With Stage 1 of the IEM Cologne Major wrapped up and the tournament now moving into an even more competitive Stage 2, we sat down with veteran Counter-Strike commentator Anders Blume to discuss the biggest storylines so far.
In this interview, Anders shares his thoughts on BetBoom and B8’s impressive 3-0 runs, the surprise results from Stage 1, the struggles of teams like Heroic, BIG, and Liquid, and what to expect from contenders such as Spirit, G2, Astralis, Legacy, Monte, and FUT in Stage 2. He also breaks down the impact of the best-of-one format, the idea of a “Stage 1 buff,” and the wider narratives surrounding the second stage of the Major.
B8 and BetBoom both went 3-0 in Stage 1 despite arriving with question marks. BetBoom played with a stand-in, while B8 relied on a Major debutant in s1zzi. Which run impressed you more, and what allowed both teams to exceed expectations?
Ooh, good question. I’ve got a really big appreciation for the BetBoom team, so I just really like the style that they play. I’m gonna be probably a little bit biased in their favor just for that reason. I think BetBoom have so much promise. I think Boombl4 is a really strong in-game leader.
read more
I think he brings a fun and different kind of Counter-Strike. And I would say that I think magnojez is one of the best players in Stage 1. I don’t know if he’s showing it all the time, but I said that he was gonna be the breakout player of the Austin Major, and he didn’t quite do that. In fact, he was kinda disappointing for that Major, but I still kinda maintain that trust in him a lot. So yeah, that’s my take on the current situation over at the BetBoom side.
For B8, this is such an interesting team to me. It’s insane to see s1zzi’s improvement, especially when there’s so much pressure on. I had heard a lot of rumors coming in, but now that I’m actually seeing him, I think that’s a big reason why B8 are playing as well as they are at the moment. I have a lot of respect for them. I feel like they’re a very hardworking team. I think that’s what’s bringing it home for them, they just work very hard to perfect their Counter-Strike.
One of the biggest surprises of Stage 1 was MIBR losing to THUNDER dOWNUNDER. How much do results like this reflect the volatility of the format, and what was your overall impression of both teams?
I actually thought MIBR were gonna be a more solid team in Stage 1. I had them rated pretty highly. I didn’t really know what to think of THUNDER dOWNUNDER, so maybe MIBR were in the same position where they just had no idea.
I think this is just the nature of the game. You’re playing best-of-ones early on in the Major, and you have to be ready for anything. It’s super tough, and you don’t have to go wrong a lot before you’re gonna get blown up. In this case, it was asap that had a crazy great game on Inferno, I believe, and they ended up winning.
Obviously it affects everything when you have that kind of an upset, but I think it’s also a great story. I was sure MIBR would crush that game, and they didn’t.
Teams like SINNERS, Gaimin Gladiators, and Sharks were among the first to exit. Did their result match your expectations, or were they simply not ready for the Major level?
I think it’s probably fairly predictable for SINNERS, to be honest. I feel bad for them. I think they played Ancient twice and lost it 16-14 twice. Even though they got knocked out early, I still feel like it’s, “Okay, fair enough.” You got into overtime on both those games. That seems very winnable.
I’m not saying that if that changes, then they go to the next stage of the Major, but they could have left the Major with significantly more maps played. So for SINNERS, it kinda is what it is.
For Sharks, I think they still showed individually that they had a lot of interesting firepower and stuff, but they didn’t seem like they were fully ready to make the next stage. But I also didn’t watch all of their games, so I don’t wanna be a hundred percent on that. Definitely, I think SINNERS, hopefully people remember that they did actually get pretty close to winning a couple of maps there.
Heroic are still searching for stability without a dedicated AWPer, while BIG once again struggled against teams around their own level. What do these teams need most right now to take the next step?
Heroic, it just feels like nobody knows where this project is kinda going. I think it’s fun to watch, but I expected way more of them. I’m shocked that they lost to Liquid, even if they do have a youngster as the AWPer at the moment. I still feel like I expected more.
I’m actually surprised by the Heroic situation, and it feels like there’s something that’s kinda not working with that lineup. So that’s disappointing to me. Maybe they do need somebody else who’s more dedicated. Although yxngstxr’s AWPing in certain cases hasn’t necessarily been that bad, maybe at a high level of Counter-Strike, it’s not enough.
For BIG, I’m also super surprised that they didn’t do better. I would’ve thought that they would’ve been able to crush it. I have some hope in this current lineup. I feel like blameF has added a nice dimension to this team. I think BIG just need to keep playing more. They just need more time with blameF, even though I hate saying that, but I feel like that’s probably true.
After qualifying, REZ admitted that GamerLegion were nervous throughout Stage 1. Why do nerves still play such a big role even for such an experienced Major player?
I think ultimately nerves are just one of those things that can be hard to control. Sometimes, if you have no expectations, then you feel way less nervous. I think GamerLegion had an expectation with this lineup to make Stage 2, and once that pressure is on you, then everything just kind of feels differently.
They’ve been having their own ups and downs with this team. So I think that might be one of the things, they weren’t a hundred percent sure. Although it feels like now they finally kinda have hypex playing more confidently, and it feels like the team as a whole should be feeling a lot better.
But yeah, I just think the expectations have risen for this team. A lot of people had them in their 3-0s, and I think with that comes a little bit more pressure.
FlyQuest, Lynn Vision, and TYLOO have become regular Major attendees, but none have managed to establish themselves as serious playoff contenders. What do you think these teams are missing to take the next step?
For FlyQuest, unfortunately, part of the answer is that regionally they are just at such a huge disadvantage when it comes to playing from Australia and the amount of practice and all the rest of it that kinda goes with that. I don’t know how to solve that problem, but if we could move Australia closer to Europe, then they would be in a better position, I think.
read more
Outside of that, maybe there is a way to move the entire team somewhere, get to Serbia with everybody else, and do a permanent bootcamp there. That would be interesting. I like the team. I think they’re super fun. They’ve had some crazy upsets already in the Major, so I’m really excited.
For Lynn Vision and TYLOO, I felt like at the halfway point through last year, they played so much better Counter-Strike, both teams. This is one of my big frustrations for Chinese Counter-Strike at the moment. I feel like they play themselves into good positions, and then they throw away those good positions by being way too aggressive. Their aim and their raw talent is crazy. At the end of last year, they stopped doing that, and now they’re doing it again, and I don’t know why.
NRG and M80 showed encouraging signs, but Liquid obviously had a very disappointing run. What were your biggest takeaways from North America’s performance in Stage 1?
I have a positive view of both these teams, weirdly enough. I like watching M80 play Counter-Strike. I think Swisher is proving to be a good player. I thought as much a long time ago. I think I even wrote an article a couple of years ago where I picked him and malbsMd as potential up-and-coming people. And I like Lake. I think Lake plays really good Counter-Strike.
read more
NRG are a team that probably shouldn’t work. oSee as an AWPer, I feel like a lot of people have said, “Ah, he can’t get to the high level.” We’ve got nitr0, who’s back from VALORANT. We’ve got br0, who’s escaped from Danish Counter-Strike. Grim, again, is one of these figures that people have given up on. But I just haven’t.
I still think oSee can play really great Counter-Strike with the AWP. I think br0 is a terrific role player. I think Grim can do more even. And Sonic, in my opinion, is kind of an underrated player. So I just really like both these teams. nitr0, for some reason, is still capable of playing tier-one Counter-Strike. He’s not supposed to be the top fragger, but his understanding of the game and from a leadership perspective, I think nitr0 is still a really, really great captain. I feel like I should dislike both these teams more, but I actually really love watching them play.
Moving to Stage 2, we have the likes of Spirit, Astralis, and G2 heading in. Which contender are you most confident in among these teams, and which one worries you the most?
Not that long ago, I would’ve said FUT immediately, but they’ve been kinda having their own struggles up and down. I just really like the team. In Stage 2, you’ve gotta think that Spirit are gonna be the heavy hitters. But to be honest, there are a lot of coin flips in here. Astralis seem to be playing better. For my money, Legacy play some of the most fun, innovative, and interesting Counter-Strike I’ve seen in the last couple of months.
read more
They do so many things that are just different enough that it’s their own style. I don’t know how many people recognize how much they’re doing it, but if you really look through the demos, you’re gonna see that they really have invented a lot of cool stuff. I just really like that team.
So if I had to give a one-word answer, it’s gotta be Spirit. But there are some really fun teams in that pool that can definitely shock Spirit, especially in best-of-one games, for sure.
We’ll also have a lot of Stage 1 teams arriving in Stage 2 with momentum and stage experience. You’ve seen a lot of tournaments up close. How much do you think that will be an advantage compared to the teams entering for the first time?
That’s the eternal conversation, right? Is there such a thing as a Stage 1 buff? I think so. I think it makes a big difference. For some of these teams, it’ll be a huge benefit to feel familiar with the environment. You’re already mentally in the zone. For you, it’s like week two, we know everything, we’ve already repaired some problems.
But I think for teams that are really well prepared, there’s a benefit to having seen all of the teams play. In a world where there are such advanced tools to scout your opponents and figure out what’s going on, I think some of the Stage 1 buff is gonna be less and less over time. More and more teams will use Stage 1 to scout their opponents and know what they’re doing.
read more
Across the entire Stage 2 field, which team do you think is the most underrated? Which team is best equipped for a BO1-heavy format, and which team could be in danger because of it?
Weirdly, I think Legacy. I would’ve said FUT not that long ago, but I feel like more and more people are on their side. So for me, either Legacy or FUT has gotta be one of the more underrated teams at the moment.
For the BO1-heavy format, I feel like the kind of prep work that a Legacy team could bring, with the way arT plays, could be a strong factor. His ability to call really fast rounds and fast Counter-Strike could be the case. How deep they will go, I don’t know.
Spirit obviously, if you’re playing donk in any format, but donk in a best-of-one, if he starts off well, are you even gonna be on the server at all? That’s the question. It’ll be tricky.
If you’re filling your Pick’Ems right now, who would be your 3-0 and 0-3 picks?
You always hate putting the really strong teams in the 3-0s because it feels like you’re setting yourself up for failure. I would probably throw a team like G2 in the 3-0, and maybe I would put FUT in the 3-0 just for the fun of it. Then I put Spirit, Astralis, and Legacy as just going through.
read more
For 0-3, I think either NRG or BIG, who I think are playing right as we speak here. I think either one of those two are probably gonna go out early on. I don’t know if I necessarily trust TYLOO as well, so I could see them exiting as well.
Monte return to the Major stage after missing several big events. What are your expectations for them in Stage 2?
Monte are a team that I think people are still weirdly kind of sleeping on. They have a lot of prospects that I think could work really well. I think Gizmy as a leader is underrated, in my opinion. He just plays a really rational kind of Counter-Strike. You can always see that Monte have some idea of how to play a round, which is really awesome.
Between Rainwaker and AZUWU, we’ve got good rifling. afro is a very, very good defensive AWP player. I’m very interested to see how that will play out against the top-level AWPing. This is a team that people kind of sleep on. These guys are really ripe for upsetting people in best-of-ones. I think they can definitely do that.
Many people see Spirit as one of the favorites to win the Major. Is there any team in Stage 2 that could realistically challenge them early in the tournament?
In best-of-ones, anything can happen. In a best-of-three, it’s not impossible. I think we could have some of those upsets. I’m not gonna count anybody out there. G2 on the right day. 9z are still, I think, kinda getting used to things. Could Astralis do it? I don’t know.
Spirit are such a hard team to guess at, but realistically, they should beat up most teams in Stage 2. If they’re the Major-contending version of Spirit, you wanna see them crush everyone here. But in best-of-ones, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost one or two of those.
read more
