valde: "Being a leader outside of the server is the most challenging part of being an IGL"

"Calling comes very naturally to me, I don't think it's the hardest part," added the Danish captain.

TSM entered the RMR as one of the outsiders for qualification, and they quickly found themselves in the 0-2 pool after two narrow losses to 3DMAX and Virtus.pro.

The Danes kept themselves alive for another day with a win against PARIVISION, however, and Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså hopes that the victory will revitalize his side.

"We feel like we've burst the bubble now, and now we can start getting some confidence," the Dane told HLTV after beating PARIVISION.

valde also spoke about his one-year stint as the IGL, TSM's struggles during 2024, and his wish to replicate GamerLegion's run from 0-2.

If you cannot see the Soundcloud embed above, listen to the interview here.

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You're 1-2 after the first two days of action. How do you feel about your performances here so far?

So far it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, but mostly down. I feel like we played two really close games in the first couple of best-of-ones, and even though we lost, I still think we found some comfort in the fact that we made it close. In the first game against 3DMAX, we had a 5v2 retake that we managed to throw away. And in a best-of-one, when you have a couple of those rounds, you just cannot afford to lose like that in a best-of-one.

But at the same time, we knew that we could play way better. We also needed some individuals to show up. We have a guy in sirah who came straight from MOUZ NXT when we bought him, I don't think he ever played a LAN tournament before. So coming into an environment like this, straight into an RMR, which is maybe the biggest pressure tournament we have on the entire tournament calendar, it's rough for him.

He also needs some space and time to get used to everything, he's not a guy like me, who played pro for eight years or something, I've been through it all. We also just need to accept the fact that we're still a somewhat new team, and we have inexperienced individuals.

How important was this win today for the confidence of not just sirah, but everyone in the team?

It's super important, I can't even describe it with words. We feel like we've burst the bubble now, and now we can start getting some confidence. Of course, this win was nice, but we still know we have a long road ahead of us. We're hoping to do the same as GamerLegion, for example. I know we have it in us, but we also need to prove it on the server.

I need to make great calls, the guys need to show up individually, and we need to be there for each other. We need to hype, have good spirits, and I believe everything is possible. As the good old saying goes, we need to take it one game at a time.

You're the IGL of the team. You've been an IGL for a while, but being the IGL in a Danish team is somewhat new for you. How are you finding the role in Danish communication?

Speaking the same language is nice. It's not that I mind calling in English, that's also perfectly fine, but it maybe gives you a slight edge to speak the same language. In terms of being an IGL, I think calling-wise, it comes very naturally to me. I don't think that is the hardest part.

The most crucial role for me is the fact that you also need to be a leader outside of the server. Even though you didn't fuck up a round, you still need to take the blame on you sometimes and just say to the guys, 'It's okay, you know. Just think about the next round, what happened, happened, and we cannot change it.'

A lot comes down to keeping the spirits high and being the leader of the team, both on and off the server, that's the most challenging part of being an in-game leader. And at the end of the day, even though I've been at it for a little while, it's only like a year or so at this point. Some of the other guys that I'm competing against, you know, Aleksib, apEX, karrigan, all the great guys, they've been doing it for a lifetime now.

So I still have a long way to go, but I'm trying to work with my coach and just take small steps in the right direction. Then, hopefully, one day, I can maybe reach even half the level of the great ones.

You mentioned sirah before. You added him like two months ago, so not a lot of time before the RMR. Do you feel like you're up to speed with him on the team?

I think Wil [sirah]l has a long way to go, but I think a lot of it will also just come with experience. You need to play five or ten LAN tournaments before you're an experienced player. Sometimes he overthinks things a lot, and I think that's just his personality. So for him, I feel like it's not so much individual problems, it's more about keeping a good mental and a positive spirit. And if he can do that, he can become a really good player.

For TSM overall, this year has probably not gone the way you planned considering this is the first LAN you've attended together. What do you think was the biggest thing that held you back during the year?

We made the transition from being an international to a national lineup, and that in itself was a complete reboot, where we started completely from scratch. And except for niko, I never played with anyone. Even though they're Danish, I never played with any one of them before, and I didn't even know them that well personally either. So obviously, it's been a tough time, but still, at the end of the day, we had the goal of at least attending Majors sometime next year.

So just making it to this RMR was super important for us, and if we can potentially qualify for the Major, that's more important than any online tournament. We had a rough year so far, but at the end of the day, you can't just sit and cry. You need to fucking keep working hard, and then hopefully you can reach your goals one day.

You need to win at least two more best-of-threes to get through. What would you say is the biggest win condition for you guys to make it?

I think the biggest win condition for us is to play our own game. It sounds really cliche, and I hear a lot of players say it a lot. You can anti-strat all you want, but if you don't play your own game, and if people are not there individually, it doesn't matter. We need to keep a positive spirit and play our own game, like we do in practice.