Xyp9x: "[going] for a top3 finish"

First of many pre-DreamHack Bucharest interviews features Copenhagen Wolves' Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth, whose team recently impressed in RC EMS One Fall Cup #1.

Højsleth and company had kept a fairly low profile up until last week, when they took down VeryGames in the semi-finals and then battled NiP into a close three map series in the final.

The former fnatic member is now preparing for DreamHack Bucharest, his first event with the team he joined together with Michael "Friis" Jørgensen. Continue reading for his answers.

How have you prepared for DreamHack Bucharest? Have you only practiced online or also bootcamped? How well prepared will you be in time for the event? Will we see you in tip top shape?

Xyp9x: We have been playing online since the bootcamp possibilities aren't there, as people have work, school etc. We have had a lot of time to prepare ourselves for this event, and with that being said, I think we have not been fulfilling that 100%. We have 4-5 days left to practice, as well as an RC EMS One cup, and I hope it's enough - it is our own fault if it isn't.

Xyp9x will debut in Cph Wolves next weekend 

There have been a lot of online matches in the past few weeks, do you think this has helped or damaged you coming into a big LAN event? Do you think being able to study other teams’ strats helps or will others studying you hurt you more? How much should we look into your recent performance as an indicator of current form?

Xyp9x: Since we didnt participate in StarLadder, I think we are one of the teams which should come most prepared, due to not having any official matches aside from the Gaming.dk league (Danish league), and the RC EMS One Cups. I do think it is in our favour that we haven't been playing as many officials compared to other teams, but since we haven't been practicing as much as we should, I feel we haven't really been able to take the advantage of the opportunity. I'm not going to comment on whether we will anti-strat or not, but since there aren't that many demos out of us compared to other teams I would say we have the upper hand in terms of that.

Our recent performance hasn't been optimal, despite the EMS Cup. In the MSI BEAT IT tournament, I think we failed to deliver, not only when we played with socN as stand-in, but also when we played as a full team. I think the matches versus VeryGames/NiP were good for us, as it gave us some confidence boost.

You've been placed in group B and will start off against n!faculty, IGG and HSBG. How do you expect to fare there? Do you see any upsets taking place in the other groups?

Xyp9x: I see ourselves as the best team in this group. n!faculty have indeed shown some good results online recently, but I feel quite confident about the matchup. I haven't really seen too much of IGG or HSBG in CS:GO so far, but they are teams who can show up strong with a lot of practice I think. We are not going to underestimate any of them.

I don't see any upsets happening in the other groups, other than Refuse, who could possibly rack up some rounds against either Lemondogs or VeryGames; I wouldn't count them out at least. I would love to see the match between Astana Dragons and Na`Vi though, for the top 1 placing in group D.

If you had a gun to your head and had to guess which placing you would end up at in Bucharest, what would you guess? What placing would you be happy ending up at? How do you think the top three will shape up? Who will surprise in the tournament, both positively and negatively?

Xyp9x: It's quite a packed tournament, and based on our recent performances, I would go for a top 3 finish. We have shown that we can be among the top. It's not going to be easy at all, and since we are a new team, important rounds can be lost in a silly way.

device is a key member of Cph Wolves according to Xyp9x 

Who in your team needs to play well in order for you to perform at your highest level? Which players from other teams do you think can turn some heads? Any up and coming stars to watch out for?

Xyp9x: Device and dupreeh are the key, if they get rolling, they aren't supposed to be stopped. I think recently I've lacked skills myself compared to other times, but I hope to step it up at DH Bucharest. For Friis and FeTiSh, I feel they have the job to control the small kids, who are device, dupreeh and me.

You were previously part of fnatic, who also managed a few top three finishes earlier in the year. How would you compare Copenhagen Wolves and fnatic? How is playing in your new team different? How does the leadership differ?

Xyp9x: I feel it's pretty much the same aside from the leadership, which you mentioned. We probably lacked leadership in fnatic since none of us really had any experience in being the strat caller or the tasks which that role included. We even changed the strat caller 3 times or so. FeTiSh has been a strat caller for many years and he has the experience for it, and also has experience for leadership outside of the game.

With our pre-event coverage now in motion, make sure to check back daily at the very least to not miss out on any of the interviews and previews about next weekend's $15,000 tournament.