As our new in-game leader Casper 'cadiaN' Møller said after being eliminated from IEM Rio 2024 following the 2-0 loss to Virtus.pro, it certainly has been "a bit of a rollercoaster" for our Danish lineup these past few weeks.
BLAST Premier Fall Final at Forum didn't go as planned, but with heads held high, head coach Casper 'ruggah' Due's troops headed to Rio de Janeiro with renewed hope.
ruggah: We all need time to find our place in the new setup. Some players have taken on more responsibility, others less, and it's natural for there to be an adjustment period.
With little time to practice, performing at the highest level with a brand-new roster was always going to be tough. dev1ce and Co. were sent packing after a defeat in the lower semi-finals. They started strong with a 13-11 win in the opening best-of-one against Eternal Fire but couldn't keep the momentum going, falling to rivals Heroic and later to the Russian lineup of Virtus.pro.
We caught up with ruggah after the Main team returned to Denmark, ready to hit the grind again in the pracc room before the BLAST Premier World Final 2024 kicks off in Singapore.
"I'm left with the sense that we've already shown glimpses of a high peak level, but our foundation is still shaky. We haven't had enough time together to practice and develop multiple tactics for when the pressure ramps up in close matches," says Casper 'ruggah' Due.
"What we're lacking the most are repetitions as a unit."
"We put together a playbook in an extremely short time, which led to some inconsistencies in gameplay and tactics. It's something we're critically focusing on ahead of Singapore."
"On the bright side, the atmosphere is good. Everyone welcomed Casper, and he fits well with the rest of the group. There are smiles all around during warm-ups, and that tells me the team spirit is strong despite two rough events."
"We all need time to find our place in the new setup. Some players have taken on more responsibility, others less, and it's natural for there to be an adjustment period. Luckily, we have a tournament in under two weeks to show what we're made of and gather more data on where we stand as a team," ruggah states.
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