natu: "There is a significant difference between online and offline play."

In an interview with ESL, 3DMAX CS:GO player Joona "natu" Leppänen talks about online and offline play, the upcoming Katowice 2015 major, and the recent roster change.

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Finnish team 3DMAX just recently qualified for the upcoming Katowice 2015 major through the offline qualifiers. ESL, the organizers of the $250,000 event, have now gotten together with Joona "natu" Leppänen to talk about his thoughts regarding the tournament.

Some notable excerpts from the interview can be read below:

ESL: The offline qualifier was something new for this major. How did you like the event and do you think this should become a standard for following events?

natu: Offline qualifiers were standard for all the big events ten years ago, so we’ve found it absurd it has taken this long to have that back. It should definitely be the standard for every single future major. There is a significant difference between online and offline play. ESL standards for organizing an event have been high for years already, so everything was smooth and players were given the circumstances they deserved on this occasion as well.

ESL: Now that allu has left the team, you've brought in xartE, who replaced you during the offline qualifier. Is he ready for the challenges ahead?

natu: He’s a great player but represents a different type of skillset, so we can’t just have him play allu’s role and expect things to work. The biggest challenge for us is that we’ve been forced to shuffle our gameplay role-wise and have people doing different things at short notice. Thankfully we have an amazing AWP talent in stoned, which enables us to work around good sniping abilities regardless. I’m sure xartE is more than ready for this great opportunity.

ESL: You already got yourself the title of Challenger and will see your team’s logo as a sticker in CS:GO soon. How much does this mean to you?

natu: I think that matters more to our fans than us, but of course it is an honor to have an item in a game that your efforts have made a reality. However, there should be only one goal, and that is to become one of the Legends.

ESL: The growth of CS:GO continues and a lot of organizations known for having teams in other games have entered the scene. How do you feel about this and what do you see as being next on the horizon?

natu: It’s a strong signal that Counter-Strike is in a healthy place and keeps pushing the limits. The game continues to constantly break records, and it’s only natural we have more and more resources being brought in. In raw mathematics, it means more players have the opportunity to become truly professional and have the finances to push more. It also means the competition will keep getting tougher. It’s a great time to be a player and a fan.

You can read the full interview on the ESL Gaming website here.

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