paz: "I strive to get better each day"

The 19-year-old made his international debut this year at Copenhagen Games where Space Soldiers reached the semi-finals. Not many people have heard his name in Turkey before 2016, let alone the people in and around the international scene.

Less than two years after starting his professional career with Phoenix—a Turkish organization—Ahmet "⁠paz⁠" Karahoca won his first international title at ASUS ROG Summer with Space Soldiers. He contributed to the title with a 1.25 rating and played a crucial role in the grand final against Epsilon, posting a 48:24 KDR and a 1.54 rating.

We interviewed the young prospect about how his career got started, how he was discovered, what he wishes to accomplish in the future, and more:

When did you start playing Counter-Strike? How long did it take you to get into a professional team?

I started playing Counter-Strike 1.5 when I was 12. I never played professionally before CS:GO and I went pro in 2015.

How much do you train in a day on your own and with your team? Do you ever get bored and want to get away from the game or are you always focused on gaming? Are you continuing your education or do you have another job besides CS?

We train for four to five hours with the team and everyone also trains on their own. There are times I get bored from CS and want to get away but I focus on it as much as possible. I'm playing CS full time and will start university this year.

How did you join Space Soldiers and who discovered your talent? How did you feel when you got an offer from the best team in the country?

Our manager "hardstyle" discovered me when I was playing for Phoenix. I believe I had a good performance against Space Soldiers. Then Çağatay "⁠DESPE⁠" Sedef invited me to the national team tryouts and I guess that's how their evaluation of me began. I was very happy to have received this invitation from the top team in my country.

After you joined the team you guys reached the semi-finals at Copenhagen Games which was the first international LAN you played at. Was experiencing the LAN environment for the first time challenging and were you excited?

At first, I was incredibly nervous as that was my first international LAN but I later felt like it was just a normal tournament. We could have gotten a better result than just semi-finals but we came up short.

Does playing online vs. LAN differ a lot for you due to ping or has that gotten better compared to the previous years?

Playing on LAN has always been better for me as the ping is a big factor. Also, LAN games have always been more enjoyable and I can focus much more easily on LAN.

You won ASUS ROG Summer without dropping a map in the playoffs. This is the first international LAN that Space Soldiers has won and you had a big role—especially in the grand final—in this achievement. Can you say a few words about this event?

I can say that ASUS ROG Summer went great for us and we felt delighted for winning our first international LAN title. Putting on a good personal performance made me feel even better.

What is it like playing with Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş, what kind of status (as in is he just another teammate for you or do you look up to him in any way) does he have in the team? It's no secret that he had some offers from abroad, but he decided to stay in Space Soldiers for now, what does that mean for you and the team?

I can say that playing with XANTARES is a great experience and that I've learned and will continue to learn a lot of things from him. I look up to all my teammates in the same way as they are all very good players. The fact that XANTARES chose to stay with the team shows that he believes in us and we'll do the everything we can not to let him down.

What are your goals as a team going forward? Do you guys expect to get more invitations to LANs?

We hope to get more invites from tournaments. Receiving an invite from DH Bucharest, for example, would be good.

Do you think there is enough talent in the Turkish scene to produce another internationally relevant team?

There are a lot of talented players in Turkey and I am sure they will climb the ladder in the future.

How far do you expect the Turkish national team can go this year in TWC? Can we expect a mixture of SS & DarkPassage players to appear in the next matches?

The roster consists of a lot of talented players. I think a good result is ahead with DarkPassage and Space Soldiers players playing in the upcoming matches.

What are your personal ambitions? Do you believe you can get better in time as you gain more experience?

I strive to get better each and every day as I want to belong in the category of elite players.

Is there anything you want say to your supporters before we end our interview?

I want to thank everyone who support me and my team. I also want to thank the Space Soldiers organization for believing in us.

This interview was conducted in Turkish and was translated to English. The translation was reviewed by the player to avoid any confusion.

BenjaCS is a staff writer at HLTV.org and can be found on Twitter.