Before the upcoming elimination matches, HooXi also accepted an interview from Danish media dust.dk, his hometown media.
Having won consecutive matches, G2 will face the winner of Team A (Astralis) and Heroic in the semifinals. This is also HooXi’s first time at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. He expressed great anticipation for the upcoming matches, especially because his family will be in the audience to watch his performance. HooXi believes they will receive support from the live audience, as Swani, the coach behind them, is from Germany.
HooXi: “I am really looking forward to the upcoming matches because I have never been to a live venue in Cologne before. Also, four members of our team have never been here, so this tournament experience will be especially thrilling. I am excited to see how many spectators will be there and how incredible the atmosphere will be. Niko has already told me that the atmosphere in Cologne is completely different from Katowice.
“My family will be in the audience to watch me play, and that’s fantastic because they didn’t get a chance to see me at the BLAST Global Finals and IEM Katowice before. This experience will definitely be unforgettable. I believe the audience will also be supportive of G2, as our Swani will be playing on his home turf, and he’s the only German player left in the playoffs.”
I have already become accustomed to performing on the big stage.
Since HooXi hasn’t had many opportunities to perform on such a big stage like Cologne, Dust2.dk asked if he can handle the pressure. HooXi responded that even though he doesn’t have much experience, facing the audience during matches on the stage is not a problem for him.
“I feel like I’ve already adapted to the offline atmosphere even before stepping onto the stage. This pressure makes me tense and more excited, so it’s a good thing for me.”
Q: Do you think you’re in your best form now?
A: “I think so. When you’re considered a favorite to win, there’s definitely pressure. How we deal with pressure is something we’ve been working on, and when we turn pressure into motivation, the situation is very advantageous for us.”
Q: This is the second IEM event this year. You won the championship in Katowice last time. How about this time?
A: “If we can win both in Katowice and Cologne, I really can’t imagine how crazy that would be.”
HooXi has long been fed up with criticism and accusations on the internet.
During the off-season and post-season, there were many critics and spectators who criticized G2 and HooXi online. However, the current G2 has proven their strength to the audience, and HooXi also said that self-criticism is sometimes meaningful.
HooXi: “I’m tired of online keyboard warriors. Those criticisms and evaluations are just noise. I don’t want to read or hear them anymore. What I want to do now is to bring more stability to the team because we have always been inconsistent, with ups and downs. It would be fantastic if we could maintain a stable level, and then we would make it to the playoffs in every match.”
Q: So you’re not completely satisfied with the team’s current state? Is there room for improvement?
A: “I’m naturally satisfied with our performance in Cologne at the moment, but we still need to participate in more matches in the future to have a more comprehensive analysis.”
He hopes to meet Heroic in the semifinals.
HooXi believes that there are advantages and disadvantages to directly entering the semifinals, but G2 is still relatively satisfied with the current situation.
“This is the same as in Katowice, with pros and cons. I think it’s very cool to win the quarterfinals and experience the atmosphere on-site and get used to the feeling of being on the stage. On the other hand, now we have an extra day to train and relax, which also has many benefits. So I’m glad to directly enter the semifinals.”
Q: You will play against the winner of Astralis and Heroic. Which team do you prefer to play against?
A: “Heroic, because we’ve already defeated Astralis, proving that we are stronger than them. And Heroic is an interesting opponent, they always play CS in a very exciting way.”
HooXi previously mentioned that he doesn’t like playing against newly-formed lineups, but this is not the reason he doesn’t want to face Team A.
“No, because we already know Astralis now, we know their abilities and the maps they are good at. They can’t win as easily as before. I do hate playing against new lineups because you have no idea about them and don’t know how to break through in the game.”
