Steve "reltuC" Cutler is a rifler for Counter Logic Gaming, which is one of the eight teams going into DreamHack Montreal 2017, alongside Immortals and North.

Ahead of his games in Montreal, reltuC took the time to talk to theScore esports about the minor changes within the team and OpTic Gaming's European roster competing in North America.

First off, how was your vacation? Did you do anything noteworthy during your time off? Play any good games other than CS:GO?

The vacation I felt, for everyone on the team, myself included, was much needed. Most of us have been playing nonstop since the beginning of the year and were burnt out.

I still played CS here and there, but I tried to stay away from gaming in general for the most part.

The roster shuffle has largely come and gone, with Chet "IAmAPet" Singh leaving for OpTic Gaming, Matt "dayV1D" David left and you guys picked up Steve "Ryu" Rattacasa. What were some of the reasons that motivated those changes? How would you say Ryu has adjusted to CLG or vice-versa?

We wanted someone who can hold us accountable inside the game. Ryu's been the person to do that, along with bringing us new strats and setups. I’ve been very impressed so far with his work ethic and providing what we always wanted.

I think Ryu is a great fit for this team currently and I’m excited to see how he does at a LAN setting in Montreal.

Ryu was notably a former teammate and coach for Kenneth "koosta" Suen during their time on Enemy. Has their history been a positive factor in their interactions?

I know Ryu was always a big koosta fan overall and of his ability, so yes he has been a positive factor for sure.

What are your thoughts about the roster shuffle overall? Any changes that you think are noteworthy or important?

Honestly, I don’t really get into the roster shuffle drama or talks, so when they were all being released I was pretty shocked on most of them.

The one that surprised me the most had to be tarik and Rush to Cloud9. I think their roster has the potential to be good over time but it will definitely be a process at first.

OpTic Gaming picked up a full EU squad and they intend on competing in the NA scene. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen EU imports in NA or saw a team switch regions (such as with Renegades), however this is the first time a full EU team formed in NA.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe having a team of this caliber can be a motivating factor for the rest of NA? Or do you think it’s maybe unfair?

I think this could be good for the scene with another strong contender in NA. Hopefully it will make people practice harder and it also allows NA teams to play against the EU style in North America.

You guys have gone through some rough patches lately, such as the loss to ownage in the DH Atlanta qualifier, the defuse flub at DH Valencia and, more recently, the loss to Ex-Broken Alliance in the EL Premier qualifier. What can you say about those losses? How has the team dealt with those situations and moved past them?

It’s honestly really frustrating for all of us.

I feel like when we play a team that we think we’re better than, we go through the motions. We over-peek, we don’t flash certain spots that we would, or we even take control of certain parts of the map.

Then if you add in losing pistol rounds, getting eco'd or losing every clutch situation it’s almost impossible to win no matter what team you play against.

On a much lighter note, if your Instagram is any indication, you own what I’d describe as ‘too many onesies.’ When will we see you don one at a LAN, perhaps Montreal? When are the CLG onesies coming?

There’s no such thing as too many onesies!

Here's the video I promised. I hate you all. A post shared by Stephen Cutler (@clutchler) on Mar 4, 2017 at 2:08pm PST

I brought up possibly doing a CLG onesie uniform to the org, but I don’t think they thought I was serious. I think it would be awesome to have, even if it’s just a normal CLG onesie.

Hopefully in the future it becomes a thing.

Speaking of Montreal, North look to be the team to beat after their Grand Final appearance at DreamHack Masters Malmö and Immortals still look strong despite hearsay about their internal struggles. What is your mindset looking towards that event? How has the team been preparing under Ryu?

My mindset going into this is to take the LAN one match at a time and play each team as if they’re the best team in the world.

One thing we have been preparing for this LAN and the futures is our CT side. We feel it is one of our weak points and hopefully we can show our improvements at Montreal.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.