Despite securing a convincing win and showing powerful plays on MOUZ's map pick, Mirage, pushing the semi-final clash into a thrilling final duel on Vertigo, the main team sadly couldn't keep up their momentum. The Danes' defensive struggles and performance on the critical Vertigo map fell short, making a comeback in the second half on the T side almost unreachable despite a heroic try.
The defeat in the semi-finals signaled the end of the road for Victor "Staehr" Staehr, head coach Peter "casle" Ardenskjold, and the rest of the squad in Shanghai. Nonetheless, it was still an impressive LAN tournament for the guys, where they had positive growth and displayed significant potential ahead of the upcoming BLAST Fall Final on their home turf in the grand Royal Arena in Copenhagen.
Staehr: "We had some strong CT sides on the first two maps. However, our main issue was likely our poor start on Overpass, followed by Vertigo, which probably cost us the match. But apart from that, we played quite well."
casle: "I think our performance was quite solid. We tried to adapt well on the last map, although we didn't win the crucial duels when it mattered. Overall, though, I'm satisfied."
Regarding the result, Staehr said: "Obviously, it's disappointing that we didn't win. But winning the Mirage map showcased our strengths. We can take pride in proving our strong performance on Mirage. We also kept it close on Overpass and made a bit of a comeback on Vertigo. Still, it's frustrating, but at least we managed to push back. We weren't completely outmatched on Vertigo, even though we were down 12-0 at one point."
casle: "Reaching the semi-finals is admirable, but losing is always disappointing. Nonetheless, it was a tight match, which makes it somewhat easier to accept."
Asked about his feelings post-match, Staehr responded: "Overall, I have a pretty good feeling about how far we went in the tournament. But it's definitely a letdown right after the match, especially considering we might have won if not for our poor start on the last map."
casle: "I'm left with an okay feeling. We've shown progress since Roobet. The most important aspect for me is seeing the improvement in what we've been working on in pracc."
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Staehr: "The biggest issue today was our duels, in my opinion. In some scenarios, MOUZ outperformed us, winning the decisive rounds."
casle: "I'd echo Viggo's sentiments. On Vertigo, particularly, our performance in some of the C2 rounds was pivotal. Generally, things went as expected, except for a few hiccups, like struggling to find our rhythm on Overpass."
When asked about the reason behind these issues, casle said: "We were quite bold overall. But there were moments on Overpass where we were just slightly off the pace, about 5 percent too slow. It could have been a lack of aggression; it's tough to say. But playing a flawless BO3 is always challenging."
Staehr: "Ultimately, we lost because they landed some better shots. That's what I believe decided the match for them."
On what they can take away from this match, Staehr noted: "Our performance on Mirage proves it's strong when we play as we should, as a cohesive unit. We haven't had many official CS2 matches yet, so this experience is valuable."
casle: "As I've mentioned, we constantly evolve and learn. It's a new game for us. The strategies we've implemented in our recent pracc sessions are proving effective. That's a key takeaway for us moving forward."
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