Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk finds himself in a limbo after being released from his stand-in deal wih Cloud9 while still on contract with mousesports. We talked to the 22-year-old about how the uncertain times affect him and how his openhearted mentality is being put to the test.

The European side mousesports stunned CS:GO fans in late June by adding the former Virtus.pro superstar Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski to the lineup. Perhaps not as stunning was the player the team decided to kick to make room for the 25-year old Pole.

STYKO had long been the ultimate role player, often taking upon himself the spots and duties usually unwanted by higher-profile players. Roles like these seldom lead to impressive stats and more than likely see the players taking them become somewhat low-profile and certainly not often praised by the community.

STYKO says he 'regrets not spending more time with the guys' in Cloud9

After being benched in mousesports, Cloud9 picked up the 22-year-old as a stand-in after the departure of the team's former in-game leader Pujan "⁠FNS⁠" Mehta. Looking from the outside, the fit wasn't really obvious, and the team's results weren't impressive either, as they bowed out in the groups at ESL One Cologne, failed to qualify for IEM Chicago, and also went 1-3 in the New Legends Stage of the FACEIT Major.

In London, STYKO told HLTV.org that he was not having an easy time fitting in the North American squad, noting that he was "on a completely different page when it comes to Counter-Strike". In a Twitlonger post, the Slovak then revealed that he felt he had missed his opportunity in Cloud9 and that he had been unmotivated before and during the Major.

HLTV.org talked to STYKO before mousesports' comeback triumph at ESL One New York about his current situation, his removal-but-not-quite from the team, and his thoughts about player openness and mentality in the CS:GO-scene:

Let's start by going back to you being benched by mousesports, since you are still contracted to them after the Cloud9-tenure. What went through your mind around that time?

I have to say I wasn't even mad at the fact that I got benched. I kind of made my peace with it pretty fast, as I knew I would probably be offered a position on some other team, even as a stand-in. Plus, I had gone through this at the beginning of the year, when I was really close to being replaced by dennis. Back then, it had been much harder for me to swallow. What really made me upset was the fact that it wasn't the players who told me I was being removed. I do not know why, I guess they didn't really wanted to have that conversation with me, but it was our manager who told me.

It came out of nowhere. I remember it was a few days after our 2nd place in Belo Horizonte with a stand-in - n0thing. After a few days of being really sad, I started to understand the players' decision to not to tell me directly. I wouldn't want to tell a teammate I had been playing with for almost a year that he was no longer part of the team. We are gamers, not robots without emotions, it was no secret to me that we were not very confident when it came to social skills and conversations, so I forgave them pretty quickly. When I look back now, it makes me smile when I realize how stupid we all were (laughs). So we moved on, we are all still friends.

What really made me upset was the fact it wasn't the players who told me I was being removed Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk

In your Twitlonger explaining your predicament in Cloud9, you wrote that you didn't feel like a 'part of the team' for some reason. Can you expand on this, how did that manifest itself?

No idea, it was just a feeling I had. I was often minding my own business when we weren't practicing with the team. I was used to it from mousesports. During bootcamps or tournaments, if we had free time, I would just turn on music and play DM by myself, zoning out everything, so in my free time I was not really that socially active, I wasn't trying to make a bond with the team. I guess that is my mistake, and I will try to work on it in the future, as I now regret not spending more time with the guys or talking to them more.

In the text, you write about putting in a lot of hours and still struggling, and , in general, you seem to be very hard on yourself and your performances. Many fans and other pros seem to often praise you, at least as a good player for your role. Why is that hard for you to take in?

I don't think I was hard on myself. I am generally a pretty humble person, maybe sometimes on social media I act in a weird or cocky way, but it is mostly just banter or friendly troll. I am very open to the community about what is going on inside my head, I like to share my thoughts and generally speaking I think I am better at expressing thoughts that put me in a bad spot. Personally, I think the reason why it happens is that I am humble and I do not really like being in the spotlight. I'm talking about outside of the game environment here, I don't mind the spotlight as a player.

STYKO believes in sharing with the community:

I like to share my thoughts and generally speaking I think I am better at expressing thoughts that put me in a bad spot Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk

In the Twitlonger, you revealed that you were actually the one to contact the coach to say you felt like the other guys felt like you weren't the right fit. But earlier in the text, you say that you were 'determined to get that contract', and you also wrote that you 'put your heart in the jersey'. Why not stay in Cloud9 and grind it out, at least until the team confirmed they didn't like the fit?

The team confirmed they didn't like the fit. First, it was kind of "confirmed" to me when Golden got signed after ELEAGUE and I didn't. Cloud9 back then told me they still want to use me just as a stand-in and that they would work with me until the end of September. During the Major, we mutually agreed that I was not right fit and we would not force this anymore. They "wasted" the majority of the year looking for a good fit in terms of their fifth player and I wasn't the one, obviously. Therefore, I told them it might be good to approach other players as soon as possible.

You're obviously in a bit of a vulnerable position, as you have no team, but you say you're still very much motivated. Writing in length about your feelings and being very self-conscious, do you think these traits can be a disadvantage as a pro player?

I have kind of answered this already. It is sourcing from my traits as being humble and an open-minded person. I want people to see what's going on. I want to give out information other players are afraid to give. I want to share my thoughts and explain why I do what I do. Some players are rather "mysterious" and rarely share what they feel, but it helps me to vent out. It is just the way I am.

Some players are rather "mysterious" and rarely share what they feel, but it helps me to vent out. It is just the way I am Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk

There's been talk that snax doesn't seem like a good fit for mousesports, and oskar admitted in a Twitter AMA that he believes mousesports had worse comms than before (assuming he means when you were on the team). How do you see your chances of coming back into the mouz lineup?