9 Pandas arrived at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade Season 2 shortly after going 3–1 in the European RMR Closed Qualifier. Ahead of the team’s opening match, kyotostxr spoke with new signing Evgeny r3salt Frolov about leaving Aurora, the potential of his new roster, a possible meeting with his former teammates, and the work behind his individual development.
Many people were surprised when you supposedly gave up the chance to play the RMR with Aurora in order to join 9 Pandas. You then made it through the Closed Qualifier rather quickly. Were you confident that it would be such an easy run?
To be honest, 9 Pandas could have qualified comfortably even without me.
— r3salt
For me, the decision was about long-term potential.
I have already said many times that I was not satisfied with the practice process in Aurora, and that was the reason I decided to leave.
Aurora were around the top 20 at the time, while 9 Pandas were ranked 42nd, but those are only numbers.
A lot can change very quickly over a short period of time—and I believe it should.
When I joined, I already knew how the work would be structured here, and in reality, it has been exactly as I expected.
That is why I think we should climb much higher in the rankings very soon.
What goals have you set for this tournament? Would you like to face Aurora?
I do not have any particular desire to play Aurora.
— r3salt
If the match happens, it will be very interesting for the viewers because of the conflict and all the news surrounding it.
But for me, it would not be personal—it would simply be another match.
Perhaps it would mean more to someone on Aurora, but I would just play my own game and do what I know how to do.
As for the tournament goal, the first priority is to make it through the Play-In.
I feel bad for BetBoom. They went out in a very harsh way, losing four maps in a row. Honestly, I did not expect that.
We will see how things go. Whatever happens, happens.
How would you describe yourself psychologically? You often use black-and-white profile pictures, but you do not seem like someone who has completely closed himself off from the world.
That is a difficult question.
— r3salt
I do not think one person can always truly understand what is happening inside another person’s head.
In society and social situations, we can present ourselves in any way and wear many different masks.
For a long time, I barely had any close people with whom I could share something genuinely personal.
Only recently have I found people I can speak to about things like that.
If others draw conclusions about me based on my profile pictures or behavior, I generally do not care.
What or who helped you reach a new level in 2022? Your statistics improved significantly, and FORZE eventually noticed you.
My statistics were not actually that impressive at the time.
— r3salt
When I joined FORZE, the only thing I could genuinely do well was aim.
They would send me in first, I would find a couple of kills, and sometimes it worked.
I was probably signed because of my aim and a certain amount of luck.
FORZE then taught me how to think, account for different variables, and make more deliberate decisions.
I improved especially quickly during the summer of 2023.
That was when I realized how weak I had previously been in terms of understanding the game.
My mechanical skill came from an enormous amount of practice. At VP.Prodigy, I would sometimes get around a thousand Deathmatch kills per day, and occasionally even more.
Flash_1 and RuFire helped me develop that work ethic a great deal.
Do you still spend the same amount of time playing Deathmatch now?
No.
— r3salt
Nowadays, I usually play it before practice or an official match simply to warm up.
At this bootcamp, for example, I have been getting around 600 kills per day.
It used to be closer to a thousand.
Do you have a lucky charm or a particular ritual that you perform for good luck?
I used to have a small spider that my subscribers gave me for my birthday.
— r3salt
But after finishing second at the tournament in Australia, I stopped bringing it with me.
I also had a small iron-shaped souvenir that I sometimes held in my mouth during the event.
After finishing second, I decided that those charms had not worked.
Now my main ritual is simply playing a great deal of FACEIT and Counter-Strike in general.
It is also important to spend time with friends—walking around Saint Petersburg and playing other games together.
Counter-Strike, friends, and a good atmosphere are probably what make my life feel happy.
