Virtus.pro travel to Kiev hoping to make amends after being sent packing in the group stage at the IEM World Championship, in Katowice.

But despite the early exit at the IEM event, 2017 has been a great year for Virtus.pro thus far, with the team launching a title-winning campaign at DreamHack Masters Las Vegas after finishing runners-up to Astralis at the ELEAGUE Major.



TaZ believes Virtus.pro's era will come

Read on to find out what Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas had to say about coping with the early elimination in Katowice, the team's continuous struggle in online tournaments, the rivalry with Astralis, and more.

You began the year with a third place at WESG but then bounced back with a second place at the ELEAGUE Major and a first-placed finish at DreamHack Masters Las Vegas. Was that a slap in the face of those who seemed to have forgot about you?

I do not think people forget about us, regardless if we play well or not. Haters will hate, no matter what, and some fans come and go, that is just how it goes. We used to have very poor results at the beginning of a year, so I am just very happy that we were able to get some good runs early on this time around.

After those incredible runs in Atlanta and Las Vegas, you went out of the groups at IEM Katowice, on home soil. Was it a hard blow to take? How did the team react?

It is hard to describe the feeling after such a loss, it was painful, to say the least. I think that we would gladly give away our earlier runs just to be able to play on stage for that crowd. We are from Poland, and there is nothing more exciting and rewarding than playing on stage for the people who support us fully with their hearts. I am glad we will have one more chance this year... and we will do our best to make it count.

What do you think that the team is still missing to reach the level of consistency required to finish in the top places at every event?

We have been playing with the same roster for three years, I do think that we are pretty consistent with our results, we always want to win every event, our attitude will always be like that, and we show no fear to other teams. You cannot always succeed, but one day the so-called "Era of Virtus.pro" will come. I want us to win three-four events in a row and we have time to do that. We do not go at each other's throats after defeats nor do we get carried away by our successes. We continuously strive for greatness. Hard work, dedication and belief will guide us to that goal, but we cannot forget about having fun. Playing games is fun, competition is fun. Victories will come.

You were very critical of the format used in Katowice. Why was that? Do you prefer the Swiss format that you will find in Kiev?

I was just crying, I am a very emotional person. I hate to hide my feelings, so when I feel something... it kills me from the inside if I do not say it out loud, but we can agree that Social Media is not the place for that! It is obvious that I prefer the Swiss format or the bo3. Still, losing in Katowice was a big blow and I could not control my temper. I live and breathe Counter-Strike, every loss hits me like a train. I am just that kind of person. I guess that is why I am still here.

There has been some friendly banter between you and device on Social Media of late. What is your opinion about the rivalry between your team and Astralis?

Honestly, I do not see any banter. For me, there was only one statement after the Major, we made it happen and I moved on. Still, it is fun to sometimes bring up the heat! I guess we always have that kind of rivalry against the No.1 team. It is like a game for us, if we get beaten on "normal mode" we turn the "night mode" on and go for another brawl!

What was practice for this event like? Was it just online or did you have a bootcamp? What aspects have you been focusing on?

We only practised online for this event. After so many years together, I believe we understand what the team needs, and sometimes playing 24/7 just kills your hunger. Once again we worked on our weak spots, and we will see on LAN if we have made any progress. So yet again... Virtus.low or Virtus.plow! Vote now!