Astralis’ IEM Cologne campaign came to an end after a one-sided defeat defeat to FURIA, and in-game leader Hooxi did not hold back in his post-event reflections. Speaking to pley.gg after their match against Rare Atom at the BLAST Bounty Season 2, he opened up about what went wrong in Cologne, the positives and negatives the team is taking forward, and how recent changes to the CS2 map pool could work in Astralis’ favor.
How did you experience the match against FURIA and the disappointing exit from IEM Cologne?
“I felt it was an enormous off day. No one showed up, either skill-wise or mentally, and that was not acceptable.”
What do you take away from Cologne, both positive and negative?
“On the positive side, when we do the things we have talked about, we can compete where it’s fun, and if you look past the last match, I think we are generally developing in a positive direction. On the negative side, our lowest level, like we showed against FURIA, is frighteningly low and we obviously have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
You got off to a good start at BLAST Bounty against Rare Atom. What made the difference in that match?
“We simply made far fewer mistakes and stuck to our plan most of the time. When we did make mistakes, the opponent wasn’t quite as sharp at punishing us as the teams we meet at, for example, Cologne.”
The CS2 map pool has changed again. What does it mean for you that Overpass is back?
“It’s obviously great — we all like the map. At the same time, they’ve removed Anubis, which was Astralis’ instant ban before I joined, which also helps.”
You have progressed quickly as a team. Does that mean the season’s goals have changed? And what is actually the goal right now?
“No, it doesn’t. The season’s goal has never been based on results but on the focus that we have to be better than in the last tournament we played. Especially when you change IGL, it takes time to get everyone implemented into a new system and a new style of play. So the focus is on improving and giving 100% every time we play.”
