WARDELL: "I'm not ready to play for a team that isn't going to compete in tier one events"

The benched Ghost sniper spoke with us on his downtime from professional play.

Dust2.us's own Danish "Nohte" Allana got to catch up with Matthew "WARDELL" Bowman in between his Fragedelphia matches with J Money Team. The pair discussed his time with Ghost and Joshua "steel" Nissan, the time he's spent on the bench, and what he hopes his future may hold.

Let's start with the obvious elephants in the room here; you've been on the Ghost bench for about two months now after they released the roster. What've you been keeping busy with during that time? I know you've been playing a bit of FPL and whatnot.

Focusing on streaming, focusing on FPL, building my brand more, and looking for a potential team to pick me up.

Ghost released their entire roster, but you had signed with them for three years in November. Do you look back on the decision of signing for three years with regret or is it something you still think was a good decision?

Based on how they treated me it was really good and I wanted them to feel my loyalty, so I don't regret it at all.

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Have you had any offers from teams while you've been on the bench?

Just a couple, but they weren't that enticing.

So you're waiting on a proper offer?

Yeah, I'm not ready to play for a team that isn't going to compete in tier one events.

While you were playing for Ghost, can you tell me a bit about what it was like playing under steel? Did he add anything to your own game?

He added a lot of discipline on how the game should be played and how it shouldn't be and I definitely learned a lot from it because I had no discipline coming into it. I became more aware and more strategical going into the game instead of just using aim-power and when you combine both it's just the best of both worlds.

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This is obviously not your first NSG event, and you actually beat FURIA as Drip or Drown, so is your plan while you wait to keep attending these sort of events to keep warm?

I'm just here to play with neptune and bee pretty much and just get that nostalgia going.

So Bee's Money Crew coming back together?

Yep, pretty much.

I'm sure you've heard talks of the exclusive leagues-

Yeah, the Valve sponsored events.

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Yeah, the quote-on-quote "Valve sponsored ones". What're your thoughts on those if they come in next year?

I think it's gonna be really sick. It's gonna be like LCS or something like that, trying to make it like LCS.

Do you think it'll be beneficial for the scene?

Yeah, for sure, it's gonna be like big ass stadiums and things with Valve sponsored and it's gonna be nice.

So the Valve sponsor was not necessarily confirmed-

Yeah, they're just trying to.

And there's reportedly a third one that nobodies heard any details about. So sort of harkening back to when you were talking about steel, what're your thoughts on in-game leading in North America in general? Do you think it's something that needs more work to be done in it?

I think all the in-game leaders in NA are taken, so then the up-and-comers that are playing don't have an idea of what good IGLing is, so then I feel like it's going to be a struggle for NA to get better teams.

How do you think that can improve?

Improve? The only way that I think it can improve is if the good IGLs would teach them or if they play under a good IGL and you know what it's like to play under a good IGL and take what they do and add it to your own game.

That's something that's historically been a problem in North America, where we've either had too few IGLs or the IGLs we did have retired and never came back, so Sean "seang@res" Gares for example, who recently joined the player association. Are you a part of the CSPPA (Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association)?

Yeah, I signed with them.

What are your thoughts on the Player Association sort of banding Counter-Strike players together and coming into the space?

I think it's good because they're just for the players and they want what's best for the players, so I think it's a really good thing to do.

Have you had to deal with anything where you've had to reach out to the CSPPA for help at all?

No, not really, not yet.

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That's a good sign at least. So with you playing FPL and streaming a bit, do you think there's anybody that you keep an eye out for?

Let me think about it a little bit, who's good in FPL... Nah, I have no one.

No one? The easiest answers used to be oBo and TenZ but they've been picked up now.

I have really high expectations for people, but there's no one that sticks out to me.

If you could replace an AWPer on one team that is not Liquid at the moment, what team would you join up with and why?

Realistically? I would join either... any team from any region?

That would speak English let's say, so Na'Vi would probably not be a good pick.

I'd play for FaZe, yeah, I'd go to Europe to play for FaZe.

Any specific reasons for FaZe, is it because of NiKo?

They're just good players with good experience and I think it'd be a good time to grow.

Lastly, let's talk about a bit of the competition here. I'd say your main competition is probably New Identity, but what're your thoughts on the other teams that are here and your expectations?

It should be like a breeze, to be honest. I think New Identity haven't been doing too well, so this is a perfect time to test them.