Hello everyone, and thank you for taking the time to answer these questions after the recent events. NiaK Let’s start with you Jérôme. Could you explain to us how these changes within Titan and EnVyUs happened and how you dealt with it? NiaK: It was tough, we went through a complicated phase. Probably the most complicated of my career in terms of results & performance. The team had “potential”, but regaining chemistry and a positive dynamic seemed like a long shot. Even after multiple debriefings and a couple of attempts at shocking the team back into performance. However, failure notwithstanding, I think that we have kept a lot of mutual respect towards each other. This is something we rarely see in this kind of situation, and I am at least satisfied of having been able to keep the group moving forward on the human side. From a technical side, EnVyUs made Dan and Kenny an offer mid tournament, which wasn’t the best timing. I had felt them grow distant, and the day after our elimination, they notified me the offer and their intention of accepting it. From there on, negotiations to free them from their contractual obligations with Titan began. You picked up two players that you know really well, and who have played with Ex6TenZ and RpK a few years back: what can they bring to the team both from a human and ingame point of view? Are the resentments, decisions and problems from the past forgotten for everyone? NiaK: Indeed, we know each other well, having already worked together twice.I have had time to think long and hard lately and I can tell you that after having turned the problem in every possible way, at this time, the perfect team does not exist in France. By this, I mean that some key players have their qualities but also their issues. When these are not delt appropriately, teams always end up breaking. At Titan, it was ingame that we eventually stumbled. With EnVyUs I think problems ended up arising more on the human side. Eddy and Richard are two definite pillars in the game, and probably the most complete players on the French scene. It is also not by chance that they have always been part of the French success stories. In human terms, these are two endearing personalities

but their common fault, since they are close and often together when disagreements arise, is to develop an ideology at odds with the rest of the group. They are not sufficiently tuned in to the effects of this, and in my opinion, that has been the source of multiple french shuffles. To answer the question precisely, things have been forgiven, but they have not been forgotten. I hope that the time we have had together and the lessons drawn from it will allow us to build a strong team able to operate at its full potential for the long term. In the end, you didn’t really have a choice: two players left Titan, and you replaced them with the two players who left EnVyUs. Historically speaking, this is kind of unusual for you, but are you still satisfied with this new roster? NiaK: That isn’t completely true, we always have a choice. As a matter of fact, I thought long and hard before rejoining. I stepped back for a good couple of days announcing my decision. If I’m answering you today, it’s because I have chosen to start anew and face this new challenge at full speed, with a hope of making it long term. With the development of eSport, the complexification and multiplication of tasks, I am going to focus on management over time. I will leave coaching and in-game analysis to someone more qualified than myself. This is my perspective on the future of this project Maniac Hello Mani. You recently announced that you quit your job to become a full-time player. Could you tell us more about this decision? This is a pretty big risk you are taking, do you have any guarantees on your spot at Titan for the future? Maniac: To sum up, back in mid-july I was offered a position as a full-time consultant psychiatrist, at the same time as I was offered the new Titan project with Richard and Eddy instead of Dan and Kenny. I hesitated quite a lot, but I quickly understood that I really wanted to give it a shot.



This is, of course, a professional risk. I nevertheless have my Master’s Degree, which ensures me a potential professional future. But right now, I’m ready to fuck shit up with this new team and to give it all and go as far as possible. Come what may!

How did you live these roster changes? How did you feel about it? Disappointed, worried, optimistic?

Maniac: To be very honest, when Dan and Kenny told us about the offer they got from EnVyUs, I told them that I would have made the same decision. Our team wasn’t doing well, and despite our efforts we just couldn’t reverse the trend. It was legitimate for them to want something new. On the other hand, I don’t feel like we lost on the trade by picking up shox and SmithZz… I’d say everyone won in this roster change… A fresh start for us and for them



T his is the first time you play with shox and SmithZz. You played against them in Source, and in CS:GO, and know them very well. Are you happy to have this opportunity? What can they bring to the table that Kenny and Dan couldn’t? Maniac: I don’t know them very much, as we have only playing together for a week, but I can already understand how they won so many titles. They radiate something special, a feeling of knowing what victory is and how to achieve it. For the moment, they are very motivated and are working hard. They are teaching us a lot of principles and giving us ideas. I am extremely happy to have the opportunity to play with them, and I think that with my growing investment and their input, I could play at a completely different level. I have no intention of getting carried, I think we can all evolve into something better, together. Ex6TenZ Hey Kévin, you just got Richard and Eddy back, your former mates, are you happy to see them again? Ex6TenZ: We’ve been having a hard time recently, the pleasure of playing was gone, because we knew subconsciously that we had no more solutions for our game and we were heading straight into a wall. It ended as it was going to, they told us they received an offer from EnVyUs and that they wanted to accept it. We put our egos aside and told them that we understood and that it was no problem. I can’t say that it was a pleasant moment, but it was done with respect and kindness. It took me about a week to mourn this failure, it really wasn’t easy for me. We were all under a lot of pressure because of the bad results we had recently. Now, after 3 days of scrims with Richard and Eddy, I am taking pleasure in playing again. The idea of a new team is refreshing and I am rediscovering two players who have the same vision of Counter Strike as me. In term of quality of play, they are the two players I respect the most in France. Maybe people don’t notice it, but they bring a lot to a team. They have often dominated the game with their teams, and it’s not by chance. You’re losing kennyS and apEX, on the other hand you get shox and SmithZz, what will change in Titan’s gameplay? How will you do it? Can you lean on things you’ve done in the past in CS:Source when the roster was similar (e.g. ESWC 2011) or do you plan to start all over again in spite of the approaching qualifier? Ex6TenZ: Gamewise, we have to redo everything. On the other hand, we are playing at high level, and there are some common mechanics which will help us. With Richard and Eddy, preparation is often an advantage as they bring a lot of input, which helps our game to make sense. But this time, we only have 5 days of preparation, which is not much. We have tried to focus on maps which could give us an advantage against the teams we will play at the Cologne qualifier. From the outside we can see that the same 9-10 people are involved in the shuffle, without any new blood. You gave a chance to NBK then to kennyS, why aren’t you doing the same in CS:GO? Do you have any up and coming players in mind as backups? Ex6TenZ: I’ve played quite a lot of pickups recently and noticed a few players who certainly deserve a chance. I’m not against the idea, and I have always appreciated helping new players. However, as you can see, we decided that now was not the time.

RpK Hello Cédric, it’s been 7 month since your comeback, you’ve made an important life choice to get back in the game. Do you have regrets about this choice? Did you find again the pleasure of playing? RpK: Regarding my choice I do not regret it at all, on the contrary I’m still motivated and everything that happens around the game makes me want to persevere. The return of Shox and SmithZz in the team is also a boost of motivation to go one step further. About this comeback, you quickly take a good level back to be ouround your mate’s level. However, you’re not likely to be a tank anymore, you don’t carry your team anymore. Is it really over or you feel to be the tank again? RpK: I would say it depends on the team where I am. With the former line-up it’s true that I found a decent level but it was not my full potential. With Shox and SmithZz, it will allow me to raise my level of play and to regain some team confidence and the memories of the old VeryGames line-up. SmithZz and shox are here with you again, you literally experienced everything with them on CS:Source by doing the best things the scene have known, what can you say about their return with you? RpK: I’m very excited to play again with them, we already proved that it could work, now it’s time to put everything in practice and move forward ;) shox Hello Richard. Now that it’s over with EnVyUs, could you tell us how the transfer happened, from the moment you hear about it in Canada until you officialy joined Titan? shox: From the moment the news came, in Canada, the bound between Kevin, Mani Cedric, Eddy and me was natural. We started to discuss there but we didn’t want to take any decision. So we all thought about it for 3 days and when we came back in France we met to figure things out. We are finally together for this new challenge! Were you expecting your time in EnVyUs to end this fast and brutally? How was the atmosphere within the team? Did you see it coming? shox: Absolutely not, I had a sense of reliving the end of Team VeryGames in 2011. I did not see it coming and it was brutal. It's like they have cut my wings in flight, actually I fell from very high and I thought it was a bad dream.

I will not lie, the atmosphere in the team was getting worse, our result didn’t bring us joy and we communicated less and less together. I was being naive, I just said it was a slump for the team, that times were hard but we would have overcame this ordeal together. It was unfortunately not the case, we didn’t give ourselves a chance to bounce back from the lack of communication .

Today, you are bouncing back by joining Titan, is this a default choice? You get back with old teammates of yours, and Maniac whom you’ve never played with. Can you give us a quick word about your new teammates? shox: It was not a choice by default. During our three days of reflection I weighed all the opportunities. Going abroad would have been fun, but when you want to win the language barrier might be a problem. A team is and foremost a group of people that need to be linked and being held back by the language barrier prevents you to socialize. I also thought about subtop players, why not trying something new with them, give them the experience and try to go a step further. I am interested in some profiles but having a very busy schedule with my team prevent me from being objective, so I didn’t want to get into the unknown. At Titan I had the opportunity of finding reliable values, and after a few days i’m happy with my choice. Playing again with Kevin is fun, he did a lot of work on himself, he’s listening to his players and that is a good point but at some time he must resume the leadership that has disappeared in the last few months of Titan. Cedric and Mani have the same profile, they are two players that have not yet exploited they full potential, something rare for a competitor these days. It’s alot of hard work, especially for Cedric, but I am confident because I know that he is capable of great things. Next for you is the Cologne qualifier, what are your expectations with Titan for this event? And what are your hopes on the long term? shox: We are not here in order to play the clarinet, but I remain lucid, it will take us a lot of work. I would never be satisfied as long as we are not number 1. The path is long and difficult, but today we have a team that can find a real alchemy and there is nothing stronger on CSGO, the thing is to know how to take advantage of it and to find the energy and motivation to transcend. SmithZz Hello Eddy, now that you are done with EnVyUs, what momories will you keep from this adventure? SmithZz: I will keep good memories and excellent relationships with kioshima, Happy, Moman, Marty and Mike. I had so many good times that I’m not able to record them all! I am proud of the results we achieved, even though we could have some regrets about the ending of the adventure. How was the end of EnVyUs for you? It seemed pretty brutal from the outside, as the potential was here and you were competing in lots of tournaments. Do you confirm it was a hard time for you and shox? Were you expecting it? SmithZz: I wasn’t really expecting it. After every tournament we were used to debrief everything, and within one year I wasn’t told much things. I have the feeling we broke this team without trying to fix its problems. It gives me a bitter taste. But I am used of this with Richard, and I am sure we will bounce back once again. Once again, you come back in a team with Ex6TenZ and RpK, only Maniac is new. Are you happy about this change? What are your first impressions? SmithZz: I’m happy to go back to playing with Cédric and Kévin. We will use our experience in LDLC and EnVyUs to achieve big things. Regarding Maniac, he now has the needed availability to show everyone that when he is fully invested, he can be a major element of our success. He has all my trust. You will certainly be Titan’s main awper, which you never really was in CS:GO since the beginning of the game. We all know you were a main awper on Source: do you miss awping sometimes? SmithZz: I have some difficulties with the AWP, but I plan on taking the advantage with the scout which is less expensive and allows me to shoot faster. I think I could surprise people with this. More seriously, even in Source I was a CT awper who knew when to buy the AWP in T side at the good moment, or when we were lacking solutions. But if you want me to, I will play deathmatch a bit more and will play AWP more often to show you I have nothing to envy to the bests! :D

