RiX: We gained a lot of experience
After their rapid end in the groupstage, readmore.de took the opportunity to talk to the indian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team of MTS GameGod Wolf.
readmore.de: How did you take the announcement that one slot is going to India?
Tejas 'Ace' Sawant: Oh, we were surprised.
[player]1766[/plaer]: We were pretty happy. Normally Asian teams are not getting to play in such huge tournaments and an Indian team getting the slot was a huge surprise. We are not playing European teams a lot, the game style is totally different. So this is a big chance to learn from them, learn some strategies and how they play. Maybe in a year we will play much better.
It was pretty short notice, like a month ago. How did you managed to take time off the work or school? What are you all doing?
Aakash 'RiX' More: When I found out that we are getting the slot, I took a break from my work and started to play only CS:GO for one month. We had a boot camp for 6 or 7 days and did not get much time but we did the best we could.
RiTz: I’m running my own business. When I got to know that India got a slot I was happy and surprised, because we will be representing Asia. We had a short boot camp and we did whatever we could. I think we did well, the performance at ESL One Cologne was just average but I’m still looking forward to the ESWC now.
Jigar 'sMx' Mehta: I study but last year I was dropped because I failed my exams, so this year I was off. When I first heard about ESL One I was happy because I was free and I could play the whole time. The performance earlier I think was average. The boot camp in India had some internet issues while practicing but it was ok and it was a short timed event because the qualifier were close, like one month prior to the event.
Ayush 'aStarrr' Deora: I was working but after finding out that I’m going to the ESL One Cologne, I took a break from work for one month. I feel our performance was under the average, I feel we could have performed better. There are some things like on both maps we had to start on the weaker side.
Was the Indian Qualifier a challenge or were you obvious favorite?
aStarrr: I think it was easy, just one match of the group stage was a bit hard but after that, quarter, semi and finals were pretty easy for us.
How is he Indian scene in general? Are there Tournaments and Teams? Can you give us a little bit of insight?
aStarrr: Actually the Indian scene was pretty bad last year because there were no online tournaments – nothing at all, but when the ESL officially started launching in India and they announced four cups, one each week, with prize money, teams came out of nowhere. We had 32 teams each cup and it was a huge boost for the community. Our next stop is the ESWC and I hope we can do some damage there.
Did you boot camp in Europe before the tournament?
RiX: No, actually only the one in India, but a boot camp in Europe before the ESWC is already planned. The problem is we can’t play the European teams and get to know how they play. It is easy to do frags but strategy-wise we are behind.
aStarrr: Yeah, a European boot camp 10 days prior to the event can help us a lot. At the Indian boot camp we had to play Asian teams and there is a difference between Asia and Europe. It was still good, though.
What effect did kassad had as a coach on your team?
RiTz: He is a really good coach and he gave us strategies to play against European teams but we only played against Asian teams so we could not use them. So we did not have a chance to practice the way we should have, I think we could not utilize the strategy altogether.
Did the coaching help at all?
Oh yes, it helped a lot. It gave as a lot of moral boost and he though us a lot of thinks about the game we did not know.
Can you give us an example?
aStarrr: Oh yeah, for example a lot of positional play, we are killing a lot just by pure aim. He told us that it is all about team play, so we’re starting to communicate more and we started using microphones now as well to communicate. At the event we found out that there is a lot of sound so I play with in-ears now because otherwise I could not hear anything in game.
What are your histories in Counter-Strike in general?
Yeah, four of us played 1.6 and no one played Source before.
You played 1.6 for years then?
aStarrr: I started my gaming career from 2005 and I started winning in 2006. So from 2006 until now I’m one of the guys representing India. I started my CS:GO career mid-2012, my first event was ESWC. We practiced a lot for ESWC but we didn’t know anything about tactics because the Asian teams were just starting so we had far less practice. Maybe this time, maybe after this event, I am pretty confident about the ESWC. We have three months; we only have two international events to attend in a year. I hope the Asian scene will grow.How was your transition to CS:GO?
RiX: I was playing 1.6 for almost 9 to 10 years now. I started CS:GO like 4 months ago and I just played CS:GO continuously for one month. I was working before that. I have a lot of CS experience and knowledge about techniques. I think in a few months I will be a lot better than now.
aStarrr: I started from the launch of the game, I have like 4.500 hours of CS:GO on my account. My first international event was ESWC last year.
RiX: Before that we played an Asian tournament called cybercity and we won the June qualifiers but the lan event was skipped we don’t know why. The lan finals just got canceled.
smx: I play for 7 months and have about 600 to 700 hours.
When did you form the team?
aStarrr: Actually RiX, sMx, and me were in the same team and we represented ADGaming(???). The scene was pretty dead in Asia, no events, nothing. After we came back from ESWC, we all went inactive; we were just playing some practice matches. And then ESL One Cologne was announced, so we randomly formed this team. We knew each other from 1.6.
RiX: In Asia, there are probably more gamers than in Europe, but we don’t have tournaments. Basically there is very less happening in Asia that is why the Asian teams are behind.
Why are there so few tournaments? Is there not enough money?
RiTz: No I don’t think there is not enough money, they all just like different games like Dota 2 and Crossfire.
smX: I bet on that, there are still many CS:GO players in Asia compared to Europe and the USA.
Do you think your attendance on this event has any influence on the scene?
aStarrr: Yeah, of course it can grow now but when we go back, we have a break before the ESWC.
RiX: We have a six month break, then a four month break before we go back to the game that is a problem. We don’t have events each month.
What have you gained from the two matches you played today?
RiTz: Against NiP we got the pistol and we got two eco rounds, we were leading but then we lost one buy round. The map was going back and forth and at the end they won an important buy round and we went 5:10. Then on CT-side we got the pistol and we came back in the game. They got one eco then and the whole game changed.Did you practice the pistol round in particular?
smx: Yeah, our coach told us to train pistols, if you get the pistol your moral will be up in the fourth round. We were successful in the pistol runs but not with guns.
What did you learn from this event?
RiX: We learned that this is a team game, you can’t win alone. You can’t always kill on aim. We gained a lot of experience if nothing else, we will try to work hard on our strategies and everything else we learned here. In a few months it will be good.
Thank you for the interview. The last words are yours!
aStarrr: To MTS GameGods and to ESL India for giving us the opportunity to play on one of the biggest stages in the world.

