k0nfig: "Main goal is top eight"

Our second interview prior to ESL One Cologne 2016 is with the young star of dignitas, Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke, who talked to us about dignitas' chances at the Major.

Denmark's second biggest team, Dignitas, will represent their country alongside Astralis, who are currently ranked #6 on our rankings. The two teams recently swapped René "⁠cajunb⁠" Borg and Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye.

Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke & company, who are ranked #15, will face their fellow countrymen Astralis, Gambit, and the North Americans of CLG. We interviewed the 19-year-old youngster to get his thoughts before the Major kicks off in Cologne.

How have you been preparing for ESL One Cologne? Have you had a bootcamp to specifically train for the second Major of 2016?

No, we haven't bootcamped but we have played a lot individually and had a lot of practise.

You have been a part of dignitas for all of 2016. Do you think playing with and against better players developed you as a player?

I think that playing for dignitas has helped me a lot in my CS career, and I'm really happy that they gave me a oppurtunity to play.

How did losing Kjaerbye affect your team? Were there big role changes after cajunb's addition?

After losing Kjaerbye we were a bit depressed because we had to play the Major qualifier and that was the biggest priority. Then we changed players, so we had change roles and swap positions, but in the end we made it. So here we are in Cologne.

k0nfig is hopeful about the upcoming event 

What are your thoughts about the group that was assigned to you (Gambit, CLG, and Astralis)? Do you think this opens the way for your team to advance to the quarter-finals?

Our main goal is to reach top 8 (quarter-finals) and even if we were in Group D, that would be the main goal, but of course we are happy that we got group A.

The inefficiency and the unfairness of the current Major seeding system, which allows for groups such as Group D (SK, G2, fnatic, and FaZe) has been criticized before by journalists and players. What is your opinion about the system and do you think it should change?

I think that Group D is the group that you didn't want to land in, but, in my opinion, it's a bit random that there are four great teams in one group. Random, but also sad.

What will be the goal for you in the tournament? What placing would you consider a success and what would be regarded as a failure?

Placing top eight would be a success, and losing the group would be a disaster. I really hope for top eight, but i would like to reach the semi-finals as well. Hopefully we will go all the way to the final with a bit of luck.

What is your opinion about Nuke as a competitive map and do you think it is ready to be played at a Major? Do you feel comfortable playing it or are you still adjusting your game and developing?

We are still adjusting to the map because its so new. There are new angles to peek, new spots to hide, new smokes… It's really hard, but we manage to play it.

What is your top four prediction and which team, in your opinion, can surprise us? Could that dark horse be dignitas?

Top four would be: SK, NaVi, Dignitas, and EnVyUs. I really hope that we can upset some teams and reach the final, but it will need a bit of luck and extremely good teamplay.

Is there anything you want to say to your supporters before we end our interview?

I really hope you guys will support us at the ESL One Cologne 2016 Major and help us reach the final! Buy our stickers and support us with everything you got, then we will provide you with WINS.

Our pre-Major coverage will continue with more interviews as well as group previews. Below are all the pieces about the upcoming Major:

Damian "⁠daps⁠" Steele: "Focus on getting out of groups"

Group A preview by Michal "stich" Malachowski
Group B preview by Milan "Striker" Švejda

BenjaCS writes for HLTV.org and can be found on Twitter.

René 'cajunb' Borg Age: 26 Team: Dignitas Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 702 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.64 Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke Age: 19 Team: Dignitas Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 308 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.69 Dignitas #15 Ruben 'RUBINO' VillarroelRené 'cajunb' BorgJesper 'TENZKI' PlougmannMathias 'MSL' LauridsenKristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke Damian 'daps' Steele Age: 22 Team: OpTic Rating 1.0: 0.91 Maps played: 271 KPR: 0.62 DPR: 0.68 Markus 'Kjaerbye' Kjærbye Age: 18 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 553 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.65 Astralis #6 Markus 'Kjaerbye' KjærbyeFinn 'karrigan' AndersenAndreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenNicolai 'device' Reedtz CLG #22 Faruk 'pita' PitaStephen 'reltuC' CutlerJames 'hazed' CobbTarik 'tarik' CelikKenneth 'koosta' Suen Gambit #20 Dauren 'AdreN' KystaubayevDmitry 'hooch' BogdanovMihail 'Dosia' StolyarovRustem 'mou' TelepovIvan 'spaze' Obrezhan