cadiaN interview: Major blow, Chengdu improvements & 2024 goals

The Danish captain sat down with HLTV for an in-depth interview to talk about his first months with Liquid.

For Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller, Liquid's playoff run at IEM Chengdu was "a great sign of life." But, more importantly, he noted, the team needs to show some consistency as we enter the summer season and the next Major cycle.

It has been a rough start for Liquid's new roster, which had to start the year at the bottom of the rankings after a triple player swap. Liquid missed IEM Katowice as a result, and, to make matters worse, the team couldn't qualify for PGL Major Copenhagen, marking only the second. time that the North American organization had missed out on a Major since late 2015.

While many teams saw IEM Chengdu as the perfect event to decompress after the Major, Liquid were focused on proving their doubters wrong. They beat HEROIC and G2 to book a playoff spot before losing to MOUZ and FaZe, the two finalists.

In a long interview with HLTV while the semi-finals were being played, cadiaN opened up about the early setbacks — admitting that he may have underestimated the difficulty of the task at hand — and explained how the team used the Major days to get some serious practice. He also commented on the Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis's struggles, the calls for roster changes and the goals for the rest of the year, among other topics.

You made it to the quarter-finals here in Chengdu. Are you satisfied with your run? Do you think that this gives you a solid foundation to build upon? And does this give you confidence for the future of the team?

I think it was definitely a great sign of life, but I don't want it to just be one heartbeat. I want the heart to be going all the time, consistently. I think we played some great CS in a lot of moments here. But we still see a lot of areas for improvement. And the plan is to use this result as a sign of where we can be. And, hopefully, with motivation and assertiveness, we can get where we want to be.

The roster clearly had some teething issues at the beginning. Were you surprised that you were able to show a completely different side here?

I think that, after the RMR, we had some talks where we were understanding each other's point of view a bit better and trying to align with how people can feel more comfortable in different positions, roles, systems, and stuff like that. Because I think we are all trying to compromise a bit to make everyone comfortable. And that's just very tough. I knew it was going to be difficult to build everything from scratch, but even I maybe underestimated how difficult it's been here.

I'm not really surprised that we went to the quarter-finals. For me, it was kind of like… It felt like the time was right to make that next step, also with some teams coming from the Major and maybe being a little tired, exhausted, and stuff like that. This was our time to kind of go for [it].

The beginning was rough. What was it like for you to put together all these pieces from different backgrounds? For example, skullz had never played for an international team, only for Brazilian teams, and you hadn't played for an international team in quite some time, since Rogue. What was it like to bring all these pieces together and try to make a functional team right away, because you had the BLAST Spring Groups and then the qualifiers for the Major?

I think the only thing that was rough was the RMR. And even there, there were things that were out of our control. The seeding, the format… But like I said in the interview, I think that, even though Complexity and FURIA are good teams, if you can't beat them, you're not making the playoffs of the Major anyway. And neither of them did. So my point was true. In online qualifiers, sometimes things happen. You lose to a team, it's normal. It happens in Europe all the time as well. It has just been super rough because we got completely reset in the rankings, we had zero points in ESL's ranking and HLTV's, so there have been no events.

This was our third LAN in five months. In the BLAST Groups, we beat Spirit but with a coach, we beat GamerLegion, lost to G2 and FaZe, who were in the semi-finals and the final of the Major. Then the RMR, we all know what happened, and this was our third one. I wish there were more LANs to know exactly what our true level is, but I think that it's been tough for us to not have the start that we were hoping for.

What was the mood like after the RMR and what conclusions did you come to?

The mood was obviously awful. There's no denying that. Making the Major is always the minimum requirement for an organization of Liquid's size and the name value of these players, you know? So it was a big disappointment. Some of the talks were, like, just trying to understand, what makes this guy feel good when he is playing? What does he need? Does he need more structure? Less structure? More freedom? Less freedom? This sort of thing. I think, to be honest, that we have taken in too many ideas. That makes it tough because you can't accommodate everyone. I think we're trying to move in the right direction of accepting different views and visions but also saying, 'Hey, this is not something we can really change.'

What is different now in the system, in terms of roles and the kind of freedom that everyone has?

People have to understand from scratch that there is more freedom. You just need to take it. I've always been the kind of captain that lets you play with freedom under your responsibility. You are responsible for making the right decisions. I trust that you can do this, you can break the system, break the rules, but there has to be a good reason for it. It's the small things, like offering a small play and asking for an extra flash. For me, the best team play is when not everything is set out of spawn. It's when you go somewhere and realize, 'Okay, I need a flash to clear this angle.' And you ask for the flash. You play reactive based on what they are throwing, what they are doing, what we are hearing.

A lot of people have given me a lot of credit for my calling in Heroic. Of course, I see myself as a great captain, but I am also reliant on information from my teammates. And I think I'm trying to vocalize and explain better what I need to make these kinds of calls. And, at least yesterday on stage against FaZe, I felt really in the zone on the T sides. We played some really good T sides. So, I hope we can keep on developing on that because I think, player for player, the project is good. But we've also seen before, with super teams and stuff like that, that name value and past results do not give you any guarantees. We need to sacrifice a bit more, inside and outside the game. The culture still has room for improvement.

The reactions to Liquid not making the Major were not great. Some people were saying that you should remove one player. Others that you should remove two, or even three players. Did you always trust the process?

We had talks, and people still trusted the individuals, the roles, and stuff like that. Community will always have opinions on who should be removed, and why. Usually, it is a bit more complex than that. For me the structure still has to be built, and especially the culture. You can change X, Y and Z, but the culture is what makes it comfortable to perform and develop.

What did you do between the RMR and this event? Because you only knew that you were coming here pretty much last minute. You were at the Major, playing the showmatch and doing a signing session. What was it like between the RMR and Chengdu? And what kind of preparation did you have?

We came home from the RMR. We had a few days off and then we had a meeting where we talked about everything. And then from Monday onwards, we were practicing really hard. During the Major, we were practicing from like 10 to 19. All the teams at a Major love to play the best team that is not there, so we had a lot of really good practice against all the good teams. And that definitely helped elevate our level. So we weren't just chilling or anything. We knew we had to use the opportunity to get better as quickly as possible. So we were practicing hard.

When we found out that we were coming here… The thing with Chinese visas is that you need to apply from your own country. NAF had to go to Canada, skullz had to go to Brazil, and stuff like this. So that removed one week of practice, a little bit more than one week. We tried to make the most of the other days that we did have. Wilson [zews] and I have been a bit more aligned for practice in the last few days. And that's something we're going to need as a team and as a group to move forward.

YEKINDAR had a very rough RMR, and it was in that tournament that we learned that he was going through some personal issues. He played much better here, I think it's safe to say that. What has it been like to work with him? And what does he need to do to play at the same level he was playing in Virtus.pro?

I think for sure, like you said, that he did play way better here. Also, yesterday I saw him do a lot of things that are good for the team, like being passive and not always taking the aggressive option, playing slowly just to make the other team afraid that you're going to do stuff. His mechanics… There are many times when I see him in practice that he is doing unbelievable things, and he has a great mind for the game. I think he just needs more time to settle into the system.

He is used to some things being more structured and with less freedom, and we are trying to meet somewhere in the middle. But there's no denying that his potential is very high. To reach our maximum level, we need to accommodate him and figure out how he feels comfortable and how we get the most out of him.

What are your thoughts on skullz? I was watching him when you were playing the group stage. He's in the corner, he's very quiet, but he has his moments. What do you make of him?

I think that, as you said, he is very quiet, and we need to make him a little bit louder. I'm not talking much about his celebration but about his assertiveness and communication when some things are very important. I think he's already learned a lot of things from playing with us. And we see a lot of times what he's capable of, being a stable anchor and stuff. What we need to do is to keep using his strength but also push him to have a broader amount of space. Right now, he has some comfort plays he's really, really good at. Those are always working for him. But we need to give him even more plays he feels comfortable about. And the way he behaved on stage yesterday was great to see. He had a lot of important rounds and enjoyed it. So I think that's a great sign for the future.

I want to make sure that, as the captain, I try to help him develop as much as possible. But I also think, and I said this on the stream as well, that it's a bit of a culture shock for him, going from playing on a Brazilian team, with only Brazilian players, to this entire European mix. I think also the traveling and not speaking his native language are tough on him, you know? Because he is just like me, an emotional guy, and we need to find a way to make him comfortable and make him want to push himself even harder. And the same goes for me. My level yesterday was where I want it to be. But in some of the other tournaments and games, it wasn't. I want to be the cadiaN that played in the last few years of CS:GO and was really dominant, not just in terms of calling, but also individual prowess.

One of the biggest talking points about this tournament is Astralis and device not being the IGL. What is your opinion about the team and device now being an IGL/AWPer like yourself?

Only he and the people around him know if he is capable of doing that. I think that they played some great Counter-Strike in the group stage. There was great team play, there were great individual moments, their utility seemed on point. And they showed kind of the same things that we did, like one of the reasons why people were hyped about the line-up being assembled in the beginning. I'm very excited to see their match today against FaZe, how they handle themselves in front of the crowd. But the group stage was nearly flawless from them. And I can see that, since the latest change, with br0 instead of blameF, they are definitely trying to play a bit more Heroic Counter-Strike. You can see that has been a focal point for them.

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Does that make you proud?

Yeah, it makes me a bit proud, to be honest. But I would also say that these guys were part of developing the playstyle, especially stavn. Maybe I'm the father and the one who had the biggest role in its creation, but he was there from day one as well, theorizing, talking about it, implementing it,and stuff. It's also their style, and if they want to play well and perform well, they need to be comfortable as well. They have played some great CS, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how they'll do in the next few months.

We already have some details about what the tournament landscape will look like next year and beyond. I spoke with device yesterday, and he said that he's a little bit concerned. He said that teams and organizations need to be responsible and not send players to every tournament. What is your opinion? Are you also concerned?

I think I am excited to see what it will be like. I think that Counter-Strike is always in a good position when there are opportunities for many teams to qualify for tournaments and go to tournaments. But truth be told, I want to see the big players and the big names face off against each other. It's the same when I want the Champions League. Sure, Ajax can have a good season, but I'd still rather see City vs. Liverpool…

It's more about the risk of burnout. That's the main concern.

That's on the players and the organizations to be aligned about what's healthy and what makes sense, you know? For example, device knows the signs of his body, when enough is enough. And Astralis, if they're interested in having him in his peak form, they need to listen to him and the other guys. It's something we took very seriously in the group. We tried to plan the best we could. Sometimes we failed. Sometimes you do feel the pressure of getting points and stuff like that. But I think it's the same in tennis. If you compare it with tennis and badminton, and these things, there's a tournament every week. And the question is if you want to go or not. It depends on your mind and your mind. I also think that, with more TOs, there will be more pressure on TOs to do better. I don't know enough about the economic side for organizations, with the partnerships and all this, to know if it's good or bad. But I'm excited to try some new destinations. When I played PGL tournaments in the past, I enjoyed them a lot. StarLadder as well. So I'm intrigued.

At the next Major, the Americas region will have two extra spots. Does that remove some of the pressure from your team?

One thing is the number of spots, another is the format. The format last time was… I'm not going to say the word that I'm thinking, but the format was not optimal. And, of course, having two extra spots is good. But I also think that, for example, 9z were not there in the RMR. They are also a team that is usually aiming for one of those spots. But, truth be told, whether there are three spots, five spots, or seven spots in NA, Team Liquid should not be complaining. They need to get one of those spots, and that's how it is. I hope for a format with fewer best-of-ones and not just one life. That would be great.

You now have EPL coming up and then IEM Dallas. Dallas will obviously be a big deal for the team and the organization. What goals have you set out for the rest of the year?

I think we've not set specific goals for these two tournaments. The end of this season will be important to try and reach Cologne, because we missed Katowice because of the ranking reset and we missed the Major. So we need to play the big tournaments. That's why we're here, that's why we play, that's what we need to do. It's going to be very important to show good results. We need to make the playoffs in one of these events, preferably both.

On home soil in NA, I think the fans will be cheering for Liquid a lot, so Dallas is probably the main one. But right now, I don't think we can pick and choose where we want to perform. We need to try and become better day by day. The work continues from today already. We're going to be re-watching some of the games, talking about how to improve, why some of the CT sides were so lackluster, and stuff like that. But the main thing is trying to make sure we go to Cologne.

Considering how you played here, how long do you think it will take for you to be at 100%?

I am the kind of guy who thinks you are never going to be at 100%. You know what I mean? You can always become better. But I think we can edge closer to finding the peak level we want to be at. I think that after the summer break is when you can kind of expect us to have everything set. There are still a lot of maps and situations where we need to be talking and drilling and stuff like this. So I'd say post-summer break is when things should be the best they can.