Sangal has had a steady growth throughout FY24.

LNZ say that Sangal can be considered a consistent top 20 team.

Sangal started the year at number 74 in the world rankings and gradually climbed to number 20 in early September. Linus "LNZ" Holtäng's squad won three online tournaments and especially played Defeated FaZe at ESL Pro League S20. The Swedish IGL said the team can be proud of its achievements.

Sangal also qualified for RMR Europe after making it through the closed qualifiers with a 3-0 record and is now competing in the $250,000 LAN RES Regional Champions 2024 in Belgrade.

After a hard-fought win in their opening match against Nemiga in Serbia, LNZ spoke to HLTV about their opening match, Sangal's expectations for the tournament, and preparations for the upcoming RMR.

You just won 2-1 against Nemiga. You lost the first map and only made it through on the second map. Did you expect the match to be so intense?

We regularly face them in online matches at the tier 2 level, and I think we always expect to have close matches with them. They are a very strong team, and you always have to be on your guard when playing against them. In another world, we probably wouldn't have won this match. We played well at times, but we really had to fight to win.


Does it help that you've played many online matches with them and know each other's playstyle well?

You know what to expect, how they play, and what it's like to play against them. For me, that doesn't help much because I think they changed a little bit from what we saw in preparation, and they did a great job of it. But I think our team's mentality is more relaxed, and that helps a little bit.


You guys are the highest ranked team here. Do you feel like you're a championship contender?

Both yes and no. I feel we had a pretty good performance in the EPL a little over a month ago, where we challenged very strong teams. But as we all know from online matches in tier 2, you can lose to anyone if you are not in your best form.

"We didn't go into the tournament thinking we had to win, but we knew for sure that we could and even should win this tournament." Linus "⁠LNZ⁠" Holtäng talks about expectations at RES.


Sangal used to be a lower level team, mainly competing online. You are now participating in a $250,000 LAN and are the top ranked team. What does it feel like to reach this stage?

That's exactly what we said when we talked about this. Just over six months ago we were just 80th, and now we can consider ourselves a consistent top 20 team, which is a great feeling. I think everyone on the team should be extremely proud of what we've achieved, and I think our potential is unlimited.


Tomorrow you will play against Fluxo. What do you expect from that match?

I didn't really know what to expect, but we watched their game a bit because they played before us. arT being arT, you can expect him to do crazy things like he did in FURIA, but we'll take a closer look as we prepare. But I think every team here is capable of challenging in a game like this, and hopefully we will win.

"Just over six months ago we were barely a team outside the top 80, and now we can see ourselves as a team quite consistently in the top 20, which is a great feeling." Linus "⁠LNZ⁠" Holtäng


Last question about this tournament. This is your second LAN event. How important is it?

I think this is a very good event for us before coming to RMR. We were a bit nervous at the LAN in Malta, and now joining a smaller LAN is good to gain experience. We're happy to be here, and hopefully we can win.