TaZ: “Sometimes a person can be really nice outside the game, but when they’re playing, they literally turn into a beast.”

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve played with that many star players throughout my career. I played with the guys from Virtus.pro, and other than that, I was just a stand-in for G2 Esports. And I think that working with players when you’re a player yourself is very easy, because the expectations are simple: you just need to perform your role well. If you play your positions well, use your grenades correctly, and fulfill your role—then you’ve done your job. It’s pretty simple. But when you’re a coach, I’d say it’s more complicated. Or rather, not more complicated, but more demanding in terms of how you approach each player. All players at the highest level have gotten there thanks to their approach—and, in part, their egos. That’s why you need to understand very well how to work with each person individually—both as a person and as a player. Sometimes a person can be very pleasant off the server, but during the game, they literally turn into a beast. That’s why you need a different approach for each person. You learn something new every day, and I’d say that to be a good coach for the biggest stars, you need to have a deep understanding of people.

As for my involvement in signing players, I conducted all the interviews. I watched a huge number of demos and had many discussions with the club about who was a good player and who wasn’t, and exactly what each candidate could bring to the team. As a coach, I also understood exactly what I wanted to get out of the players we signed. So it was never just a matter of signing this or that famous player. We wanted to put together a roster that would function logically as a cohesive unit right from the start. It was a very complex process because even replacing just one player from the group we planned to sign would mean we might have to change a second player as well. Roles, our approach to the game, and our playing style could all change. And we want players to feel comfortable on the server and perform at their best. We don’t want a situation where someone has to learn everything from scratch and, essentially, derail their career. That’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid.

I think the most important thing I can do as a coach is to help Magisk build the team’s structure. Deciding which grenades we’ll use, what tactics to employ, and what our approach should be on each map—all of this needs to be discussed constantly. I’m a big believer in giving players a say. It’s important to me that they feel comfortable during the game and when making decisions. Things won’t always go exactly the way I envision them. It can’t be like, “This is my world, and you’ll play only this way.” It’s very hard to find players who are truly comfortable just mechanically following instructions. I think Counter-Strike is a game about timing, creativity, and the ability to react to the situation in the here and now. If a coach tries to script absolutely everything, he stifles many of the qualities that make star players who they are. That’s why we discuss the game at great length. We have a very similar outlook on Counter-Strike, and my job is to help Magisk with whatever is needed. But especially when it comes to developing initial strategies and a general approach to the game, I think I can be of great help.

The short-term goal is to make sure everyone feels comfortable playing on the server. I want players to enjoy both practice sessions and official matches. I don’t want anything to conflict with their own understanding of the game. So first and foremost, we need to build good mutual understanding and chemistry both on the server and off it. As for long-term expectations, I definitely want us to qualify for a Major, although that could probably be considered a short-term goal as well. And looking further ahead, I want this team to break into the world’s top 5 and consistently compete for the highest spots.

Right now, it’s impossible for me to describe this team’s playstyle because we haven’t even started training yet. But I definitely see Senzu as an aggressive rifler, and I want him to play exactly that way. I think s1mple also likes to play aggressively with the AWP, and I want him to demonstrate that. When you have five players, each of whom is capable of winning a match practically on their own, you can’t restrict their freedom on the server. So, I’d probably say that chaos is where we can excel.