The very first game of the major; the pressure to win, the roar of the crowd, the flashing cameras all pointed in the players’ faces. Heroic and Virtus.pro both needed to win this game to keep their chances of a Major trophy alive, but only one team could do it. Their approaches were completely different even before the game. Virtus.pro sat at their PCs, saying the odd word to each other after the initial walk out, Heroic all gathered in a circle and listened to a passionate speech from in-game leader Casper “cadiaN” Møller.
This theme carried on throughout all three maps — Heroic fed off the energy, they screamed, they shouted, and they soaked up the atmosphere inside the Avicii Arena. VP stayed quiet, fist pumping after every round, win or loss. Their ritual was the same, unwavering. In the end the passion and fury of Heroic won out, their yells echoed by the crowd that seemed completely behind them by the end of the match. It was after these celebrations, as they mingled with the crowd, that I was able to speak to Martin “stavn” Lund and get his immediate thoughts on the game.
Obviously, this was a great win for you guys. Do you have any hopes or expectations of who you are going to face next?
I think it would be cool to meet NIP. They’re the home team. I think the arena would be full, all would be here – And maybe they wouldn’t cheer for us, but it would be an amazing experience.
How did it feel being at the Major, having the crowd, especially with so many Danish fans?
It’s amazing, honestly. I could feel it from the minute I got here. We went here when there was no people and just looked at the stadium – Just feel the vibrations in your body its amazing. I don’t think there is anything that can describe it.
Having cadiaN being so passionate and noisy – Does that help you in this kind of situation when you are not really used to it?
Yeah, for sure. I would say that cadiaN is hype, always. Just brings really good energy to the team. ‘Self-believe, we can do this together’, and yeah, it gets a lot.
What was something that Heroic had that VP did not have today?
I think just overall, like, team play. I think we played really great as a team. We – I don’t know how much they are hyping each other, but like, we want this so much. Of course, they want it as well but we want it so much, every single one of us, and I think we wanted it more today.
Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted prior to the start of the G2/NIP series — NIP had not yet been eliminated.
