Liquid: "Even EliGE started calling"

Our final interview from the second day of the MLG Columbus Main Qualifier is with Spencer 'Hiko' Martin and head coach James 'Jame^s' O'Connor following Liquid's qualification for the MLG Columbus Major.

Team Liquid went the long mile in their best-of-three decider match against HellRaisers at the MLG Columbus Main Qualifier but ultimately emerged triumphant in a memorable moment, which included a fairly emotional Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev at the game's end.

When things had slightly wound down, we spoke with Spencer "⁠Hiko⁠" Martin and the team's head coach James 'Jame^s' O'Connor about a long list of topics including things such as leadership quandaries on de_dust2 against HellRaisers and the team's outlook for the Major and beyond.

Upcoming interviews and other videos from day three of the MLG Columbus Main Qualifier will be found over at our Youtube channel.

stich writes for HLTV.org and can be found on Twitter

United States Spencer 'Hiko' Martin
Spencer 'Hiko' Martin
Age:
25
Team:
Rating 1.0:
1.12
Maps played:
379
KPR:
0.74
DPR:
0.60
Ukraine Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev
Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev
Age:
18
Team:
Rating 1.0:
1.18
Maps played:
377
KPR:
0.84
DPR:
0.70
#2
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
World deeperino
great interview
2016-02-28 04:20
0
8 replies
#76
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Italy Sh0WN
Im a simple guy, im not simple
2016-02-28 09:19
0
7 replies
#79
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Twistzz | 
Russia raintnt
are u retard
2016-02-28 09:49
0
6 replies
#80
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Italy Sh0WN
no, im not, im super retard, im raintnt
2016-02-28 09:51
0
5 replies
#83
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Twistzz | 
Russia raintnt
omh u are mad)
2016-02-28 10:06
0
4 replies
#86
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Netherlands DvceW
Italy has no scene, what do u expect?
2016-02-28 10:16
0
3 replies
#87
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Twistzz | 
Russia raintnt
i am fakeflagger
2016-02-28 10:16
0
#96
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Italy Sh0WN
Sure twist of toilet cleaner
2016-02-28 13:54
0
1 reply
#103
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Germany xDDDDDDDjebali
nt s1mple
2016-02-28 15:12
0
#6
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Ireland Intrilo
ayy
2016-02-28 04:20
0
kek
2016-02-28 04:20
0
#9
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Spain Arhlex
n1
2016-02-28 04:20
0
#11
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Sweden NyZtan0
:D
2016-02-28 04:20
0
#12
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
steel | 
Canada steell
lol wtf
2016-02-28 04:20
0
ez for s1mple
2016-02-28 04:20
0
#14
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Sweden aN0x-
"even elige" its like the worst that could happen :D
2016-02-28 04:21
0
2 replies
#16
Faceit level 9 Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
jOELZ | 
Poland stich - HLTV.org
That's not verbatim, the even just paraphrases "at one point" which is what James says
2016-02-28 04:22
0
1 reply
#39
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Korea Laiton
really stich ???? really ?!?!
2016-02-28 04:45
0
#15
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Germany Cosmyc
s1mple <3
2016-02-28 04:21
0
I think Liquid should consider AdreN over koosta, I think he's a better offline player
2016-02-28 04:22
0
6 replies
#41
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Iceland Iceland
Koosta only played bad on this lan cus he hasnt been training with his team and he was obviously not motivated to play with this team again.
2016-02-28 04:49
0
2 replies
He played bad because he was "not motivated"? Doesn't sound like a champion mindset to me. (IF that's even true)> I Just think he is inexperienced and really needs more exposure at the tier 2 level before being in the big leagues (Same with Stewie2k, though koosta is much further along than him).
2016-02-28 07:23
0
1 reply
#107
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Iceland Iceland
You can look at his past lan performances he can be a great lan player it was just that he had been practising with another team and then goes back to his old team without practising with them. hltv.org/?pageid=246&playerid=9056&stats..
2016-02-28 16:09
0
#42
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
China Elijah.Lx
agree Koosta is overraated so hard
2016-02-28 04:54
0
2 replies
#49
rain | 
United States DuneM
Maybe. You can't really say that yet though. 2 bad maps on LAN is not enough to say koosta would be bad for the team, especially considering the inexperience of koosta. Also he was playing a far different style on Liquid than on NME and didn't seem to go back to playing the same style as he used to on NME during this LAN. So maybe you are right, but I think koosta is good move overall (as long as they can get their tactical issues sorted out).
2016-02-28 05:13
0
#108
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Iceland Iceland
He was carrying his team cus they played around him you can see when he doesnt perform the rest of his team start to outfrag him and that is the same with kennys in titan... There are plenty of awpers that are overrated and KennyS is the most overrated of all.
2016-02-28 16:11
0
#19
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
United States fambino
James please.
2016-02-28 04:23
0
#20
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Poland vitinho110
Liquid's coach is huge, doubt any of the favelos or bullies will touch s1mple with this mofo around
2016-02-28 04:24
0
8 replies
#23
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Spain Ayrr
He is an ex US marine according to his twitter lol
2016-02-28 04:28
0
5 replies
#24
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Poland vitinho110
tfw ur coach is a bigass marine so you have to obey his calls
2016-02-28 04:29
0
#56
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Faroe Islands xfyre101
with that huge beer belly? dobut it.
2016-02-28 05:40
0
2 replies
????? he's not in the military anymore, why would that have anything to do with it?
2016-02-28 05:55
0
1 reply
#63
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Argentina thomasvice
RL and thoorin usually refer to him in their videos, apparently the guy is an idiot, that is what they say at least, he looks a little inmature to me, always interupting in a loud voice and being so shy
2016-02-28 06:10
0
#78
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Ethiopia FriendlyDude
stunna is ex marine too.coincidence? I aren't think that
2016-02-28 09:33
0
#50
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
allu | 
North America hesh
he punched a guy out for talking shit at a lan at web2zone in new york years ago. jame^s don't fuck around.
2016-02-28 05:13
0
1 reply
#65
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
United States The_Strang3r
Can confirm. If I remember right, it was a couple of Asian e-thugs that tried to jump him in the parking lot for talking shit during a match and they got rekt.
2016-02-28 06:39
0
#21
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Europe osna
hiko belly spotted
2016-02-28 04:24
0
Their manager is so sympathetic
2016-02-28 04:25
0
#26
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
United States ViKaLiBuR
James talk too much holy shit lol. Sounds like a cool guy though
2016-02-28 04:33
0
HLTV should give stich a raise. Some really dank interviews today. Even if GBJame^s isn't calling strats... asking the right questions to your IGL, or even knowing what to ask (rubber-duck debugging), is something people overlook. FeelsNorthAmericanMan FeelsBadEnglishMan
2016-02-28 04:44
0
1 reply
Best interviewer in the scene
2016-02-28 14:11
0
#28
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
United States nev1L
There, they clarified the simple interview, can we quit with the "BC HR SO BAD" spam now? lol
2016-02-28 04:35
0
4 replies
#37
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Hong Kong TurboJET
S1mple already clarified it an hour ago on his twitter account.
2016-02-28 04:43
0
2 replies
#40
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
United States nev1L
Yes I know but they are still spamming this, hoping this interview will put an end to it
2016-02-28 04:47
0
1 reply
#48
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Hong Kong TurboJET
Hope so
2016-02-28 05:11
0
Whoever spams it is toxic ;)
2016-02-28 12:56
0
#30
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Finland kommunisti
Their manager seems super enthusiastic about the game :D. Good interview!
2016-02-28 04:36
0
#31
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Europe apkaapka
so Simple got his H1B? :D
2016-02-28 04:36
0
#32
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Japan diggers
why is this redneck 'i'm ex marine' coaching them?
2016-02-28 04:36
0
1 reply
#62
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
United States WilbuRsson
Well one he is trying to keep them humble which for a few of the players isn't so easy, and second he was in the CS team named green berets not the military branch afaik.
2016-02-28 06:02
0
#33
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
method | 
United States f0xes`
Good interview and that MLG interview w/ s1mple made me feel pretty bad for the kid. So much pressure and under so much scrutiny by a bunch of jealous kids.
2016-02-28 04:38
0
3 replies
#36
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Europe apkaapka
he will get "stickers money" that's why he is crying
2016-02-28 04:43
0
2 replies
#43
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
method | 
United States f0xes`
We both know why he's crying, lol. But I'm sure that sticker money will make those tears fade away real fast :P
2016-02-28 04:57
0
1 reply
#54
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Europe apkaapka
toxic tears won't fade away. they should replace the whole flooring on the stage.
2016-02-28 05:19
0
good interview, great comeback, really happy to see liquid in major, ty hltv.
2016-02-28 04:39
0
#38
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
jackasmo | 
Russia *Tpo-_-JI.b*
S1mple cried livecap.tv/t/mlg/uMrFVb7O1Gk Thats how happy he is :)
2016-02-28 04:44
0
#44
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
autist | 
Sweden ujinx
damn stich back at it again with the dildo mic
2016-02-28 05:01
0
#45
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
sissi | 
China HLTVMASTR
Didnt Jame^s use to play CS Source with mOE? (EFG/Powers) Also, he kinda looks like moe, lol
2016-02-28 05:04
0
1 reply
#51
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
allu | 
North America hesh
he was a 1.6 pro as well
2016-02-28 05:14
0
GB James fuckboi
2016-02-28 05:14
0
rip koosta stickers
2016-02-28 05:38
0
#57
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Brazil lNowayl
Nob Liquid, picked simple but,nd no leadership in game, you should empty your pockets and bring a coach to be igl and make the calls from outside equal to do faze and tempo.
2016-02-28 05:47
0
1 reply
No they can't have fallen calling for them in the back like tempo
2016-02-28 05:52
0
#59
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Brazil dakargui
most skilled team on NA...NT kkkk
2016-02-28 05:52
0
2 replies
#110
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
United States slendyv
Tempi Storm ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyytyy lmao
2016-02-28 17:37
0
1 reply
#113
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Brazil dakargui
?? who told on TempoStorm kkkk....TL is far way from LG k.. omg
2016-02-28 21:35
0
#64
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Mexico Jordi
That last match was so fucking epic
2016-02-28 06:37
0
#66
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Australia hazelberry
Stich, for the future, if you're going to interview two guys, stand in the middle. Other than that, you're doing an awesome job dude, keep it up!
2016-02-28 06:52
0
3 replies
#70
Faceit level 9 Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
jOELZ | 
Poland stich - HLTV.org
we talked about it but I guess they preferred if I stood on the side. You know, my handsomeness can't steal the show all the time ;)
2016-02-28 07:38
0
2 replies
#91
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Liechtenstein Kindafriendly
It's better for you to stay on the side as you did tbh. If you're standing in the middle you've no control on who's trying to say something when asking a question even though it's for a specific person the other guy may have an addition to that question, and you'll then constantly have to look right and left to try to pick up who has something on their mind.
2016-02-28 12:10
0
1 reply
#99
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Australia hazelberry
Yeah thats a good point! I can understand them wanting to stand side by side. Just gotta be more direct and authoritative with the microphone. Though if you're in the middle i feel you do have more control as to who you're directing a question to and can lead from there. As long as everyone gets their say in the end :)
2016-02-28 14:17
0
#68
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Denmark fyhn
Holy shit this guy James interrupts a lot. That really annoyed me.
2016-02-28 07:31
0
"S1mple didn't say bad, he said better" ahaha true story bruh btw Hiko is awesome, James is kinda weird but if they think he really helps it's fine i guess
2016-02-28 07:35
0
#71
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Brazil Hyzek
What the actual fuck? Is James on adderall? Im pretty sure he is.
2016-02-28 07:56
0
1 reply
#77
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Australia KARMAAAYT
I think he's tired here. But yeah he wasn't very concise really, he didn't even construct a proper sentence imo.
2016-02-28 09:28
0
#72
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
United States Davy1992
nice one
2016-02-28 08:10
0
#73
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Sweden GiT_ReGhT-A-
James is fucking big version of PhantomLord LMAOOOOOOO
2016-02-28 08:15
0
#74
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
huNter- | 
United States cr4ckerj4ck
even elige, the strategical mind of cs
2016-02-28 08:47
0
elegiggle?
2016-02-28 09:09
0
nice
2016-02-28 09:55
0
#82
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
coswell | 
Finland coswell
Damn, James seems like a very annoying person.
2016-02-28 09:59
0
1 reply
Couldn't agree more.
2016-02-28 15:07
0
Well I really don't see elige calling, kid doesn't even check corners.
2016-02-28 10:09
0
S1mple and team liquid we love u! Keep it up brothers
2016-02-28 10:09
0
#88
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Serbia whoa!!
i miss ur pink scarf stich
2016-02-28 10:38
0
<3 Stitch! Such a nice/smart guy =)
2016-02-28 10:56
0
#90
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Europe rabe!
"even elige started calling" what the fuck does that even mean, motherfucker? is he normally not calling? are you raising a second communicative mastertalent like skadoodle? you muricans do all the mistakes over and over again and then you still have no idea why your pro scene sucks dick.. its unbelievable.
2016-02-28 11:23
0
2 replies
#95
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Europe selbi
hahah xDD
2016-02-28 13:12
0
#114
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
World Luckysc
do you even know what you just said? lol
2016-02-29 17:44
0
very gd interview
2016-02-28 12:23
0
#93
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Finland JKRr
This coach tho....
2016-02-28 12:50
0
1 reply
#100
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Ukraine blami4
good guy
2016-02-28 14:27
0
#101
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
 | 
Norway sparta92
Mb hire caller
2016-02-28 14:58
0
#104
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
United States C9.n0thing
n1
2016-02-28 15:13
0
#105
 | 
Poland fR3EZi
Liquid NA last Hope kappa
2016-02-28 15:20
0
#106
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Turkey catmandoo
adren last NA hope.
2016-02-28 15:52
0
#109
Old school: User been here for more than 10 years  | 
Sunde | 
Denmark 42_is_the_answer
STICH keep up ze good job
2016-02-28 16:39
0
bad, better hmhm maybe he wanted to say bread? they are the bread team on dust2?
2016-02-28 20:28
0
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