Cxzi on his Complexity exit: "We were still practicing the day before, so I didn't know"

Dust2.us' Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore spoke with Danny "Cxzi" Strzelczyk of Marsborne after the second day of action at Fragadelphia Blocktober.

Cxzi spoke about his team's performance at Frag, his transition to IGL, and being removed from the Complexity squad that turned into Passion UA.

The full interview can be found below on YouTube, with select excerpts provided in text format just underneath. All questions and answers have been edited slightly for length and clarity.

How are you feeling about the end of the day, beating TeXas Outlaws and Tokugawa?

We were getting used to the setups. We honestly could have 2-0'd the group, we played VENOM pretty close, who are former Frag winners, and they're playing well in tier-two Europe.

This is your first event since taking over the IGL role at Marsborne. What prompted your decision to pick up the IGL mantle?

I always thought about it. I thought later, when I had more experience, it would be something I wanted to do. fl0m messaged me out of the blue and said that I should actually do it. I was talking to some teams about IGLing and then went to Marsborne.

Do you worry about giving up too much of your game to be an IGL?

A little bit, but from today and playing the better teams, I didn't feel like it affected me at all. Maybe it will if we play top competition, but right now, no.

You've played with a lot of NA IGLs over the years, who do you think is most responsible for defining what you think an IGL should be?

I think JT was the best. Going into Complexity, I realized JT was a good IGL, but he actually has a lot of good things, and it's very loose and making good decisions for yourself. I learned a lot about how to create opportunities for yourself.

Complexity ends up being acquired by Passion UA. When did you know you weren't going to with them to Passion UA?

HLTV.

So, do you think the team kept a secret from you? Do you feel a sense of betrayal with that?

I was pretty upset, as anyone would be. We were still practicing the day before, so I didn't know. It felt like shit for the first week. As time went on, I understood it. From what I was told, it wasn't their decision. I was underperforming in that two-month period. I self-reflected on it. I was mad at first, but I understood that I got a good experience from it. I'm glad they pulled through to the Major.

Complexity was something of your breakout team, is it frustrating for you to have to take a step back down to the tier-two NA level?

I think one of the big things is, you can name all the players on the top NA teams, but there hasn't been anyone that's broken out in Europe. I think I need to prove myself that I can play on that level. I didn't have a horrible time in Complexity; I had a solid five-month period. I think there are chances in the NA scene for me, but I'm happy where I am.