviously, you were already like a second voice on some of your previous teams. Is it harder than you expected? As someone who played, for example, under karrigan and gla1ve, are you picking up some of the things you learned from them?

The first few weeks were definitely very tough because ruggah and I wanted to bring down everything we had before and build a totally new structure and philosophies around the game instead of taking something from OG, something from blameF, and stuff like that. So yeah, it was tough; there was a lot of thinking to do, and putting it into the maps and server is always maybe a little bit harder. It has definitely been tough in terms of time spent and stuff like that, but I also think it came quite naturally to me, with the things I wanted to do and how to look at the big picture more than just looking at the AWP role.

Regarding my old in-game leaders, definitely a lot from gla1ve, also a lot from karrigan. I played with him a very long time ago, maybe eight years or so, he was very good at fluid calling. I'm just trying to learn from everyone that I have played with, also from people who weren't in-game leaders. Everyone has different opinions on the game, and I think I've learned from so many different people that I have a good overview

I wanted to ask you about two concerns that many people had when they saw that you were taking over as IGL. The first is the impact that this role could have on your individual level, although, from what we've seen so far, it doesn't seem to be having much of an impact. The second is the fact that you have stress-induced IBS. The fact that you are now the IGL and the face of the team can add to the stress that you already face. What do you have to say about those concerns?

Impact on an individual level… I think it would be natural if something… it's hard to say because I also think my individual level was not what I wanted it to be. I don't think too much about that. I think that, if I can call as I'm doing right now, I don't think it will necessarily have a negative impact. Because I think the AWPing role in CS2 is maybe a little bit supportive and passive on the T side, where you have a big picture and you go for some picks while also setting up the round. So I don't think it will affect too much, maybe over time it will if I don't have the same time for individual practice.

For me, stress in general is so subjective. I'm in a good state at the moment, but finding a good balance is the hardest part. It's very easy to overwork as an in-game leader, with everything. So that's my number-one task, and the guys in the support staff are trying to find the right balance for me not to suffer a lot from stress. I think it's natural to be under pressure and stress in this game. So, yeah, we'll see. I'm not worrying too much about it. I'm trying to take precautions and trying to balance it out as best as I can. But as we all know, I think we're heading into a more stressful environment in CS, with more and more tournaments and stuff like that.

Is that a concern for you?

I think I played a lot during the stressful times, back in the day. Traveling around 200 days a year was the norm for us back then. So, yeah, maybe a little concerned, but I also hope that a lot of the teams will take responsibility and that the Astralis organization will take responsibility and not overwork us. You have to be picky with the tournaments, but you also have to be aiming for the top.

I wanted to ask about picking up ruggah as a coach. You two go way back. Did the Astralis organization talk to you and ask your opinion about this, and what has it been like to work with him?

Yeah, they definitely asked me. I think we were also close to working together a few times throughout CS:GO. I only knew him from way back, so I didn't know the person and the coach he had grown into. Working with him has been really nice for me. I think he also taught some of the OG guys how to become an in-game leader, k1to for instance, so he's been in the process of what happens with a player and stuff like that, so it's been really nice to have him.

He's also a good comfort for the team. He's really good at keeping us honest about the plan we've created, not trying to sway away and take the easy route, but putting in the hard work on the server, not being a bad version of ourselves, but trying to find the best version of ourselves in the game. He's really good at that. So yeah, a lot of praise for him. I think I've said it before: in this environment, you get judged on your results a lot. And I think people haven't rated him highly because of the results they had on OG. But I rate him highly.

We wrote an article some months ago comparing players' performances in the group stage and arena matches. And stavn was the player who had the biggest dip in arena matches when compared to group stage matches. Have you had the chance to talk to him about it? Why do you think that has been the case for him? At least during the Heroic days.

Sometimes, since they played in the arena, we talked about it. I think it was in Cologne against us, actually… I mean, I only share my reflections and experiences. I think he's also very well reflected about it and ready to play the same way. It's not about doing more or doing less, it's just doing the same thing in a different environment and maybe just accepting that you can maybe gather some energy from it and stuff like that.

But I don't necessarily have too much worry about stage matches. We have a young team. We have a lot of time to gather those experiences for what we want to achieve. But they can all do it. They are ice cold. I see it every day, so I'm really happy to share the stage with them.

So you see him fully confident heading into tomorrow's game?

Yeah. I mean, I don't have any reasons to think otherwise. And if anything happens and you play badly, it's also natural. Maybe you also faced a better team. It's just about being open and talking about those things, and I think it's very easy with this team we have now. And hopefully, we can learn from each other.

One thing that I wanted to ask you about, and I talked to stavn about this, is that, while I was watching you guys play, everyone seemed to be getting along really well. Everyone was cheering, everyone was cracking jokes, shouting at the opponents. I wanted to ask you about the mood on the team: how different is it compared to before?

It's very different. It completely turned around, I think. Before, even with the good games we had, it was not always naturally happy. I don't know why. For me, at least, it's way better. People are also connecting really well outside of the game, the four guys are in the same age group and having a lot of fun. It's always nice to see. I'm a little bit the old guy now, but I'm still trying to have some fun as well. And for me, just playing the game and dictating the way we play is very fun. It's also something that has given me the passion and happiness back. It means more now than it did before.

There's a chance you're going to face karrigan tomorrow in the semi-finals. Are you looking forward to that? [Editor's note: The interview was conducted before FaZe beat Liquid in the quarter-finals]

Yeah, for sure. We've had our first game now, and I think, hopefully, it's a long career of in-game leading. I will always try to cherish and learn from these moments. It's a good team. Everyone knows that they are always good on stage as well. Maybe we created a hunger in them that they want to beat us because we won the last time. But I'm also just looking forward to playing on the stage and in front of the Chinese fans, who are really passionate. Whoever it is, we will be ready. It's going to be versus a Danish in-game leader, no matter what, so that's going to be a lot of fun.

Date	Matches
IEM Chengdu 2024
13/04/2024	Astralis 12:45 FaZe	Match

There's also a chance that you can win your first MVP since 2021. Would that be extra special for you?

Honestly, I don't think too much about that. I think the entire team has been the MVP throughout the group stage. It's always a good bonus when you are standing out after the tournament, but, for me, the most important thing right now is to try and lead the team to victory and an Astralis victory. I think it has been longer than that [for the organization]. For me, it would mean more to bring a trophy back to the organization I was a part of creating.

What are your goals for the rest of the year? You've just said that this is a young team and you want to take things slowly. Considering that, what goals have you set out for the rest of the year?

I mean, it's also about not overreacting to a good result here. We will see. We didn't know how good we were going into the tournament. And we still don't really know it. I think we have a lot of confidence, and maybe we are going to be the best. Maybe we're going to be placed in the top 10 for the first few months. Who knows? For us, it's about learning and following through with the plans we have outside and inside of the game, and understanding the process. At least that's really important to me, because what we've seen is that being a part of that process and getting the time are what create the best rosters with consistent results.

And for Astralis as well it's been a rollercoaster since I came back. I'm the only guy left, whether it be in the coaching department or in the playing department. So I think it's really good to have some time. And who knows? Obviously, we want to qualify for the next Major. It's been a long time since I've been to a Major. It's my number one goal, at least as an individual, getting to the Shanghai Major. Everything else is going to be taken along the way.