Mareks “YEKINDAR” Gaļinskis’ time in Liquid never quite matched the blockbuster expectations that came with his signing.
After making his big breakthrough on Virtus.pro, the Latvian star was seen as one of the brightest talents in Counter-Strike, but has unfortunately struggled to deliver on that promise so far.
Now, he finds himself in FURIA as a key pillar in their new international project.
Regaining confidence
We have had the chance to speak with YEKINDAR about his last period in Liquid, his mental battles and regaining his confidence in FURIA.
In our talk with the current FURIA rifler, we touched on the Austin Major and how important it was for him to show that he still got it after being at rock bottom mentally.
– The most important thing is that I proved myself. Because when you have a slump like that, you’re start getting doubts about your performance; “Am I even supposed to be here?” and everything like that. Right after the break [start 2025], I finally felt that I was back, in a way.
– Before the Shanghai Major, I was already working on coming back in terms of the cognitive, in the head and everything. Because I was at my lowest mentally. And the Shanghai Major already gave me an uprising trajectory, which gave me more motivation to understand like, “Okay, I need to work, and I’m on the right path.”
-I felt confident individually in FURIA during PGL Astana and the Austin Major, and that’s where I kind of understood the rhythm that I need to work in. I learned a lot from the slump, and now I know what to do.
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I’ve read you got some help to gear up mentally. Do you have good family and friends, who helped you too, so you don’t identify everything you do by how good your rating is in-game?
– The thing is, when you’re a 20-year-old kid you don’t learn anywhere how to handle these things. You handle them yourself, and everybody has a different approach on how to do it.
– Some of the approaches I was doing before were wrong. Before the Shanghai Major, Liquid gave me a great opportunity to visit a neurophysiologist, who completely shifted my mindset in terms of that. And to them, I’m super thankful for it.
– I also got more mature, and I’m just thinking about life in a different way. The small things that mattered to me before don’t matter anymore.
YEKINDAR and FURIA are currently competing at FISSURE Playground 1.
Full interview
You can watch the entire interview with YEKINDAR below.
