TeSeS: "With m0NESY there's less pressure on me to put up big numbers; somehow it helps me"

TeSeS speaks to his recent uptick in form, recovering from the heartbreaking loss in Melbourne, adjusting to new roles, and staying humble in an interview after Falcons beat FaZe at BLAST Rivals.

Falcons are playing in only their second tournament with Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov, but you'd be forgiven for having high expectations of them after they finished runners-up to Vitality in a nail-biting, five-map thriller grand final at IEM Melbourne.

It was a heartbreaker for Falcons — so much so that Rémy "⁠XTQZZZ⁠" Quoniam says he wasn't sure what happened and that Vitality should have lost several times — but Falcons are in good spirits after consuming some spirits.

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XTQZZZ: "We should have lost a couple of times; even after rewatching the game I don't know what happened"

"[Accepting the difficult loss] was... not that hard," René "⁠TeSeS⁠" Madsen told HLTV after Falcons' opening win over FaZe at BLAST Rivals.

"It was really hard the first five hours, but then we had a few beers, we all talked together hanging out, everyone thinking about the rounds and how it was from the outside.

This final was really hyped up. [...] I've never been that hype before and I just started remembering these situations, and then I was like, 'Okay, this was a fucking cool game,' and it wasn't just the loss."

TeSeS also touched on his uptick in form since adding m0NESY, explaining that he feels more comfortable and can focus on creating space for his teammates with less pressure to put up big numbers.

The Dane added that Falcons aren't allowing themselves to get carried away by their early success in Melbourne, particularly with limited practice with 'The Flash.'

"If you start expecting to go to the final and to be a title contender every single tournament, then it's gonna go wrong for us," TeSeS said, explaining the expectations set in the team's talk before their match against FaZe.

"The main focus is to stay humble and to keep our heads down and work hard, that's the only way we'll get what we want."

You can watch the interview on YouTube, listen to the audio version on Spotify, or read the full transcript below:

Congratulations on your first win at BLAST Rivals. It felt fairly straightforward against FaZe until the end of the Ancient game, where that forcebuy win shifted it all around.

It definitely did. It felt like on the first map we had a really good grasp on them, but on Ancient things got a little bit closer, a close CT side and then they got quite far ahead. As you said, the forcebuy was able to make the comeback much easier.

Since you've gotten NiKo and m0NESY you seem to be able to pull these games out of your back pocket, but you've also had some big games yourself lately. Of course, I wanna go back to that Melbourne final, which must have been so heartbreaking. Tell me about how difficult it was to accept such a loss.

It was... not that hard. It was really hard the first five hours, but then we had a few beers, we all talked together hanging out, everyone thinking about the rounds and how it was from the outside. This final was really hyped up, there were so many clutch moments and hype moments. I probably had the most hype moment in my whole career in that game when m0NESY won the 1v1 after the three-round comeback in overtime.

I've never been that hype before and I just started remembering these situations, and then I was like, 'Okay, this was a fucking cool game,' and it wasn't just the loss. Yes, really annoying, but I was more hyped than sad and I want to take this kind of hype with me to the next tournament, and now I just wanna do it here.

As I said, you had a lot of big games, especially in the playoffs, one of your best performances in your career. It just seems like you've found a different level in this new Falcons squad, what is that down to?

When degster was here at the last tournament in Bucharest, I was also putting up good numbers in the playoffs. But with m0NESY on the team I can feel there's a little bit less pressure on me to have to put up big numbers and do really well.

Somehow it helps me and I'm more comfortable, and my focus is just to make the most space possible in the team. That's what I'm the best at, creating the space for NiKo and m0NESY and other teammates, that's my main focus.

But it also seems to me like you're not in the same position as you were in the previous teams without NiKo, where he's more of the opener, and you were actually in a lot of clutches back in Melbourne. Are you at home with this role you have in Falcons?

Yeah, it's of course a different role, but I still consider myself coming in the pack and, when we are starting to execute on sites, then I'm going first. In clutch situations usually I'm also going first, and, yes, there were a lot of clutches in Melbourne somehow, but that's something I have to get better at in my game and we'll see how it goes in the future.

But yeah, a different role from my previous teams for sure, I'm not a map control guy anymore, but I also found a way of making space in the role I have now to help the team a lot and I'm pretty comfortable with it, yeah.

Heading into this tournament, of course it's so close after Melbourne. You guys traveled in just yesterday and I'm sure it's not been the easiest to come such a long way. Energy-wise, how are you feeling?

We have a couple of guys feeling it. I actually think our staff is feeling the worst, that's kinda lucky. For myself, I'm sleeping really well and adjusting pretty fast, trying to do everything possible to adjust, so for me it's been pretty easy. Yes, it's the craziest travel I have tried at least, going to Australia and then back to Denmark to play the day after, that's next level, I've never tried that.

And it's just been a crazy run from you in general. You go from a win in Bucharest, almost straight into Melbourne after two days with m0NESY. Tell me about how the last couple of weeks have been from your perspective, not only winning against the odds when the team was just about to change and then seeing how much better you can be with m0NESY.

Yeah, a hectic couple of weeks, one and a half practice days, which is crazy when you have a new player. I just think we're taking it day by day and we're working as hard as we can towards the Major and get m0NESY built into the team the right way.

With these officials we're getting a lot of data and what we need to improve on, but the most we need right now is practice. We'll get that after this event, and after Dallas there's some time also, so it's gonna be fine for the Major and we're gonna see a high level at the Major.

How are you approaching this tournament, then, considering how quickly it came after Melbourne? I'm sure you see you are competitive, but is there a different approach now?

We talked about it today in the team talk, where if you start expecting to go to the final and to be a title contender every single tournament, then it's gonna go wrong for us. The main focus is to stay humble and to keep our heads down and work hard, that's the only way we'll get what we want.