gla1ve 'Astralis was like home to me'

It was an underwhelming performance from ENCE in the quarter-final of the Skyesports Championship 2024 as they we outplayed by 3DMAX in straight maps which knocked gla1ve's team out from the $300,000 event.

Following their loss to 3DMAX, the four-time Major winning captain spoke to Dust2 India about the quarter-final loss, his new roster and what's ahead for the team.

You got totally shut down on the first map. Did you get surprised by the way 3DMAX were playing?

We knew how they play on Dust2 but I don't think we played the best and even though we expected what they will do but we got caught off-guard. We got 5 rounds without pistol but we didn't get momentum at any point so I feel like our T-side was pretty good. When we came to CT, we didn't really get going. Usually this is the good side for us on Dust2, but this time around it was not the best. And I think this was because we didn't get into the game. When we lose the pistol and we are far behind, we are a bit more afraid to make plays and this is something we need to do on Dust2. We need to put pressure on the Ts, and if we just gave them the map control, yeah, it's hard.

What are your thoughts on your individual performance throughout the event?

I always think I can perform better, myself. But I know I also have a lot to think about right now because we are still a new team. And I think in the future it will be better, when we have better understanding of how we want to play. And the easier it will be for me to call some stuff, the better I'll play. It's not like I feel like I am playing bad, but it can always be better.

There were so many rounds where you looked slow to react. Then at the start of the second map we saw some proactive plays but they still didn't work out in your favour. Is this a problem you would want to solve in the future?

It can be a problem sometimes. We are trying to play a pretty specific style. I think it is also something like - 'That is how we want to play'. We don't always want to react when we get a kill, but we want to manipulate rotations, and try to kill the guys rotating instead of just take over the bombsite.

How has calling in English been like?

Calling in English has been okay, of course it's easier in Danish. But my English is alright so I don't think there is a big difference. Of course getting new players, understanding new callouts, new spot names and new tactic names can be a bit hard because there is a lot to remember. But a lot of times you just say like, 'he is close right', or 'close left' and people will realise.

This season there has been a lot of ups and downs for the team. Overall what are you thoughts about this season in terms of the team's performance, and what is needed to be figured out, to win?

I think we can do better for sure, I am not that satisfied with the season. We only had one really really good event, that was Katowice. We want to be a team that is actually getting a lot closer to fighting for titles, and we are not there at all. So of course it's sad but the two changes we have made, they are pretty new, pretty fresh. We need to give it some time and see how we can make it work with the 5 players we have right now. I believe there can be a good future ahead of us, we just need to work hard and be on the same page.

How has it been coming from Astralis to ENCE?

Of course it's weird, because Astralis was like home to me and I still feel (they are) in my heart because I had been with them for seven years. So they have a strong place in my heart, but I feel really comfortable here in ENCE and feel we have some good things to work with.