Pimp: “It’s crazy that Counter-Strike manages to fill arenas all over the world every other weekend.”
Analyst Jacob “Pimp” Winneke discussed the importance of studio tournaments in Counter-Strike, how teams prepare for arena matches, and the growing number of championships with packed stands on the Counter-Points podcast.
On studio tournaments
We need to accept the fact that in the current era of Counter-Strike, many important matches take place in studios, and teams must be able to perform well there. If you want to play every match in an arena and consistently participate in arena tournaments, you need to perform well in studio settings. In a sense, you have to earn that opportunity first. Take MOUZ, for example, which made a name for itself in studio tournaments back in the day. To a certain extent, FUT Esports achieved the same thing early this year and last year: they played well during the studio stages of tournaments, and then occasionally advanced to the playoffs, gaining more experience competing on stage. Today, many important matches are held in a studio format. The first and second stages of a Major take place in studios. The third stage, which determines which teams advance to the playoffs, also takes place there. That’s why you need to be able to play well in a studio. I would never use that as an excuse.
On teams’ desire to play in an arena
Sometimes I hear players and teams say, “We play better in the playoffs at the arena” or “We have more experience once we make it to the arena.” And I think, “Yeah, maybe that’s true. But to get there, you need to play well in the studio, right?” You need to figure out how you perform in the studio format and how to motivate yourself when 10,000 people aren’t chanting your name. Without that, you won’t make it to the arena anyway. It turns out you’re looking one step ahead, even though you’re probably not ready for it yet.
About Arena Tournaments
Personally, I’m not bothered by the fact that from time to time we hold tournaments exclusively in a studio format. Of course, I’d love for every tournament to end in an arena and for us to consistently fill 15,000-seat arenas. But right now, we have far more arena tournaments than we did three or four years ago. Many of them are filling the stands, which is incredible. When you think about it, it’s just crazy that Counter-Strike manages to fill arenas all over the world every other weekend. Especially considering that the number of players is declining.
Earlier on the Counter-Points podcast, journalist Duncan “Thorin” Shields and analyst Jacob “Pimp” Winneke discussed Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s current form, as well as the possible appointment of Nikola “NiKo” Kovac as captain of Team Falcons and how that might affect the team’s play.
Photo by Sebastian Pandelache, PGL.
