Niclas “PlesseN” Plessen is one of the more refined and experienced players on the Finest roster, starting his career on FNATIC Academy in 2016 he had a standout performance in the Pinnacle Cup Championship, having a 1.35 rating going out of the groups. He was only being topped by his teammate Guy “anarkez” Trachtman and, Astralis star, Benjamin “blameF” Bremer. Freddie “GrimyRannar” Pritchard was able to chat with him about the first LAN jitters and how he wants to prove to the world that they are a top-tier team
How does it feel to continue in this tournament after the dominant victory over EG.PA?
We all feel pretty confident that we will go through the group stage and are very happy with our performances
Looking at that EG roster, were you surprised to see these players at the tournament?
At first, I thought it was a standard roster but then was shocked that the 15-man line up was here with the old Party Astronauts team.
Were you almost disappointed not to play against the main EG squad as you wanted to prove yourself against the top NA teams?
Yeah we are here to prove that we are actually good at Counter-strike, we are a top tier team and want to show everyone that we are at the same level.
So with this tournament how important it is for you, are you looking to go far?
Yes we want to at least come get the playoffs and making the second day was a minimum for us, we thought we would probably win against imperial but some things don’t go our way.
Looking at that Imperial game, did you feel like you threw the comeback?
Oh 100%, if we just had a better start on the T-side we could have for sure won that game, it felt like we were quite shaky at the start, the comms and the decision making was not normally what it is like.
Could this because how some of your teammates are new on LAN?
At first we felt bit of it all over the place, but overall I feel like after these two games, we are completely settled in, and that the games going forward we are going to be more calm.
Are you looking for a rematch against imperial for the decider of the group?
I want to for sure and get revenge, Astralis would be fun to play against, but I think especially the general vibe for our team, we want to show them what we are made of.
Looking into playoffs, what problem does playing in front of a crowd produce?
I think that on the first map we will be shaky, but then when people have gotten the feeling we will do really good once we are settled. One big factor that has helped us is that Anarkez is on lower ping now, and he is a good AWPer and is really able to show that now
You guys are a very vocal team, is that normal for you guys?
That is normal even when we are at home, we are a very hype team, everyone is screaming, and especially me, Anarkez and kreaz hype the team up, sometimes it is too much but overall I believe to be a good team you have to have that energy in the team. Especially against Imperial, our hype was able to bring us forward into the comeback, that was the main reason why we thought this was our time to show we can perform against the top teams
Outside of this tournament, what are your aims for the rest of the year?
For sure qualify for bigger LANs, break into the top 20 and really prove we are a top team.
