Simon ”twist” Eliasson. Foto: Team Property

His career peaked during the glory days of LGB eSports, but since then Simon ”twist” Eliasson has ”not been trying very hard”.

Partly thanks to his monstrous handling of the AWP he is a favorite among the fans and with his new team Copenhagen Wolves he’s now ready to reach for the top.

– It feels like there are still a lot of titles up for grabs, Twist tells Aftonbladet Esport.

Among the fans and in the community Simon ”twist” Eliasson has become a favorite and is widely considered one of the best players from Sweden. His career reached it’s so far highest peak when he played with LGB eSports at the major tournament EMS One Katowice. Since then he has ”not been trying very hard”, but now he’s back with his new team Copenhagen Wolves.

– Now I’m really going to try hard, and I’m positive that I will reach a high level with this team, Twist tells Aftonbladet Esport and continues:

– Counter-Strike is growing all the time and even though I’ve missed a couple of events and majors this game is only getting bigger. It’s not going to disappear for a long time. Sure I’ve missed things, but it feels like there are still a lot of titles up for grabs.

”We got a good deal”

Players coming together from different countries to create new teams has been somewhat rare in Scandinavia. For that reason the new Copenhagen Wolves lineup stands out. Other than the Swedish duo Twist and Erik ”zende” Sundequist, the team consists the Norwegian talents: Ruben ”RUBINO” Villarroel, Joakim ”jkaem” Myrbostad and Morten ”zEVES” Vollan.

– It’s not very common. They contacted us after the offline qualifier for ESL Cologne and asked us if we wanted to play. We were a bit sceptic at first, but we really want to go for this. CS is getting so huge, so we accepted. We got a good deal also, the best one we’ve received so far.

How good a deal?

– Salary and full support, you know.

Can you play full time?

– Not exactly, but I’m getting there. It’s a start.

”I thought Norwegian would be easier”

Though the team has not existed very long, Twist thinks their performance has been decent so far. However, the language has been a minor issue.

– I thought Norwegian would be easier, but I think we’ve been doing alright so far. We managed to qualify for Dreamhack London and Stockholm. But going back to the language, if we just play and practice more it’s going to solve itself. Different positions and areas are called different things, so it gets confusing to play sometimes. The more we practice, which we need to do ahead of London and everything else, I think it will get better. I know we have potential.

What are your thoughts going into Dreamhack London?

– It’s going to be like a test for us, our first test. I always expect to win, that’s why I joined this team. I know we have the potential to win and that’s what we’re going for.

And you have also secured a spot to the offline qualifier for the next major.

– Getting a spot for the major would mean a lot, and I think we have a good chance of qualifying.

”We had really poor support in LGB”

With stars such as Olof ”Olofmeister” Kajbjer and Dennis ”dennis” Edman, LGB eSports were well on their way to come an elite team in the glory days of 2013 and 2014. But something happend and the team split up, much to Fnatic’s joy.

Why did LGB split up?

– That was a long time ago. As I remember it Dennis got a job. We had really poor support in LGB considering we placed 3rd-4th in some of the biggest tournaments. We had no salary, and we were even the only team playing without salary. We had some other offers where we got a small salary, but Dennis chose his job and I understand that. CS wasn’t even close to as big as it is today.

”I just love to play CS, it’s my passion”

The time in LGB came with a lot of media and community exposure, and with his monstrous handling of the AWP he won the hearts of the fans.

– It feels great of course, but you get to deal with some hate too. It’s awesome that people want to see me play on the highest level.

Does if affect your motivation?

— Actually no. I just love to play CS, it’s my passion. I play because I enjoy it and don’t need motivation. I just love it and even if I’m not in a team I still play FACEIT and all that.

Compared to his old team, LGB, Twist says they play a much more structured style in Copenhagen Wolves. The in-game leader zEVES has so far been doing good calls, but according to Twist it’s still too early to draw any conclusions.

– We have set roles and do what we’re supposed to. I don’t think we are going to play a lot of mix style. I think that’s the difference of becoming a good team, that you have a leader that can take control when you get locked. That’s how you become a more stable team.