karrigan: "I think the players were really open-minded to what s1mple brings to the table"

Finn "karrigan" Andersen has done it again. The veteran IGL has had yet another deep run with a stand-in on the roster. Of course, this time is a super stand-in because FaZe secured the services of Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyljev, but still, nobody knew if this Hail-Mary would work out or not.

Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore asked karrigan how he manages to do it multiple times, and while the Dane didn't have a complete answer, he explained it's down to his micro-managing skills and keeping up with the comms.

"You have to be really on point with communication and micro [manage] people, right? So, that's part of that as well, that I'm really good at microing small details in the game and explaining within seven seconds how we need to end the round," karrigan told Dust2.us during the media day for the BLAST.tv Austin Major playoffs.

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

Welcome to the playoffs. You locked it in pretty easily. How are you feeling about your run through Stage Three?

I think that it was a pretty good run. I think we had a cold start against Aurora, they played super good, but in the end, we made it by beating MOUZ, Legacy, and The MongolZ, which I think is a decent run, taking into consideration how it started.

I think the biggest story for you guys has been the story of s1mple's return to action and how well he's performed here. He mentioned how he was really thankful for being picked up by FaZe, and he also said there weren't many offers coming his way and that he was waiting for something to crop up. Did you expect him to hit the ground running as quickly as he did?

I think, obviously, in Dallas and the first Stage, there was still some shakiness. You could see glimpses of really good games by him, but also some inconsistencies, right? But the second we got to Stage Three, I really think he showed a great level throughout all the games. I'm proud to see him get into that zone, and now it's three games, and if you're playing really good for three games, you are the Major champions, right? Let's see how it goes, but for now, I really think he's stepped up his game this past few games.

On a more macro level, how has he fit in culturally in this lineup? Is he kind of a good fit for the sort of team environment you want to build? Because, of course, it's been a while since he's been in competition, and he's always been known as someone with a strong personality and strong vision for how he wants to play. Do you think he's been a strong fit in that regard?

Yeah, I think we knew already. Everybody knows s1mple, he's very vocal in the game, we have seen that in his whole career. So, bringing him in, we kind of shook up the vocal in the team. We have been a little quiet lately, and it's an issue we have tried to work on within the team. Bringing him, we knew that was going to shake up something vocally in the game, in the clutches, but also changing the mentality. We were in a deep slump, mentality-wise, we weren't showing great things inside and outside the server for FaZe in the past few months.

Bringing him, we knew there was going to be a boost. It could have been really bad, but so far it has been really good. I'm just looking forward to playing where we normally perform best: on the stage. But, nothing is guaranteed because we haven't played on stage with s1mple yet. We don't know how he as a person reacts, and he also doesn't know how we play on a stage yet.

We have three other players in the squad. How have they been doing in this new era of FaZe with s1mple? Do you think with the role changes and the other things that come with adding a new player, they're performing at a good level at this Major?

I think when you change the AWP, the role doesn't really change for any riflers. That was one of the key things, with such short time coming into the Major, benching broky just to get a new AWPer because he can change the dynamic, but he won't change the roles. s1mple's been an AWPer his whole life and that doesn't change much besides how he adapts to certain scenarios and changing the chemistry, in that sense.

So, I think the players were really open-minded and really open to what s1mple brings to the table, and also how some rounds are being played differently. Players have to do different stuff, but to be honest, we're kind of an old clan. A lot of players have a lot of experience playing slightly different roles and playing the situations differently, right?

For now, it's been working out really great as long as the communication is good because we don't have something to fall back on, [like] what we've done in the past, so we talk so much about, it's really important that the communication keeps going better and better, because then we can be a really dangerous team this Major.

Talking about those changes that come with adding a new player, for you personally, you've been kind of the key driver for the "stand-in magic" at FaZe. Your ability to win events with stand-ins has become incredibly well-known in the community. Is there something you can point to in your own approach to team-building that allows you to get the most out of a sub?

I think it's hard to know because if I knew what was the thing that's working so great, I'd be doing it every single day, right? I think it's a mentality shift, it's knowing that I need to lead in a different way. It is very short-term, but it also puts a lot of pressure on me individually to make sure to constantly adapt on the fly.

I don't think people realize how hard it can be to constantly adjust to new situations happening all the time, and how you want to adapt as a team. You have to be really on point with communication and micro [manage] people, right? So, that's part of that as well, that I'm really good at microing small details in the game and explaining within seven seconds how we need to end the round.

But, it's also taken a big hit on my individual level, and I'm just doing everything I can to keep both the micro-calling and also my individual level to something that's not hurting the team, and not being a burden.

You're taking The MongolZ in your opener. Beat them here in Austin, but lost to them in Dallas. How are you feeling about that matchup?

I feel good coming into the game. It's a completely different game, we played a 2-1 game where there wasn't elimination on the line, right? Now, it's very similar, it's an elimination game. They've been playing so good this year. I know everybody has said they've been struggling on stages, but they're always going to win at some point, and that's going to boost them for the future as well. I think they've been so consistent in what they have done.

They're a very dangerous opponent for us to play, and we still want to get revenge for when we lost to them in Melbourne. And here we are, we beat them now, but we also want to eliminate them. But, to be honest, they're a very dangerous team.

Looking beyond this quarterfinal, should you win, you're going to be two wins away from taking another Major. Who would you look to see as your ideal opponent in the final? Who would you be the most excited to play against? To spoil things a bit, apEX said it would be ideal to play FaZe in the final. Do you feel the same way?

I think they have big opponents in front of them. I think whoever we face in the finals deserves to be there because it's like we had very hard brackets in the last two Majors, where top teams are a little bit more stacked on one side than the other. I'd say it would be awesome to play Vitality. They haven't lost a BO3 yet, and if they made it to the final, they [wouldn't] have lost a BO3 in like 30 or 35 games, or whatever we're at now. Playing them in the final would be a very nice moment to kind of face Vitality.

I think we all want to see it, but we still have FURIA or paiN in front of us if we beat The MongolZ. So, a lot of ifs. But, if you get there, for the viewership and the storyline, I think FaZe-Vitality will be great.