We had a chance to have a few words with one of the Team Dignitas CS:GO Female players, Carolynn "artStar" Noquez. ArtStar has played a solid role for the team and kept up consistent good performances keeping her HLTV rating around the 1.00 mark. Being one of the youngest players in the team she has shown capability of playing well and looks to continue improving by the day.

We discussed the team dynamics, the state of the Female CS:GO scene and some of the current hot topics about the game.

How does the team typically prepare for a match, can you explain everyone’s pre-match ritual?

artStar: Whenever I know it's match day I usually wake up early, around 8am, eat a big healthy breakfast and do some meditating in the sun. Lately I've been trying to get myself into a healthy habit of exercising so I try and do something for about 30 mins to get the gears in my brain and body working! After this I shower, warm-up in CS, and review anything I feel like I need work on (i.e grenades, refreshing a strategy, etc.). The beginning of my day is very important to me though it may be simple. I believe it is important to be mentally prepared and doing all that in the morning helps me feel refreshed, aware and puts me in a good mood!

As for the other girls, I'm not quite sure if they have an important routine on match day. But as a team, we usually take about 2-3 hours before a match to play a couple scrims and talk about anything we should be prepared for in the upcoming match. Our IGL and coach work together to study our opponents and share any important information the rest of the team should look out for. We try not to overwhelm ourselves so that's basically all we do. Our number one thing is we remember to just play our own game, try not to focus on what the other team will do, and instead just focus on ourselves.





What does a normal day of practice look like for team?

artStar: Our practice schedule tends to change depending on personal obligations but we always agree to 5 days a week. Doesn't matter which days as long as we agree to which 2 days we take off. Every practice day we start at 3pm. We usually get about two scrims in before our 30 min break, and after every scrim we talk about what we noticed we could do better or work out any disagreements we had during the scrimmage. After our 30 min break we hop back in a server and continue "scrimming" until 9pm. We used to have very long, "hardcore" practice for nearly 10 hours a day and 6 days a week but we find that our current routine is working a lot better for us mentally as a team!





Disagreements can happen in a team environment. How does the DIG team deal with disagreements? For example, if there is a disagreement in strategy?

artStar: One thing I love about my team is if someone feels someone else could do something a little better they aren't afraid to share their thoughts and most of the time in return the person receiving the criticism can take it pretty well. But there are some occasions where both people will disagree with one another and both have very logical explanations to their ideas. In a team environment, it’s important to know that not one person is ever wrong and that not one strat is ever perfectly called or executed. So what we do is consider all outcomes.

Since there are so many ways to execute a strategy on T side, that means there are so many ways to play a situation and counter it on CT side. For example, if I do something a certain way and I think it's working for me but it could be better and Rain suggest something else that I might not agree with, I will try it anyways and see how it works. Sometimes it'll end up being better, sometimes it won't. The important thing is you try it because you'll never really know if it works unless you do it. Then if it doesn't work you can say "I told you so". ;)





What do you believe is the biggest problem in competitive CS:GO?

artStar: I'm not quite sure about the biggest problem, but I do know a common problem that all competitive teams come across at every tier is getting good practice. Good practice would be scheduling them ahead of time, playing all 30 rounds, and not playing to win but playing to learn. This is a problem my team and I have had to deal with a lot before we gained respect at Fragadelphia 9. It's well known that to be better you must learn from your mistakes, and the only teams that will catch you slip on even the slightest mistake are teams that are better than you. It's not something spectators will often even notice.

However, better teams won't play lesser skilled teams because it is not good practice for them. I think the best solution, especially for those who truly want to see the NA competitive scene rise, would be to schedule practice against teams that you believe have the potential to get to a higher level. This not only helps your team, but the lesser skilled team that is trying to get recognition.





Are you happy with the current state of the female competitive scene? Would you wish for anything(s) to change?

artStar: I don't think the current state of the female competitive scene is terrible but it definitely could be way better. I'd love to see other female teams competing in open tournaments, tournaments like Fragadelphia or even qualifiers for the major tournaments. A lot of female teams don't and this is kind of holding those teams back as not only would it increase their skill but it would improve the quality of the female tournaments. I'd love to see other female teams be more competitive outside of female only tournaments! :)





What do you think would happen if female only tournaments would disappear, do you think female gamers would blend in with male teams or do you think we’ll continue seeing all-female line-ups?

artStar: I think it depends on the players and what they want to do with their careers in esports. The Dignitas female CS:GO team practices and competes to be an all-around good team whether female or not. So if my team decided we would stay together as an all-female line-up, we would just continue doing what we have been doing the past two years. We don't focus on our gender or the gender of our opponents, we just always play to improve. I think this mentality is what would help us survive if we decide to split and play on mixed teams.





Let’s switch to some typical CS:GO debates. Which weapon is the most overpowered and which would you like to buff/nerf?

artStar: I think right now the most overpowered weapon would be the UMP-45 and I think the majority of the community would agree with me. In the competitive scene, it is very common to keep your UMP-45 on gun rounds if you had it from previous round. Of all the SMGs, it has the 2nd best armor penetration, it's 1 damage better than an M4A4 RIFLE....and the best part of all, it's only $1200 with a $600 kill reward. You can basically get your money’s worth with just 2 kills. (Response written prior to 5/22 nerf to the UMP's damage at range value)





What is your personal favourite map and least favourite map? For what reasons?

artStar: That's a tough question. There's a lot of maps I enjoyed that currently aren't played in competitive CS:GO - maps like mill, russka, piranesi.... Though, my favorite map of all time has to be contra. I don't know why or what it is about that map, I just remember lots of good times on that map! My least favorite is not in the competitive map pool anymore (thank god!) but it's dust2. I just feel like it's so boring. The colors and textures are nearly all the same and it's a map that has always had the same layout in every version of Counter-Strike, it definitely needs something new and refreshing!





What advice would you give to any young gamer aspiring to become a pro?

artStar: You'll hear the words "dedication, passion, motivation" from a lot of pros, which is still true and a huge part of the journey, but what they won't tell you is nowadays it’s hard to get recognized because everyone wants to be a pro-gamer, because traveling the world and gaming sounds like a lot of fun right? Well there's a lot of sacrifices you have to make to get there. Sacrificing time was a big one for me. Instead of going out on the weekends, hanging out with friends and family...I spent most my days watching demos, death-matching, and most importantly attending every local LAN that I could.

It's important because there is a massive number of people that have the same goal as you, who want to make it big in esports and play against the legends of CS on the big stage. So you want to make sure you really stand out and that means putting a lot of time into the game to get better. My little saying is give it your all, because somewhere out there someone is working harder than you to be better than you.





What is your personal goal for CS:GO?

artStar: My personal goal for CS:GO has always been the same. I work every day to be a better player in all aspects, my communication, my skill, my mentality, all of it. Every day my goal is to just do what I have to do for my team and over time that mentality has helped me get better and better which the ultimate goal to play in the major tournaments. I want to be good enough to compete against the top teams. It's a big dream, I know. I have a long journey ahead of me so to some it might seem unrealistic but at the rate esports is growing I feel like I started at the perfect time and I have all the tools I need right now to reach that goal.





Any shoutouts?



artStar: Huge shoutout to everyone behind Team Dignitas and the 76ers for giving my team this opportunity. It truly means a lot that you have dedicated your time and resources to providing us with the essential tools to help us compete and reach our goals. It's truly amazing being a part of an organization that wants to see their players shine in every possible aspect in life so thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!





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