Lucky: "It is very fun to play Astralis; it gives us more energy, more courage"

The Danish AWPer took down his former team for the second time on LAN this year.

Sashi came into the Shanghai RMR as the 15th seed, but added their name to a string of upsets by toppling regional heavyweights Astralis on day one to end 1-1.

It's the second time they've done so this year, having beaten them in a best-of-one at June's Yalla Compass Fall in Abu Dhabi too, and it was extra sweet for three former Astralis members: Philip "⁠Lucky⁠" Ewald, Mikkel "⁠MistR⁠" Thomsen, and coach Nicolai "⁠HUNDEN⁠" Petersen.

Date	Matches
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Europe RMR B
21/11/2024	BIG Finished 13:9 Sashi	Match
21/11/2024	Astralis Finished 11:13 Sashi	Match

"I don't think theres any opponent that is more fun to beat as a Dane than Astralis," Lucky tells HLTV.

"Maybe they don't feel like it's that fun to play an underdog Danish team. We feel like it is very fun to play them; it gives us more energy, more courage. We really wanted to win that game, and I think that gave us some percentages."

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You're now 1-1, and you've beat Astralis for the second time this year. How did that feel?

Obviously, it feels great. I don't think theres any opponent that is more fun to beat as a Dane than Astralis. To be able to do it in such an important tourmanent and game is really nice for us.

What do you put it down to? The Danish derby aspect of it?

I don't know. I can't speak for them. Maybe they don't feel like it's that fun to play an underdog Danish team. We feel like it is very fun to play them; it gives us more energy, more courage. We really wanted to win that game, and I think that gave us some percentages.

You haven't had too many chances to play on LAN this year but when you have, it's been impressive at times. What are you thinking going into this, level wise, are people underrating you?

I think so yes. We haven't played that many LANs, we've played a couple this year, we've seen it as experience to get us ready for this RMR. Hopefully that will work out in the end.

What was the situation with Altekz? You played a few officials with him, but what went on there? Was it roster lock rules or what?

We went to bootcamp but kwezz was sick and couldn't come. So we thought, maybe it's best for him to rest, full relax, so he can get to bootcamp as soon as possible. So we had Altekz stand in for us.

What is it like working with HUNDEN? Mixed reputation but we all know how good he is in the server itself, what's it like working with him?

Personally, it's very good. He has a lot of good points, he has been coaching some good teams. He has different ideas of how to play CS than we did before we got him into the team. We are working on a good mixture so he gets his stuff in, and we can still play the style we were used to. I really like it.

What about yourself? It's been a long journey, you were in Astralis yourself of course, how do you see your career getting back on track?

Yeah, I was in Astralis in 2021 and it didn't go as planned. I felt like I should take a couple of steps back, and went to a team I know, the team I had before. Then, I decided to grind up there and we are on a very good way to get there now. We played some tier one LANs and now the RMR, it's working well to develop myself here.

How confident are you in being able to do a bit more damage? Are you still dreaming of the Major?

Of course, who doesn't? It's every CS player's dream to come to a Major, go to the playoffs, and play in front of the crowd. We believe in it fully, to get to the Major.