Cxzi: "I'm not shocked that we're winning games here"

The American rifler's dream outcome in Bucharest would be to play a rematch against FaZe in the final.

Complexity have tallied another upset in Bucharest, beating the tournament favorites, Aurora, in the quarter-finals. Before that, they had defeated FaZe, FURIA and Falcons in the group stage, with a 1-2 loss to G2 their only blemish.

It doesn't come as a surprise to one of the team's newest additions, Danny "⁠Cxzi⁠" Strzelczyk, however, as he says that the nerves of playing at LAN events against some of the best teams in the world are subsiding, and the team has done a good job of fixing some of the mistakes that hampered their start to 2025.

"This is a perfect time for us to gain a little bit more experience in playoffs and just take it one game at a time and build the experience up," he says, as Complexity get ready to play the PGL Bucharest semi-finals on Saturday.

Date	Matches
PGL Bucharest 2025
12/04/2025	Complexity 20:00 G2	Match

Read more in the interview below, or listen to it on Spotify.

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You got here by upsetting through the group stage, but this must be a whole new level for you guys...

We wanted to make playoffs; that was our goal. It was our goal the last time we were in Bucharest, too, but that didn't happen. We're just way more prepared now, and the time that we had to practice showed here.

Tell me about that time. You mention the last time you were in Bucharest, or we could talk generally about the beginning after making such a large transition — especially you and nicx — playing at this level. How was it from the beginning of the year to now?

I think a lot of it was maybe just some confidence, as well as some nerves. The first couple of LANs, I was definitely nervous, and I'm sure everybody who has ever made the jump is going to have a little bit of nerves, but I think we worked through it and just kept on playing and grinding, and things started going our way.

You know, a lot of those maps that we did lose in the beginning were pretty close, overall. Like, there were some small mistakes and stuff, but we've eliminated a lot of those mistakes. We're still messing up small things, but not to the degree of the first time we were in Europe.

Once you make it through the group stage, it's one thing, and we're still in the studios, so it's not like we're in an arena playoffs, but playoffs are different. You beat the favorites here. You knocked them out coming out of left field. Could you fathom that before the event, that you'd be in this situation?

Maybe not this far in the event, but I felt like going into it, we could beat anybody. It just depends on how we play the micros and everything like that, but I'm not shocked that we're winning games here, but in the moment, after it, it just feels so good.

You came into Complexity at a moment when they just lost a star player, one of the best in North America. Was there a bit of pressure on you to perform being the substitute of such a big name?

For me, I was playing more of EliGE's roles, so I felt more pressure overall playing these games. I mean, I felt like I could play those roles well, but as time went on after those first couple of months, I just realized that maybe not each spot is for me.

You know, you're fighting the other best players in the world on those spots, and it just wasn't working, so I share most of those roles now with JT so that he can have a better idea of what's happening around, so that he can call a bit better, and we're just sharing the responsibility in that sense.

You just missed out on qualifying for the Major, and you have to go back to play the MRQ. How great is this going to be as a confidence boost as you get into these weeks leading up to the Major?

This is actually a perfect event to get confidence. We just got the replacement invite for IEM Melbourne, and we're at a high right now, so we're hoping that we can keep going through it. Through the MRQ, IEM Melbourne, and the Major.

Read more

Complexity replace Spirit at IEM Melbourne due to health issues *

How good is it for you to have a studio event like this, where you're not immediately thrown into an arena if you make the playoffs?

For me, I've played a couple of small arena matches through the Challenger events. Nothing like a main event like this or any of the IEMs, but I could imagine that there's definitely going to be nerves in that, it's definitely going to affect how you're playing, but I think this is a perfect time for us to gain a little bit more experience in playoffs and just take it one game at a time and build the experience up and everything like that.

What's the atmosphere in the team now? You've beaten teams like FaZe or Aurora. Do you believe that you can take this all the way?

Yeah, I really hope we can get a FaZe vs. Col final. I think it would be a really cool series to have for the final, with EliGE going there and us beating him in the group stage earlier. It would be a really cool storyline for both teams. I really think that after our run through the group stage and getting this win over Aurora, we can actually win the whole thing.