insani on taking JOTA's place: "I can do it. If I couldn't, I wouldn't be here."

insani had an absolutely incredible start to IEM Katowice Play-Ins, going positive in rating in a loss to NIP, and dropping a ludicrous 1.45 rating in MIBR's series versus Grayhound. The youngster has turned heads with his flashy performance, showing off his mechanical prowess to a high level.

Unfortunately, we will not see insani on the main stage after losing their elimination match to fnatic, in which insani again went positive, finishing the match with a 1.14 rating, the highest on MIBR by a wide margin. After his elimination, Dust2.us' Liam "Slevo" Slevin interview the youngster to see where his head was at post-elimination and how he achieved such a high level so quickly.

An amazing first tournament for you here, how have you enjoyed your first LAN at a high level?

I enjoyed it so much. It was my first big tournament, and my first big LAN event, so it was a unique experience for me. I am with my team and we played well. We're just trying to improve and play better and better from now on. It was amazing.

Coming into today, you were one of the if not the highest rated player in the play-in stage. Coming into a new team and playing on such a high level, what was that like with the preparation coming into it?

It was amazing. I'm a new player, but my performance was all about my team. My team received me so well, and the consequences of that are me playing better. So, it's nice.

With your form playing at a big tournament, it didn't seem like you were playing with any pressure, but for you, were you feeling any pressure playing against such high-level teams?

Of course. It was my first big tournament so of course I was under pressure, but I tried to get relaxed and not think about it. I guess it worked haha.

BIT said you went straight into JOTA's roles in the team, what was that transition like? Were those roles you were used to playing or were there some changes?

The majority of the roles that JOTA played, I did too. So, it wasn't extremely difficult for me. I just have to adjust here and there, but it was a smooth transition for me.

JOTA left a big void in the team when he joined Imperial, do you think you'll be able to fill that void consistently now that you've had such a strong start?

Of course I know that I can do it. If I couldn't, I wouldn't be here. I'm really confident, and I'm happy with my team. That's it.

This is your first tournament of the year, you're gonna have plenty more. What's your goal for 2023?

My goal for this year is to have a very good team. [I want us] to be in a good rank, and give the best of what I can give. The rest are just consequences. The victories, the trophies we could get, those are just consequences. I just want to be the best version of myself.