upE on the group stage at FISSURE PLAYGROUND 3 — CS: “I think PARIVISION should beat magic.”
Alliance’s CS2 rifler Markus “upE” Johansson in an interview at FISSURE PLAYGROUND 3 — CS shared his thoughts after the victory over TYLOO, discussed the challenges the team faced during the match, and commented on potential opponents in the lower bracket final of the tournament’s group stage.
On his feelings after the victory over TYLOO
We struggled in the first half on Ancient: our economy suffered because we lost a lot of key rounds. After switching sides, we just reset. We knew we could turn the tide of the match if we played aggressively, confidently, and gathered intelligence on the map. We knew we had a strong roster capable of defeating any top-tier team if we executed properly. Everyone believed in our success, and it all worked out for us.
On the pistol round losses
I don’t even know why that happened. Pistol rounds are actually pretty random, but this time the guys from TYLOO were just better shots—that’s all. Each of them has a very high individual skill level, so that’s what led to this result. And of course, we made a lot of mistakes ourselves—it wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
On Our Upcoming Opponent in the Lower Bracket Final
Personally, I don’t care who we end up playing against. We’ve already faced PARIVISION once at the XSE Pro League 2026, and they crushed us back then. But that was our first match of the tournament: we were feeling really run down after the flight to China and hadn’t had time to acclimate. I think PARIVISION should beat magic, even though both teams are very strong.
Today, Alliance defeated TYLOO in the lower bracket semifinals of the group stage at FISSURE PLAYGROUND 3 with a score of 2–0 in a best-of-3 series. Marcus “upE” Johansson’s team will play today for a spot in the event’s playoffs against the winner of the PARIVISION vs. magic match.
