Nostalgie-Interview mit der norwegischen CS 1.6-Legende

elemeNt: „Wenn ich professionell spielen wollte, könnte ich es“

elemeNt: „If I wanted to make it professional again, I could“

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Moving to California to play CS in a foreign country is definitely one thing I still cherish to this day.

Winning CPL summer in 2003 with SK was also awesome, but the one that made me most happy was winning in 2004 with NoA, because of all the troubles we had, being able to rise from the ashes and take home the title was really something.

How was the feeling back then? Did you ever think of maybe doing this for a living? Or did you just enjoy the time and have a backup plan in mind?

I always considered it my hobby which I happened to make money doing. Some might say I peaked 10 years too early, but I still feel privileged that I was able to travel the world and be a pioneer for esports before it really took off.

You played in big teams like SK, NoA, mibr,mousesports and a few more. What was your favourite station?

NoA.

Which teammate would like to play with again if you had the chance and why?

Mikey „Method“ So (NoA)

What are you doing for a living nowadays, 9 years after being a professional player? Do you miss the time being a CS pro?

Sometimes, I miss the travelling and being with friends the most. I work as a senior consultant for Telenor Mobile, helping them develop sales strategies and coaching a team of consultants as well.

Did you ever try CS:GO? What do you think about the game compared to 1.6?

I’ve played some recently, think I just hit 60 hours total. The game sense and strategies are quite simular to 1.6, but the engine has changed totally and there are so many things you have to learn if you want to compete on a high level from spawn times to where you want to throw nades to make them effective.

I think they have done a good job keeping some of the things people loved about 1.6, and at the same time being able to modernize it to make it spectator friendly and interesting for the players.

You were the first player with a cash transfer and even the first going to another country to play there: How do you compare it with nowadays with about 500.000 US-Dollar for players like Niko?

Its relative I suppose, Niko is arguably one of the best cs players out there as of 2017 – So I think my fee would have been a bit more. Jokes aside, the value of something is what someone is willing to pay for it. How much an esports player can be worth in 3-5 years time, only the future knows.

Do you think it’s too much and CS:GO is growing too fast or do you think this is the right direction esports should go – more commercial?

If you compare esports to pretty much any other sport – it has grown at a rapid speed and less than 20 years after Counter-strike was born people are making millions of dollars playing it. I think it took Football over 60 years to achieve the same thing.

When you compare the young players, even the Norwegian new star rain, do you think players have more skill now? Would a younger version of you still compete on top-level?

I have no doubt in my mind if I wanted to make it professional again I could, but it would require 6-10 hours of gaming for at least a year to get on point. I’m quite happy with my life situation today – I enjoy playing sometimes with my friends, but that’s all I have time for.