Nemiga are set to enjoy the fruits of a hard grind across the season, backing up numerous online successes with a pair of wins at PGL Masters Bucharest that have virtually secured their Singapore Major berth.
"I'm glad that my team didn't struggle under the pressure," Aleksandr "KaiR0N-" Anashkin said to HLTV after securing a second win in Bucharest. "Of course everyone was watching the games, the other teams that are about to qualify that are playing. We didn't focus that much on that, we focused more on our game."
For KaiR0N- personally, attendance at the Major represents the fulfilment of a career-long dream. "I've been trying for many years, many teams. I failed way too many times just to not enjoy it. This is just a dream for me to play there."
You can listen to the interview here.
Congratulations. Tell me a little bit about that series, it seemed pretty straightforward for your team.
We were controlling the game. That was important for us, to start good. We won the pistol, then we got the conversion. They had the force buy on 1-0, so yeah, we got the conversion. It was a 3-0 start for us, and on 3-0, we got a couple of opening kills, so we felt like we could steamroll the game and convert that to victory. So the first map was kind of like that.
Second map, I honestly don't remember what exactly happened, but we won, and I'm happy with that. My team did everything great, and we won. I don't even know what the score was.
So already you've got two wins at this tournament, and that has pretty much secured your place at the Major. How much was the Major in your team's mind when you came to this tournament?
I'm glad that my team didn't struggle under the pressure. Of course everyone was watching the games, the other teams that are about to qualify that are playing. We didn't focus that much on that, we focused more on our game.
For me, it's really important because I have lost so many games, crucial games towards the Major. I never had a sticker. I've lost, when it was 15 slots for Europe, I lost the last game once. And yeah, for me it's really important to... That was my goal since I started playing the game. And this is important for me that we almost got it, but I still won't believe it until the 2nd of November.
Nemiga have made a really impressive run this season. You've done really well online, then come here and picked up those wins. What do you think has been the key for your team this season? Because it feels like, especially since you've been on the team, this has been the best that Nemiga have played.
I don't know, honestly. Everything just clicked, I guess. We took robo in the start of the season, then Xant3r joined a month after. And I don't know, everything just clicked. Even though at the start we had a really rough start as a five-man. We've lost some series to, for example, we lost to 1eeR and Sowalio, our ex-teammates. Yeah, that was a bit tough.
After that, we won a couple of those breaking games when you win against... We won first against BIG, then we won some games on the qualifiers towards Spain for the tournament. So yeah, we've got some confidence out of it, I guess. And we just kept on going, going, going. We still are doing a lot of work, a lot of individual stuff going on. And this is, the team chemistry and everything just clicked at one point, and I don't really know what exactly happened.
Is there any difference that you can notice between this version of Nemiga and the version you had last season?
We are more structured as a team, I guess. This is the biggest difference. robo is trying to bring his own structure, and boX is really helping and leading the way towards it, I guess. And this is pretty much it, I would say. I like structure and everything, because this might lead you to more stable games I would say. Because whenever you are doing almost the same, changing just a bit to prepare for your opponent, you know in what kind of scenario you're playing, so this is good.
And just for you personally, you've had some close calls in the past trying to get to the Major. Do you think there's any big difference for you personally that has allowed you to be more successful this time?
Honestly, I don't know. I just try to grind really more. I am just trying to get a better version of myself every day. I do a lot. I do like two hours daily DM. I don't know, if that also I think helps. I go to the gym like three times a week. So I just try to get better. I try to look at just myself, because I'm trying, I don't know, everything, try to make myself perfect as a player. Even if it's not possible, I'm trying to get as much better as I can. And this probably maybe changed, I don't know.
Last question. If you do go to the Major, will you have any goals or expectations, or is it just happy to be there, happy to play and see how well you can do?
For me, honestly, no. I am just happy to be there because, I don't know, I've been trying for many years, many teams. I failed way too many times just to not enjoy it. This is just a dream for me to play there, first of all. Even though I had some successful runs on tournaments, in like good tournaments like Katowice, ESL Pro Leagues and blah, blah, blah. I had some good runs but never played at a Major. And now, right now, this is just a dream to be there.
Aleksandr 'KaiR0N-' AnashkinPast 3 months
Nemiga
Aleksandr 'KaiR0N-' Anashkin
Kirill 'Xant3r' Kononov
Nikita 'robo' Dushin
Beksultan 'khaN' Ospan
Daniel 'syph0' Ageyev
Anton 'boX' Burko