NEO: "TECHLABS was too random"

Last but certainly not least is Filip "NEO" Kubski from ESC Gaming, who are currently participating in the on-site qualifier for the main event, having not been invited directly into the 33,000€ tournament.

Kubski is no stranger to Copenhagen Games, having won the event with his team ESC in 2011 over SK Gaming in the grand finals. They also placed second last year in the mini CS:GO tournament hosted by Creative.

ESC Gaming are fresh off a disappointing TECHLABS finish, but are now hoping to right that wrong in Copenhagen with a top three finish at what is so far 2013's biggest CS:GO event.

Continue reading to find out what Kubski makes of their chances, why we shouldn't give much credit to TECHLABS results, and more.

How has your preparation for Copenhagen Games been? Have you bootcamped or simply practiced online? Have you faced any issues? How prepared do you feel as a team?

ESC NEO: Our biggest issue was the tight schedule in the recent months. We had been bootcamping only for around a week - from Germany we had to go back to Poland so everyone could get their visas to Russia. That forced us to shorten our stay in Germany. After the tournament in Moscow we haven't had much time and after not even 2 days we had to depart for Denmark. So mostly it's been just studying our opponents games instead of playing. But we felt that was the missing part in our preparation so now we are ready, fully prepared.

How important is Copenhagen Games to your team as an event? It has the most prize money since DreamHack Winter and just about every top team attending, including the North Americans. Does it being BYOC take any of the prestige away in your opinion?

ESC NEO: It feels like it is the most important tournament in CS:GO so far. There is BO3 and double elimination so no place for excuses from anyone. There are most of the top teams, a lot of games. Everything that a gamer expects from an event. We find the BYOC tournament to be positive, allows you a good warmup before the competition itself.

With almost all top teams present, who do you think will finish in the top four besides NiP? Is there any team in particular who isn't getting enough attention or who has been impressing you in practice?

ESC NEO: Besides NiP there will be VeryGames for sure, they seem stable and strong, and it seems ScreaM has finally found his place in the team which means everyone should watch out for that guy. Then I would probably have to say Virtus.Pro or Na`Vi, both have been practicing a lot and improving a lot. I wouldn't count any of the results from TECHLABS Cup - feels that it was too random with its 1 map and tight schedule, which forced players to start without getting ready. I also think that fnatic can finally start getting into shape, but that gives us 5 teams already. Add us, mix it up and just wait for the entertainment! :)

Do you like the format of Copenhagen Games (best-of-three groups, best-of-three upper- and best-of-one lower bracket)? What would you change? Do you think it forces teams to play too much?

ESC NEO: We love it - the more we play on the event the better we get I think, so now with the BYOC tournament we can get fully ready for the competition. Honestly I think BO1 on events seems like a joke now - you lose two pistolrounds and you can get into big trouble - add Single Elimination system and you can be out of the tournament in a blink of an eye.

NEO's ESC will hope to solidify their place as a top three team

Which one thing do you think can make the biggest difference in how your team performs this week? Does your team e.g. rely on someone to have good matches a lot? Are you very reliant on pistol round wins? Anything similar besides "hitting your shots" or "being lucky"?

ESC NEO: Obviously pistol rounds are very important for us - but that probably applies to every team. Then we need a good breakfast, a nice weather would be nice too. Don't forget about the height of tables and comfortable seats. Last but not least we find it important to wear our favourite parts of the wardrobe. With these elements and God's will we might make it to the final.

Having failed to defeat VeryGames at Mat Catz and lost against Virtus.pro at TECHLABS Cup, how do you feel about your team now? Do you feel as if you're still improving, or have you become stagnant? What do you think you need to do in order to do better at all of these upcoming events?

ESC NEO: We kind of look at it differently. The match vs VeryGames was a 3rd place decider, having some drunk players behind your backs, not having the full motivation after semi-final defeat makes you not 100% focused on the game. Then we have TECHLABS, where as I said we had BO1, 10 minutes to get ready to start. I don't want to brag about how many things have made us lose - I'm just trying to explain we don't lose confidence after such defeats. We know we are strong and we are able to do damage at this event.

On [POD]Cast episode #4 we talked about you not having become the superstar in CS:GO so far that you were in CS 1.6. Do you agree with the statement, and do you have any thoughts on why that may not be? How much CS:GO have you played in hours? Is it about motivation or something else? Do you still think you are getting there individually?

ESC NEO: I do agree with that statement. There are plenty of thoughts around it in my head, but honestly it has been just too much thinking. The pressure was kinda too big, most of the time I have just been trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong, why I'm just not good, trying to change things around and so on. Now I just came to conclusion I need to loosen up a bit, just start to enjoy playing, you know? It's kind of like when pasha stepped in for LUq in the team - everyone was expecting something from him, and he just kept trying and trying to get better. That what's happening to me, I think, or at least I just hope I just need some time. Just take it easy, wait and see. :)

Kubski's ESC Gaming have already started their campaign at Copenhagen Games as they've scored a 16-5 win versus CHEFROTTEN on de_inferno_se, and are currently waiting for their next match versus CPLAY to begin.