​ Astralis Counter-Strike players Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz and Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth spoke to media Thursday via conference call ahead of the semifinals of the ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier. Here are some of the highlights of the call:





Xyp9x on grenade usage: I think we did it in a practice at some point and started saying “why don’t we do this more often?” and “why don’t we focus on this?” It stems from zonic, and when we saw it working in a match (we decided) to try and do it as much as possible. It also comes with a risk of thinking too much about it you think too much about it .





Xyp9x on shifting the meta: For us setting a meta, we need to not be the No. 1 team. If you are the No. 1 team, you can’t really change much because no one will know what you are changing...You mostly see it from the upcoming teams, MIBR and Mousesports or something.





Dev1ce on skipping events: I could never comprehend how to go to (continuous) events and expect different results. You are coming with the same packing. You are coming with energy low. I have always wondered the thought process of other teams was when going from event to event to event. Really I don’t understand that even though there is money in these events, the chance of winning them is kinda low if you don’t do anything new. It seems like kind of a silly move from my perspective.





Dev1ce on his stomach troubles: I am struggling a lot with stress-related stomach diseases and (not just going from) event to event has really helped. I am not having any side effects from (the stomach issues).





Xyp9x on being in the New Challenger Stage of the Major: I think being in the challenger stage is the first time we have been there. I think it is a new level of pressure because it’s like “what if we don’t make it out?” because we have always made it to the major stage. For us, it is really about not having pressure and we’ll go through, I think.





Photo courtesy of Turner Sports/ELEAGUE