The Danish coach is not worried about karrigan's individual form despite Falcons' dip in performance during the fall season.
Falcons arrived in Malta as the biggest favorites to win the Thunderpick World Championship. They swept NIP in their opening match, taking the first step toward the title.
However, zonic said in a post-match interview with HLTV that despite Falcons' rough start to the fall season and their urgent need for a trophy, the team remains focused on the process itself. The most important tasks right now include fixing tactical issues on the CT side, stabilizing the map pool, and figuring out why the team underperforms against top teams.
zonic said: "This season, when we step onto the stage at big events, we sometimes get very nervous. Right now, we still don't really know exactly why. We've sought some extra help, including listening to the team's voice comms to see if there are any differences. But in these matches, I feel the problem is a mix of multiple factors, including some fear and too much pressure."
The Danish coach also talked about the team's mindset after winning the Cologne Major. He admitted that the title caused both Falcons themselves and the entire community to overestimate the team's true strength at the time.
He said: “After winning that championship, we set high expectations for ourselves. When we fail to meet those expectations, I think it's easy for everyone to feel frustrated because the team isn't operating as expected. Honestly, I think that caused us some setbacks over the course of this season.”
About beating NIP, and karrigan's performance
Reporter: Danny, you started this event with a 2:0 win. You won Ancient in overtime, and then looked much more dominant on Dust2. First, share your thoughts on this series.
zonic: I think this was karrigan's series. Overall, it was a good win. NIP have been in hot form lately with a new lineup and a new in-game leader. We've been working hard to improve Ancient recently and made some adjustments to the map. Dust2 went very smoothly, while Ancient was a tough game. We still have room for improvement, but it's great to see that some of the adjustments we made really worked.
Reporter: As you said, this was karrigan's series. Considering the team's recent results, there has been a lot of outside criticism directed at karrigan, mainly focused on his individual level of play. How do you think he has dealt with that criticism? And what is the team doing to help him get back on track and maximize his value?
zonic: For me, this is very clear. karrigan himself has heard what we've said, and the community should understand this as well: we never brought Finn into this team because of his individual firepower. What we value is his leadership.
Of course, we also want to help him improve his individual performance by a percent or two, but for now, that is not the most alarming issue. What people don't see is that when Big Cousin is in good form, he can lift the performance of some of the other players by an extra 5% to 10%, especially Kyosuke.
That is his role on the team. As for individual firepower, the other players in our lineup should be good enough. I think he has handled the situation well so far. Of course, we have had some discussions, but his main focus remains on the team as a whole and how he can help on a team level, rather than dwelling too much on his own individual firepower. What we need to address more is our CT side, figuring out how we can consistently execute our tactics in day-to-day matches.
About the Expansion of the Map Pool
Reporter: As we all know, you have been trying to expand your map pool and no longer always pick Dust2. For example, in Porto you often picked Ancient; in the EPL you often picked Anubis. What were your thoughts on the map pool before this event?
zonic: To be honest, I have less confidence in the map pool now than before the Porto event. This is somewhat surprising, because we have been trying different maps, hoping to avoid ending up like in the past, only playing the same two maps. I think, from a longer-term perspective, especially before the Major arrives, it is really important to truly understand our own map pool. But sometimes, we still end up only playing those three, at most four different maps.
Before we picked Ancient in Porto, we had just put together an excellent winning streak in practice, with the team's coordination and tactical execution looking very smooth. But to truly understand where we stand, you have to play these maps in official matches. So we decided to start trying with Ancient back then. The situation now is probably much the same. We need to figure out our true level on Ancient, but that doesn't mean we will necessarily pick it proactively right now. Obviously, we will keep considering this map. A similar situation applies to some other maps, as we have made a lot of adjustments to them as well.
So, we need to continue observing.
About the EPL loss and the pressure when facing strong teams
Reporter: Let's talk about what happened during EPL. Against Vitality, you played an excellent game on Anubis, but on the other two maps, you barely put up a fight. Against Spirit, you lost 0:2. What are the most important lessons you took away from that event?
zonic: A big part of the problem lies in our in-game reactions, especially against Vitality. This season, when we get on stage at big tournaments, we sometimes get very nervous. Right now, we still don't really know exactly why that is. We've sought some extra help, including listening to the team's voice comms to see if there are any differences. But I feel that the issues in these matches are a mix of multiple factors, including some fear and too much pressure.
I think against Vitality, the problem was more on the mental side. But against Spirit, it was different, and we are still investigating other issues. Of course, I also have to credit the performances of Spirit and Vitality. They are indeed a level above us at the moment. However, as I said before, we are focused on the bigger goal, and hope to adjust and improve as much as possible before the end of this year.
Reporter: But the problem hasn't only appeared in EPL. This season, a major talking point around you guys has been that you just can't beat top-five teams in the world, right? You lost to MOUZ, lost twice to Spirit, and now to Vitality. Why do you think Falcons struggles so much against teams at this level?
zonic: I think one of the reasons is the team's mindset. Our roster is still very young, and after bringing in karrigan, we won the Major in just almost 60 days. What was the situation like at the time? The time was really very short.
After winning that championship, we set high expectations for ourselves. When we failed to meet those expectations, I think it was easy for everyone to feel frustrated because the team wasn't operating as expected. Honestly, I think that caused us some setbacks over the course of this season.
The victory at the Cologne Major may have caused the entire community, especially ourselves, to overestimate the team's true strength at the time. And when things didn't develop as expected, that overestimation ended up hurting us. We are still working to define our tactical system and are constantly improving in every aspect. Unfortunately, the current pace of progress has not reached the level we had hoped for. I think winning Cologne led outsiders to overestimate us, but more importantly, we ourselves overestimated our own strength. When subsequent tournaments didn't go as expected, that had a negative impact on us.
About the Second Half of the Season and the Championship Goal
Reporter: After this tournament, you will have a break and will not be competing in Bucharest. How do you plan to use this time? How important would it be to win a trophy first before the Beijing event in the final stage of the season and the Major?
zonic: Obviously, winning a trophy is always a good thing. I can feel that this team really needs a title right now, needs some positive results, and needs some reward after putting in so much hard work. So winning here or in other tournaments would mean a lot to us. We need to prove that we are on the right track and are indeed making progress. This is very important.
Obviously, this tournament is a good starting point for the final stretch of our year. But for me, I always take it one match at a time. We just beat NIP, and now we're preparing for the next match. I won't think that far ahead. Our focus is always on the process and how we do our work. Today on Ancient, we saw a lot of positives, but we also saw that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Right now I'm focused on these details, not on what it would feel like to win this event, or the other two events after that. I just want to see that the team is genuinely making progress.
About Astralis Abandoning the Danish Roster
Journalist: Let's move on to something completely different, but equally close to you. Astralis is gradually moving away from a Danish core lineup. Especially considering the current state of the Danish CS scene, how do you feel about that?
zonic: Obviously, I can understand that, to some extent, this was probably something that had to happen. I know some of the owners of Astralis, and I know that after all, this is a business. They have to make the decision that is best for Astralis, and sometimes, that decision may be to move on from the Danish core lineup. On a personal, emotional level, of course I feel very sad.
Astralis is the flagship team of Danish CS. I know there are still many Danes who support Astralis now, and this will obviously be a blow to them. But on the other hand, I remember about a year ago, they were perhaps only hours away from bankruptcy. Of course, I'm not sure about the specifics at the time, but I would rather see Astralis continue to exist, and I hope they can rebuild a competitive roster around this new team. Astralis still holds a very important place in my heart. It is sad to see it no longer be a Danish roster. But as long as they can ultimately succeed, I think that is what matters most.