Staehr on HooXi: "Every player responds well to this playstyle, and has the joy and energy to play"

The Danish rifler is "very, very impressed" with HooXi's impact at the tournament.

Astralis' future in Counter-Strike has been shrouded in uncertainty ever since they failed to qualify for the Austin Major, but Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen's temporary addition in place of outgoing Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller seems to have revitalized the Danish squad.

The team made the playoffs at PGL Astana and now went one better by defeating Natus Vincere in the quarter final to secure themselves two more appearances in the Barys Arena before starting their summer break.

After the win against Natus Vincere, Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr spoke to HLTV about his star performance, HooXi's impact, and the upcoming match against Aurora.

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You just beat NAVI here in the quarter-finals. What are you feeling right now?

It feels amazing that we can accomplish something like beating NAVI in a short amount of time together. I think they're a good team, they might not be in their best form right now, but it feels good. They have very good individual players as well, and when you can out-aim them, you feel pretty good about that.

This game was amazing for you individually, I think you top-fragged all three maps. Was there anything special in this game, or was it just a good day?

I mean, it was a good day for sure, but you also can't top-frag all three maps without your teammates, the team supporting you, and doing good stuff for you. It's not like I was the top-fragger, and that means I was the best. I got the support I needed, and that's just what matters. When your team sets you up, you should execute on that, and I did today, so I'm happy.

To ask about HooXi. He came into this team, and you said you only had a low amount of practice, but it feels like this team is reborn in a way. Do you feel that on the server? Because the team looks much more confident.

Yeah, for sure. I like HooXi's system and the way he likes to call. He has his own system, and then he also likes the free calling a little bit sometimes, which is just amazing. I think his system works very well with the playstyle that we have, and then also individually, he's been good at this tournament as well. He's done some good stuff, done very important kills, so he's been very good so far. I'm very, very impressed.

In terms of his calling. He said he's using some of your old stuff, and some of his. How is that dynamic right now?

I think it's amazing. I said on the stage as well that we have some of our old stuff, and we also have his style of calling, which is just the perfect combination for us, at least right now. I feel like every player responds very well to this kind of playstyle, and I feel like everyone has the joy and energy to play. They give it their all, and it's just easier to take the initiative. I love it.

What would you say is the biggest thing he brought? Does it just come down to more freestyle in the calling?

I wouldn't say the freestyle is his best part. He also has the system that he likes, which is amazing. As an IGL, I think he's very like… He's a very good leader in terms of sometimes saying, 'Shut up, we do this, and I want you to do this, this, and this.' He gives such good specific details to a player, that he knows what timing he wants to play a strat on, instead of you having to put everything together from five people.

If five people just play the game and they try to put it together, it will be hard, but when the caller says, 'We do this, this, this, and you have to do this,' then everyone knows their role in the round. It's very important to do that as a caller.

This is your final event before the player break, so how important is it for you guys to finish the season on a high?

It would be amazing after the failed Major qualifier, sadly. It would be amazing to end it off with a deep run, and I think now being in the semifinal is good, but I hope for a grand final, I won't lie. We'll see if we can win the tournament, I'm not sure, there are still very, very good opponents left, but with what we showed today, I believe we can do it.

To also touch on this uncertainty around the organization. Is that something that affects you guys? Is there, in a way, maybe less pressure because of that?

We don't think about it at all. We don't talk about it, and we have no real information about it, there are only the rumors that everyone has seen. I have no idea what to say, other than the fact that we don't focus on that, we only focus on what's in front of us. We're just playing the game and trying to go far in the tournaments. And the other thing, we'll see what happens, right? Whatever happens, happens.

Next up for you is Aurora, who are a team that kind of struggles on stage. Not today in the quarterfinal, but overall, you could say that. How do you feel about that match?

The struggling on stage, I hope they will. [laughs] I think they played well today against The MongolZ, so it's hard to say. They're a very good team, and they have five really individually skilled players. That means that if one of them pops off, it's going to be a tough game, and the chance of that is pretty big, at least on one or two maps. When they pop off, they can be really, really strong, but of course, I believe if we play like we did today, then we can take them down for sure.