![Astralis stavn: “[The underdog tag] puts less pressure on us, but we want to prove ourselves” cover image](https://admin.esports.gg/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/stavn-hed-968x544.jpg)
Astralis has stunned NAVI in their BLAST World Final opener, taking out the world number one CS2 squad 2-0 in swift fashion.
Next to no one thought Astralis had a chance entering the group stage opener, with many writing off the Danish squad weeks ago.
However, thanks to two brilliant T-sides called by Casper "cadiaN" Møller and a standout performance from Martin "stavn" Lund, Astralis has handed NAVI just their second group stage loss at an event in 2024.
esports.gg caught up with stavn following the upset victory. The 22-year-old Danish rifler was supreme across both maps but shone especially brightly on Nuke, dropping 22 kills in the 13-6 win.
"Not too many people had you guys coming out with the win over NAVI! How much of your preparation leading into the event was based around this opening match in particular?"
"Not more than usual, I think. We’ve been trying to focus on ourselves a lot more. We knew how they were going to play on our map pick. NAVI didn’t have any information on us on Nuke; it’s our first game we’ve played it, and we’ve felt comfortable on it in practice which is why we’ve picked it."
"Was the map veto for Nuke and Mirage always going to be the plan?"
"For us, definitely. We were always picking Nuke, and we thought they were going to follow up with Mirage or Dust 2. We were definitely prepared for Mirage though, and we're really happy our focus on our T-side and our game has worked here."
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"Expectations for Astralis are quite low among fans and analysts here in Singapore. Does the underdog tag play into Astralis’ favor heading into an event like this?"
"For sure, it puts less pressure on us, but I still think we all want to prove ourselves. We haven’t had the best start with this team so it’s a bit of a yes and no to the pressure. Overall now we’ve got a lot of confidence going forward. Going first into the playoffs is definitely strong, especially with the teams here, so we’re really happy now."
"How’s the jetlag? Have you guys recovered yet?"
"No (laughs). Everyone is still kinda jetlagged and struggling to get to sleep at night, but we’re getting better every day which makes this win that much more important."
Astralis will return to the server tomorrow to play the winner of FaZe vs. MOUZ for a shot at a BLAST World Final semifinal berth. NAVI, meanwhile, faces early elimination unless they can bounce back.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest CS2 news and coverage.
