We had the chance to talk with Egor “flamie” Vasilyev during the media day at BLAST Pro Series Lisbon about their recent LAN performances, how they are approaching this event given that they’ve won the last one in Copenhagen, as well as their first match ups.

flamie shared his thoughs on their recent results and how they're working to improve them.





The last two LAN events you participated in didn’t go so well for you (5/6th at Pro League and 13/16th at IEM Chicago). How much do you think that can impact the team’s performance here in Lisbon?





flamie: We talked a lot as a team after the disappointing results and I think the reason we played that bad as because we were a bit tired, it’s the end of the season, but we discussed it, and we need to do everything to finish it in a good note.









You were the champions of the last BLAST Pro Series event, in Copenhagen. Are you confident you can repeat the feat this time around?





flamie: I think we can do it, but every tournament is hard and it will depend on how we will play and how the team will communicate. If we play and communicate good, we definitely have a chance to win.









Your first round will be against a well rested NiP, since they didn’t qualify for ESL Pro League last week. They have been slowly getting back to the top level, getting consistent better results in their last LAN appearances. How do you see that matchup on Overpass?





flamie: I think it will be really good because it is one of their strongest maps and one of ours as well, they’re showing some good results on LAN and their game looks better now than it was before, so it will be a hard match, but we are confident in our Overpass and I hope we’ll show it.









You will also face off against the indisputable best team in the world on the first day, Astralis, in one of their best maps, Inferno. Tell me your thoughts regarding that match up.





flamie: Astralis is the best team in the world, they’ve just won Intel Grand Slam, but in the past we always had a good Inferno against them. One of the matches was a close one but we won, so I expect a good game against them.









How is the chemistry inside the team right now, having in account the negative feedback you’ve been receiving lately from the community?





flamie: I think it’s ok because everyone understands why we lose and that we can play better, so yeah, we just need to play better.









A fun little question: let’s imagine you end up the group stage in third place. Which team would you choose for the stand off and why?





flamie: I don’t know, I think it’s our coach who will decide, but I think Cloud9. I don’t know why.









Do you want to leave any words to your fans?





flamie: Thank you for cheering for us and I hope we will show our best and how good we can play in this tournament.





I’d like to thank flamie for having this brief talk with us and wish him good luck for the tournament.





Cover photo credits: Liquidpedia.