TheSwedishJoker

30th January 2024

IEM Katowice 2024 Play-in Preview - Part 2

In this article I'll be taking you through a preview of the teams who will be competing for a spot in the Hall of Legends.

TheSwedishJoker • 25th January 2024

IEM Katowice 2024 Play-in Preview - Part 1

In this article I'll be taking you through a preview of the teams who will be competing for a spot in the Hall of Legends.

23rd July 2023

dinko: "What made me choose moses was the fact that he has never really made his own new duo."

21st July 2023

cadiaN: "I think that Vitality is potentially the deserved number one team, but not when they make the change."

I sat down with Casper "cadiaN" Møller after the win against NAVI.

18th July 2023

NAF: "I don't understand how people can blame Liquid [...]"

Liquid's European Adventure: Naf Talks New Roster, Honeymoon Phase, and North American Roots

18th July 2023

mantuu: " I got offers from EG, I got offers from NIP. We were in talks [...]"

Mateusz "mantuu" Wilczewski on his long break from competitive CS and the joy of being back in a team environment.

Blix • 27th April 2023

rallen: "Maybe I should have moved to international teams much faster"

Following Into the Breach's qualification for the BLAST.tv Paris Major, BLIX’s Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier sat down with veteran Into the Breach's rifler Karol "rallen" Rodowicz to discuss their final match against B8, his career and the Polish scene, among other topics.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: Into the Breach qualified for the Major! It was a close game, we thought you had it in the second map but you finally pulled through on the third, Vertigo. Can you talk me th

Blix • 26th April 2023

Interview With apEX: Discussing The Win Over G2, CS2, and More

Following Vitality's win over G2 at the BLAST.tv Paris Major RMR, BLIX sat down with Vitality's IGL Dan “apEX” Madesclaire to discuss the team's upcoming game against MONTE, the schedule that the team has, and his long career, among other topics.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Congratulations on your win against G2. You qualified for the Major yesterday, how did it feel to finally secure a spot at your home Major in Paris?

Dan “apEX” Madesclaire: Qualifying for the Major for a

Blix • 25th April 2023

NertZ: "I wanted to join ENCE because I believe in the players and I believe in the organization"

Following ENCE's penultimate match of the BLAST.tv Paris Major RMR B, BLIX saw down with recent addition Guy "NertZ" Iluz to discuss joining ENCE, the Counter-Strike 2 Beta and how it would feel to qualify to the Major, among other topics.

Note that this interview was conducted following ENCE's round four match against 500.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: Congratulations on your win over 500. How was the game from your point of view? What do you think it was that allowed you to com

Blix • 25th April 2023

dexter on playing FaZe: "Easily the most intense match I’ve ever played in my life"

Following MOUZ’s qualification for the BLAST.tv Paris Major, BLIX sat down with MOUZ's IGL Christopher "dexter" Nong to discuss Dorian "xertioN" Berman, the team’s results after the Rio Major, and how it is to live in Europe whilst having his family in Australia, among other topics.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: You guys did amazingly last Major considering the little experience you had back then, do you think we can look forward to seeing an equally strong MOUZ this time as well?

Blix • 25th April 2023

Goofy at the EU RMR B: Discussing their incredible run to bring Poland back to the Major

Following 9INE's incredible run to the BLAST.tv Paris Major, which saw the underdogs take down G2, BIG, and Vitality, BLIX had a chance to sit down with Krzysztof "Goofy" Górski to discuss his team's incredible run, bringing Poland back to Majors, and what it's like playing with former ENCE player Aleksander "hades" Miskiewicz, among other topics.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: Congratulations on qualifying for the BLAST.tv Paris Major. I can only imagine how you all are feeling, s

Blix • 24th April 2023

Interview With Maden: Discussing ENCE's Tough Start, Integrating NertZ, and CS2

Following ENCE’S win over iNation at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, BLIX sat down with ENCE's rifler Pavle “Maden” Bošković to discuss the team's tough start, how NertZ has been integrating into the team, and the team's results before the upcoming Major, among other topics.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Congratulations on making it to the 1-2 pool. This was a game of polar opposites, winning the first map 16-0 and the second map 16-14. Can you talk me through the series, and why it

Blix • 21st April 2023

Woro2k: "I know a lot of teams are not friendly outside of the game, but we are"

Following Monte's game against FORZE to qualify for their first Major, BLIX sat down with the team's IGL, Volodymyr "Woro2k" Veletniuk, to discuss his feelings on qualification, the experienced staff Monte have built up around them and the team's plans ahead of the Major, among other topics.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: Congratulations on qualifying for the BLAST Paris Major. This game against FORZE looked a bit one-sided, it was a pretty convincing win, so how was the game from

Blix • 21st April 2023

dupreeh: "It means a lot to me to be the only player to have played all nineteen Majors"

Following Vitality's win over G2 at the BLAST.tv Paris Major RMR, BLIX sat down with Vitality and Astralis legend Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen to discuss being an esports professional after having a child, how it feels to be the only player to qualify to every Major and his feelings about CS2.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: So, you’ve recently become a father. How has life changed for you as a CS:GO player? Have the routines changed now that you have a kid?

Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen:

Blix • 21st April 2023

Twistzz: "We want to have a dominant showing going into CS2"

Prior to FaZe's game against Cloud9 for the final spot in the BLAST.tv Paris Major, BLIX caught up with Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken to discuss the team's bumpy road to the Major, Twistzz's legacy in CS:GO and his thoughts on CS2, among other topics.

Note that this interview was recorded prior to FaZe qualifying to the Paris Major.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: Congratulations on beating Aurora and getting one step closer to the Paris Major. The game seemed to be pretty one sided,

Blix • 20th April 2023

ropz: "CS2 is obviously extremely good compared to when CS:GO was released, it was absolute garbage"

Following FaZe’s qualification for the BLAST.tv Paris Major through the last chance qualifier, BLIX sat down with FaZe rifler Robin "ropz" Kool to discuss the team's win over Cloud9, the team’s packed schedule with IEM Rio taking place right after the RMR and the Intel Grand Slam, among other topics.

Note that the following was recorded before IEM Rio 2023.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: Congratulations on qualifying for the Paris Major. On the first map, Mirage, you were down 13-

Blix • 19th April 2023

Interview With Apeks Head Coach kuben: Discussing Qualifying for the Major, Past Experiences, and Future Goals

At the BLAST Europe RMR, we had the chance to talk to Jakub "kuben" Gurczynski, the head coach of Apeks, about his journey from coaching Virtus.pro to qualifying for the Major with Apeks. He also discusses his time with MAD Lions, his thoughts on the Polish CS:GO scene and his views on the upcoming transition to CS2.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Apeks has just qualified for the Major. What’s going through your mind right now?

Jakub “kuben” Gurczysnki: First of all, I would li

Blix • 19th April 2023

Interview With Hyped From EU RMR B: Discussing his Transition to BIG’s Main Team and More

We caught up with Marcel “hyped” Köhn during BIG’s run in the EU RMR B for a chance at qualifying in the BLAST Paris Major. Although they had some shaky series throughout the event, hyped was in high spirits. He talked about his transition to the main team, playing his first LAN event and more.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Congratulations on making it to the 2-1 pool. This game was pretty close in the beginning, but you came back and closed it out. Can you just talk me through

Blix • 19th April 2023

ZywOo: "we’re just not going to overthink and play our game, that’s what’s working for us."

Following Vitality's qualification for the BLAST.tv Paris Major, BLIX’s Hugo “TheSwedishJoker” Nilsson Meier sat down with Vitality's star Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut to discuss the team's route to qualification, playing with JACKZ in ESL Pro League, and the team's expectations for the upcoming Major on home soil, among other topics.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Congratulations on qualifying for the Paris Major. I wanted to start by going over your surprising loss against 9INE. Wh

Blix • 18th April 2023

headtr1ck's next goal: "Qualify for the Champions Stage at the Paris Major"

Following NIP's qualification to the BLAST.tv Paris Major, BLIX sat down with their youngest member, Daniil "headtr1ck" Valitov to discuss the achievement, headtr1ck's progression as a player and Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke's addition to the team, among other topics.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Congratulations on finally making it to the Paris Major. Your event started out in a rough way, but you’ve finally reached your first Major. You started from the bottom and now you’re a

Blix • 17th April 2023

OG niko: "I think we need to play more together and work on consistency because sometimes one player is fully out"

We recently sat down with Nikolaj "niko" Kristensen, the in-game leader of OG Esports, to discuss his team's recent performance and his experience standing in for the team. He also discusses his plans for the future and his hopes of playing in front of a home crowd at the CS2 Major in Copenhagen.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Congratulations on winning your game against 1WIN and making it to the 2-2 pool. On the second map, Overpass, you looked pretty convincing at the beginnin

Blix • 17th April 2023

degster: "Playing without nexa has been pretty difficult but we're trying to adapt."

At the BLAST Paris Major EU RMR A, we had the chance to talk to Abdul "degster" Gasanov about a variety of topics related to his team's performance, goals, and future plans. Additionally, he shared his thoughts on the newly released CS2 game and the changes it brings to the CS:GO community.

This interview was taken when OG was down 0-2. Since then, degster and OG turned it around and ended up qualifying for the upcoming major.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX: The last time I talked

Blix • 16th April 2023

Xyp9x: "We’ve been in this situation before... we know what pressure it brings."

We caught up with Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth after Astralis' win over Team Spirit to talk about how Buzz is settling in with the team and how they're dealing with pressure in 2023.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: Congratulations on winning over Team Spirit, it looked like quite a hard series. How was it for you guys, and how were you able to close it out in the end?

Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth: Well, I think the first map was rough. We got off to a bad start and if you don’t get roun

Blix • 16th April 2023

tabseN: "I’m just grinding game by game, stage by stage..."

We caught up with tabseN, IGL for BIG, ahead of the EU RMR B's Last Chance Qualifier for the BLAST Paris Major 2023. He spoke openly about the team's synergy with their new players, plans for the future, and his thoughts on CS 2.

Hugo "TheSwedishJoker" Nilsson Meier, BLIX.GG: I’d like to start by talking about Marcel “hyped” Köhn, your new player. How do you feel he is adapting to his first Major circuit? What are the expectations you guys have for him here?

Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz: I can onl