Note: This article is a text port of our live interview with trexx. The video interview can be found here.

Entering today's match for the decider, you went up against Leviatan, the #1 Americas seed. Did you have any initial thoughts on the matchup?

"They lost to Trace as we did, so I felt we had a good chance to beat them in the best-of-three, especially I saw our veto against them because the maps were very good for us."

The veto ended up being Icebox, Sunset, and Ascent, maps that both sides have looked relatively stable on throughout 2024. How comfortable did the team feel about the veto?

"As I said, I think the veto was very good for us. Everyone felt confident on those maps, including myself."

There hasn't been too much time between the last match you played and today. However, your previous match was a convincing 2-0 over Talon Esports. How much of a confidence booster was that win heading into today?

"Yeah, especially since none of us won a single match in Champions before. It was a confidence booster."

Even after being down 7-5 at the first half, Vitality found strides early in the second half with four straight rounds on defense. Was anything specifically discussed at halftime to help with this?

"I think we just adjusted good against their gameplay. They were just on one side of the map mostly, and I think we adjusted good most of the times. The only reason why we didn't close Icebox is because we lost some key rounds and it cost us the loss basically."

Despite your early start, Leviatan seemed to find their way back in the game after round 17, evening out the game and eventually taking things to overtime. Was there any feelings within the team before overtime started about not being able to close the map out sooner?

"Definitely. As I said, I think because we didn't close it out when we could, it definitely snowballed into desperate calls. I don't think it was frustration calls, but it was definitely not the way we would close the game if it was a normal situation for us."

Unfortunately, Icebox did go in the favor of Leviatan 14-12. Even after being up at one point, what went wrong for the team as the map progressed?

"We used to lose the first map in best-of-threes, and I think we felt fine going into the second map since it was our best map also. We felt fine going into it."

Map two didn't start in your favor. After taking a timeout down 0-4, C0M stole your first round away with a 1v2 ace. Did losing that round and other similar 1v1 situations have any detriment on the team's mental?

"I think the main reason why Sunset didn't go our way is because us not closing Icebox affected us, and we just didn't play the way we play Sunset usually."

Vitality had called both timeouts before the first half ended. What were the main issues on Sunset that the team came across?

"The main point was that hesitated a lot and didn't play how we normally play. We were scared and we didn't adjust in time."

Ultimately, despite your elimination, it's been a great journey upwards for the team throughout the 2024 season. From being on a struggling KOI last year to qualifying for Champions with Vitality, what were your main takeaways from the season as a whole?

"We had a lot of ups and downs. We came here without really thinking of qualifying for Champions, but it was a good thing definitely. The main takeaway is to trust the process, as we had many good people around us and they helped us with the process itself, let's say."

Additionally, you were a standout player throughout the tournament. So far, you're the highest rated Initiator of Champions. It's been a while since you've been to an international tournament: how does it feel for you to be back on the stage and carry such consistent performances?

"In general, I feel that I'm always comfortable on LANs, even though I don't go to most of them. As soon as I have a chance to show myself, I do it."