Complexity only has a small window to turn things around ahead of the BLAST Paris Major given their disappointing run at ESL Challenger Melbourne, where they failed to make it out of the group stage.
Despite going into the ESL Challenger as one of the favourites, Complexity was not able to put up the results they desired–but now they will have to put all their focus into the BLAST Paris Major that kicks off tomorrow.
Both North American teams in Group A failed to progress in the event while Grayhound and Ecstatic moved into the playoffs, with Complexity joining EG.Black on an early flight out from ESL Challenger.
Norwegian AWP star, Håkon “Hallzerk” Fjærli has already seen ups and downs while being part of Complexity and while this event may have been a ‘down’, the squad is hoping to rebound fast in time for the last CS:GO Major before CS2′s release.
“We came to [ESL Challenger] to win the event. Every game we’ve wanted to win, so I don’t think holding back is a good idea,” Hallzerk stated to Snowball Esports.
“I think we were favourites for the group and event. Bad News Eagles and us were probably the favourites as well as Grayhound, but sadly we didn’t perform to our expectations.”
Complexity got off to a hopeful start with their win against the Danish side, Ecstatic. They weren’t able to keep the momentum going in the winners match for Group A against GH and once again found themselves faced up against Ecstatic.
“In the first game, everyone was on point and ready for the tournament. In the next match, we didn’t start off great and I don’t think we’re great on Anubis… it’s a map we’ve been working on, we’ve had rough times on it lately,” Hallzerk said.
Hallzerk spoke on turning things around on Overpass with a swift reply but Ancient brought new problems where Complexity was not able to keep their head in the game.
“The communication was down, especially in the later part of the game where we started to get tired, but that shouldn’t be an excuse–especially because Ecstatic played a best-of-three earlier in the day,” he said.
Teams often cite the challenges of Australia as a place to compete, with jetlag often dominating the discussions around poor performances from otherwise world-class teams.
“The team is a bit jet lagged, but it should not be an excuse because we got here a day before the other teams. For me personally, it doesn’t impact me very much, after a couple days it is fine.”
Hallzerk explained that while the jet lag was not the most important factor in the team’s capitulation in Melbourne, it was present in the squad. Moreso, there is an overall lack of experience in the young side which leads to other problems.
“There is always pressure for us when we play against teams we think we should be better than like Ecstatic. That is something we need to work on but we’re a pretty young team, [our] oldest player is 24,” Hallzerk explained.
Earlier in the year, the young AWPer admitted he was “in a slump” and that it was something he was working on in order to get the teams level back to a standard they were pleased with.
In tandem with this, the squad as a whole has been craving time to get practice in and work through these issues they are facing from event to event.
After the first RMR we played and lost, I didn’t have any fun playing Counter-Strike anymore. After a few months I’ve gotten my motivation back and it’s helped me be more comfortable on the server and on the team.
Håkon “Hallzerk” Fjærli, Complexity
“My aim has been better lately and that comes down to my motivation,” Hallzerk said. “I don’t think burnout will affect me, I want to practice more than anyone else on the team. To become the best team you need to practice more than the other teams. Having a ‘grindset’ is best.”
Looking ahead, Complexity is fully focused on Paris where they will face Gamer Legion in their first round of the Challenger Stage Swiss stage.
“I think [GamerLegion] are a really good team and it will be a tough match. They’re underrated but if we play our game and communicate well we should beat them.”
“[ESL Challenger] has been a wake up call that you can potentially go 0-3 at the Major and be out. We’re ready to wake up and perform at the Major. We either win or we learn.”
Håkon “Hallzerk” Fjærli
Time will tell whether or not Complexity can shake off the ESL Challenger loss and have a strong run in Paris, or if it is back to the drawing board for the American organisation. Regardless, Hallzerk spoke highly of his time ‘down under’, enjoying his first time being able to play in front of a crowd.
“I’d love to give a shout-out to the crowd… I hope there is another tournament in Australia that I can play in,” Hallzerk ended with.
Complexity will take to the server once more in Paris for their opening match of the BLAST Major against Gamer Legion. Follow Hallzerk on Twitter.
On-site interview conducted by Bernadette Wong.
