donk’s slow start in the semi-final against MOUZ did not shake Spirit. “We all just told him, ‘You’ll f*ck as usual, don’t worry,’” chopper said after making it to the Shanghai Major final.
After Spirit advanced to the grand final with a 2-1 win over MOUZ, Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov spoke to HLTV about the match.
The Russian side prevailed after an impressive recovery from a bad start to the series on Nuke. Danil “donk” Kryshkovets recorded his second-worst map on the opener but, to no surprise of the captain, went on to put up solid numbers in their wins on Ancient and Mirage.
“I had no doubt that on a different map he would dominate,” chopper said. “He’s the best, and the best never give up. We all just told him, ‘You’ll fuck as usual, don’t worry.’”
It was far from just the usual donk show, though, as Boris “magixx” Vorobiev led the way on Ancient and chopper himself found several crucial kills to sway the Mirage decider Spirit’s way.
“During some situations, I just have a feeling that something will work out,” chopper explained. “For example, I knew that they would not expect me to jump into Window and to go kill in the back. I never play aggressively on Middle.”
The Russian captain also spoke about their apparent game plan on Ancient, the shift in donk’s aggressiveness between the group stage and the playoffs, and the possibility of winning his first Major title.
You can find the interview, translated from Russian, below:
An impressive recovery from map one. How did you bring the guys back after such a bad loss on Nuke?
The thing is that back in the first game they had a very good plan for how to beat us. We knew how to win, but we couldn’t do anything. Everything was falling apart.
At the same time, when we started on the T side, we felt that we could win Nuke even in this situation. Therefore, the whole team was confident that nothing is impossible, and the opponents also make mistakes, get nervous. So we still felt like we could win.
Therefore, we got into Ancient with the understanding that Nuke was their pick. They performed super there, well done, congrats to them. But we understood that now it was our game and our map, and we could beat them.
I knew MOUZ would play against us similarly to HEROIC. And, to beat this, we have our own answers
Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov
We saw a heavy lean towards the A bomb site over and over on Ancient. Was that a clear game plan, or something you noticed during that game that made you go that way for such a dominant T side?
They play very strong in Middle. And it’s not just like that to go to Mid, fight and so on. We understood how they play and tried to make sure that they don’t play on Mid. That’s why we tried to spread them out on the map. And we more or less knew how torzsi plays and tried to counter him.
Tell me about Mirage, especially the second half. You were getting high impact kills personally, do you think that’s made the key difference in some of the key rounds towards the end?
We knew how to play there. And we roughly understood what they would play. It’s very good that we came back on the CT side because the score there was also 1-5, and so on. Regarding the attack specifically, we understood how we could be winning this. Personally, as a Middle player, I knew they would be playing against us similarly to HEROIC. And, to beat this, we have our own answers.
I can’t explain this, but also during some situations, I just have a feeling that something will work out. For example, I knew that they would not expect me to jump into Window and to go kill in the back. Or that I never play aggressively in Middle, and I know that I can push to the Chair, kill the short and the boost, and call from there.
When you kill someone somewhere, you learn how they play, and it becomes easier. So I thought it was a perfect moment to play aggressively on mid and create space for teammates.
We saw donk have a very bad start to the series. Can you tell me what the reason behind that was?
The main reason why he played like that I’d say is MOUZ, they countered Yard really well. They knew how he played, and we had difficulties countering them. When people play so aggressively on the outside against one player in Main, it of course becomes difficult. But on the T side it was evident that Danya was back. He fragged, traded, and killed amazingly as usual.
So I did not doubt that on a different map, he would also dominate because… for me, he’s the best, and the best never give up. And after the game we didn’t even talk about it like, “you’re to blame”, or “you didn’t play well enough, step up.” The coach talked to him, and we all just told him “you’ll fuck as usual, don’t worry, everything will be alright.”
Or rather, it’s more like we always have faith that he will always play well. One way or another, we’re always ready to finish the round, but if he needs an AK to go out and kill, he will always get it. And I believe he will always be killing, that’s it.
We have different variations of donk’s play
Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov on donk’s shifts in aggressiveness
In the group stage there was a clear shift in how you were using donk – he wasn’t so aggressive in trying to go for openers. In the playoffs, we’ve seen him shift way more aggressively again, from 21% to around 35% opening attempts between groups and playoffs. Can you tell me about this shift?
Actually, it didn’t change much. But it all depends on the opponents. And sometimes Danya does lurk tasks very well. When he cuts off half the map, the opponents don’t quite understand where the attack is headed when he doesn’t run out first. So we use donk in different ways depending on how we want to play. Also, if he feels that he needs to run out and kill somewhere, he would tell us and we will do what we can to help him.
I don’t think we have this concept of whether he would be playing aggressively or not, it all depends on what the coach says, but we have different variations of donk’s play.
At the last Major, we brought up the old tweet that you copied from Zeus: “I’m not gonna stop until I win a motherfucking Major.” The last time your answer was something like “I don’t think about it” when you were heading into the quarter-finals. Are you thinking about the potential of winning the Major now that you’re in the final?
For me, at this tournament… I don’t care, actually. Since the playoffs began, for me it’s the first event where you’re in a different country for about a month, you work a lot, you’re always in that routine. And I don’t think about the result at all. For me, it’s great to reach the playoffs, but for each game, I just try to give my best. And so does everyone on the team.
Everyone wants to win everywhere and at all times, but after this year of ups and downs, we try to look at things more realistically. If we lose, well, that’s okay. We just set the minimum goal for ourselves, and from that point, we just try to enjoy the game. We try not to give up. Even if we lose a map, it makes no difference. I think our approach is just about showing all we can. As for the result, win or loss – it does not matter. You work here for 30 days straight, and for you, each game is just about enjoying playing with each other, that’s it.
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