Cr1t interview: “I want to go to TI again and see if we can defend our title. This is a big one that keeps me going”

14.02.2026

Just as Team Falcons were preparing to enter the playoffs stage at BLAST Slam VI, we had the chance to talk to Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen about what the Slam circuit means for him and the chance for a trophy here.

We also couldn’t pass up the chance to talk to Cr1t about what winning The International last year in Hamburg meant to him, and what keeps him motivated after nearly two decades of playing and reaching the pinnacle of his career.

Cr1t, forgive me for starting with this question, but as of now, you are the player with the most appearances at TI. When you finally lifted the Aegis in Hamburg, was it relief, validation, or something else entirely?

I think there is a mix of a lot of emotions for me. A bit of relief just to have that in my career, something that everyone seeks in Dota, really, it's everyone's goal to get that. It was a big relief in terms of validation, mostly for myself, just getting that done. Even though I've always had a lot of confidence in my ability to win, it's just nice to get that and kind of prove it to yourself.

Then just happiness as well. I've played this game for close to 20 years now. It's a lot of time invested into something, and then you kind of hit the pinnacle of what you can achieve. So yeah, it was a very good moment for me.

After winning The International, every opponent prepares specifically for you even harder. How different does the competitive environment feel compared to before the TI run? Does it feel different from when you were already dominating in the year?

I'm trying to think what's different for us. I think it's not that different because we have always looked very inwards in terms of what we can do. I think right after TI, there were a lot of teams or players trying to do the same things as us. I think that was the biggest thing. But I don't feel like we had a counter response to what we're doing, really.

It was more like people were trying to implement what we're doing, trying to see if it works with what they're already doing. I think there was a big increase in that, but other than that, it's not been anything extreme like massive differences for us. I think we're kind of just focused on ourselves, and obviously, we had a bit of a dip in form, so we're working on that.

The Group Stage at BLAST hasn’t been perfect. Is that just due to the best-of-ones, or it’s related to the deep in form you just mentioned?

It was not the worst for us, but at the same time, we were just not in very good shape either. And I think having just to win one game against a team and not having to go through too many strategies over a group stage was pretty good for us, because I’d say we were a little bit limited. We just did not have good results coming into the tournament, and our confidence was pretty low.

We were kind of just trying to work through that and try to get the win so that we could build on the confidence and go from there. And I think we did a pretty good job at managing despite not being the best version of ourselves. I think we still did pretty well and came out, obviously, making it to the main event, which is good because now it's best of fives, and I think we have a pretty good team in best of fives and a lot of experience.

You've played in every single BLAST Slam since the series has begun, but the trophy has been just out of reach multiple times. Does that add extra motivation coming into Malta this week?

Yeah, I think last year, especially, was something we talked about a lot. It’s the one we hadn't won and we wanted to get a trophy from all the tournament organisers. Also, BLAST is special to me because many Danish people work on it, and I’d love to win here.

photo credits: Luc Bouchon | BLAST

You are the all-time leader in the professional scene on Tusk with 160 games, 65.00% win rate. This hero has come in and out of meta for a decade. What is it about Tusk that's kept him in your hands for so long, and is there a chance we will see him this weekend through the BLAST Slam VI playoffs?

I think there's a slight chance, but I don't think it's that big. It's pretty crazy to me that I have the most games on Tusk because I feel like recently, I have not played the hero that much. There was a period of time when I played it a lot.

The hero is just very fast-paced, and I think on the previous teams I played, EG and Shopify, we're always very fast-paced, and Tusk is just a hero that enables you to play the game faster. He has a toolkit that is very early game based. So that's why it worked really well for me on previous teams. On this team, I think it's a little bit different. Sneyking might have more Tusk games on this team than I have, because it just works better for us in that role, and then that's just how it goes.

A last question from me: You are a 29-year-old in a “young man's game.” You've won everything. You've redefined how position 4 is played. You've captained, you've supported, you've mentored players in the pro scene. What keeps Andreas Nielsen going, what keeps you motivated at this point?

I think the biggest thing is just that I still enjoy playing the game. I'm very lucky to be on this team now, and I know I'm lucky because I play on a team that really wants to win. We have a good system with good players that I enjoy working with, all of them.

That's a big aspect of it because when you work together so much through the year, very intensely, then it's important that you work with people that you enjoy working with and that put in the same effort that you put in, especially because it's so time-consuming and you're sacrificing a lot.

So that's one thing, and then I want to go to TI again and see if we can defend our title. This is a big one that keeps me going. Another important thing is trying to win the EWC, which is very important for all of us and obviously for Falcons as well. EWC is a massive thing that eluded us last year, but we're getting closer every year.