Interview by Pley.gg at the BLAST.tv Austin Major
As FaZe gear up for a high-stakes quarterfinal clash against The MongolZ this Friday at the Moody Center in Austin, we sat down with in-game leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen to talk about the team’s playoff push, the s1mple effect, and the possibility of signing the Ukrainian superstar permanently.
A Major moment once again
For the fourth consecutive Major, FaZe have made it into the playoffs, an impressive feat in itself. When asked how it feels, karrigan didn’t hold back on what this one means:
“It feels good to be in the third Major playoff in CS2. We haven’t had many stage games this year, so I’m going to enjoy every single moment walking onto that stage.”
FaZe’s journey to the playoffs hasn’t been smooth. After an inconsistent run through the earlier stages, they found momentum late and battled their way through the usual 3-2 thriller to qualify.
“We’ve been tested. We’ve seen how bad it can look when we’re not on point, and we know we need to be awake from the beginning of playoffs.”
The s1mple effect
The biggest storyline surrounding FaZe at this Major has been the surprise return of Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. The GOAT contender stepped in as a stand-in amidst FaZe’s recent slump in form and has quickly lifted both performance and morale.
“Sasha came in with a different way of playing, different chemistry, and he created a spark. I’ve been trying to find that with our previous lineup, but it just wasn’t working. He brought something new.”
Karrigan compared s1mple’s influence to the last time he worked with a player of that stature.
“The last time I played with a player of Sasha’s caliber was NiKo. That was many years ago. It’s been a fun experience playing with s1mple. He’s very vocal, he knows what he wants in the game, and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
On signing s1mple permanently
Perhaps the biggest question fans and pundits have right now is whether s1mple will stay with FaZe after the Major.
His performance has reignited the team, and even s1mple himself said recently that if FaZe offered him a deal, his answer would be “Why not?”
So we asked the man calling the shots what he thinks.
“It doesn’t matter what I say. Management has to look at the numbers. Sasha is not a cheap player.”
Karrigan acknowledged that signing s1mple full-time is about more than just gameplay.
“You’re not only paying for the player, you’re paying for the brand. And NAVI knows that. We haven’t even had the conversation yet because there’s a big financial hurdle.”
For now, karrigan is focused solely on the Major.
“Let’s see what happens after. Right now, I’m focused on doing everything I can to make sure we go as deep as possible.”
Hear more from the interview
You can hear more of karrigan’s thoughts on the playoffs, the crowd in Austin, and FaZe’s upcoming clash with The MongolZ in the full video interview below.
