ODENSE, Denmark -- Counter-Strike team Made in Brazil came into the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals lacking closure. Their loss against Astralis in the grand finals of ECS Season 6 was still fresh in their mind as they flew into Odense, Denmark, a week later. They had pushed the indomitable Danes closer to the brink than any other team on as big a stage this year.
The question for their EPL S8 run is whether they'll face each other again, and if Astralis will yield the second time around.
So far, their run to the playoffs has been clean, having beaten Sharks, NRG and Mousesports with only NRG able to force MIBR into discomfort. With a semifinals spot guaranteed, MIBR will face Liquid, who beat Na`Vi on Friday.
ESPN talked to MIBR's Tarik "tarik" Celik about the Astralis matchup, his team's game on Train, and stylistic tendencies ahead of MIBR's playoff campaign.
ESPN: You said in an interview yesterday that you would have Mousesports number in this series. After a pretty quick 2-0 it seems you were on-point with your prediction. Why were you so confident heading into this match-up?
Tarik: Main reason is, we've been playing so well against this team in particular and have had very strong results against them. So going into the match we knew we were the favorites. Regardless of that, we knew they were a strong team and we tried to focus on a couple of things we knew about them, but mainly focus on our game and our strengths.
ESPN: What were you focusing on specifically against Mouz?
Tarik: Abusing certain parts of the map. We knew were the gaps would be basically and making sure that we were taking advantages of those gaps when they were open. And that definitely helped us and made it easier.
ESPN: I noticed you guys were playing forward around main and ladder a lot on CT-side Train. Was that part of this plan of exploiting gaps you're talking about?
Tarik: Yeah, so for example on CT-train we wanted to play up in their face starting off the half. And the plan was to actually slow it down towards the end but we kept doing it because it was working so well for us. So we just kept playing aggressive, in their faces and they didn't really have an answer for it and it helped give us better reads.
ESPN: Ladder on Train seems to be a place where the meta is developing very quickly. Renegades, you guys, Na`Vi, it seems everyone is evolving their Train game around it.
Tarik: It's very important. For example, having T-mid and ladder control. And there [are] just mind games also on that area of the map. For example, you can fake the control and then they have to use their nades when they come in and then you know when they come. And then you can start to throw flashes to retake it again. So there's a lot of mind games that go on there and it's about trying to be one step ahead of the opponent and in that Mouz game we definitely got the better of them.
ESPN: It seems following your team that this matchup with Astralis is the clear goal that you guys are aiming for over the course of the tournament. Are they the main target you have in mind?
Tarik: I mean, not necessarily the thing I have on mind. We want to take it step-by-step. We can't underestimate any other team at the event. But the goal would be to face Astralis in the finals and deny them of the grand slam. That's definitely what we want to do. Especially after these tough losses at BLAST Istanbul and also at ECS Finals. Some really close games that could've gone either way but unfortunately went in their favor.
ESPN: How do you conceptualise the match-up against Astralis, specifically, in-game?
Tarik: It's very tricky always when we play against them and there's a lot of mind games that go on. I don't want to say exactly what our approach is but I think now going into the matchup we have a better understanding of how we want to play against them and it isn't the same as how we play against other teams. We try to look at our opponent and try to create a gameplan depending on how they play.
And Astralis is one of those teams where they have really good reactions, really good teamwork so you have to throw a wrench into their plan. And that's something we're getting better at doing. This past final we lost, there was just a couple of small details we missed out on that really cost us the series and we're hoping this time around that we can get revenge on them.
ESPN: The matchup at ECS was interesting because it seemed that the Danes sort-of brought the best out in your team. We saw FalleN and Coldzera revitalised individually, and it felt that your team had more of an identity in-game. Was this type of narrative true from your perspective as well?
Tarik: No it's definitely a very cool matchup to watch. I think the rivalry is definitely starting to develop, especially from a spectator perspective because both teams always get close to their peak performance and the games get so close every time. It's either 16-14 or double overtime. It's also amazing to play in. That environment of high-level [Counter-Strike] is so fun to be a part of. So, even from my perspective it's always ideal to be a part of.
ESPN: Fow do you identify MIBR's style? In the past, you guys have been criticised for lacking a clear identity, is this ever a problem from within the team?
Tarik: I think our approach has sort of changed over time in the sense that when I first joined the team we had a very slow game and we played very reactionary. We waited for the other team to make the mistake. But we started to realise teams weren't making as many mistakes as they used to. Which is why we're trying to introduce a balance into our game where we are balanced at times but then we also do know how to play slow. I think maintaining that balance is what will make us the best team possible. You can't really play just one style I feel, or else it doesn't work in my opinion. It's something we're still working on. But once we master both those play styles and keep a good balance it'll make us a lot better.