Players Editor-In-Chief Alex Kharchenko talked with FaZe player Havard rain Nygaard at IEM Dallas 2024.
Coming back to the game against G2, what went wrong and led to the defeat?
I think there are multiple reasons.
Some of them are private, and some of them are more burnout-related, I feel like. I think the fire that normally is in FaZe's eyes when we play on the stage wasn't there versus G2. I think it was something we were lacking.
We didn't have that killer instinct that we normally get on stage. And I don't know if it was because of tiredness and low energy from all the traveling and everything, but I think there are some things we have to work on and figure out for the next season. And even just for BLAST now, we have to figure out a way to be able to stay at the top.
You mentioned private reasons. Is it like pure private things or within the team?
No, within the team and things we have discussed. And we got to figure out a way around some certain things, and then we'll be good.
So you can't reveal it specifically?
No, it's a bit between the team and between teammates. I see. And it's just, we got to find a way to be happy and play, you know.
All together?
All together.
The crowd yesterday was more supportive of G2 because of Stewie2K in the roster. Did the fact that the arena was against you put additional pressure on FaZe?
Not pressure per se. I mean there’s some pressure because you're playing against a team with a stand-in, with nothing to lose, and you can feel it like, all right, they're just going to do all this weird stuff.
If it works out for them in the start, it can be a very hard game because they're going to start snowballing, and the crowd is going to be cheering for them. But of course, I think this is the first game in the arena we played where we did not have the crowd all year. I think we've had the crowd almost every game we played.
You mean the cheering up more for FaZe?
Yeah, even in Katowice they're for us, in China they're for us, in the Major they're for us.
Is it something new for FaZe?
It's new to have it against us, you know. And it's only in NA, if you have an NA guy, that you get the crowd against you.
Of course, the majority of the crowd was for G2, but they're still cheering for our stuff as well, so it's not like... I didn't feel it was very heavily favored. But it was a good crowd.
I think it was at Nuke or something, it was at 12-3 or 12-2 or something, and then I hear “sen them home”, the same screaming from the Major, and I think I just hear Karrigan singing this shit again, you know, and I'm just smiling. I was like, okay, I can't do anything about this. Send them home, yeah.
If we look at the crowd, how do you like it compared to the European and the Chinese crowd?
I think the European crowd is the best.
Because you're European.
Because I'm European, of course, but at the same time I think more alcohol involved, people are a little bit more loud, it's more energetic for every team. Certain home crowds, if you're a very home crowd like American or Chinese, I think the crowd can be very focused on that player and that team. But I feel in Europe there's so many mixes that come to the tournament, and there are people from all over Europe, and they cheer for everyone.
And, for example, in Brazil it's the same. Locals are playing and cheering specifically, for example, for FURIA.
Yeah.
Since the release of CS2, you had a long streak of reaching finals in tournaments, and in the last two you stopped in quarterfinals. Has your game gone downhill, or has the rest of the scene become more competitive?
I don't think it's the rest of the scene. I think it's us not being on top of our A game. All of us, I feel like we're in a slump in a way, individually.
I think people are missing kills they didn't used to miss. I don't know if it comes from burnout, or if it comes from not having enough ideas, but also when you're at the top, everybody's gonna look at you, right? And I think people have to figure out the way we're playing this season. But I think Karrigan is always doing a very good job. Every season, he is creating a brand new playbook.
Every new season?
Every new season. He scratches the old one and creates a brand new one for every season. I think it's something that's gonna be different for next season, yeah.
With this new CS2 update, and the Vertigo, and the Dust, is this playbook changed? Are you still adjusting to this?
Yeah, the thing is, we didn't have time to play. We played like two Dust2 maps and one Vertigo, I think, on the new patch.
Before this tournament we came in here with very low confidence on those maps. And I think the G2 pick came as a surprise as well, for us. But in hindsight, it should not be a surprise, because it's Dust2, and it's always favored for mixed teams, it feels like, right? So, I think some more time on the map, and figure out the way to play the T side, it's gonna do good for us.
So, what's next for FaZe Clan? BLAST?
Yeah, Blast. We have five days in a row, I think, and then it's BLAST.
Your goal is always to reach the top, right?
We're going to every tournament to win.
But again, issues that you mentioned, that you need to talk within the team, maybe to talk with the mental coach or other coaches, or just talk within the team specific things. Will it be enough time for London?
Yeah, I think we're already talking about stuff now, and figuring out a way, and trying to make a plan how to make the future better for us. I think we're a group of guys that want to keep playing with each other, and I think we had a very good talk, and I think there's a set plan, and a clear way that we can do things to get better.