degster hails Team Spirit\u2019s PGL Major Antwerp run: \u201cWe\u2019ve done unbelievable things\u201d Stefan Petrescu\/PGLIn an exclusive interview with Dexerto at PGL Major Antwerp, Team Spirit\u2019s Abdul \u2018degster\u2019 Gasanov admits that the team will approach the match against FaZe without pressure. \u201cIf we reach the final, that\u2019s great,\u201d he says. \u201cWho cares about experience, bro? No-one,\u201d degster says with a smile, when I point out how calm and collected his team, the youngest at PGL Major Antwerp, looked the day before. It has been less than 24 hours since Team Spirit beat FURIA in the quarter-finals, and the Russian AWPer continues to show the same laid-back attitude that has been a trademark of this team since the beginning of the Major. Nothing seems to rattle them, not the chants coming from opposing fans or the unprecedented attention that their Cinderella story has generated. Fairy-tale runs aren\u2019t unusual at Majors. There was Gambit\u2019s dream run at PGL Major Krak\u00f3w 2017, Cloud9\u2019s remarkable victory at ELEAGUE Major Boston 2018 after overcoming a 0-2 start, or ENCE\u2019s grand final appearance at IEM Katowice 2019. In Antwerp, Team Spirit are adding their name to that list. The Russian team, who began the year outside the top 100 in the world rankings amid a roster overhaul, came all the way from the open qualifiers to the Major and are now just one victory away from the grand final. It\u2019s all new for everyone on Spirit, even degster, who has been with the team since January 2021. He appeared on the analyst desk with a wide grin after Spirit booked the first spot in the playoffs with an unlikely 3-0 record in the Legends Stage. Struggling to contain his emotions, he revealed that playing in front of a crowd was one of his dream goals. It didn\u2019t matter that most of the fans were cheering against his team. \u201cIt was unbelievable,\u201d degster tells Dexerto of the match against FURIA. \u201cIt was the best atmosphere that I had ever felt. \u201cAs I said [on the desk], I didn\u2019t care if fans hated me or cheered for my opponent. I just wanted to feel this atmosphere. And it was great. It didn\u2019t bring any pressure, it just brought very good emotions. \u201cI saw some Spirit fans. There weren\u2019t many, but every time I had a highlight [moment], I just waved at them. It was great.\u201d degster then reveals that his team received an extra dose of motivation in the lead-up to the series against FURIA. In his pre-match comments, FURIA captain Andrei \u2018arT\u2019 Piovezan said that Spirit had been \u201clucky\u201d to win the best-of-one game between the two teams in the Legends Stage. The playoff match, he insisted, would be \u201ceasy\u201d for FURIA. \u201cDisrespectful things, in my opinion,\u201d he says. \u201cI would never say anything like that, and I recommend no-one say anything like that, ever.\u201d Grinding schedule Part of the secret behind Spirit\u2019s incredible run lies in the positive atmosphere that has been created since the roster came together, just three months ago. According to him, that\u2019s something that was missing in previous iterations of the team and that helped offset their inexperience. \u201cThat\u2019s the most important thing for young players,\u201d degster tells Dexerto. \u201cNo-one gets blamed when they make mistakes. You are not going to be nervous because you know that, no matter what happens, your team will say, \u2018Anyone can make mistakes.\u2019\u201d But just as important as the mood in the Spirit camp is the hard work that has gone into preparing for the Major. Everyone has been on the grind, with degster alone logging over 180 hours in the game over the past two weeks. \u201cI had nothing [else] to do,\u201d he explains. \u201cI was not at home. I was staying in Serbia and Romania, in a hotel room. You don\u2019t have TV, you don\u2019t have your girlfriend with you, you cannot talk to your parents because of the Internet. It was a hard time for us. \u201cAnd when you go through these situations, you try to make the most of it. And that was playing CS.\u201d Spirit\u2019s preparations for the Major were rocked by the news that head coach Sergey \u2018hally\u2019 Shavaev would not be able to stand behind the team during the tournament. He was one of three coaches who were provisionally suspended by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) for the use of the spectator bug. That has given degster added responsibilities, which he has taken on with gusto. \u201cAgainst FURIA, I could call a timeout and say, \u2018Guys, let\u2019s calm down a bit. We\u2019re killing them. Just wait. We don\u2019t need to play faster,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s hard because he cannot call a timeout and say what we should do, but it also gives you a lot of experience. I can decide what we want to do. It\u2019s a unique experience because you\u2019re never going to go through it again. I hope. I hope no-one is going to be banned. [laughs]\u201d Unable to coach the team in official games or even be present in the practice room, hally decided to stay in Serbia, watching his team overcome challenge after challenge from afar. \u201cI\u2019m sad that he\u2019s not experiencing the emotions that we are feeling,\u201d degster says. Preparing for FaZe The only thing standing in Spirit\u2019s way of reaching the final is FaZe, the red-hot favorites to secure the title in Antwerp. They are expected to pose a much tougher challenge than FURIA, but degster believes that his team has a fighting chance. \u201cWe just need to play like we have been doing,\u201d he says, adding that FaZe in-game leader Finn \u2018karrigan\u2019 Andersen cannot afford to underestimate his team. \u201cHe wants to win a Major. I think it\u2019s his dream.\u201d Regardless of the outcome of today\u2019s match, degster is proud of what his team has accomplished in Antwerp. Anything that they achieve from here on in is a bonus. And as the underdogs against FaZe, they will step onto the stage without any pressure, ready to play fearless Counter-Strike once again. \u201cWe don\u2019t have any goals here,\u201d degster says. \u201cWe have already done unbelievable things. If we reach the final, that\u2019s great. If not, that\u2019s okay. We will do our best and hope everyone will have fun.\u201d Before degster goes on his way, I ask what the day has in store for him. Is he going to put in long hours again to prepare for the biggest match of his career? Surprisingly, the answer is no. \u201cI\u2019m not going to spend the entire day practicing. I\u2019m already ready to play,\u201d he says with assurance. \u201cWe will just play some scrims, watch some demos and do some individual practice. Deathmatch, bots or FPL. \u201cAfter that we are going to sleep. Tomorrow [today], we are going to prepare for the semi-final. The first semi-final of a Major in my life, so I am happy. I am very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
degster hails Team Spirit\u2019s PGL Major Antwerp run: \u201cWe\u2019ve done unbelievable things\u201d Stefan Petrescu\/PGLIn an exclusive interview with Dexerto at PGL Major Antwerp, Team Spirit\u2019s Abdul \u2018degster\u2019 Gasanov admits that the team will approach the match against FaZe without pressure. \u201cIf we reach the final, that\u2019s great,\u201d he says. \u201cWho cares about experience, bro? No-one,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37986\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}