Brollan at BLAST Open Spring: “Sometimes we feel maybe a little bit disconnected but we try to work on it.”

I’m here in sunny Lisbon for the playoffs at BLAST Open Spring 2025. Just before the quarterfinals games, I got the chance to speak to Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin about his new role as IGL, adding Spinx to the roster and what he likes to do off the server.

How are you doing, Brollan?

Brollan: All good. It’s been a good morning so far, so all good.

Sophie: Fantastic. So I’ve only been in Lisbon for about an hour. How long have you been here?

Brollan: We arrived two days ago at night or at the evening. So we haven’t really explored Lisbon that much. We all be in the streets basically. And yeah, it’s been also day of practice yesterday and tomorrow. Today is gonna be a,yeah, the same, same day, basically with some media as well.

Sophie: That’s it, yeah. Do you think you’ll get any time to see any of the sights here?

Brollan: No, we’ll see. I don’t know probably if we don’t go to the finals, of course, but we’ll see.

Sophie: Okay, cool. Well, hopefully we’ll see you in the finals instead, okay. So I wanted to touch really quickly, because last time we spoke you weren’t IGL-ing and now you are.

How has that change been for you?

Brollan: No, it’s been a lot of changing, I’ll say for myself, it’s been a lot of work. Of course, a lot of sacrificing for everything basically, and it’s been a tough period, of course. But I mean, obviously the work has been paying off. We have been going to finals and we won Cluj-Napoca as well. So it’s just been going really good so far and just try to explore more things about leading and these things and I guess try to get better in that way.

Sophie: Yeah, absolutely. I was going to say because your calling has really been on point since Cluj-Napoca and beyond.

How do you develop a skill like that?

Brollan: I try to get more experience with everything, game comms and obviously my coaches are huge successor with that as well. That helped me a lot with it. And yeah, I just try to get more experience how other, like I try to get like some small details how other leaders are calling in these things and I try to figure it out how I want to call basically.

And I have some, how to say, fuss about it how I will call on these things around the team and basically like this and yeah, try to get more experience about it.

Sophie: Yeah, I mean the more you practice, the better you’ll get, right? Okay, cool. So I wanted to touch quickly on Spinx because obviously you moving to IGL is not the only big roster change.

So how is he fitting into the team’s ecosystem and play style?

Brollan: No, he’s obviously a really good guy obviously. He’s really, he’s experienced and he has played on the big stages, of course. And yeah, I think he’s just a really good play overall in Vitality.

Yeah, I think it suits the system basically how we are playing and these things but you just try to get more time from it and yes, sometimes we feel maybe a little bit disconnected but we try to work on it.

Of course, we didn’t have that much practice since we started this team because it’s been much traveling and most tournaments and etc. And yeah, but so far it’s been really good to the team and we just try to develop him, try to explore more about him, how he’s playing and how he’s based at least. And obviously it’s been playing with him for almost two months now. I think it is and it’s going quite well. But just try to get more experience around the team and yeah, just try to get more experience. Try to get more practice off this server.

Sophie: I mean yeah, that’s it really comes down to practice with a lot of it, doesn’t it? Okay, great.

Do you guys spend any time outside of the server doing like non Counter-Strike things to build that relationship?

Brollan: Yeah, I mean of course we, I mean obviously we try to do as much as we can sometimes we have been, I mean we have basically been away for almost one month now so we had much time with each other. But yeah, sometimes we go for a dinner and these small things we as everyone usually do maybe.

If you don’t have any officials in this, just try to explore something around city or whatever it is. But yeah, I think it’s kind of the both: we sometimes we do things and sometimes we just are there for ourselves.

Do you guys ever play any games other than CS?

Brollan: I mean I try to play a little bit. I try to relax and play it a bit of League of Legends sometimes.

Sophie: Okay, that’s cool.

Brollan: And I think just, I don’t know exactly what are the others are playing but they are playing some other games. I don’t know.

Sophie: Okay, cool. So you’re not playing together as a 5 stack?

Who do you main in League?

Brollan: I mean, I usually don’t main anything but I try to play. Sometimes I play more jungle, sometimes I play more bot lane and these things.

Sophie: Yep.

Brollan: I really enjoy to play jungle.

Sophie: Okay. Oh that’s really cool. I love it when players play other games. I always want to know what they think of them. So I just had one last question to touch on. It’s about your coach. I read on Twitter that you guys aren’t going to be playing with your head coach for the playoffs.

How do you think that’s going to affect your, like, preparation or, you know, you on the game days?

Brollan: I mean, obviously it’s going to be, he’s going to help us via the Internet, of course. Try to get more like as much as he can, if it’s a possibility, of course, he’s going to go at his brother’s wedding, so it’s understandable he wants to take some time off, of course. And yeah, he’s always going to be in the around the back around us. I would say, like, he’s always going to help us from the, from when he’s home. And yeah, I think it’s just going to be a little bit different with having Andreas behind us. But of course, it’s his first time being around players, especially, like, at a big tournament like this. I mean, obviously it’s going to be a little bit different, but I think it’s not going to affect it that much.

Sophie: Brilliant. Okay, well, we’ll hope to see you in the finals then.