As promised earlier, here is the pre-DreamHack Bucharest interview with Astana Dragons' in-game leader, Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow who also celebrates his birthday today.

Karasiow joined Astana Dragons from Virtus.pro together with Mihail "Dosia" Stolyarov. Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev had also played with the duo in Virtus, but was recently inactive.

The trio were joined by two long time Na`Vi stars Yegor "markeloff" Markelov and Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev, instantly lifting themselves into the discussions of the world's best team.

ANGE1's Astana will receive their first real test this weekend 

Astana have now competed online for roughly a month with some inconsistent results, but also some impressive wins versus the likes of Na`Vi, Cph Wolves, ESC and n!faculty.

The squad also recently debuted on LAN at TECHLABS Cup Kiev 2013, where they bested fnatic 2-1. Continue reading to find out what to expect of the Kazakhstani powered team.

How have you prepared for DreamHack Bucharest? Have you only practiced online or also bootcamped? How well prepared will you be in time for the event? Will we see you in tip top shape?

ANGE1: We've been bootcamping in Kiev for a month. It's obvious that we can't be in tip top shape as a team after such a short time together, so the main goal is to be prepared 200% individually.

There have been a lot of online matches in the past few weeks, do you think this has helped or damaged you coming into a big LAN event? Do you think being able to study other teams’ strats helps or will others studying you hurt you more? How much should we look into your recent performance as an indicator of current form?

ANGE1: Online matches are the best preparation. We don't use a lot of tactics, so I think big number of online matches doesn't affect us much. We are pretty random at the moment, so I don't think that our performance at DreamHack will tell a lot about the future.

You've been placed in group D and will start off against Na`Vi, myRevenge and FAW. How do you expect to fare there? Do you see any upsets taking place in the other groups?

ANGE1: I prefer not to do any predictions about tournaments that my team attends :). We just will do our best, and hope to get a bit luck from time to time.

Dosia is just one of the many stars in Astana who could go off 

If you had a gun to your head and had to guess which placing you would end up at in Bucharest, what would you guess? What placing would you be happy ending up at? How do you think the top three will shape up? Who will surprise in the tournament, both positively and negatively?

ANGE1: As I said, no predictions about our result. But I think top 3 would be good for a first big LAN tournament. I think VG and NiP are in a good shape at the moment, and I really think that Na`Vi can do a lot of damage.

Who in your team needs to play well in order for you to perform at your highest level? Which players from other teams do you think can turn some heads? Any up and coming stars to watch out for?

ANGE1: I think it will be enough for any two players from my team to perform great here, in order to reach top three. Interesting to watch for new Na`Vi players, hope to see them in a good shape (not in a game against us of course :D).

How has the new team worked out in comparison to what you expected when you decided to make the team? Has it been harder or easier to get to where you want to be than you thought it would be? How much more will you develop in the coming months as a team?

ANGE1: We have a lot of work to do, but unfortunately we don't have time for that. But at the same time I'm pleased with our progress in the last couple of weeks, and I hope we will keep progressing before and after DreamHack.

We will continue our DreamHack Bucharest coverage with more interviews tomorrow, with our preview scheduled for release on Thursday together with our viewer's guide, so make sure to keep your browsers at HLTv.org.