Spirit sailed through the group stage at the BLAST Lisbon event, defeating DENDELE, G2, and FURIA without dropping a single map. Despite their clean record, zont1x stated that the team still has areas to improve.
"We still face all kinds of problems," zont1x said in an interview with HLTV before the playoffs. "I have to say, not everyone's individual form is at its best. But overall, we've been playing very comfortably. So if we can fix the issues we encountered in the group stage, we should be able to perform well here too."
During the group stage, several teams attempted to exploit a weakness of Spirit, specifically their performance on Cache—a map where they had previously struggled at the EWC. However, this strategy backfired, as Spirit successfully took the map each time. "I think the issue with Cache was similar to what we previously faced on Train," zont1x remarked. "It's a new map. You don't necessarily know exactly how to play it, and after some practice, we found the approach we wanted."
Considering all this, many might regard Spirit as the world's number one team, but zont1x temporarily refuses to acknowledge that statement. "We lost to JiJieHao, had a close match against BIG, and also lost to MOUZ in the finals, so it's hard to say. I don't think you need to dwell on this; what's the point of being obsessed with who the strongest team is right now? Just look at who's winning these tournaments, and you can judge for yourself."
Q：After experiencing such a smooth group stage, how would you evaluate the team's current overall level?
zont1x: I think the skill level is extremely high, but we still encounter various problems. I must say, not everyone is currently at their personal peak form. However, overall, the matches have still been quite comfortable, so if we can address the issues we faced during the group stage, we should be able to perform well going forward.
Q: Are these issues more about individual mistakes rather than problems with team coordination?
zont1x: I would think so.
Q: I'd like to talk about Cache. You guys lost several times on this map at EWC, and in this group stage, almost every team chose Cache against you, but it didn't look like it was still an issue. Did you put in a lot of work on this map after EWC?
zont1x: Of course. We had some time and did training, especially discussing this map a lot, including how we wanted to play it. I think the issues with Cache are quite similar to what we faced on Train before, because it's a new map. At first, you might not know exactly how to understand and approach the map, but after some training, we've found the playstyle we want.
Q: Do you think this might be a disadvantage for your team? After all, many more veteran professional players have previously competed on Cache, and your team is relatively young overall. When such a classic map returns to the map pool, could it make it harder for you to adapt?
zont1x: I think they will. Some veteran players certainly have an edge in such situations, but I don't think it's that significant. For example, after two months, that gap basically disappears entirely. Also, I doubt we'll be playing Cache again in this tournament.
Q: Do you think other teams will no longer proactively choose this map to play against you?
zont1x: This is a bit strange indeed, but it doesn't matter.
Q: Right now everyone's discussing who the best team in the world is. It feels like the competition is wide open, with several teams in top form. Do you think Spirit is currently the best team in the world?
zont1x：As I mentioned before, I find the phrase "world's best team" quite strange. For example, when Vitality won five consecutive tournaments, you could certainly call them the world's best, as there was almost no controversy about it at the time.
But considering our current situation, if you look at our recent four or five tournaments, you could also say we're the best because our average placement has been really solid. We've lost to JiJieHao, had a super close match with BIG, and even lost to MOUZ in the finals—so it's really hard to say. I don't think there's any need to dwell on such things. What's the point of discussing who the best team is right now? You just need to look at who's winning tournaments, who's claiming championships, and then make your judgment.
If we win this tournament, then you could certainly say Spirit is now the best team. But after this event, we'll have a month with no matches. When we go to KatoWice for the EPL later, will we still be the world's best? So I actually don't quite understand how the position of "world's best" should really be defined. I feel that such a claim isn't really necessary.
Q: But I think for some teams, the feeling of "we're the best in the world" can give them a lot of confidence. If they believe they're the strongest, they might perform even better in matches. Doesn't this affect Spirit?
zont1x: No, because as I just said, we don't have achievements like winning 20 maps in a row or anything like that, so it's nowhere near the time to discuss such things. We've lost to JiJieHao, played many very close matches, and also lost to MOUZ. For example, after we lost to MOUZ, if we hypothetically win every map next, does that mean we can call ourselves the best in the world? At the very least, we need to defeat MOUZ first before we're even qualified to start discussing this question. So currently, we haven't achieved results significant enough to claim that we are the best team in the world.
Q: You recently made a comment about "motivation," saying you don't have any particularly specific drive. Later, you also explained your meaning in an interview with BLAST. However, this reminds me that you've always been very candid in interviews, often expressing your true thoughts directly. When these statements are magnified or even misinterpreted by the outside world, do you ever regret speaking so directly?
zont1x: No, I don't care. If I really cared about these things, I wouldn't have said those words in the first place.
Q：So this doesn't bother you at all?
zont1x: Yes, because I know exactly what I'm trying to convey. Media will always try to twist your original words to make them more valuable for their own agenda. It's been like that for centuries, so I don't care, it doesn't matter.
Q：When this happens, do your teammates or club come talk to you?
zont1x: Sometimes, but it's nothing really... I wouldn't say I've had any problems because of it.
Q: Last question, do you think your current state is enough to win this competition?
zont1x：Yes.