YEKINDAR: "I'm more pushy than I am positive"

The BLAST.tv Paris Major is moments away from kicking off. Soon we will cement another name into the history of Counter-Strike, and the last one of CS:GO. Liquid, North America's top team, is the region's best chance to finishing off the game with more than one Major. With Liquid is the young superstar Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis, who has galvanized the roster into becoming a true title contender. However, with recent results, that adjective could fall out of favor with the squad.

The last time we saw Liquid was all the way back at the Americas RMR, since the North American squad elected to skip IEM Rio to practice for the Major. Since their appearance at the RMR was shaky at best, they certainly needed that time to practice up, with YEKINDAR commenting that the team was spending their invaluable time in Europe.

We had a two-week bootcamp in Amsterdam in the time between. First, we had a break after the RMR, then the bootcamp. So no jet lag, pretty good bootcamp. We tried to fix up all our maps, change some roles, and I think we're in our best state at the moment, but we're gonna see.

Liquid's recent results haven't been that of a Major competing team, with the aforementioned RMR result as well as a previous 13-16th showing at ESL Pro League. Poor practice and jetlag were factors in their early playoffs loss in Malta, YEKINDAR mentions, so hopefully none of that in Paris.

The low amount of European practice was one of the main reasons why we were underperforming. We all understand that. We knew there would be a bootcamp, and a pretty long one at that, before this tournament so everybody is pretty confident.

As for climbing across that final berth and actually getting into a Major contending spot, Liquid seem further away than a few months ago. Two grand finals in 2022 has only led to a single semifinal appearance in 2023. Regression is not what you want to hear coming into the final Major of CS:GO.

I think everything comes with time and consistency. Playing, practicing, seeing mistakes, fixing mistakes, finding new problems, approaching them, and fixing them. The longer you can stay consistent, your time will come. The main thing also, is individual performances. I feel like we were lacking a bit of individual style and highlights from everyone in the team. From this specific bootcamp, I've seen multiple clutches, multiple highlights, and I think everybody is ready for the final CS:GO Major.

With consistency being the key word there, that's something Liquid, along with any team in the past few years, has struggled to achieve. The #1 world ranking, while something that Liquid have eluded, has donned many heads in the past couple years, with FaZe, Heroic, G2, and NAVI all wearing the crown at one point or another.

It's a hard thing to do, to reach consistency as an individual player. Especially depends on roles, on your team: is your team winning, or is your team losing? I think NAF is doing a super good job of being consistent. At the same time, I agree that other player should strive as consistent, but it's not necessarily easy. For everybody to click at the same time, if that happens, you're a contender for a tournament. That's just something that's really hard to manage. We'll see. I think we're in good individual shape now, and I hope we're gonna go far in this tournament.

Another necessary part of any contending team is good chemistry. A sour mood can easily turn a winning game into a losing one, and a losing once into a lost one. With emotions often running high in the Liquid camp, YEKINDAR has been credited with injecting life into the team in dire moments.

It's actually funny, I don't feel as positive as people think I am. I'm more getting mad at us losing. So instead of tilting, I'm like "What the fuck? How are we losing? Let's focus up, let's win." I'm more pushy than I am positive. Sometimes of course, yeah I'm positive, but I wouldn't necessarily say that's my main thing. I tend to be positive and I try to be positive, but in necessary moments, as a leader, I give my team a push.

A surprise standout at the Americas RMR, or not so surprising if you've followed sub-tier one NA undercurrents, paiN have notched a spot among the best in North America. Taking down Liquid twice in recent memory as well as breezing through the RMR makes them a real contender for a Legends Stage spot.

I feel like they've found their consistency. They found their style that they want to play. Their individual levels are very high. skullz for example, he's playing very well. All of their players know their own importance in the game, and that's the reason they are so consistent and so hard to play against. I also think we were underperforming those two games, but I'm not gonna take away any credit from them. Obviously, they're a great team and they're here in the Challengers Stage, I think they're gonna qualify for Legends Stage. I wish them good luck. Maybe we meet and play the third game this year against them.

Of course, it's hard to dispel the narrative of the BLAST.tv Paris Major being the final Major for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive before the switch to Counter-Strike 2 this summer before the PGL Major in Copenhagen in 2024. But, despite the monumental shift, YEKINDAR doesn't seem phased by the narrative.

I personally don't really care that much. I'm more excited about CS2. But obviously yeah, you would want to win and you would want to see yourself lifting the last CS:GO Major trophy. I think most of the players here are thinking about it, and obviously we would enjoy it if that happens. I think it adds motivation, but I don't think it adds any pressure or stress. It's a normal day in the office, and it's a normal day at a Major.

Liquid begin their BLAST.tv Paris Major campaign with a best-of-one against Apeks at 08:30AM.