fnatic have sailed through the first offline portion of the Major qualification process. Best-of-one wins against fellow countrymen of Viperio, and 1WIN led them nicely into the 2-0 bracket. The only team to stand between them and the Legends Stage were the dark horse of B8, whom they dispatched with a 2-1 victory in the best-of-three securing their spot in the top-sixteen teams at the Major.
After their nail-biting victory in the best-of-three against B8 to skip the Challengers Stage and head straight into the Legends Stage, William “mezii” Merriman took some time to speak with UKCSGO’s Matthew “meffew” Godsell. They discussed the results of their final match at the RMR, the turnout of UK teams at the event, and how he keeps up with domestic competition.
Congratulations! You’ve qualified for the legends stage now for the second time in your career. What are your feelings right now after a game like that?
Pretty crazy, I think. Obviously last time we went through both stages to get to the Legends stage, and then the Champions stage. One, it’s a relief to qualify, and secondly, just being able to skip that first stage and go straight to Legends stage… I mean there’s nothing better than going 3-0, it just feels really good and it’s like a weight lifted off of our shoulders. Before, we weren’t playing our best, but it’s just a relief now.
To talk about the vetoes for this match against B8, they’ve looked super good on Ancient and had played it twice already to make it into the best-of-threes. Were there any second thoughts heading into Ancient as the final map?
No, not really. We were super prepared for it, because we thought they would pick it. We knew they were really confident on Nuke and Vertigo, because in previous matches, that was pretty much all they were picking. They come to this event and they’ve won against MOUZ and VP, two really good teams on Ancient. They ended up picking Nuke, so we were happy with that. We had really good preparation on Ancient, even our CT side came down to a few clutches that we kind of messed up. It could’ve been an even better half for us, but on T side we had a really good plan anyway.
Let’s talk about you. You are one of the highest rated players in the event so far, was this a pleasant surprise for you to go 3-0 and dominate statistically?
It’s definitely a pleasant surprise, you never expect to go 3-0. We were really confident that we were going to qualify, and I think we always know that each time we play these RMRs. One, it’s really stressful – which has an impact on individual levels, or the team’s communication and stuff, but then you’ve also got to understand that we were still confident despite our form online. Us as individuals and as a team, we always turn up very well on LAN, and we’re really confident. We never expected to go 3-0, but we were confident in our chances to go through at least, and to perform at the level we know we’ve played at before.
Us as individuals and as a team, we always turn up very well on LAN.
The LAN environment in your team – you and keita are quite stoic and reserved, while KRIMZ, FASHR, are always making sure the other team know you’ve won a round. Is that a good dynamic to have in the team with both louder and calmer players?
I definitely think so. The thing is, I’m trying to learn how to bring a bit of hype, especially now that I’m the IGL. Before, no matter the rounds we’d win whether it was clutches I won or our team would win, I’d be like “Okay nice guys, good job.” But now, I’ve realised and noticed that we play super well when we have that hype. There’s definitely chaotic situations in comms, we might miss things when it’s that hyped, but I think there’s definitely a difference between when we play super hyped and everyone’s shouting, everyone’s screaming.
Maybe the comms are super loud, but we’re really on the ball and focused, compared to when we’re maybe a bit too calm and too focused on our crosshairs with less comms. I think it’s a really good balance at the moment, something which KRIMZ has definitely brought a bit more of. Before, he was definitely seem as the calm, experienced player and so on, but now he’s really bringing the hype. You can tell he’s really invested and motivated, and he wants fnatic to be back where they belong.
You made a stage appearance in Rio when you reached the quarterfinals, it was a first in your career to play in front of a crowd like that. How did that feel?
Definitely. Not even just the crowd, but the whole stage setup, going onto a proper stage and being in the centre with fans all around us… To be honest, even in the Challenger stage where we played on the smaller stage in front of the other fans, we played against 9z it was super loud and crazy. Then we go into the arena playing Outsiders, it’s something that helps when you’re more of a calmer player, focused on making sure that I’m staying calm and keeping the boys grounded and stuff, I think it helps me in those situations where the crowd is there and you don’t want to get too affected by it. At first, obviously when you hear the chants, the drums, it’s pretty crazy in the first few rounds, I was like “What is going on?” You just need to get used to it, and after that, it was just so much fun playing in front of them.
Not quite the same as the Insomnia or EPIC.LAN stages?
Not quite [laughs]. Making the iseries final with everyone chanting, the five people in the crowd… It’s always fun.
I’d love to come back and play another EPIC.LAN.
There’s been talk of you coming to EPIC.LAN with your brother, is that something you plan on doing?
Yeah, the schedule for CS in our team is pretty crazy. For me, I’d really like to play with my brother because I think it’ll be super fun. We’ve never really played in a competitive environment, I’ve just played pugs and done some content pieces with him. I think it’d be really fun to play that with him, and then also just coming back to a UK LAN… they’re always really enjoyable and if the schedules match, and we don’t have an event on at the same time or we’re travelling, I’d love to come back and play another EPIC.LAN.
Do you keep up with the results of domestic competition?
Yeah for sure, I try to keep up with it as much as I can. When it gets to LAN weekend, I’m trying to at least see some of the games when we’re not playing. I’d tune into the EPIC.LAN stream, and I’m trying to keep up to date with it. Coming from UK CS, I want to see who’s coming up next, all the teams, all the players. It’s always hard, because some of the games aren’t super publicized right? With our games you can just go on HLTV and see it, but with UK teams, I try to watch and speak to as many people as I can over twitter and stuff too.
You mentioned how you keep up with UK players and teams, are there any that have caught your eye, both at the RMR and elsewhere?
Yeah, Into the Breach have surprised me quite a lot. Results-wise, it’s not been great for Viperio, and I thought they were going to be a bit stronger than ITB coming into it. Obviously Viperio are out now, but no matter what happens, both of those teams can be super proud of how they’ve played. Viperio took us to the edge and like I say, ITB are doing well. The players I’ve always said are doing well in the UK and are on the come-up are CYPHER and volt, I think they’ve always been really strong players, apart from the names like Thomas, who’s always been playing well. CYPHER has shown he’s been playing really well, I think he’s definitely the next guy coming up in the UK.
The players I’ve always said are on the come-up are CYPHER and volt, I think they’ve always been really strong players.
Back to yourself, you and keita are the only UK representation in fnatic. Do you feel like the UK behind you at the RMR?
I definitely think the UK are behind us, obviously now it’s maybe not so much on us since there’s two other UK teams here. At previous events or the last Major, I think I really felt the support from the UK because it was my first Major. I hope for it, people talk to me and like me within the scene, so I think they’d be happy that I made it. But now, they’ve [ITB and Viperio] got so much love and support from the UK. Not only for us, but now for the other teams who are here. Overall, the support has been pretty insane.
Is this a new peak for UK CS ahead of CS2? Bigger and better things over the horizon for us?
Yeah, I mean I hope so [laughs]. I haven’t played too much of it, but looking at the RMR just now…
Did you get given beta access?
I have, but I’ve been full focused on CS:GO. But to answer your question, we’ve proven that the UK players are here, they’re performing well, and they can actually do it at this level… Maybe the memes will stop now with “UK CS” and stuff, but we’re well on the way to bringing something back at least.
Are there any final words you’d like to share?
Thanks for all the support from both the UK players and fans, it’s been pretty insane. Shout-out to all the UK players and teams who have made it here and performed well, thanks for the support!
