cadiaN: "We took a bit of the villain role"

After the heartbreaking loss to NAVI in the quarter-final of the PGL Antwerp Major, Casper "cadiaN" Møller spoke with Ryan Friend and Roque Marques of Dust2.us and Dust2.com.br. cadiaN talked about the recent match, his attitude on the crowd, and how he feels about the Brazilian fans.

Ryan: Very tough matchup against NAVI, the first map really went your way on your map pick, the second one almost did at the same time. What was going through your head on Ancient as you were really getting closer and closer?

I don't think too much was going through my head other than looking for solutions on how to try and call it home. I think we played a really good T-side on a difficult map and against a difficult opponent. We had a flaw that is very alike to how we do it in practice on the map, but we haven't really been able to replicate in officials, so super proud about the performance. On Ancient there are some CT rounds we maybe shouldn't have lost and if we would have won those, there's a chance for 2-0. Also, in the end it's 2vXs and it's tight scenarios but we also won some of them. It's not like we lose all of them. It sucks because we had the chance to 2-0 it. I also think we had the chance on Nuke, we win both pistols and lose both anti-ecos. Do that against NAVI and you're packing your stuff and going.

Ryan: You looked like you were having a bunch of fun, though on map one. You were really playing around with the crowd. They were booing you, but they were very clearly favorites for NAVI. How did that affect you guys in any way?

We were a little bit surprised like we haven't really tried that before in that way. Maybe people were cheering more for Astralis in the Royal Arena, but not like specifically booing like that. But we took a bit of the villain role, kind of like apEX, maybe did in the Royal Arena and that's fine. That's also giving us energy when you silence them, and when you make the shots and the clutches and stuff like. It's not something that hurt our performance and it's still just a great atmosphere, nice that the crowd is like being as loud and stuff like this.

Ryan: Great achievement so far for getting to this, you got so close there. Can you walk away from this event feeling happy that this is what you got so far here, or is there still something inside of you that says "we could have done more"?

I think the arrow is pointing upwards, like we're trending upwards, but not by as much as I hoped. I think we played a good event, but not a great one. There's still a lot of stuff where we have to improve, but if you compared to some of the previous stage games like the phase one at Katowice, I think we played way better here and there was like better communication and stuff. So that's important for me going forward, knowing that we're able to do that. But I mean, you're never satisfied with losing right, no matter who it's against.

Roque: Two quick questions about your relationship with Brazil. I know we've been talking a lot about it, but today I'm almost everyone was cheering for NAVI but a small group of people, Brazilians and Danish people were cheering for you. They even had signs "Heroic is Brazil" and stuff. How do you feel about that? Since all the booing out there gives you energy, but does all the cheering from your people to also give you energy?

I really appreciate all the people cheering for us as well. It can be hard in an arena to exactly judge how many are in favor and how many are against But also I don't have my glasses on and then I don't see too far. I can see the monitor in front of me but I didn't see all the signs. But I heard a lot of people chanting cadiaN as well, between maps and stuff like this, and sending hearts. And like you said, I have a special connection with the Brazilian community and I'm very grateful for all the supporters. I'm praying for the Rio Major because unless we play a Brazilian team, I'm quite sure that we're not boo'ed at that event.

Roque: You just say that a Brazilian Major maybe coming at the end of the year. Heroic will probably go as one of the favorites since you guys have been on the rise and played Legends spots here, how do you feel about the Brazilian Major? Are you wanting to go there to play that tournament?

Yeah, you've seen the scenes at some of the previous tournaments in Brazil, even though it's a few years ago, the energy is unmatched. I think it's definitely deserved and worthy with the attendance that is going to be there. One of the best parts about this events was the uprise from some of the other South American teams, we didn't just see FURIA do good but we also saw Imperial and MIBR was very close as well. People forget that, but [MIBR] were like one game away from making it to the next stage. Even though we may have some Brazilian supporters, they're still like the most important part. That [the fans] have some home turf teams that they can cheer for. For example, Belgium don't have any good CS teams, that's not even trying to talk smack, but therefore we have a more neutral crowd most of the time. But I hope that it's going to be in Rio and I'm ready to pack my sun cream.

cadiaN and the rest of Heroic won't have to wait long to be back in action, as they will soon travel to the United States for IEM Dallas which kicks off on May 30th.