Boombl4: “At EWC, it felt like we simply forgot how to play”

Speaking personally, I simply enjoy playing in front of spectators. Throughout my career, I remember all the tournaments where we played in front of a crowd, and I usually performed better there. It is not necessarily harder to show good individual or team play during a group stage without spectators. The crowd simply gives you an additional emotional boost: you want to shine more and play great overall.

— Boombl4

Which match in front of a crowd do you remember most vividly?

I do not even know; I would have to think about it. One of the first examples that comes to mind is the playoffs of my first Major in Boston. It was a big arena in the United States, I was playing for QBF, and I was still an unknown player. People came with signs that spelled out my nickname one letter at a time. That moment really stayed with me. But overall, every arena is special in its own way.

— Boombl4

Anubis was Astralis’ first official appearance on the map in a long time. Were you prepared for them to pick it?

We understood that it was possible. I think we knew that they had started playing Anubis in practice, so it was not new information for us. We had two maps left in the veto: they were probably not going to ban one of them, and we would pick the other. So we were prepared. At the same time, we understood that they probably had not been able to practice much and would use some prepared scripts on the T side while playing aggressively on CT. It is difficult to hold without map control, so they pushed water every round and fought for areas to make us uncomfortable. It was similar to Ancient: they fought a lot for middle, took control of it, and after that it became more difficult to control the map and create a clear call.

— Boombl4

You posted a 2.03 rating on Anubis. Are you satisfied with your individual performance?

It feels good. To be honest, this tournament and the start of the season in general had not been going very smoothly for me individually. I understand that my primary responsibility is not my individual game, but I still wanted to regain my form. So I have been sitting down and playing 5EPL, the Chinese league, five matches at a time. I played five yesterday and three before that. I will simply keep working on every aspect and doing my best.

— Boombl4

This is the team’s first playoff appearance in the second part of the season after the previous event in China. What went wrong at EWC?

EWC simply did not work out for us. We entered the season very slowly. I think that if we had completed the comeback against FaZe in the opening match, the tournament could have gone completely differently for us. But at some point, we became a little discouraged. We seemed to understand that we were stronger than NiP, but we simply were not hearing each other. It felt like we had forgotten how to play, and the tournament ended badly for us. After that, we reviewed our mistakes. We cannot allow ourselves another long ramp-up and repeat the same process as in previous seasons. We need to get ourselves together immediately and work. Right now, we are genuinely working a lot.

— Boombl4

Why has the team become much more consistent at tier-one events over the past few months and reached the playoffs almost everywhere despite the roster issues?

I would not say that we have suddenly caught fire. We have only played two matches at this tournament so far, and the event is still ongoing. Looking at a longer period, it feels like we have escaped online Counter-Strike. Everyone wants to play at tier-one tournaments and maintain that level. We do not want to play online against random stacks and cheaters, and we do not want to sit at home watching other teams travel to tier-one events. Everyone has huge ambitions. It is the start of the season now, and we specifically need to regain tournament sharpness. It is difficult after a break: you play a lot of practice, then arrive at an official match and experience completely different emotions. You need to settle into that rhythm. We have played two matches at this tournament and have already started to feel the game again, while we still have another match that is not an elimination game. Of course, qualifying directly for the semifinal is more pleasant than starting in the quarterfinal, but we also need to use the next game to build momentum, understand our mistakes, and work on the map pool.

— Boombl4

Which moment from your entire career do you remember most vividly? It can simply be a highlight.

At the time, it did not feel that memorable to me, but it eventually became one of those moments. It was at 10:10 against Heroic at the Major that we won. It was the opening best-of-one match, and I was in a one-versus-three situation with both teams still having full utility. I had an XM1014 and won the clutch. If we had lost that round, there is no guarantee that we would have won the match, and perhaps we would not have won the Major either. I cannot say that we won the Major specifically because of that clutch, but it became one of the most memorable moments of my career. Our matches against Heroic were always close and emotional, often ending 16:14. cadiaN was still there and constantly shouting, so those games were always lively. That moment was epic.

— Boombl4

What is the worst moment of your career that you still remember? For example, a serious mistake on the server.

The BLAST World Final with Cloud9, where we were one round away from beating MOUZ but eventually lost on the third or fourth overtime on Ancient. I remember leaving the arena after the match, walking to the hotel for fifteen minutes, and crying.

— Boombl4