It\u2019s definitely demanding, but in a good way. There are different levels to it. Stage 1 didn\u2019t have a huge crowd, but it was still a Major and the first Major back with StarLadder since 2019. Even then you feel responsibility and pressure.<\/p>\n
Then Stage 2 comes, more people show up, you\u2019re a bit more nervous. Stage 3, you\u2019ve got Torzsi at home, FaZe, Falcons, m0NESY, NiKo \u2013 people go crazy, the noise gets louder. That\u2019s when you really feel that \u201cMajor magic\u201d. The fans\u2019 excitement, the players\u2019 energy, the feeling in the hotel when you see everyone\u2026 it all builds. And then we go to the arena \u2014 the MVM Dome with 20,000 people. I haven\u2019t felt that for such a long time. Antwerp had around 18,000, Shanghai was maybe 15,000. Twenty thousand in Europe is going to be crazy.<\/p>\n
It is a lot of pressure, but honestly, if you don\u2019t feel nerves and pressure, that\u2019s a bad thing. A little bit of it is good.<\/p>\n
How much of your stage hype is prepared and how much is improvised?<\/strong><\/p>\n I always have an idea of what I want to do, but 60\u201370% ends up being improvisation. You never know how the crowd will react.<\/p>\n In China, for example, the crowds are always loud and strong, but maybe they don\u2019t react in the same way. In Europe or America I can play with words more, they react differently, so I change that up depending on where I am<\/p>\n It also depends on the size and energy of the crowd. I might plan: on Thursday I\u2019ll do this, Friday that, Saturday something bigger, Sunday something huge. But sometimes a Friday crowd is way better than expected and suddenly you can push further.<\/p>\n I remember Elisa Masters in Finland \u2014 maybe 5\u20136k people \u2014 but they were having beers, ready to party, super into it. Their energy hit me immediately and made me go harder as well.<\/p>\n Was there a moment when the crowd\u2019s energy completely carried you away?<\/strong><\/p>\n Definitely Antwerp [PGL Major Antwerp 2022]. It was such a special location because people from all over Europe could come easily, even by train. The arena officially had around 18,000 seats, but on the last day it felt like there were even more people sitting wherever there was space.<\/p>\n Before the FaZe vs NAVI grand final, the atmosphere was insane. After FaZe won, I remember standing on stage and physically feeling the air move when people were cheering. I\u2019ve never felt anything like that.<\/p>\n It gave me this clear feeling: this is where I want to be, this is what I want to do. It was like one huge celebration and to literally feel that energy was out of this world.<\/p>\n NAVI vs FURIA is a big one for me because of the history. The matchup usually favors FURIA \u2013 even when NAVI were 2\u20130 up in that best-of-five at Thunderpick, FURIA reverse swept them. That shows me that in a BO3 there\u2019s always a chance for NAVI if they level up, especially with wonderful playing this well.<\/p>\n The other huge one is Spirit vs Falcons. On paper, Spirit always lose to Falcons. NiKo and m0NESY have beaten them nine or ten times in a row. It\u2019s incredibly dominant. But it\u2019s a Major stage, and Falcons almost didn\u2019t make it here at all. You just never know what happens in that environment.<\/p>\n Which storyline at this Major do you find the most compelling, and which team surprised you the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n The MongolZ surprised me the most. They lose senzu, their star player, and I honestly thought they\u2019d go 1\u20133 or 2\u20133 at best. Controlez had one Major before, he\u2019s 28, he\u2019s not some \u201cnew prodigy\u201d coming up. On paper it looked really bad for them.<\/p>\n But controlez is playing so well individually, and Mara has proven how strong their system is. It makes me believe they can go further than people expect. Just reaching playoffs with a last-minute stand-in is already a massive win. Beyond that, there are two storylines I love:<\/p>\n So FURIA is my number one storyline, MongolZ is my \u201cfeel-good surprise\u201d, and Vitality is the long-term legacy one.<\/p>\n Have any emotional reactions from players \u2014 whether after a visa issue or elimination \u2014 ever caught you off guard?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, a couple of times. One was Emilia from Lynn Vision during the loser wall interviews. Those are already painful \u2014 I\u2019m just the interviewer, StarLadder decided to do it that way \u2014 but I didn\u2019t expect him to cry. He was so sad about his own performance that I felt like I needed to do something more than just ask questions. I wanted to hold him, talk to him, comfort him.<\/p>\n Lynn Vision hadn\u2019t bootcamped in Europe, they were clearly struggling, so I didn\u2019t expect much from them results-wise. But seeing how much it still meant to him, and how much he wanted to succeed to help his family, really caught me off guard.<\/p>\n Another example is huNter-. G2 got eliminated, they missed playoffs again, so I expected a very sad interview. But before we even started filming, he was already breaking down rounds with his teammates \u2014 \u201cOn Dust2, in this round, we did this\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n So yes, he was unhappy, but his first reaction was completely professional: identify mistakes, think about what to improve next time. Then he did the interview perfectly, with a very mature perspective, even though it was another painful exit for G2. That impressed me a lot.<\/p>\n Many times, just in different ways. Microphones can die, technical issues happen, the crowd can start cheating by giving away positions \u2014 in those cases I have to step in. I\u2019ll go into the crowd and say: \u201cGuys, we might turn X-ray or even the minimap off. We don\u2019t want to ruin your experience, but we have to protect the integrity of the game.\u201d That\u2019s part of the stage host job.<\/p>\n The biggest example is the PGL Copenhagen Major incident, when people knocked down the trophy and caused a huge mess. I had no script, no plan. One moment I\u2019m watching the game, next moment everything is delayed and my boss says: \u201cYou need to go on stage and get us back into the game, get the crowd activated again.\u201d<\/p>\n So I went out there and tried to turn a horrible, sad situation into something positive. I told people we needed to ignore this, focus on the game, and get the atmosphere back. I can\u2019t even remember my exact words because it was such a blur, but that\u2019s one of those moments where you just have to act instantly and lead.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not the only interviewer or host at this event. How do you look at other people\u2019s work, and how do you help them?<\/strong><\/p>\n I always try to learn from others and help where I can if they are newer.<\/p>\n STYKO is a good example here. He\u2019s a professional player, and this is his first time doing work like this on a Major broadcast. Same for Donna: she had done interviews before, worked with OnlyPixel, but a Major is a different level of pressure. Even very experienced people make mistakes under that pressure.<\/p>\n If you watch my first Major in 2019, I was terrible. That\u2019s just a fact. You learn and grow from each event. So with someone like STYKO, I tell him: I also give small presentation tips: which hand to hold the mic in, how to stand, how to slow down for players whose English isn\u2019t great, how to phrase things.<\/p>\n For myself, I look at people like OJ Borg \u2014 his stage hosting and voice work are fantastic. I try to learn and apply bits of that in my own style. But at the end of the day, all of us need our own unique way of doing things. We shouldn\u2019t all be copies of each other.<\/p>\n How has your role evolved over the years, and what\u2019s the most underrated skill of a great interviewer?<\/strong><\/p>\n In the past, interviews were much more \u201cfree\u201d. Broadcasts were less tight, players had more media time. I could do a three\u2013 three-and-a-half-minute interview easily: warm them up, ask context, then dive deep.<\/p>\n Now, the time is much more limited. Sometimes you have one or two minutes max. So when people say \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you ask this?\u201d \u2014 the reality is, I just don\u2019t have the time.<\/p>\n Another thing fans don\u2019t see: no one gives me questions. I write them all myself. And if I\u2019m working with analysts \u2014 Pimp, Maui, Devilwalk, TeD here \u2014 and they have a question, I\u2019ll prioritize theirs over my own. Because my job is also to serve the desk.<\/p>\n I\u2019m like a hidden part of the analyst desk. They play the interview and react to what the player says, so my questions need to feed them material, not just satisfy fans curiosity. That\u2019s a very \u201cTV\u201d way of thinking that people don\u2019t always understand.<\/p>\n Stage hosting has also evolved massively. It used to be: stand there, welcome teams, hype the crowd, done. Now you have full walk-in presentations, voiceovers, player highlights, crowd segments \u2013 look at BLAST Hong Kong or PGL events. There\u2019s way more to do.<\/p>\n The most underrated skill? Relationships and flexibility.<\/p>\n We also do more coach check-ins between maps now. That never existed before. You talk to the coach, listen, then decide whether it\u2019s actually worth reporting. If it\u2019s basic, you skip it. If it\u2019s insightful, you lift it into the show.<\/p>\n Personally, I\u2019ve never had a problem doing loser interviews in general. But this particular format \u2014 lining all the players up on a wall \u2014 feels painful and awkward.<\/p>\n From StarLadder\u2019s perspective, I understand it. They want something different, they want to show emotions, they want a unique visual. Companies don\u2019t want to run the same format at every event. I respect it and I will do as they ask me t odo.<\/p>\n The funny thing is, at the Austin Major I did a ton of loser interviews as well and Reddit was like: \u201cBanks, these are so good, such deep insight!\u201d Same style, same interviewer, similar questions. Now at this Major, because it\u2019s on the wall, suddenly it\u2019s: \u201cBanks is shit, fire him, he shouldn\u2019t be doing this job.\u201d<\/p>\n So it\u2019s not really about me, it\u2019s about how the setup looks. It\u2019s harsh on players, I agree. But you also get moments like the last G2 interview with huNter-, which was excellent. Emotional but constructive, and we got real insight.<\/p>\n People hate change at first. Maybe if more tournaments copy this format, the community will go: \u201cActually, this is good.\u201d We\u2019ll see. End of the day you should not take criticism from people you would not take advice from.<\/p>\n How do you translate the backstage atmosphere to the audience so they feel the emotion as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n You have to filter it. Sometimes backstage is negative \u2014 delays, tech problems, people stressed and angry. I can\u2019t bring that to the crowd. My job is to give them energy and excitement, not to dump backstage stress on them.<\/p>\n When the environment is positive, though \u2014 for example, FURIA blasting music and dancing before going on stage, or apEX joking around with flameZ \u2014 that energy comes into me. I feel it, and it makes it easier to bring hype to the fans.<\/p>\n So it works both ways. The key is to take what\u2019s useful and not let the bad stuff leak out.<\/p>\n What does a typical day at the event look like for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n As an interviewer and stage host, I\u2019m usually the first talent in and the last one out. Production still works harder and longer overall, but among talent, my day is long.<\/p>\n Roughly:<\/p>\n If we\u2019re lucky, we\u2019re back at the hotel around 22:30\u201323:00. Then you still need to prepare questions for the next day. So you\u2019re easily doing 12+ hour days.<\/p>\n And I want to highlight: production are the real unsung heroes. Camera operators, techs, people pushing buttons, fixing issues\u2026 they worked through the night to sort out problems after that rough first day. Without them, none of what viewers see is possible.<\/p>\n Time and data.<\/p>\n When you have systems like NAVI or Spirit, you need a lot of games and demos to understand what works and what doesn\u2019t. Spirit went through a big change \u2014 it\u2019s not just \u201cthey have donk, so they should win\u201d.<\/p>\n Magixx left, zont1x came in, tn1r and zweih joined; everyone had to learn how to react and fit together again. They\u2019ve gone 3\u20130 at events before and still not won the Major, so raw strength isn\u2019t the only story.<\/p>\n The key difference now is:<\/p>\n That\u2019s why they look so strong now. If they bring this level into the arena for playoffs, they\u2019re terrifying. Donk will do his thing, I don\u2019t worry about him. It\u2019s more about how the rest of the team handles the pressure and the crowd.<\/p>\n I\u2019d also bet Spirit are one of the teams not really taking a day off before playoffs. Maybe one at most. They\u2019re grinding hard.<\/p>\n What about Falcons? Is this the best chance for NiKo to finally win a Major?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a huge chance, but I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the best one.<\/p>\n Falcons have had a very good year in terms of deep runs: lots of second places, third\u2013fourth places. They won Bucharest with degster, but they haven\u2019t lifted the biggest titles yet.<\/p>\n The tricky part is the extra pressure. The organization has repeatedly said: \u201cThe Major is the focus.\u201d That adds another layer onto an already high-pressure event. The Major is stressful enough without the org reminding you it\u2019s everything.<\/p>\n So yes, it\u2019s a big opportunity. But it\u2019s far from guaranteed, and that pressure could easily become a problem if they don\u2019t manage it well.<\/p>\n How dangerous do Vitality look at this tournament?<\/strong><\/p>\n Vitality are always dangerous. For me, their biggest strength isn\u2019t just ZywOo dropping numbers \u2014 it\u2019s the synergy. When they really understand each other and play off each other perfectly, they\u2019re terrifying. It\u2019s the little things: the perfect flash at the right time, the supportive rotation, the way they trade for each other. When all five players click like that, they\u2019re one of the scariest teams in the world.<\/p>\n apEX has talked openly about how important this Major is for him: back-to-back trophies, first time since 2019, fourth Major for him personally. If they end a shaky second half of the year by winning a Major, after already taking one in the first half, they\u2019ll put themselves into a very small group of \u201cgreatest of all time\u201d lineups.<\/p>\n How far do you think The MongolZ can actually go?<\/strong><\/p>\n Their first game is against Vitality, and Vitality has always been a tough matchup for them, so that makes it harder. MongolZ play a really unique style \u2013 very duel-heavy, very confident, lots of fights. They\u2019ve integrated controllers well, but we don\u2019t yet know how he\u2019ll perform on a huge stage. He\u2019s older, 28, not a rookie.<\/p>\n The thing with MongolZ is: they can beat anyone on the right day \u2014 FURIA, Falcons, Vitality, MOUZ, you name it. We saw it against G2: they took every fight, every duel and made it work. But if one or two players are off, if 910 isn\u2019t hitting his form, their style can fall apart. And in playoffs, it\u2019s single elimination: one bad day and you\u2019re out. So I think they can upset anyone, but they have to start very strong.<\/p>\n Who can stop FURIA in playoffs?<\/strong><\/p>\n Right now, FURIA look like massive favorites. Their qualifiers to playoffs were dominant, the scorelines were crazy. It didn\u2019t look like anyone could really contest them.<\/p>\n But if you look historically at finals and playoff runs, they often have series that go very close against all kinds of teams. NAVI have taken maps off them, Falcons beat them on the first map in Hong Kong. There are weak spots.<\/p>\n What pulls them together is:<\/p>\n They can lose to anyone in a long, close BO3, but they can also beat anyone. They just need to make sure they\u2019ve checked all the basics, gone through their defaults, and fully understood how they want to approach each opponent. They also had some sickness in the team, I gave Yekindar some medicine to help him get better after they went 3-0, so hopefully they will be at full strength for the playoffs.<\/p>\n NAVI destroyed everyone in Stage 2, but looked shaky in Stage 3. Which version of NAVI do you expect in playoffs?<\/strong><\/p>\n I still expect a slightly shaky NAVI, simply because the opponents are stronger now.<\/p>\n This year, NAVI usually beat teams below them but struggle against the very top teams. The good news is the Vitality series: they could have won both maps. Tiny details made the difference. If they\u2019d simply won one pistol, they might have taken the whole thing.<\/p>\n The most important improvement is their mentality. Before, you could see them tilting, looking unhappy in games. This event, thanks to Urszula \u2018Xirreth\u2019 Klimczak, their performance manager, they clearly focused hard on that during bootcamp. Their mood and attitude look much better. B1ad3 even gave her credit as well.<\/p>\n If that mental work holds under arena pressure, they can surprise people. But they still need to prove it on the big stage.<\/p>\n MOUZ keep reaching semifinals but can\u2019t go all the way. Can the home crowd in Budapest push them to a final \u2014 or even the trophy?<\/strong><\/p>\n MOUZ are the most consistent team in Counter-Strike right now. If you look at the year, they basically only lose to Falcons and Vitality. They can beat everyone else, including Spirit.<\/p>\n The issue is the mental barrier. Even when they reached a final, like Cologne, it fell apart there. The crowd in Budapest will help massively \u2014 it\u2019s siuhy\u2019s home. But that also adds pressure, both on him and on the rest of the team to step up.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve stuck with the same core for a long time now. If it doesn\u2019t work at this Major, after such an amazing year, and after trying different approaches within the team, maybe they\u2019ll need to look at changes. Not because someone is \u201cbad\u201d, but because sometimes you\u2019re one player away from lifting trophies instead of just reaching semis.<\/p>\n Right now, I honestly don\u2019t know how far to put them in my Pick\u2019em. They\u2019re so close. You want to root for them because they\u2019re always on the edge of greatness.<\/p>\n How much do FaZe depend on broky\u2019s form \u2014 and do you expect him to shine in the arena, or just play like he has so far at this Major?<\/strong><\/p>\n Before Stage 3, broky was sick and not playing well, even before the Major. In Stage 3, he started to come back, which is a very good sign.<\/p>\n Karrigan told me: \u201cOnce we\u2019re in playoffs, everyone will be scared of us because we have nothing to lose.\u201d And he\u2019s right. They were 0.4 seconds away from elimination. Now they\u2019re in playoffs. If they go out in quarters, people will say, \u201cFair enough, it was already better than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n Karrigan knows how to get the best out of frozen, broky, ropz and Twistzz on stage, and he knows how to use the crowd. jkaem, by the way, is playing really well this Major; people gave him a lot of shit before, but he\u2019s found confidence again.<\/p>\n The big question is whether that confidence holds in a 20,000-seat arena. That\u2019s a different challenge.<\/p>\n For FaZe, this is a free swing. They\u2019ve already overperformed expectations. And with FaZe, there\u2019s always a chance for some Major magic \u2014 just look at how many finals they\u2019ve reached when everyone said they were done.<\/p>\n My wife is the number one reason I can do this. She\u2019s sitting next to me right now. She handles everything non\u2013Counter-Strike related so I can focus on my job:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/54947634736_9db312dbb0_k.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFrom your perspective, which playoff matchups at this Major are the most exciting?<\/h3>\n
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Has something ever gone wrong on stage where you had to react live and \u201csave\u201d the situation?<\/h3>\n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re a pro. You can ask detailed questions I might never think of. You\u2019ve lifted trophies, you\u2019ve played on stage. Use that.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/54947540628_ee4f32dbfe_k.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
What\u2019s your honest view on the \u201closer wall\u201d exit interviews at this Major? A lot of fans say it looks too harsh.<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/54949702224_baf5a27302_k.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSpirit enter the playoffs in incredible form. What do you see as the main driving force behind their success?<\/h3>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/54721239250_e21c154bc4_k-1.webp\")
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/community.skin.club\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FaZe.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThis Major schedule is brutal. How do you stay physically and mentally healthy throughout the event?<\/h3>\n