The sad fate of Complexity Gaming and the mental health issues of NRG players—highlights from the podcast with Grim
Daria Ushakova
NRG rifler Michael “Grim” Vince appeared on the latest episode of the Half Time podcast. Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights in our article.
On Complexity Gaming, Passion UA, and NRG
According to Grim, Complexity Gaming was an amazing organization, but the situation began to deteriorate due to financial problems. The club was unable to find sponsors, so it essentially ceased to exist. But Vince still hopes the roster will return to the pro scene.
Rifler emphasized that his move to Passion UA was an interesting experience. At the same time, Michael noted that the team’s actual skill level was higher than their results suggested, including at Majors. One of the reasons Grim left the organization was that he wanted to spend more time in North America.
Grim was thrilled when NRG reached out to him, as he had always wanted to play alongside Nick “nitr0” Cannella.
On integrating into NRG, the match against BIG at the Major, his mental state after the loss, and getting back into form
Grim admitted that it didn’t take him long to adapt to NRG; he felt comfortable playing his usual positions. However, the players later ran into problems because they couldn’t figure out what style of Counter-Strike they wanted to play.
Rifler also recalled the difficult match against BIG at the IEM Cologne Major 2026. Vince stated that in such situations, players suffer from mental struggles and find it hard to stay focused. According to him, it was the toughest loss of his career, and Aran “Sonic” Grusbek decided to temporarily deactivate his social media accounts to avoid reacting to the hate.
Speaking about his current form, Grim said he’s happy with how he’s playing, even though he was a little nervous after joining the new team.
On the difference between NRG and Passion UA, his personal approach to Counter-Strike, and the team’s goals
According to Grim, the main difference with NRG is that the entire team spends less time in Europe. This means he doesn’t have to deal with a grueling schedule. When the rifler was with Passion UA, he was away from home for about eight weeks.
At the same time, Vince said that he enjoys competing, and he’s been playing Counter-Strike since he was 14 and has always enjoyed it.
At the moment, NRG’s goal is to make the playoffs of a major tournament at the start of next season, Grim added.
On pro players’ decision-making, North American Counter-Strike, and local LAN events
NRG’s Rifler explained how pro players make decisions during matches. According to him, esports players choose the best option, but sometimes they may miss information from teammates or fail to gather information on the map.
In addition, Grim expressed hope that the North American region will continue to improve its results in Counter-Strike.
However, there are still few LAN tournaments in North America, making it difficult for teams to earn VRS points.
Read also:
- Grim on the closure of Complexity Gaming: “Everything just fell apart because of financial issues” (first part of the podcast).
- Grim on the match against BIG at the Major: “That was the hardest loss of my career, that’s for sure” (second part of the podcast).
- Grim on his time with Passion UA: “I had to get up at 5 a.m. for practice sessions with high ping from the U.S.” (third part of the podcast).
- Grim: “North America does much more for the pro scene than people realize” (fourth part of the podcast).
Earlier, Michael “Grim” Vince spoke about the tough loss to BIG in the group stage of the IEM Cologne Major 2026. Despite the disappointing match, the esports player remains motivated because he enjoys competing.
Photo by Stephanie Lindgren, BLAST.
Daria Ushakova
