roeJ before G2: We are not afraid of anyone

One month ago nobody talked about Copenhagen Flames as a potential outsider for the PGL Major title in Stockholm. Some of the players on the roster did not even know, that they had the chance to qualify for the Major, when the team arrived for IEM Fall at the end of September. Just being there was a big thing for the Organization, which has always been grinding the lower tiers in the scene, where young Danish talents have had the opportunity to be nurtured before bigger teams came calling.

But the team surprised everyone at IEM Fall and qualified for the Major after a tough match against Fiend. At the Stockholm Major the positive results have just continued. Astralis, BIG, and Heroic all came short against the roster, which contains both experience in HooXi and roeJ, while nicoodoz, jabbi, and Zyphon are new faces on the scene.

Happy faces after the qualification for the PGL Major at IEM Fall

One of the key players on the Flames roster has been the experienced Fredrik "roeJ" Jørgensen, who we got to talk with on the phone Friday evening.

- We were super happy after we qualified for the Legends Stage. But quickly we started to move on and now we are fully focused on Saturday's matches.

The 27-year-old Dane has been the center of attention with his impressive performances, which has put him on top of the individual leaderboard with a 1.36 HLTV rating. Saturday roeJ and his teammates will face G2 in the opening round at the Legends Stage. A tough opponent but also a roster that Copenhagen Flames managed to beat at IEM Fall.

- We have built up great confidence right now. We have the mindset that we are not afraid of anyone. And I think that we are only getting stronger with this kind of mentality, which is pretty unreal to think about, when you consider, where we were before IEM Fall.

Inspired by Gambit

It is hard not to compare the sudden rise of Copenhagen Flames with the one we saw last year from Gambit, who also have had success with combining an experienced player with young raw talents, that have had the right attitude towards the big grind through the ranks of lower-tier tournaments to break into the A-tier. Another comparison could also be made about the ways, that the two teams are playing. At least according to Fredrik "roeJ" Jørgensen.

- We are inspired by the way, that a team like Gambit is playing. We are not very structured, but we react more to what we see. It is more feeling-based decisions that we like to employ. We really like this way of playing, and I also think, that it makes it easier for the young players to fit in. We don't have a ton of strategies from the spawn, but that also makes us much more unpredictable. It's a way for us as a smaller team to try and equal the playing field against bigger teams, who have a lot of people to analyze the games and strats.

Copenhagen Flames have so far only been playing from their practice rooms at the PGL Major. From tomorrow all the matches will be played in a studio environment, but that should not be a big deal for the young roster.

- I can't speak for everyone on the team, but I don't think it will make a difference. We tried it at IEM Fall, so we already have a bit of experience playing in a studio. I do think, that it will make a difference if we make it to the Champions Stage in front of a crowd, but only time can tell, Fredrik "roeJ" Jørgensen says with a grin.

Copenhagen Flames will face G2 tomorrow at 11.00 (CEST). Can they do it again?