Together with mousesports, Copenhagen Wolves were the first team to make it to the offline qualifier in Katowice next weekend. We sat down and spoke with Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen about the qualifier, the chance of being on the lineup at ESL One Katowice 2015 and what the team’s plans for 2015 are.
ESL: Hi, Mathias, and thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Congratulations on making it to the offline qualifier - ESL One Katowice is now just a step away! How important is this event for you?
Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen: Thanks a lot! It is one of the most important events of the year for us. We really want to go and kick some ass so we can qualify for the ESL One Katowice major.
ESL: You’re joining some strong and relatively well-known teams for the offline qualifier. Do you have any additional training sessions planned in order to prepare?
MSL: There are a lot of good teams in this offline qualifier. Every team could possibly go through, so it’s all about practice and being ready for this tournament - or else you will lose the spot. So we will of course practice every single day leading up to this event and just hope that’s enough for us!
ESL: You took your spot right in the first qualifier. How much did this success mean to you?
MSL: It meant a lot that we qualified through the first qualifier. It is harder to qualify through the second qualifier because you feel the pressure a lot more, so it was good that we qualified right away - not only to feel safe but it’s also a great result that gives us a bit more confidence and motivation for the offline qualifier.
ESL: ESL One Katowice 2015 could be the second major in a row to have three Danish teams taking part. Is this something that motivates you to try even harder?
MSL: I don’t think that’s what motivates us, I mean, it’s really awesome that we have the possibility of three Danish teams at a major once again, but you only think about your team and how bad you want to qualify for a major.
ESL: What do you think about the offline qualifier? Is it a good move or is the pressure on potential Challenger teams too high?
MSL: I think it’s good that there’s an offline qualifier. There is no possibility of DDoS, connection problems or anything else that could ruin the game, which is awesome when it’s such important matches. Of course, there will be more pressure now. We're at a LAN playing about eight spots at the major, which is the most important event of the first half of 2015. Everyone will feel the pressure for sure. I just wish that it was best of three instead of best of one.
ESL: You just got picked up by Copenhagen Wolves. Have you talked about the rest of 2015 yet? What are your goals after ESL One Katowice?
MSL: Yes, we did. They are very professional, if you ask me, and we are going to qualify for everything that we can and hopefully get some good results at LANs to show off the Wolves banner. Our most important goal at the moment is, of course, to qualify for ESL One Katowice, but also get a good result on our home soil in Denmark at Copenhagen Games. Other than that, we’ve got the ESL Pro League in March or April, which we also want to get a good result at. So yeah, just qualify for everything that we possibly can and hopefully get some good results at LANs, as we did at Acer Split in Germany.
ESL: There were a good number of upsets at Katowice 2014. Do you think this provides additional motivation for younger teams to take on the legends?
MSL: Yes, of course it does. Everybody can beat everybody - that’s how it is and always will be. The best teams are more likely to win, but if you do your homework, play a lot, have good teamplay (including playing a sick match and a little bit of luck), it’s possible for any team at the major to upset a big team. There is not one team who will not have motivation at the upcoming major, that’s for sure!
ESL: Copenhagen Wolves’ previous lineup made it into the group stage - how much would repeating this performance mean to you and your organization?
MSL: It would mean a lot both for us and Copenhagen Wolves to get into the group stage. It’s what we play for every single day, it’s why you're playing this game. It’s to qualify for those big events such as this. It would mean the world. We really want to qualify!
ESL: The last words are yours! Anything you want to say to your friends and fans out there?
MSL: Big thanks to Copenhagen Wolves and their sponsors for all the amazing support! Also a shout out to all the MSL bros out there <3
Experience the ESL One Katowice 2015 offline qualifier live next week! Find the full details on ESL-One.com and grab your ticket soon to make sure you don’t miss out!
