blameF: "We can be proud of what we displayed here with the new roster"

Astralis qualified for the Major after a performance which Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer believes is proof they are on the right track.

It took all five games, but in the end, the Danes secured their spot at the Major. It was a difficult run, with the Danes bringing teams such as Players and G2 all the way to three maps on their RMR journey.

Their qualification match saw them face off against HEET, and similarly to their first two best-of-three games, it went down to the decider. Astralis were able to stave off the Frenchmen on Ancient before closing the affair 2-1 with a big CT side on Nuke.

After their victory, the 24-year-old rifler joined us to have a chat about Astralis' run at the event, Asger "⁠Farlig⁠" Jensen's integration into the roster, and the team's map pool.

It was a close series that went all the way to three maps, but in the end, you got the 3-2. This event might have not gone as you expected in terms of results, but what are your thoughts right now?

I am not sure what you mean about the expectations, but think we played well. We beat ENCE, we played a very close 2-1 versus Players, another really close 2-1 against G2, and we beat HEET. For me personally, I thought it was a good event. We could have won against both G2 and Players, so I think we can be proud of what we displayed here with the new roster.

You have been slowly improving since Farlig came into the squad and the RMR was his second event with you. How has he been adapting to the team?

I think he's going well and he is a really nice guy and good to play with. He has a really good mood, he's a happy guy and just wants to make the team better, I think he's doing a good job of it.

Before this Major cycle one of the main changes was swapping ave with trace. The latter was initially brought in to deal with the youngsters of the academy, but how has he been doing with you?

I don't want to talk too much about differences or speak badly about anyone else, but I think trace is a good leader for us. He's making sure that the guys are staying focused on the task and that they are doing what they are supposed to, not only when playing, but also in terms of training, eating, and all that stuff. He's really good at handling all that part outside the game, he's a good leader and what the team needs.

Let's talk about some of the maps. Ancient has been really good for you and seems like is part of your comfort zone. What do you think is your strength on the map?

I think we just played it from very early on. When we built this team in-game we said: "Let's just be good at Ancient," and we practiced it from the get-go. It's one of the maps that we've practiced the most, and we were able to get routines and learn how to play against different playstyles and counter different things. I think that's honestly what it is.

When we watch demos, we can see that we are ahead tactically compared to some of the other teams, and I can also see that other squads are copying some of the stuff we have implemented.

On the other hand, Dust2 is your third-most-played map, but not one of your most successful, with only one victory on it in 2022. What's going wrong for you?

I think it's our third most played map because everyone picks it against us, that's the biggest reason why we have so many maps on it.

Our CT side is pretty good honestly. We are having some nice CT sides on it usually, but our T sides are not playable for us right now on Dust2. That's something that is hurting us so obviously it's something we have to work on.

Any plans going into the Major? Boot camps, celebrations, going home, resting?

I am honestly not sure exactly. I think we have officials already in a couple of days, so I don't know if we are going to boot camp yet. I am assuming that we are going to prepare pretty heavily for the Major, like everyone on the scene.