Twistzz: "To be fair, I don't consider myself a star player"

Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken discussed the AWPing situation in Liquid, changing his role to accommodate for Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip, and the AUG in our latest interview.

We sat down with Twistzz after his team breezed through the New Legends Stage of the IEM Katowice 2019 Major with a perfect, 3-0 record, to hear the 19-year-old's thoughts on the new Liquid lineup.

Twistzz, who placed 12th in our Top 20 players of 2018 list, was the player to change up his positions most significantly after Liquid replaced Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo with Stewie2K, so we heard about how and why that happened. The rifler also touched on the AUG, which he thinks some players are using in positions which aren't suited for the scoped weapon.

One of the things that is interesting about this Liquid roster is that almost everyone plays the AWP right now and is pretty capable with it. What are your thoughts on the situation on the moment? There not being a clear hierarchy of who picks it up and when, how is that developing right now?

I think it works really well, obviously, on our T sides we try to give the AWP to nitr0 as much as possible. Right now, we are differentiating between maps, Stewie might AWP on, for example, Dust2 T side, or if I have a Long spawn, I'll get the AWP, go for the pick, and I'll probably end up keeping it for the entire round. I think it is really good, I, nitr0, NAF, Stewie all play spots that require AWPs some times to hold down the site properly if we are getting pressured too much.

Mirage is a good example, because if we are not able to control mid as CTs properly, NAF will AWP Cat. If I'm suffering from upper B presence then I will AWP Upper B. I think it works really well, it gives us a new dynamic that we didn't really have before.

Is having different players pick up the AWP and play their positions more helpful than having a primary AWPer which roams around the map?

I think it is really important to have players that are all capable of weilding the gun. I would hate to have an amazing primary AWPer on the team and then have to shift him around in spots because, obviously, the spot that I move him from will have less defense. He might not have as much impact if my call is bad and I don't want that to happen. I think [having multiple players capable of picking up the AWP] is one thing that let us become a top team. It is a minor thing, but it is very important I feel.

With the addition of Stewie, you are seemingly the guy that changed the most positions on the map, giving your positions up for him. Most star players—and people consider you a star player—, wouldn't do that, they like their spots and they keep their spots. How did you approach that situation, moving to Mirage B Aps and positions like that?

To be fair, I don't consider myself a star player. I've been going through a lot of different role transitions right now. I kind of feel like I'm a main support and entry, and anchor [on CT]. That is ok for me. I was the only person on the team with past experiences of playing the B site, I wasn't the best at it, but I was also way worse overall back then.

I always felt like I play better in positions where I have a lot of room, more room to breathe. It lets my brain flow faster with ideas, so I've been trying to get used to B Aps, because really, I'm just looking at one narrow hallway, I'm jump spotting and stuff, there is only so much you can do. It kind of comes down to rotations, when to gamble on other spots on the map, when you feel it is safe to leave B and help your team somewhere else. It is just learning, and I like it a lot when get new spots because I learn everything and I think it makes me a better player overall. Also, they did it for me when I transitioned into the team, nitr0 changed his spots, and obviously, that helped me become comfortable, I felt like I really transitioned [well]. I wanted to do the same for Stewie because he is obviously coming from a way different atmosphere. I just wanted him to be comfortable entering the team.

I went through your stats at this tournament and you have only eight AUG kills at this tournament, and 44 AK-47 kills. Do you not like the AUG, do you feel more comfortable with the AK?

I think the AUG is... I don't know, it has different capabilities so if I feel like I need to use the AUG at certain spots, for example, Long A on Dust2 is a very good spot to have an AUG, because if you play close to the doors you can one-shot, if you play in the pit you have a scope. It is really convenient, but always, if I kill a rifler that has an AK, I'm gonna drop the AUG for it because it has the ability to one-shot from any distance.

I like the AUG and I think it is really overpowered right now, it is probably going to get changed after this event. But it really forces people to adapt and I don't think it is a bad thing. People are using it to every extent possible, I guess. The way I look at it, I use it based on my spots. I feel like people are using it in spots where... I see people that round corners scoped in, and I don't think that is the proper way to use the gun at all. But they are doing it...

Talking about this tournament, how happy are you with how the tournament went so far? You went 3-0, but there were some close matches...

Yeah, I'm happy with how the matches went, but I feel like we have to work on some things so we are going to use the next three or four days to practice, fine-tune some things. Our teamwork right now is not at its best, I feel like there is a lot more that we could be doing as a team, but all of us seem to be hitting a stride individually, and that is important. Of course, there were bumps in all of the matches, but we pulled through and did so using a different playstyle, a playstyle we don't usually use.

How come? Can you tell me a bit about the playstyle?

Yeah, I feel like, before, the only way we really knew how to play was aggressive. Right now, we are capable of taking a slow approach to the game and I think that is just down to nitr0 evolving as a leader. It's good.

Moving forward you have the quarter final, semi-final, but of course, the way the bracket works, it is shaping up towards a Liquid - Astralis grand final. So I have to ask you about that, are you looking forward to potentially playing them in the final?

Yeah, I'm really hoping for that matchup. I didn't want the rivarly to end towards the end of 2018, I knew it was going to keep going on the second we made changes. iBUYPOWER was just the start of it. It is going to be a fun year if they stay on top of their game like we hopefully will as well.