Falcons defeated 9z 2–0 in the Group A consolidation final of the BetBoom Dacha Belgrade Season 2 Play-In and advanced to the main event. The team recovered from a 2–7 deficit on Dust2 before dominating Mirage. After the match, kyotostxr spoke with Falcons captain Marco Snappi Pfeiffer about the need for more official matches, the state of the team, his break from professional Counter-Strike, and the goals he wants to achieve before retiring.
Congratulations on the victory! Did everything go according to plan today, and was the team fully clicking?
It did not go according to plan at the beginning of Dust2.
— Snappi
We played really badly and were not on the same page.
But after the poor start to the first half, everything went perfectly, I would say.
How important is this tournament to you, and what mindset are you approaching it with?
Our mindset is that we need official matches.
— Snappi
That is why we are participating here, in the BLAST Showdown, and in the IEM Rio Closed Qualifier at the same time.
We do not care that we have to play a lot.
One of our issues has been that we have not been able to translate our practice results into official results.
Therefore, we want to play many official matches in order to get into a proper flow.
There are rumors about NiKo potentially joining Falcons. Can you say anything about them, or would you prefer not to comment?
I obviously cannot comment on that.
— Snappi
It seems that you and dupreeh have had the most stable individual form on the team. Is there a reason why the other players have experienced sharp rises and falls this year?
I do not think my individual form has been particularly good.
— Snappi
But it is starting to improve, and it feels nice to sense that my individual level is going up again.
When a team is not performing, it hurts everyone individually.
I came across an article saying that you left Anexis in 2012 and paused your career to focus on your studies. However, there are still a few official matches listed from the following years. Can you talk about that period and what motivated you to return?
I stopped playing in 2012 and did not properly return until 2015.
— Snappi
I played a small number of official matches during that period because I attended Copenhagen Games.
I did not own a PC, so I borrowed one and went to the event once or twice.
I completed my bachelor’s degree and started a master’s degree in finance at Copenhagen Business School.
I then worked in the finance department of a Danish company called Nets, which handles card payments and works with systems such as Visa and Mastercard.
I was in that department when the company entered the stock market.
I did that for a few years before returning because Counter-Strike was growing and more money was entering the scene.
When I played Counter-Strike 1.6, it was almost impossible to make a living from the game in Denmark.
The salaries and prize money were not high enough.
By the time I was doing my master’s degree, the scene had become large enough, so I started playing again and eventually became a professional once more.
Have you thought about retirement in recent years? What is the main goal you want to accomplish before ending your career?
My dream is to win the biggest tournaments and win Majors.
— Snappi
I do not think I am done yet.
I believe I am one of the players currently pushing the age limit in professional Counter-Strike.
It has never really been tested because Counter-Strike is still such a young esport.
Players have not yet had the opportunity to see how old they can become while continuing their careers.
I assume it will be similar to other sports, where perhaps you can compete until you are 40.
I still think I have quite a few years left, but we will see.
How dangerous are young teams such as 9z, The MongolZ, and emerging Brazilian rosters? Can facing them be more difficult than playing against a tier-one team?
Every team can be dangerous in CS2.
— Snappi
But the tier-one teams are obviously still the most dangerous.
When you play NAVI, G2, Vitality, MOUZ, or Spirit, they are still the best teams in the world.
Those are the teams that remain the toughest to beat.
What would your dream map pool look like?
From the current map pool, I would keep Nuke and Mirage.
— Snappi
Train would be the third map.
I would also include Cobblestone and Ancient, which makes five.
Perhaps Dust2 should remain because of its legacy.
I do not necessarily think Inferno is the best map either, but it also deserves a place because of its legacy.
So I would replace Vertigo and Anubis with Train and Cobblestone.
