YEKINDAR interview: molodoy's overconfidence after FPG 2 win, "flaming" him, new CT concepts

The Latvian shed light on FURIA's rough start to Stage 1 at ESL Pro League, saying overconfidence got the better of them.

FURIA triumphed over Aurora to seal a playoff spot at ESL Pro League Season 22, a berth that was expected to be a given after the team's title victory at FISSURE Playground 2 but was cast into doubt after a labored 3-2 campaign in Stage 1.

"I'm super happy because we kinda overcame ourselves as well during this event," Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis told HLTV after FURIA advanced. "We had a little bit of a... well, you win an event and then you're thinking like, 'Oh, you're the gods,' and then you get settled down really fast."

The Latvian added that Danil "⁠molodoy⁠" Golubenko became overconfident after winning in Belgrade, and losses at EPL gave him a bit of a reality check.

"Sometimes his confidence goes a little bit too much, you know? And during these games he kinda understood the balance of confidence and overconfidence," YEKINDAR says.

The 26-year-old rifler also went into detail about molodoy's evolution in the team and what FURIA worked on ahead of FISSURE Playground 2.

"We were trying to make these pairs of players on different maps, who are the main players, and there is maybe an extra rotator who fits into the setup or fits into what they're doing. [...] People on each of their sites see their own opportunities, what they want to go for, and they have their duo player with whom they can communicate and make a plan with. That was our focus, and I think our CT sides have been great."

You can watch the interview here, or listen to it here.

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A tough fight against Aurora, but you made it through to the playoffs. How does that feel?

It feels good because how we started Stage 1 was not ideal. We lost to HOTU and we lost to Legacy, and in hindsight, obviously we should beat these kinds of teams. But at the same time, I'm very surprised by HOTU and Legacy, and of course it was a great fight against Aurora, but we should have closed it out a little bit earlier on Overpass CT side. If you ask any CS pro and you ask if a team gets eight rounds on T side Overpass, like... (smiles) what's the percentage of them winning, you know?

We kinda overcame ourselves as well during this event. We had a little bit of a... well, you win an event and then you're thinking like, 'Oh, you're the gods,' and then you get settled down really fast. So we kinda had that, and then we had things that we needed to change, maps that we needed to adjust, because teams started to abuse us on those maps. We did a lot of work during this event, and I'm happy it showed.

Tell me about the start of EPL a bit more. You touched on it a bit, but obviously you had the confidence sky-high after winning FISSURE and then you came into Stage 1 and it really wasn't the start you were looking for. What was the conversation like after that, how did you reset?

It's also that after FISSURE, we didn't have the chance to practice because we were doing Chinese visas, and the one day we actually practiced was when we played with molodoy who has 80 ping from Kazakhstan and everybody is at their homes and whatever. So you could kinda feel that we were not focused, like not in the rhythm, and it definitely showed.

That's something that we focused on a lot after losing the first game against HOTU, and at the same time we came to the conclusion that like... some of us... molodoy for example, he was like, 'Well it's cool to win an event, I'm so confident,' and whatever, and then sometimes his confidence goes a little bit too much, you know? And during these games he kinda understood the balance of confidence and overconfidence.

Is that something that you're also helping him with, or something he's working through alone?

Well, the thing is that I'm not necessarily his guide or something like that. Usually I just flame (smiles). Like I say like, 'Bro...', like I'm a little bit rude (smiles). But the thing is... I don't know how to explain it, but I know he's going to take it in the right way, so I can be very open with him.

Sometimes I'm saying like, 'Bro, relax,' or something a little bit more straightforward than with the others, but it's more or less the whole team that's kinda guiding him into the right direction. Especially sidde, our coach, he's been a great figure for molodoy in this team.

Part of what you touched on is a bit of that shared cultural connection; you have a similar way of communicating in that region. How has that evolved over the time he's been in the team? Obviously it must have helped a lot when he first came in, but how's it been now?

When he first joined, we instantly had a connection because of cultural reasons, the same language and whatever, and it was harder for him to connect with other players in the team or other staff members who don't speak Russian, or aren't from the same culture. The biggest difference now is how he is truly friends with everybody. Not only me, not only our coach who's spending a lot of time with him, but with everybody.

He started understanding that there is no perfect way of playing CS, or one way of playing CS, and he started understanding the different perspectives that the Brazilians were offering him. That is super valuable at his young age, to be able to experience stylistical differences and different ideas from me, the Brazilians, or anybody in the team. It's very good for him.

How about for yourself, in terms of getting some of that impact from the Brazilians? You've had a bit of a career revival, we've talked about it a bunch, but how has that impact evolved with you?

I know I have players who can close out the rounds, and it gives me a lot of confidence. I've seen many, many clutches from yuurih, KSCERATO, molodoy, and I know I can rely on them. At the same time, it's been very pleasing to play with FalleN because he's always ready to do the dirty work, jump out, whatever. He's truly a team player.

Our first three months as a team were about finding the right roles for everybody, and the last three months were perfecting the roles for everybody. I think we have a great balance of different personalities and different players.

At the start of FISSURE, something you mentioned in an interview with us was that you had an understanding of what to work on, but you wanted to keep it private and to yourself at the time. Is that something you're able to share more about now?

As a team, right? That's what I was talking about?

Yeah.

I think I was probably talking about our CT sides. After the Vitality era or whatever you want to call it, the Vitality 'great season' where they won everything (smiles), I kinda came to a conclusion that you truly need to have an overall understanding. Rather than have set play, set play, set play, set play, it's a lot better if you have pairs of players who cooperate, who learn to cooperate themselves and they understand the concepts. That's what we were trying to focus on.

We were trying to make these pairs of players on different maps, who are the main players, and there is maybe an extra rotator who fits into the setup or fits into what they're doing or whatever. That was something we were focusing on a lot. And just developing a stronger individual skill that people can rely on. It's like, of course I can come in and say, 'We're going to play this setup or that setup,' but it's just too random. Sometimes I'm going to be right, sometimes I'm going to be wrong.

People on each of their sites see their own opportunities, what they want to go for, and they have their duo player with whom they can communicate and make a plan with. That was our focus, and I think our CT sides have been great. We're definitely moving in the right direction.

And with that direction, you're through to the playoffs now. Heading into that, there is already Falcons there, Spirit there, it's shaping up to be a stacked playoffs and this is basically the most stacked event of the season before the Major. How are you feeling about FURIA's odds?

Honestly, I never want to say, 'We're going to try to win,' or whatever, it's just too vague. Even though we won an event, FISSURE was not... it was an S-tier event or whatever you want to call it, but it didn't have the full list of the best teams in the world. So it would be nice for us to come to these playoffs and play in a way where we're not going to regret how we played, and that's the most important thing to me.

There are going to be many more events this year, next year, that you're going to have chances in, but it's just important for finishing the event, taking something out of it, and understanding that, 'Hey, we played good, we just need to do this or that better,' and whatever. Just having the understanding of playing the long game rather than focusing on, 'Oh, we have to win this event.'