Esports Edition traveled to Toronto last Thursday for a day of interviews with the teams attending Northern Arena. We sat down with Counter Logic Gaming’s CS:GO team for a quick chat before they had played any of their matches for the tournament.
Esports Edition: “What sets you apart from the other North American team at this event?”
James “Hazed” Cobb: “Well, we’re fielding two players who are relatively unknown in the pro scene, they’re up-and-comers. There aren’t many teams who are willing to take a risk like that. I think everyone’s questioning how well we’ll play on LAN – that’s a big question mark for a lot of the fans out there.”
Esports Edition: “Definitely – and playing on LAN is a very different affair than playing in an online league.”
Hazed: “Yeah, definitely. Playing on LAN is way different than playing online. And it can affect every player differently – and, uh, I’m not going to name any… But I could. [Laughs] I’m not putting anyone on blast.”
Esports Edition: “So what’s the difference for CLG between playing on LAN instead of online?”
Kenneth “koosta” Suen: “I have a lot more confidence when I’m playing on LAN. I know if someone peeks me that I’ll probably kill them if I’m holding an angle against them. People try to play as a team more on LAN, so if that’s how you’ve been practicing online, then you’re more used to that environment. A lot of times online people will do random stuff, and it catches you off, it gets you mad, but usually that doesn’t happen on LAN.”
Esports Edition: “This is a question for Hazed or Cutler. There have obviously been a lot of changes on the roster, and you’ve brought three fairly young players on board–have you had a mentorship role on the team?”
Stephen “reltuC” Cutler: “Not for Kenny [koosta]. But with the newer guys, sure. I mean, [nahtE] is like sixteen. I’m twice his age, basically. I’m sure once we’ve spent more time together, we’ll definitely be building that.”
Esports Edition: “Sidenote: do you prefer reltuC or Cutler?”
Stephen “reltuC” Cutler: “I’ve been getting that a lot actually, especially on Twitter. I mean, reltuC is my in-game name, but people call me Cutler, so I just go with Cutler. For the most part.”
Esports Edition: “Hey coach!”
Garret “Grt” Bambrough: “Hmm?”
Esports Edition: “Walk us through a day in the life of being a coach for CLG.”
Garret “Grt” Bambrough: “Oh Jesus. [Laughter.] The main thing we’re going to be doing when we get back [from Northern Arena] is spending a lot of time watching our demos. We’re going to look over the matches we’ve played previously, reviewing the mistakes we’ve made and the things we did well. After that, going into a server, working on strats, in-game stuff, and then moving on to our scrims–after that, it’s back to school again, reviewing demos. We’re also developing individual players, and building teamwork, especially in the beginning with the newer guys. Honestly, the biggest thing for us is becoming a team. We’re all new, in a sense, and roles have changed. It’s going to take some time to get everyone on the same page, and that’s our focus right now.”
Esports Edition: “Last question for you guys–you’re here, in Toronto, for Northern Arena. In one word, describe your performance this weekend.”
Hazed: “Well, we haven’t performed yet. Will this be shown to the other teams before we play? No? [Pause.] Aggressive.”
koosta: “Surprising.”
Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik: “Definitely surprising.”
Cutler: “Uh. [Laughs.] Exciting.”
koosta: “CLG always has potential.”
Esports Edition: “Thanks, guys! Good luck!”
We’d like to thank Counter Logic Gaming for taking the time to talk with us, as well as the staff at Northern Arena. Interviews were conducted by Patrick Valoppi, Herbert Lemus, and J.P. Corner. Check back throughout the week for more!