YEKINDAR: "I feel like at the very end of Liquid because my form dropped there was less trust in me"

For those who watched Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis's final days on Liquid in 2024, it may be weird to see him playing so well at the BLAST.tv Austin Major with FURIA. The Latvian averaged a 1.32 rating on Stage Two and a 1.33 rating on Stage Three, helping this Brazilian-Eastern European roster of FURIA to breeze through Stage Three and secure a playoff berth.

YEKINDAR touched on his resurgence on FURIA after the hardships he went through on Liquid in an interview with Dust2.us' Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore, and explained how he felt like people in Liquid didn't trust him anymore.

"I can only speculate, but in terms of personal feelings, I feel like that at the very end of Liquid, because my form dropped there was less trust in me, and less authority, maybe, on making the calls and controlling the game," YEKINDAR said.

You can watch the full interview on YouTube below, or read the transcription underneath. All questions and answers have been slightly edited for clarity.

Update: This article was updated following publication to adjust the headline quote that inadvertantly mischaracterized the end of YEKINDAR's time with Liquid. We regret the error.

You're back in the Major playoffs with a new team. How are you feeling?

I'm feeling amazing. I feel like the bare minimum has been done. [After] the bootcamp that we had and the results we had in PGL Astana, we didn't really take Dallas into account because of the jetlag, and we started badly, or whatever. We knew we could reach the playoffs at minimum, and we believe that we are able to win this tournament. There are many shaky moments for many teams, it's the Major magic, and everything is possible. So, I'm happy we showed character throughout yesterday and today. I'm glad we're in the playoffs, but this is not the end.

FalleN talked about rejuvenation right after this match vs. Virtus.pro. We saw you had the lowest of lows upon leaving Liquid, and now you're back, kind of at the top of the world. How are you feeling on a more personal level after proving yourself once again on a new team, especially one that's as different as FURIA?

I feel amazing. During the break after Liquid, I said that everything in my life is in the right place, in a way. My girlfriend finally moved in, and I didn't have stress anymore because of that. I finally had a break from CS, even though maybe it sounds to some people like 'Oh, you play CS as a job, you should be happy about it.' Yeah, but when you're playing for five years straight during VP and Liquid, and you travel during your breaks to meet your girlfriend because she can't get a visa, then it suddenly becomes hard.

There are always team changes, and everything kind of piles up. After the break, I realized that I still want to play, and that was the most important feeling I had. FURIA is giving me a great opportunity to show myself at the Major, to show myself at these tournaments, and I'm super grateful for them. I'm super grateful for the team because the way they treat me is like I'm a long-standing player, and that's something that a stand-in can only wish for.

You're playing like a star again. You're sort of playing like the YEKINDAR we all remember from the great days on VP and the early days of Liquid. What do you think has been unlocked for you on this new FURIA lineup that has allowed you to reach the level we all knew you could obtain?

I can only speculate, but in terms of personal feelings, I feel like that at the very end of Liquid, because my form dropped there was less trust in me, and less authority, maybe, on making the calls and controlling the game, and also less focus. Now that I had a break, I'm not super exhausted or depressed, and at the same time, FURIA trusted in me both as an org and the players.

They believe in everything that I'm saying, or, if they have something to say, we'll have an argument and fix anything that pops up. I think that this kind of trust that I get from this team is something that I really respect, and it helps me a lot.

molodoy, the other Eastern European young gun on this team, is having a fantastic tournament as well. How impressed are you with his ability to sort of rise at this occasion with you on FURIA?

I'm honestly super impressed. I didn't know anything about molodoy when FURIA talked to me, and I was super impressed. I feel there are a couple of styles available for the AWPers. One style is the person who goes for set plays [all the time], and the second style is usually more laid back, an AWPer who tries to rotate at the right position and tries to read the game.

molodoy is definitely this second type of AWPer. He doesn't necessarily always like to go for these opening duels or try to find impact in this way. He usually rotates around at the right place and the right time. This is something that shows his maturity as a player and person. It's going to take some time for him to get experience, of course, and [understand] different situations, but I think he's already showing a great level of gameplay.

With Falcons being out, people are kind of looking to Vitality and saying that they got this Major in the bag. Have people been underestimating you, and do you think people should be ready for you next week at the Moody Center?

The thing is, we don't necessarily mind if people are underestimating us. We are playing for ourselves, for our organization and we know we can win the Major. What other people think it doesn't it doesn't really matter for us. I think there's a chance, when there's a consistent best team in the world for the last six months, that everybody is watching this consistent best team in the world to learn why they're the best.

The longer the time goes, the harder it is going to be playing for Vitality. The Legacy game showed that they probably knew exact every detail that Vitality were planning. I believe they spammed a lot of people through the smoke, and we're kind of in this Major magic, so everything can happen. People can get a kill through the smoke, and win a round because of it, then win the economy and the map.

Mental or whatever, continue snowballing on the next map. Everything is possible, and while Vitality is obviously the clear favorite, I think that is a little bit of a burden for them. We'll see how it goes.