With Christmas around the corner we decided to give you an early present in the form of Henry "HenryG" Greer. The Brit has kindly given us the time to answer a massive interview about his transformation during the past ten years, current state of the game, Valve's approach and much much more.

Henry "⁠HenryG⁠" Greer is still a fairly new member of the talent lineup that we have available for CS:GO events, which is why we decided to interview him about a very wide array of subjects.

In one of (if not the) most extensive interviews we've ever featured on HLTV.org, the Brit talks about the process of transformation that he has gone through in the past ten years from player to businessman to analyst and commentator.



Brace yourselves, this little present could take a while to unwrap

We also had a chance to get his thoughts on the current state of CS:GO, both outside of the game itself, like Valve's government, and inside, where he goes through numerous ideas on what can and should be fixed.

He delved a little bit into his personal life as well and explained the reasoning behind him possibly moving to Sweden, and since it's nearly Christmas time, we tried to peek behind the curtain to see how he would spend the holidays this year.

HenryG interview

Let's get into your background a little bit first, when did you first get into CS competitively and what was the scene like at the time?

I was always into counter-strike from a young age but never really had the internet connection for it until about 2003. I was playing semi-seriously in leagues but it was when in 2004 that CS:S came out and although it was a horrible release of a game everyone I knew made the switch and it felt like it was a fresh start to be at the forefront of a new title. I started playing it for a relatively good British based team and we started winning a lot of online stuff and I could feel myself getting better every day. The scene for CS:S was so small at the start that it is barely worth mentioning. It took many years for the game to be updated to something that could even be considered to be competitive and we finally started getting LAN events and big organisations picking teams up.

How long did it take you to get to the top in the UK back then? Was there anyone who helped pave the way for you?

We got ourselves into a really good position and I was getting some real acclaim to how good I was at the game. Before I knew it I got a call up from the UK’s best CSS team at the time ‘X043’. This was when things really got serious, these group of guys were better than me and they were aware of offline tournaments and wanted to make it to the same level as the 1.6 players at the time (SK, NiP, NoA etc.) I wasn’t really sure where it would lead but I loved the idea of making money out of playing a computer game. We maintained our position as the UK’s best team but we certainly had our rivals and teams snapping at our heels for that prestigious title of having no money, no sponsors but the biggest e-penis in the British CS:S community. We had been called out by a few of the other teams for being ‘onliners’ and the fact we had never been to a LAN in any other games suggested we were either cheating or scared to prove ourselves. Multiplay had just announced their first ever CS:S tournament and the prize pot was a tantalising £250. Every other UK team was going to be there and we were desperate to attend, not only to get rich but to also shut the haters down.

After having explain to my loving mother (I was 16 years old) that not everyone on the internet was a catfish and you could actually legitimately meet nice people to play some CS with, she finally gave me the money to attend i23, the UK’s first ever CS:S tournament.

We won the tournament in a pretty convincing manner and shut down a lot of our haters and continued to do so. We progressed throughout Europe and entered bigger and better leagues (Clanbase etc.) and we won every British event that was available. We started to pick up sponsors and soon became to be known as ‘Team Zboard’ (sponsored by the peripherals company). From that point I played at bigger and better tournaments and was starting to become a world class player.From that point it was time to join other teams and use them as stepping stones into bigger and better things. I got picked up by some European teams (CSA, Reason Gaming) and we went to European events and did relatively well.

Skip a year or so and we finally formed 4Kings, the team that would eventually become the first British CGS team – London Mint. This was a filmed TV show that was broadcasted on SKY TV (UK) and DirectTV (US). We were finally professional gamers making a big salary, living in LA and playing against the world’s best teams regularly. It was an amazing platform and I feel very lucky to have ever been part of it.

Past that, I was in the following organisations: Epsilon, mTw, Dignitas, FM!Toxic and a few others that escape me right now.

This is a very condensed version of everything that happened on the journey. Richard Lewis did a very indepth video of my playing history - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stcsj9AEWOk

What would you consider your greatest achievements in CS:S in those six years of playing it competitively / professionally?

In the early days, winning the local tournaments meant everything and to some extent even more than what we achieved towards the end of the journey. At the time, what I was trying to do was so niche and difficult to explain to my worried parents. They didn’t really ‘get’ it. It was so unheard of even in 2004.

I wouldn’t really know where to start, in today's terms everything seems so insignificant when you look at prize money and viewership. I guess getting drafted into CGS has to be the pinnacle of what we did. It was a huge pay off for all the hard work we had put in for 5 or so years and it finally solidified our positions as professional gamers. Obviously, it didn’t really turn out for the best in terms of what it did for CS:S and eSports in general but it was a hell of a ride and one that I will always look back on fondly.

Other fond memories include winning the ESL European Nations cup in 2010 as the captain of Team United Kingdom. It was a time when the French and Danes were dominating the scene and for us to take them down and show we were still headlining the scene in terms of talent was a fantastic feeling.

Ultimately, in our eyes, we were living the dream. It wasn’t about making loads of money or trying to become the most famous players. We were such die-hard counter strike players that were just ravenous to be the best at what we did. Being able to live that lifestyle for as long as we did and be able to leave something memorable on the counter-strike tapestry was an achievement in itself.

After CS:GO came along, were you reluctant to switch off the bat? What did you think about the game initially? How serious were you with the teams that you played with then?

I was part of the first group of professional players (I was in Epsilon at the time) to ever play CS:GO. we were flown out to seattle to Valve HQ to discuss ‘The future of CS’ and it turns out that’s where they they had decided to announce that the game was coming and we would be their first batch of testers of the game. It was in a pretty dire state when we first played, their ideas on how they . We gave the developers our feedback and what we wanted to see but alas it seemed to fall onto deaf ears as it seemed they released the product into beta as pretty much the same build, riddled with annoying issues that just weren’t true to the previous iterations of CS.

I really didn’t ever play CS:GO in any serious capacity. I went to a few local UK events with teams mainly comprised of friends. The closest I ever came to taking it seriously was in Team Dignitas. Funnily enough, we actually had Joshua ‘Steel’ Nissan playing with us as well. We had a lot of fun together but just didn’t play enough to justify anything of any worth. We went to one UK event and didn’t even win. The team folded shortly after that.

Ever since RattlesnK's lineup broke up, the UK scene has fallen off and nobody really represented your country to the same level in CS:GO, why do you think it has become that way?

I get asked this question by someone at almost every single event and I still couldn’t tell you an exact reason but I’ll have a stab at giving you some of my thoughts.

After the UK’s success in CS:S and being known as of the most talented and accomplished nations within the game. Unfortunately, this was the downfall for us in a lot of ways when moving into CS:GO. There was a huge sense of entitlement from almost everyone and thought they could transfer their skills from CS:S to CS:GO with no problem at all and have the exact same level of support (Salaries, Every event in Europe paid for and so on). This attitude bled down to even the players I would consider tier 3 of the source scene and only made a name for themselves just by being around for so long. British players are now synonymous with the bad attitudes that plagues them without the results to back them up.

A lot of the truly talented players that had been leading the charge on the CS:S scene had retired and there was a lot of ‘forced’ teams being put together trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Rattlesnk’s original CS:GO lineup (with the likes of Re1ease and Hughsy) was the last real hope the UK had at competing at the top echelons of the scene and after they left, a huge void waiting to be filled has be been present ever since.

What made you quit playing and get into your own business? Is it at all possible that you had become frustrated with the instability of the scene?

Quitting the game competitively was a heartbreaking but at the sametime a very natural process. the game (CS:S) was dying a slow death and any real chances of making any decent money were diminishing, rapidly. I’ve always stated that I never was a playing the game for financial gain but it was getting to the stage where the time and effort put into practice was getting ridiculous compared to anything you could actually earn.

I had been balancing playing in a team and working in a very stressful events management industry for around four years and although it was gaming related, I knew that I would always start my own business orientated around esports, somehow.

I did attend some local UK stuff for CS:GO but I never had the time to justify giving it a real go. The casting stuff came in first and really did put the final nail in the coffin of any thoughts of ever playing again. It satisfied my urge to be involved within CS without having to put in the grueling hours that are required as a player in a landscape that was proving to be only suitable for the super-committed and with the financial backing of a big organisation to support their professional careers.

I created EZskins.com as a side-project to help support myself financailly after quitting a well paid job in London. My future at the time wasn’t certain and I needed to something to work to keep me busy during the down-time of events. I’ve always felt I’ve had good business acumen and was confident we could pull it off. It’s been great as we’ve been able to start an esports organisation part of the site and that’s been the most enjoyable to work with.

Is it also part of the reason why you decided to sign a UK lineup with EZskins? To give them what they need to get better as a team and keep them together?

Exactly. We wanted to give the UK scene absolutely everything we could to help give them a leg-up and catch up with our already miles ahead european counterparts. There was very few orgs willing to actually take on a UK side and if they did, it would be the absolute minimum in terms of actual support (think T-shirts and some food money). I’ve been in pretty much every single top org you can name and know what is required to play at the absolute best level possible. Believe it or not, the support that you get from your organisation can actually have an impact on how you perform. You want everything to be smooth and not have any worries about certain requirements being fulfilled.

To finish on this point, originally (When I first started writing the interview) I had a big speech written out on how confident I was with the team team we had signed for EZskins.com.

It seemed like we had finally found the right formula and philosophy to build a team around and we felt like we had given them absolutely everything they needed to succeed. They were a professional, salaried team and any event they did (or didn’t) want to attend was always a something we would make a reality.

As I’m sure you’ve all read this week. It turns out that the team wasn’t in as strong of form as we had assumed and we were informed that the lineup as a whole was going into liquidation. This was and is a huge setback for us, we’ve invested a lot of time and finance into the project but my passion is still alive. I’ll be on the hunt for a new team to replace them but this time i’m open to the prospect of a European side or even worldwide. Hopefully, I can hopefully announce something exciting soon. It’s my favourite side of the website.

You've now been casting for about six months and became very popular within the community, but how has it all started? Was it you who made the first step or did someone approach you?

It was actually all down to Richard Lewis in the early stages of the game. He was always toying around with the idea of casting online CS and one evening he was let down by his co-commentator.

He reached out to me to fill in for a last minute online cast for an ESEA game and although I hadn’t done anything like that before, I found the idea of being able to articulate my counter-strike knowledge, experience and thoughts onto a broadcast without having to dedicate the time of a player very interesting.

Richard and I had been friends for a very long time as he was a journalist for one of the popular publications for CS:S at the time. We always had great chemistry and our broadcasts together were testament to that, always very laid back full of banter and general fun.

We still joke today saying that I should have quit my job in those days and we could have taken the duo to the big stage. Obviously, that didn’t happen but I still owe everything to him in terms of where it all started.

Did you have any idea that it was going to blow up as much as it did? Were you actively looking for more gigs with the intent to become a freelance caster or did it all just fall into place on its own?

It really did just fall into place without me realising. It was after Gfinity’s G3 event earlier this year that I realised that I may have a real future in casting. The feedback I received was great and people really seemed to enjoy my approach of just raw tactical analysis. I wasn’t afraid to point out bad play and I wasn’t over-hyping non-sensational moments in the game. It seemed to be a refreshing take on what even then was a developing art for CS:GO.

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to dine out on knowledge for the rest of my career if I wanted to take it seriously, so I had to adapt and start watching some of the top end casters and try and bring some of their flare into my own broadcasts and although this has been a long process, I think i’m finally getting to a stage where I can say i’m almost at my final form.

You've casted with numerous people along the way, but one that sticks out is obviously Matthew "Sadokist" Trivett, with whom you've been at most events and you both kind of rose to prominence at roughly the same time, give or take a few months. How would you describe your relationship? Do you think you helped each other to where you are today?

Yeah, I think the partnership between Matt and I has been an absolute godsend. It’s been a matchup that has brought me one of my closest friends within the scene and someone who I can work with every single event and deliver a solid, no-stress broadcast. He is insanely talented and dedicated to what he does. I’ve learnt so much from him and had to up my own game to ensure that I’m operating at his level which has been challenging but something I’m very grateful for. I feel like I’ve improved so much since I started with him. Although, I think my liver has been the main sacrifice since I’ve been working with him but you know, I’ll be fine...hopefully.

We got paired due to last-minute necessity, they needed someone to work with him in a colour capacity at PGL. I was available and originally turned down the offer but due to a change in my personal circumstance, I was able to attend and it turned out to be one of the best things I could have done for my career.

Were there any others who, again, helped pave the way for you, this time as a caster/analyst? Who had the most influence on you at the beginning?

There’s been *so* many people that have helped me out on my crazy 6 month ascension of CS:GO Casting. I can’t thank everyone over at Gfinity enough for believing in what I could do and allowing a relatively unknown talent have a crack at one of their big events and consistently supporting me and providing me with not only a platform but everything I needed and more to keep up with the other guys at the show.

With working with them [Gfinity] I got to cast with some of the biggest names in the scene. I’ve known Stuart (Tosspot) for years and it was awesome to be sat next to him and just learn. I’ve known him since the early days of when I was playing and it was strange for everything to come full circle and find myself up there on the stage with him.

This is where I also met Semmler for the first time and he has to be the single most important person when it’s come to someone supporting me and ensuring that there is always a space for me at the events. Giving me brutally honest feedback to keep me grounded and looking out for my career in more ways than one. I’m eternally grateful for everything he’s done for me.

Finally, Joe Miller for never giving up on me and making sure that I was present at the biggest CS:GO events even when I felt like I wasn’t up to scratch or my personal life was in too much disarray to attend. He made me feel welcome and comfortable and helped me deal with any problems I had going on. He’s a top guy.

A lot of different casters and other members of the talent squad - Thorin, Richard Lewis, SirScoots, to name but a few – seem to be very happy with the current "gang", as they call it, how are you personally feeling within that group of people?

It’s an amazing time for the talent pool we have available. I think it’s fair to refer to us as a ‘gang’. Not only am I surrounded by some of the most knowledgeable and talented people in the industry, every single event I work at now I feel like I’m working with close friends that I can hang out with outside of the event. I think this is a really important dynamic to have, it helps with on-screen chemistry and our professional repertoire. Another reason that it’s good to be close-friends with your colleagues is down to the fact that they’re not afraid of criticising your work and that is very important information to obtain from someone who is more experienced than yourself and can help you improve.

We can safely say CS:GO has the loosest style at analysis desks, especially with the three mentioned above, and even the players are generally not afraid to have fun on camera, even go outside of boundaries, which other games would find unprofessional (e.g. Hiko “flipping off” olofmeister and vice versa at ESL ESEA Finals). Would you say that’s a good thing or a bad thing and why? Do you prefer the loose style or would you like the scene to be more “professional” in that sense? In League of Legends for example, a player was fined for exactly the same gesture…

It’s a very interesting discussion to have. I do think that what we have is something very special and something the players, the talent have the community have formed from the grassroots. As a game we haven’t been gifted funding from day one and had money shoved down our throats and I think that’s actually helped us develop at a slower rate and into something that is brilliant compared to other games.

The loose and fun style has become what the audience has come to expect from us. It should be entertaining and as long as we’re still delivering the information and analysis required then I really don’t see a problem with it. That’s the key, making sure we find that sweet spot between entertainment and an informative broadcast. To be fair, there have been one or two occasions where we may have gone overboard on the banter (Dreamhack London comes to mind!) but generally, I think we nail it.

Now that we’ve touched on other games a little bit, some shots have been fired by Joe Miller at Riot’s shows being scripted, can you imagine having to put in so much work prior to events? What pros and cons do you think there are to that process?

I really can’t imagine CS:GO getting to that level of soulless presentation. Having scripted lines and jokes is something I just don’t think would work with the current people working within CS:GO and the approach we have to every desk and cast. Watching Riot events, it’s like watching an episode of reality TV made by an American TV studio. The scripted puns and censorship of real opinions or anything that looks bad towards the game or indeed the ‘brand' is just something that I would never want to be a part of. I pride myself on stating when something was or is truly awful right down to calling out the parties responsible whether it be a team’s approach to certain situations or to Valve for not addressing a certain game issues or decisions. It’s important we keep these values and don’t allow ourselves to be censored by new leagues, however much money is involved or which broadcast platform is being used.

In the six months of casting, I'm sure you've gathered quite a few stories from going out with other casters and players, is there one you could share with the fans (PG-13 only of course!)?

The fact you have asked me to keep it PG-13 has thrown about 90% of the incredibly ‘interesting’ and debauched adventures we’ve had while on the road in 2015 that are just not safe for public consumption (Mainly involving Sadokist and I let off the leash in Bucharest for 13 weeks).

I’ll try and give you a little flavour of some of the antics that happens off camera without us all losing our jobs at the same time.

I guess it would be appropriate to reminisce about the first event when I threw myself fully into esports and had quit my job in London: Dreamhack Valencia in which I think was in June. After a really successful show, it was time to celebrate and this would be my first taste of an after-party. We work in an industry where it’s not uncommon for the working day to average 16 hours throughout the entirety of the show so naturally, people like to let their hair down.

I found it so cool being able to meet everyone involved from players I hadn’t met before to just general high-profile people within the games industry.

I'd like to pick your brain a little. Valve has received a lot of criticism and backlash for what seems to be an endless list of things, what do you think are the most important areas the developers should improve on?

.

The solutions for the most obvious of problems are relatively simple ones. First of all, get someone with a serious competitive background involved as an advisor and is dedicated to delegating and prioritising the workload to the developers. I know they do care and I have spoken to them many times at events about certain issues and specific personal frustrations and they always have a justification that does make me question my initial thoughts. It’s always an interesting conversation. Either Way, having a figurehead from the community involved who can work with the players and developers to make CS:GO the best possible esport experience for all of us is one my one Christmas wish.

Once we have established someone to be in this position of power that is taking on feedback of bugs, gameplay issues and balancing; it needs to be rolled out in the correct manner. We saw the blunders of the recent ‘R8’ update and trying to change too many integral parts of the game in one patch is absolutely absurd. The smallest of changes to weapons, movement or even the maps can affect the game tremendously. Making sure every update is vigorously tested by a large player base is what is needed right now. The game is getting way too large-scale to just throw in new ideas that haven’t been implemented with great care. We saw how annoyed everyone was from the top-tier players, the casters and most importantly, the voice of the general public on Reddit. Without them rallying together, I’m not sure we would have had the roll back.

Believe it or not, but we actually had a Beta version towards the end of CS:S where the new updates could be found and thoroughly tested before entering the game. I can’t think of anything as game-breaking as the R8 that ever entered that client but just having the beta there certainly helped prepare the community for what was coming and gave us time to adjust and provide not only our feedback on forums but Valve were able to gather their own back-end statistics to see how everything was performing.

Finally, I do feel like there needs to be more communication between valve and the community in general. The only time we ever really hear from them is in the patch notes of an update. It’s still kind of mind-blowing that the IBP scandal still hasn’t been fully resolved; I think we’ve all accepted that the guys will never get unbanned but why hasn’t there been a statement released giving us more information and how these sort of issues will be tackled in the future. For the game to get to the next level, a governing body (and right now that can’t be anyone else but valve) needs to set a precedent on punishments, fine and anything under that umbrella. To be fair to Riot, this is something that they do very well and it’s 100% black and white as to what the rules and subsequent punishments entail.

What about in terms of the game itself? Are you satisfied with how the game works now, be it weapon balance, mechanics, maps, or maybe spectator features...? If not, what needs to be changed or added in your opinion?

When you guys first sent me over the questions we had just had the r8 at full stupidity and with the rifle and pistol ‘nerfs’ (I prefer changes). Since then, these hugely game changing updates have been reverted and I think that was certainly the correct decision. I’m normally all for change. People do forget that Counter-Strike as a whole has been an evolving beast since it’s inception and it’s part of what keeps the game interesting as a whole and allows us to be compared to other esports with meta changes with each update, however subtle.

In terms of the game as a whole, though, I am fairly satisfied with where we’re getting to as a competitive game. I’m going to highlight some of what I see as the current negative sides of the game.

Before I begin, I know that this article is already going to be an absolute monster. I’m going briefly touch on *some* interesting topics that have been on my mind recently. For me to write up everything that is important right now that needs addressing. I would need to do a separate article (I will soon, I promise). This goes for the same as providing all the answers and options. It’s something that needs a much. much bigger piece.

The deathcam for CS:GO is something that was something of a hot topic that has seemed to have been forgotten as of late. In its current state, when you die you are gifted with six seconds of information from the corpse from where you were killed. There is one argument that suggests that this adds another level of mind-games that makes clutching somehow more intellectual and therefore, harder. I see the current setup as a suffocation of what could be truly great CS moments and lead to more truly historic moments where players are able to display raw-talent and mental fortitude without a constant stutter in play where their position may or may not have been given away due to where they had killed a previous player.

I think at LAN events, it should be a given that an instant fade-to-black screen would be ideal and would bring back some of the legendary moments we experienced from previous iterations of CS.

The new timers that have been introduced is one of the survivors of the recent R8 patch. To this day I’m still trying to work out a sensible argument for their introduction. I completely understand that smokes in CS:GO are a problem on certain maps and in the first half of 2015 on maps like Inferno, they were a real problem. But there has been a number of small changes to the game in the last 6 months (mainly the changes made to the M4A4/M4A1-s situation) that have started a slow progression from a predominately CT sided game to where we are today where it’s arguably T-sided depending on the given match up and play styles. I think these timer changes will only increase this with the extra window of time for the T’s to utilise and to force out utility from the CT’s. It’ll be interesting how this does affect everything going forward, I can only really speculate with the very early bits of data we have on this so far.

The saving grace with the increased round time is the C4 timer has also been increased. Although, it’s only five seconds, this does actually make a few other approaches to CT play more viable and perhaps required considering everything I have mentioned above. Re-takes now become an interesting concept meaning that it now might actually be more beneficial to take calculated risks more regularly with their defensive setups. What I mean by this is that you can decide to play 4 players onto a site and the last to be anchoring defensively towards the other with a view to gain information with your isolated player and to brute force your team back into the round utilising the extra bomb time and man-power to swing it in your favour.

Shadows. This is one of the unsung issues that no one but myself has seemed to have picked up on as a real issue. If you’re going to have a game where shadows are a key bit of information that can determine if certain positions are viable then you need to ensure that there is consistency with this mechanic. Right now, you can see every other player’s shadow on the ground apart from the one that really matters: your own. I’m aware that this isn’t a huge deal but this has been around for so long now and I would just love to see it addressed to remove a part of the game that be a matter of life and death that requires pointless research.

Pistol rounds in CS:GO, for me, are one of the most boring and random affairs that any iterations of counter strike has ever had within it. There is no real ‘meta’ and very little in terms of a tactical approach required. Most pro games (albeit a few teams) I will cast now go with the same 4 x Armour approach with one utility player. They’ll choose one area to swarm with one smoke and the two flashes and employ the ‘glock train’ for a quick plant and let the rest of the round come down to on the fly teamwork. It’s become this way in my opinion due to the fact that the CT USP/P2000’s are so unpredictable to play against. You either get one bullet punished out of nowhere or it’s a really scrappy and awkward battle where the swarm of glocks will prevail. This means is more beneficial for the T’s to try and stick together and siege the bomb sites and hope for the latter of the two outcomes above and at least guarantee a plant. Slowing down and trying to be methodical with the T pistol just doesn’t seem to be as effective. I don’t think we’ve ever had the pistols right in CS:GO, there always seems to be a lot of extreme changes with every other update.

Now, you said you would be moving to Sweden in the near future, what made you think about moving to a different country? Why Sweden?

2015 has been such a rollercoaster of a year for me. Although it may seem like a dream to be part of the eSports scene so heavily and attending all of these world-class events, it does come with some huge sacrifices. I quit my 6 year career as an event-manager in London and once I started committing to pretty much every tournament that CS:GO has to offer, it was clear that certain people in my life weren’t willing to put up with it. I lost my long-term girlfriend who I was living with at the time and a lot of my close friends have given up with trying to keep in contact with me purely down to me just never being able to commit to any social plans.

It’s left me feeling pretty empty back in the UK and I feel like I want a fresh start somewhere else in the world instead of trying to patch up some of the damage that has been done here.

Sweden seems to be a logical place to give this a go. Stockholm is a truly beautiful city that also has the kicker of being somewhat of a capital for Counter strike. It’s a weird feeling walking into a Seven-Eleven there and most of the time the cashier will say “Hey, you’re HenryG, right?”. I only ever had that very few times as a player.

I’ll be clear that nothing is set in stone yet and I’m still weighing up my options but I’m hoping the move will bring me closer to the people I work with and hopefully allow me to start 2016 on a positive note.

Since it's nearly Christmas time, let's finish this interview on a festive note. You once said jokingly that you had spent the last two Christmases alone, how are you going to celebrate it this year? Are there any traditions that you abide by?

Christmas is just something I’ve never really been into! For people that know me on a personal level they will tell you that I am the most cliche cynical Brit that you will ever meet. It’s something I’m working on but spending time alone with music and CS is just heaven for me instead of being in a room full of people.

This year, I think I will break the trend and try to spend it with my family and try and finish 2015 off on a positive note!

Thank you very much for taking the time for this interview, Henry, is there anything you'd like to close out with?

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out in the last six months and for accepting me with open arms into the talent pool. This includes all the companies/events that hire me, the other talent I work with, the players and everyone who’s watching at home. I do take all your feedback on board and I try my best at every event to improve to make the viewing experience better for you all.

Let’s make 2016 an absolutely epic year for CS:GO. Happy Holidays.

You can follow me on twitter here: @HenryGee

Let's get into your background a little bit first, when did you first get into CS competitively and what was the scene like at the time? I was always into Counter-Strike from a young age but never really had the internet connection for it until about 2003. I was playing semi-seriously in leagues, but it was in 2004 that CS:S came out and although it was a horrible release of a game, everyone I knew made the switch and it felt like it was a fresh start to be at the forefront of a new title. I started playing it for a relatively good British-based team and we started winning a lot of online stuff and I could feel myself getting better every day. The scene for CS:S was so small at the start that it is barely worth mentioning. It took many years for the game to be updated to something that could even be considered to be competitive, and we finally started getting LAN events and big organisations picking teams up.

How long did it take you to get to the top in the UK back then? Was there anyone who helped pave the way for you?

We got ourselves into a really good position and I was getting some real acclaim to how good I was at the game. Before I knew it I got a call up from the UK’s best CSS team at the time ‘X043’. This was when things really got serious, these group of guys were better than me and they were aware of offline tournaments and wanted to make it to the same level as the 1.6 players at the time (SK, NiP, NoA etc.). I wasn’t really sure where it would lead, but I loved the idea of making money out of playing a computer game. We maintained our position as the UK’s best team, but we certainly had our rivals and teams snapping at our heels for that prestigious title of having no money, no sponsors but the biggest e-penis in the British CS:S community. We had been called out by a few of the other teams for being ‘onliners’ and the fact we had never been to a LAN in any other games suggested we were either cheating or scared to prove ourselves. Multiplay had just announced their first ever CS:S tournament and the prize pot was a tantalising £250. Every other UK team was going to be there and we were desperate to attend, not only to get rich but to also shut the haters down. After having explain to my loving mother (I was 16 years old) that not everyone on the internet was a catfish and you could actually legitimately meet nice people to play some CS with, she finally gave me the money to attend i23, the UK’s first ever CS:S tournament. We won the tournament in a pretty convincing manner and shut down a lot of our haters and continued to do so. We progressed throughout Europe and entered bigger and better leagues (Clanbase etc.) and we won every British event that was available. We started to pick up sponsors and soon became to be known as ‘Team Zboard’ (sponsored by the peripherals company). From that point I played at bigger and better tournaments and was starting to become a world class player. From that point it was time to join other teams and use them as stepping stones into bigger and better things. I got picked up by some European teams (CSA, Reason Gaming) and we went to European events and did relatively well. Skip a year or so and we finally formed 4Kings, the team that would eventually become the first British CGS team – London Mint. This was a filmed TV show that was broadcasted on SKY TV (UK) and DirectTV (US). We were finally professional gamers making a big salary, living in LA and playing against the world’s best teams regularly. It was an amazing platform and I feel very lucky to have ever been part of it. Past that, I was in the following organisations: Epsilon, mTw, Dignitas, FM!Toxic and a few others that escape me right now. This is a very condensed version of everything that happened on the journey. Richard Lewis did a very indepth video of my playing history.

What would you consider your greatest achievements in CS:S in those six years of playing it competitively / professionally? In the early days, winning the local tournaments meant everything and to some extent even more than what we achieved towards the end of the journey. At the time, what I was trying to do was so niche and difficult to explain to my worried parents. They didn’t really ‘get’ it. It was so unheard of even in 2004.

I wouldn’t really know where to start, in today's terms everything seems so insignificant when you look at prize money and viewership. I guess getting drafted into CGS has to be the pinnacle of what we did. It was a huge pay off for all the hard work we had put in for five or so years and it finally solidified our positions as professional gamers. Obviously, it didn’t really turn out for the best in terms of what it did for CS:S and eSports in general, but it was a hell of a ride and one that I will always look back on fondly.



HenryG considers CGS a pinnacle of his playing career (photo courtesy of Vakarm.net)

Other fond memories include winning the ESL European Nations cup in 2010 as the captain of Team United Kingdom. It was a time when the French and Danes were dominating the scene and for us to take them down and show we were still headlining the scene in terms of talent was a fantastic feeling.

Ultimately, in our eyes, we were living the dream. It wasn’t about making loads of money or trying to become the most famous players. We were such die-hard Counter-Strike players that were just ravenous to be the best at what we did. Being able to live that lifestyle for as long as we did and be able to leave something memorable on the Counter-Strike tapestry was an achievement in itself.

After CS:GO came along, were you reluctant to switch off the bat? What did you think about the game initially? How serious were you with the teams that you played with then?



I was part of the first group of professional players (I was in Epsilon at the time) to ever play CS:GO. We were flown out to Seattle to Valve HQ to discuss ‘The future of CS’ and it turns out that’s where they they had decided to announce that the game was coming, and we would be their first batch of testers of the game. It was in a pretty dire state when we first played, their ideas on how they wanted to approach the new title were interesting but poorly executed, it seemed to be that the headline was that ‘All weapons should be viable’. Indeed, they had made every weapon worthy but key philosophies behind CS (AK-47 vs. M4, for example) were lost. We gave the developers our feedback and what we wanted to see, but alas it seemed to fall onto deaf ears as it seemed they released the product into beta as pretty much the same build, riddled with annoying issues that just weren’t true to the previous iterations of CS.

I really didn’t ever play CS:GO in any serious capacity. I went to a few local UK events with teams mainly comprised of friends. The closest I ever came to taking it seriously was in Team Dignitas. Funnily enough, we actually had Joshua "steel" Nissan playing with us as well. We had a lot of fun together but just didn’t play enough to justify anything of any worth. We went to one UK event and didn’t even win. The team folded shortly after that. Ever since RattlesnK's lineup broke up, the UK scene has fallen off and nobody really represented your country to the same level in CS:GO, why do you think it has become that way?

I get asked this question by someone at almost every single event and I still couldn’t tell you an exact reason, but I’ll have a stab at giving you some of my thoughts.

After the UK’s success in CS:S and being known as one of the most talented and accomplished nations within the game. Unfortunately, this was the downfall for us in a lot of ways when moving into CS:GO. There was a huge sense of entitlement from almost everyone and thought they could transfer their skills from CS:S to CS:GO with no problem at all and have the exact same level of support (salaries, every event in Europe paid for and so on). This attitude bled down to even the players I would consider tier 3 of the Source scene and only made a name for themselves just by being around for so long. British players are now synonymous with the bad attitudes that plague them without the results to back them up.

A lot of the truly talented players that had been leading the charge on the CS:S scene had retired and there was a lot of ‘forced’ teams being put together, trying to make the best of a bad situation.

RattlesnK’s original CS:GO lineup (with the likes of RE1EASE and Hughsy) was the last real hope the UK had at competing at the top echelons of the scene and after they left, a huge void waiting to be filled has been present ever since.



"RattlesnK's original lineup was UK's last hope," says HenryG

What made you quit playing and get into your own business? Is it at all possible that you had become frustrated with the instability of the scene? Quitting the game competitively was a heartbreaking but at the same time a very natural process. The game (CS:S) was dying a slow death and any real chances of making any decent money were diminishing, rapidly. I’ve always stated that I never was playing the game for financial gain, but it was getting to the stage where the time and effort put into practice was getting ridiculous compared to anything you could actually earn.

I had been balancing playing in a team and working in a very stressful events management industry for around four years and although it was gaming related, I knew that I would always start my own business orientated around eSports, somehow.

I did attend some local UK stuff for CS:GO, but I never had the time to justify giving it a real go. The casting stuff came in first and really did put the final nail in the coffin of any thoughts of ever playing again. It satisfied my urge to be involved within CS without having to put in the grueling hours that are required as a player in a landscape that was proving to be only suitable for the super-committed and with the financial backing of a big organisation to support their professional careers.

I created EZskins.com as a side-project to help support myself financially after quitting a well-paid job in London. My future at the time wasn’t certain and I needed something to work on to keep me busy during the down-time of tournaments. I’ve always felt I’ve had a good business acumen and was confident we could pull it off. It’s been great as we’ve been able to start an eSports organisation part of the site and that’s been the most enjoyable to work with. Is it also part of the reason why you decided to sign a UK lineup with EZskins? To give them what they need to get better as a team and keep them together?

Exactly. We wanted to give the UK scene absolutely everything we could to help give them a leg-up and catch up with our already miles ahead European counterparts. There was very few orgs willing to actually take on a UK side and if they did, it would be the absolute minimum in terms of actual support (think T-shirts and some food money). I’ve been in pretty much every single top org you can name and know what is required to play at the absolute best level possible. Believe it or not, the support that you get from your organisation can actually have an impact on how you perform. You want everything to be smooth and not have any worries about certain requirements being fulfilled.

To finish on this point, originally (When I first started writing the interview) I had a big speech written out on how confident I was with the team we had signed for EZskins.com. It seemed like we had finally found the right formula and philosophy to build a team around and we felt like we had given them absolutely everything they needed to succeed. They were a professional, salaried team and any event they did (or didn’t) want to attend was always a something we would make a reality.

As I’m sure you’ve all read last week. It turns out that the team wasn’t in as strong of a form as we had assumed and we were informed that the lineup as a whole was going into liquidation. This was and is a huge setback for us, we’ve invested a lot of time and finance into the project, but my passion is still alive. I’ll be on the hunt for a new team to replace them, but this time I’m open to the prospect of a European side or even worldwide. Hopefully, I can announce something exciting soon. It’s my favourite side of the website.

You've now been casting for about six months and became very popular within the community, but how has it all started? Was it you who made the first step or did someone approach you?



It was actually all down to Richard Lewis in the early stages of the game. He was always toying around with the idea of casting online CS and one evening he was let down by his co-commentator. He reached out to me to fill in for a last minute online cast for an ESEA game and although I hadn’t done anything like that before, I found the idea of being able to articulate my Counter-Strike knowledge, experience and thoughts onto a broadcast without having to dedicate the time of a player very interesting.

Richard and I had been friends for a very long time, as he was a journalist for one of the popular publications for CS:S at the time. We always had great chemistry and our broadcasts together were testament to that, always very laid back, full of banter and general fun.

We still joke today saying that I should have quit my job in those days and we could have taken the duo to the big stage. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but I still owe everything to him in terms of where it all started.

Did you have any idea that it was going to blow up as much as it did? Were you actively looking for more gigs with the intent to become a freelance caster or did it all just fall into place on its own?

It really did just fall into place without me realising. It was after Gfinity’s G3 event earlier this year that I realised that I may have a real future in casting. The feedback I received was great and people really seemed to enjoy my approach of just raw tactical analysis. I wasn’t afraid to point out bad play and I wasn’t over-hyping non-sensational moments in the game. It seemed to be a refreshing take on what even then was a developing art for CS:GO.

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to dine out on knowledge for the rest of my career if I wanted to take it seriously, so I had to adapt and start watching some of the top end casters and try and bring some of their flare into my own broadcasts and although this has been a long process, I think I’m finally getting to a stage where I can say I’m almost at my final form.



Sadokist and HenryG have created a popular duo in these last six months

You've casted with numerous people along the way, but one that sticks out is obviously Matthew "Sadokist" Trivett, with whom you've been at most events and you both kind of rose to prominence at roughly the same time, give or take a few months. How would you describe your relationship? Do you think you helped each other to where you are today?

Yeah, I think the partnership between Matt and I has been an absolute godsend. It’s been a matchup that has brought me one of my closest friends within the scene and someone who I can work with every single event and deliver a solid, no-stress broadcast. He is insanely talented and dedicated to what he does. I’ve learnt so much from him and had to up my own game to ensure that I’m operating at his level, which has been challenging, but something I’m very grateful for. I feel like I’ve improved so much since I started with him. Although, I think my liver has been the main sacrifice since I’ve been working with him but you know, I’ll be fine... hopefully.

We got paired due to last-minute necessity, they needed someone to work with him in a colour capacity at PGL. I was available and originally turned down the offer, but due to a change in my personal circumstance I was able to attend and it turned out to be one of the best things I could have done for my career.

Were there any others who, again, helped pave the way for you, this time as a caster/analyst? Who had the most influence on you at the beginning?

There’s been *so* many people that have helped me out on my crazy six-month ascension of CS:GO Casting. I can’t thank everyone over at Gfinity enough for believing in what I could do and allowing a relatively unknown talent have a crack at one of their big events and consistently supporting me and providing me with not only a platform but everything I needed and more to keep up with the other guys at the show.

With working with them [Gfinity], I got to cast with some of the biggest names in the scene. I’ve known Stuart (Tosspot) for years and it was awesome to be sat next to him and just learn. I’ve known him since the early days of when I was playing and it was strange for everything to come full circle and find myself up there on the stage with him.

This is where I also met Semmler for the first time and he has to be the single most important person when it’s come to someone supporting me and ensuring that there is always a space for me at the events. Giving me brutally honest feedback to keep me grounded and looking out for my career in more ways than one. I’m eternally grateful for everything he’s done for me.

Finally, Joe Miller for never giving up on me and making sure that I was present at the biggest CS:GO events, even when I felt like I wasn’t up to scratch or my personal life was in too much disarray to attend. He made me feel welcome and comfortable and helped me deal with any problems I had going on. He’s a top guy.



A lot of different casters and other members of the talent squad - Thorin, Richard Lewis, SirScoots, to name but a few – seem to be very happy with the current "gang", as they call it, how are you personally feeling within that group of people?

It’s an amazing time for the talent pool we have available. I think it’s fair to refer to us as a ‘gang’. Not only am I surrounded by some of the most knowledgeable and talented people in the industry, every single event I work at now I feel like I’m working with close friends that I can hang out with outside of the event. I think this is a really important dynamic to have, it helps with on-screen chemistry and our professional repertoire. Another reason that it’s good to be close friends with your colleagues is down to the fact that they’re not afraid of criticising your work, and that is very important information to obtain from someone who is more experienced than yourself and can help you improve. We can safely say CS:GO has the loosest style at analysis desks, especially with the three mentioned above, and even the players are generally not afraid to have fun on camera, even go outside of boundaries, which other games would find unprofessional (e. g. Hiko “flipping off” olofmeister and vice versa at ESL ESEA Finals). Would you say that’s a good thing or a bad thing and why? Do you prefer the loose style or would you like the scene to be more “professional” in that sense? In League of Legends for example, a player was fined for exactly the same gesture… It’s a very interesting discussion to have. I do think that what we have is something very special and something the players, the talent and the community have formed from the grassroots. As a game we haven’t been gifted funding from day one and had money shoved down our throats and I think that’s actually helped us develop at a slower rate and into something that is brilliant compared to other games. The loose and fun style has become what the audience has come to expect from us. It should be entertaining and as long as we’re still delivering the information and analysis required then I really don’t see a problem with it. That’s the key, making sure we find that sweet spot between entertainment and an informative broadcast. To be fair, there have been one or two occasions where we may have gone overboard on the banter (DreamHack London comes to mind!) but generally, I think we nail it.



The scene has become very loose, especially at the analysis desk

Now that we’ve touched on other games a little bit, some shots have been fired by Joe Miller at Riot’s shows being scripted, can you imagine having to put in so much work prior to events? What pros and cons do you think there are to that process?

I really can’t imagine CS:GO getting to that level of soulless presentation. Having scripted lines and jokes is something I just don’t think would work with the current people working within CS:GO and the approach we have to every desk and cast. Watching Riot events, it’s like watching an episode of reality TV made by an American TV studio. The scripted puns and censorship of real opinions or anything that looks bad towards the game or indeed the ‘brand' is just something that I would never want to be a part of. I pride myself on stating when something was or is truly awful right down to calling out the parties responsible whether it be a team’s approach to certain situations or to Valve for not addressing a certain game issues or decisions. It’s important we keep these values and don’t allow ourselves to be censored by new leagues, however much money is involved or which broadcast platform is being used. I'd like to pick your brain a little. Valve has received a lot of criticism and backlash for what seems to be an endless list of things, what do you think are the most important areas the developers should improve on?.

The solutions for the most obvious of problems are relatively simple ones. First of all, get someone with a serious competitive background involved as an advisor who is dedicated to delegating and prioritising the workload to the developers. I know they do care and I have spoken to them many times at events about certain issues and specific personal frustrations and they always have a justification that does make me question my initial thoughts. It’s always an interesting conversation. Either way, having a figurehead from the community involved who can work with the players and developers to make CS:GO the best possible eSport experience for all of us is my one Christmas wish.

Once we have established someone to be in this position of power that is taking on feedback of bugs, gameplay issues and balancing; it needs to be rolled out in the correct manner. We saw the blunders of the recent R8 update and trying to change too many integral parts of the game in one patch is absolutely absurd. The smallest of changes to weapons, movement or even the maps can affect the game tremendously. Making sure every update is vigorously tested by a large player base is what is needed right now. The game is getting way too large-scale to just throw in new ideas that haven’t been implemented with great care. We saw how annoyed everyone was from the top-tier players, the casters and most importantly, the voice of the general public on Reddit. Without them rallying together, I’m not sure we would have had the roll back.

Believe it or not, but we actually had a beta version towards the end of CS:S where the new updates could be found and thoroughly tested before entering the game. I can’t think of anything as game-breaking as the R8 that ever entered that client but just having the beta there certainly helped prepare the community for what was coming and gave us time to adjust and provide not only our feedback on forums, but Valve were able to gather their own back-end statistics to see how everything was performing.

Finally, I do feel like there needs to be more communication between Valve and the community in general. The only time we ever really hear from them is in the patch notes of an update. It’s still kind of mind-blowing that the iBP scandal still hasn’t been fully resolved; I think we’ve all accepted that the guys will never get unbanned, but why hasn’t there been a statement released giving us more information and how these sort of issues will be tackled in the future? For the game to get to the next level, a governing body (and right now that can’t be anyone else but Valve) needs to set a precedent on punishments, fines and anything under that umbrella. To be fair to Riot, this is something that they do very well and it’s 100% black and white as to what the rules and subsequent punishments entail.



The iBUYPOWER issue needs to be addressed for clarity, according to HenryG

What about in terms of the game itself? Are you satisfied with how the game works now, be it weapon balance, mechanics, maps, or maybe spectator features...? If not, what needs to be changed or added in your opinion?

When you guys first sent me over the questions we had just had the R8 at full stupidity and with the rifle and pistol ‘nerfs’ (I prefer changes). Since then, these hugely game changing updates have been reverted and I think that was certainly the correct decision. I’m normally all for change. People do forget that Counter-Strike as a whole has been an evolving beast since its inception and it’s part of what keeps the game interesting as a whole and allows us to be compared to other eSports with meta changes with each update, however subtle.

In terms of the game as a whole, though, I am fairly satisfied with where we’re getting to as a competitive game. I’m going to highlight some of what I see as the current negative sides of the game.

Before I begin, I know that this article is already going to be an absolute monster. I’m going briefly touch on *some* interesting topics that have been on my mind recently. For me to write up everything that is important right now that needs addressing, I would need to do a separate article (I will soon, I promise). This goes for the same as providing all the answers and options. It’s something that needs a much, much bigger piece.

The deathcam for CS:GO is something that was something of a hot topic that has seemed to have been forgotten as of late. In its current state, when you die you are gifted with six seconds of information from the corpse from where you were killed. There is one argument that suggests that this adds another level of mind-games that makes clutching somehow more intellectual and therefore, harder. I see the current setup as a suffocation of what could be truly great CS moments and lead to more truly historic moments where players are able to display raw talent and mental fortitude without a constant stutter in play where their position may or may not have been given away due to where they had killed a previous player.

I think at LAN events, it should be a given that an instant fade-to-black screen would be ideal and would bring back some of the legendary moments we experienced from previous iterations of CS.

The new timers that have been introduced is one of the survivors of the recent R8 patch. To this day I’m still trying to work out a sensible argument for their introduction. I completely understand that smokes in CS:GO are a problem on certain maps and in the first half of 2015 on maps like Inferno, they were a real problem. But there has been a number of small changes to the game in the last 6 months (mainly the changes made to the M4A4/M4A1-S situation) that have started a slow progression from a predominately CT sided game to where we are today, where it’s arguably T-sided, depending on the given match up and play styles. I think these timer changes will only increase this with the extra window of time for the T’s to utilise and to force out utility from the CT’s. It’ll be interesting how this does affect everything going forward, I can only really speculate with the very early bits of data we have on this so far.

The saving grace with the increased round time is the C4 timer has also been increased. Although it’s only five seconds, this does actually make a few other approaches to CT play more viable and perhaps required considering everything I have mentioned above. Re-takes now become an interesting concept meaning that it now might actually be more beneficial to take calculated risks more regularly with their defensive setups. What I mean by this is that you can decide to play 4 players onto a site and the last to be anchoring defensively towards the other with a view to gain information with your isolated player and to brute force your team back into the round utilising the extra bomb time and man-power to swing it in your favour.

Shadows. This is one of the unsung issues that no one but myself has seemed to have picked up on as a real issue. If you’re going to have a game where shadows are a key bit of information that can determine if certain positions are viable then you need to ensure that there is consistency with this mechanic. Right now, you can see every other player’s shadow on the ground apart from the one that really matters: your own. I’m aware that this isn’t a huge deal, but this has been around for so long now and I would just love to see it addressed to remove a part of the game that can be a matter of life and death that requires pointless research.

Pistol rounds in CS:GO, for me, are one of the most boring and random affairs that any iterations of Counter-Strike has ever had within it. There is no real ‘meta’ and very little in terms of a tactical approach required. Most pro games (albeit a few teams) I will cast now go with the same 4 x Armour approach with one utility player. They’ll choose one area to swarm with one smoke and the two flashes and employ the ‘glock train’ for a quick plant and let the rest of the round come down to on-the-fly teamwork. It’s become this way in my opinion due to the fact that the CT USP/P2000’s are so unpredictable to play against. You either get one bullet punished out of nowhere or it’s a really scrappy and awkward battle where the swarm of glocks will prevail. This means it is more beneficial for the T’s to try and stick together and siege the bomb sites and hope for the latter of the two outcomes above and at least guarantee a plant. Slowing down and trying to be methodical with the T pistol just doesn’t seem to be as effective. I don’t think we’ve ever had the pistols right in CS:GO, there always seems to be a lot of extreme changes with every other update.



Dedicating a lot of time into eSports wasn't without its sacrifices for the Brit

Now, you said you would be moving to Sweden in the near future, what made you think about moving to a different country? Why Sweden?

2015 has been such a rollercoaster of a year for me. Although it may seem like a dream to be part of the eSports scene so heavily and attending all of these world-class events, it does come with some huge sacrifices. I quit my 6 year career as an event-manager in London and once I started committing to pretty much every tournament that CS:GO has to offer, it was clear that certain people in my life weren’t willing to put up with it. I lost my long-term girlfriend who I was living with at the time and a lot of my close friends have given up with trying to keep in contact with me purely down to me just never being able to commit to any social plans.

It’s left me feeling pretty empty back in the UK and I feel like I want a fresh start somewhere else in the world instead of trying to patch up some of the damage that has been done here.

Sweden seems to be a logical place to give this a go. Stockholm is a truly beautiful city that also has the kicker of being somewhat of a capital for Counter-Strike. It’s a weird feeling walking into a Seven-Eleven there and most of the time the cashier will say “Hey, you’re HenryG, right?”. I only ever had that very few times as a player.

I’ll be clear that nothing is set in stone yet and I’m still weighing up my options, but I’m hoping the move will bring me closer to the people I work with and hopefully allow me to start 2016 on a positive note.

Since it's nearly Christmas time, let's finish this interview on a festive note. You once said jokingly that you had spent the last two Christmases alone, how are you going to celebrate it this year? Are there any traditions that you abide by?

Christmas is just something I’ve never really been into! For people that know me on a personal level they will tell you that I am the most cliche cynical Brit that you will ever meet. It’s something I’m working on but spending time alone with music and CS is just heaven for me instead of being in a room full of people.

This year, I think I will break the trend and try to spend it with my family and try and finish 2015 off on a positive note! Thank you very much for taking the insane amount of time for this interview, Henry, is there anything you'd like to close out with?

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out in the last six months and for accepting me with open arms into the talent pool. This includes all the companies/events that hire me, the other talent I work with, the players and everyone who’s watching at home. I do take all your feedback on board and I try my best at every event to improve to make the viewing experience better for you all.

Let’s make 2016 an absolutely epic year for CS:GO. Happy Holidays.

You can follow me on Twitter here: @HenryGee.

You can follow HLTV.org's Milan "Striker" Švejda on Twitter