woxic: "On the EPL stage, I was not just woxic; I was also an individual representing Turkey"

Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker burst onto the international scene with DarkPassage, whom he helped to a quarter-final finish at the 2016 WESG Finals. Following the disbandment of the Turkish team, he joined HellRaisers on trial on August 11, eventually signing a permanent deal one month later.

The 19-year-old had his biggest LAN experience ever earlier this month as his team placed attended the ESL Pro League Season 6 Finals in Odense, Denmark, placing 5th-6th after surviving a group that included Astralis and Liquid.

woxic said he planned to play for a foreign team after DarkPassage

We talked to woxic about his former team in Turkey, joining HellRaisers and the experience of living abroad. The youngster also touched on his team's campaign at the ESL Pro League Season 6 Finals.

Let's start with your former team DarkPassage which was a young squad on the rise. What were the main factors behind the team's disbandment?

Yes, we were young and talented. We lived in a team house for nearly a year and during that time we were progressing swiftly with what we had. We were regularly experiencing problems caused by Calyx, but we lived with it as we could not find anybody to fill his position.

Everything ended when he signed for Space Soldiers after the end of his contract without telling the players or the organization. Even though we tried out some other players, we decided not to continue and left the team.

After a while you began a trial period with HellRaisers. Were you considering a move abroad before the HellRaisers offer? How did it feel to receive such an offer in the early stages of your career?

I already had the ambition to play for a foreign team. I wanted to try my luck in a team outside of Turkey after what we had gone through with my previous team. Maybe this was a big risk for my career's outlook as my English was not at all advanced; however, I still wanted to give it a try. Before I got the offer, I played FPL, livestreamed and tried to improve my English as much as possible.

When the offer was on the table, I thought I could represent my country abroad with pride. Other offers aside, I thought that I could be the first Turkish player to play for HellRaisers — a well-known team around the globe. I got a permanent contract after the trial period, and I'm happy to be where I am now.

What is it like living abroad? How has living in different conditions at this early age impacted you?

Everyone thinks about living abroad at a certain point of their lives. I wanted to play for a foreign team, to visit different countries, live there and learn their cultures. This was a difficult decision to make, but, like I said, I enjoy seeing different countries, living abroad, and travelling.

How is the team environment different in HellRaisers compared to Turkey? Are there psychological and tactical differences? Also, how is it like to communicate in a language other than your mother tongue?

It's quite different from Turkey, both psychologically and tactically. The lifestyles and real life issues are completely different. Because of that I feel comfortable here without issues. The best part about communicating in another language is that you learn it, and it is a plus that this language is English.

Coming back to Counter-Strike, the ESL Pro League Finals was the biggest event you have ever attended, and you had a good performance in the group stage. What is different about that LAN environment and how much has this experience meant for you?

Playing there really was a different feeling. Playing in front of a crowd and thinking about all the people that watch you for hours on their monitors, thinking about your family and living all the emotional moments second by second is priceless.

When I was on the stage, I wasn't just woxic, I was also an individual that represented Turkey. I should represent it in the best possible way and I identified this as the biggest responsibility of my career. Since I knew that the people who support me would be sad if I lost, I did everything in my capacity [to win], and will keep doing so.

You were eliminated by Misfits in the playoffs. What went wrong in this match? Also can you talk a little bit about the viral picture in which Sean Gares is consoling you? What did he say to you during those moments?

Even though there was no slacking on our part after we clinched the playoffs spot, something went wrong that day. I was so sure that we would win because we had beat Misfits in all the practice matches. We knew about their playstyle and we were all in the right mental state. But sometimes in games, your tactics and rotations can be read by your opponent, or you can lose because you were not lucky. We lived these moments in the Misfits game. I personally didn't like my own quarter-final performance, both in terms of fragging and overall contribution to the team. Misfits played better and won.

That picture depicted my bewilderment and the anger I felt towards myself because of my bad performance. I just wanted to cover my face and hide my anger. Once again, thanks to Sean Gares, who told me: "You did your best, keep your head up and keep going".

Finally what will be the main priorities for HellRaisers in the upcoming year?

We aim to attend the next Major and we want to place high in all the tournaments we can participate in.