kyxsan at BLAST Rivals Hong Kong: “The players respect me and my calls”

Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski and the rest of Team Falcons have found themselves in the grand finals at BLAST Rivals Hong Kong, once again going up against FURIA tomorrow. We got to speak to kyxsan just after the win against Vitality.

So kyxsan, you’re only 25 and you’re leading players like m0NESY and NiKo. Has that fact ever put pressure on you?

kyxsan: I mean, there is always a pressure when you play with players like that and especially for a big organisation like Falcons. The expectations are always high. So, there will always be pressure, I think it’s just important how we handle it.

Saumya: In a team where you have so many players who come up with different ideas, it is very important to maintain your own voice. So how are you maintaining your own identity in the team?

kyxsan: Can you repeat this?

How are you maintaining your own identity in the team?

kyxsan: My own identity? The players respect me and my calls. So when we created this team, let’s say I shared how I want to play, how I want to lead this team, and basically we’re trying to hold on to that and obviously mix it with all the star players we have and their ideas. So, yeah, I think everyone knows how my identity is and we are doing well so far.

Saumya: What kind of an IGL do you consider yourself to be and how do you try to give your players freedom?

kyxsan: I mean, I’m trying to give the players freedom, but also to have my own identity, as we talked about. So I’m trying to find the balance between these two. And when you have so many players in the team who are really vocal, then it’s a bit harder job to manage this. But I have already been part of this team for almost a year now, so I’m getting used to it and I think it’s becoming better.

And how does NiKo contribute to secondary calling?

kyxsan: He’s helping a lot, not only inside the game, but also, I mean, not only during the game, but also when we have preparation or theory for the games. He’s coming with some ideas and he’s offering some things to me that we can maybe add to the playbook or change to the playbook. So he definitely has a big impact.

Saumya: You have been in multiple finals and semifinals before, but you have also lost a lot of them. How is your team talk going to be before tomorrow so that you can bring the trophy home?

kyxsan: I mean, I think today was a good example of how we need to play. I mean, not only about the in‑game things, but I think throughout the whole game we had good energy, good communication, even when things were looking rough. So I think that’s the most important thing for us to just be ourselves and stay in the game and don’t get affected by the score or the situation we are in.