Interview with DignitasVIE CS:GO player H4RR3 On Recent Performance
H4RR3 talks about the last few tournaments, the team’s form, and what they’re working on.
A few tournaments have gone by since the new DignitasVIE players were announced back in October 2020. We’ve had a chat with Haris "H4RR3" Hadžić, one of the newer players, to understand how his first experience at this level of competition is going, the results at recent tournaments, and how he’s feeling about the future of the squad.
Hey H4RR3! So, the first few tournaments with the team are over. How did they go for you?
H4RR3: I think it was fine, I think the curve from the beginning of the first tournament was good. In the first tournament, we had to play with the coach due to Friberg having COVID-19, it was really tough, but then FLASHPOINT came and we learned a lot, we got some wins as well. It was a lot to learn, especially for me and HEAP. New things, new roles... a really good experience. After FLASHPOINT, we had some smaller tournaments, and eventually, we had the big one we prepared for after the break, cs_summit 7! We started playing really good. In hindsight we should maybe have won more maps and more series, we lost really close to OG twice, which was tough, but again, we just keep learning from those games and it's important we keep focused. We're playing Snow Sweet Snow and we're treating every tournament with the same level of importance, although we don't meet the same caliber of teams in each one. But it's a learning process, we got to learn from every game and I think we always do.
What were your initial reactions to playing such big stages like FLASHPOINT?
H4RR3: It's kind of what you strive for, playing these kinds of tournaments with the big teams, the big prize pools... It's definitely what you always want, the Majors, the big tournaments with the best teams. Obviously, it's huge for me, being able to play these tournaments, to get a feel for it, the pressure, what's at stake... it was really fun!
Going back to FLASHPOINT, your first appearance in the DignitasVIE squad. Did you feel that nervousness got the best of you in the beginning or were you feeling good?
H4RR3: I'm actually always nervous when I play, especially before a match, every single one is important for me. But once I get to the pistol round, it's only me and the screen and I just focus on the match. But of course, you're going to feel the pressure if you're up against a big team in a big tournament, but it's good to feel that. The more you play, the calmer you'll be, so it just comes with experience.
I’ve talked with f0rest and friberg and they said that although you and HEAP showed some nerves in the beginning, you were quick to adapt and deliver what was expected. Do you agree with that or do you feel you could have done better?
H4RR3: I think I can always do better, I'm really tough on myself when it comes to that. In the beginning was hard, so many new roles for me, I was used to being the entry-fragger, being the first wolf in the pack, but now I'm kind of controlling the flanks, I have to be careful with my decisions, and of course, against better teams, those decisions will either be punished really hard or sometimes it could just win you the round. It's all about learning!
It was scary at first in FLASHPOINT, I was just starting to play as a lurker... but the thing is, when you have set things in your mind, the tactics, how you can outplay your opponents, you get more comfortable. I didn't have a lot of experience, I hadn't experienced a lot of scenarios, so it made me sometimes doubt my decisions a little bit... obviously I could have done a lot of things better, but it is what it is. Also, we're underdogs in most of the matches we play, so I think it went fine.
How do you play around your role compared to your past teams? Are you free to do your thing or are you trying a more restricted approach?
H4RR3: I feel I can do whatever comes to my mind, but obviously, when I play this role I need to be more careful. Me dying can give a lot of information to the other team, so although I'm a more aggressive player, now I have to think twice before I do something. It's been a bit difficult, I'm not going to lie, but I just need to learn more about it, how to be a more passive-aggressive player.
Are you positive about the future of the team?
H4RR3: Yes, for sure! I think we are learning all the time, that's for sure, and I think that when a team stops learning and stops improving, when it stops trying to change stuff, that's when you know you're in trouble. But this team is pushing and starting to learn more about each other, about our opponents, and about our game.
What are your expectations right now, considering your recent results and even practice?
H4RR3: We haven't had that much practice after cs_summit 7, to be honest, it's been a lot of tournaments in a row. Obviously, we broke into the top 30 - for me, and I think for the guys as well, to play a tournament and win it, it's the best feeling. We know we can do it, we've played against really good teams, we need to find the consistency and we hope to win some tournaments from there!
What are the things you’re feeling most difficult to implement in your game, as a team?
H4RR3: Right now, I would say is to have everyone on the team on the same page in almost every single situation. When that happens, we don't need to think twice about what to do, because we trust each other and we know what everyone needs to do in every situation. I think that's the key to eventually becoming a really good team. Obviously, it's near impossible to have everyone thinking exactly the same at all times, but as close as possible - I'm sure it will make a big difference. There will be no doubts, no one will be thinking "should I do this, or should I do that", the game will go a lot smoother for us!
What are you working on right now, now that you have a few benchmarks to understand what went good and bad?
H4RR3: We're working on decision-making right now. I don't think we're going to lose a match because we have a worse aim or something like that, it's just decision-making! That's the key for us, it's important to get it right. We talk about it after every game, despite winning or losing, try to see what we could have done even better. We had a match against Sangal for Snow Sweet Snow where we know we've made some stupid mistakes on match point in Dust2 and that's where we're trying to focus.
Would you like to leave a few words to close out the interview?
H4RR3: I just want to thank everyone for the support we've been receiving on the last tournaments - the first ones we played in 2020, now at cs_summit 7, it was really good! I felt that people were really cheering for us! We were not surprised that we could compete with some of these teams and I just hope that people will keep on supporting us! It's hard to play these tier 1 and 2 tournaments, but we will do our best to deliver good results!
Make sure to follow H4RR3 on social media!
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