snatchie: "Struggles in Virtus.pro affected me a lot last year - I didn’t progress individually, my motivation level dropped"

Upon parting ways with the ex-Virtus.pro core and becoming a free agent, Michał "⁠snatchie⁠" Rudzki opened up on the good and bad of his stay with the Polish team.

While admitting that his motivation levels dropped in the last year with the Polish side as they struggled for results, the 22-year-old AWPer said that joining the team was a "dream come true" and that playing alongside the likes of Filip "⁠NEO⁠" Kubski and Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski gave him "invaluable" experience.

Moving forward, snatchie is ready to join a strong domestic lineup or go international, following in the steps of Michał "⁠MICHU⁠" Müller, Sebastian "⁠NEEX⁠" Trela, and Paweł "⁠dycha⁠" Dycha. However, at this point, he is still exploring his options.

You made the jump from AGO to Virtus.pro at the time when AGO was challenging for the title of the best team in Poland. What was your approach to that decision back in August of 2018? Which things ended up being different than you expected?

Virtus.pro was a dream for every Polish player back then and at that time I thought it was the normal next step in my career. It was a big pleasure to play with living legends but of course, every one of us was hoping for better results. There were some things that didn’t work and we tried many solutions, none of them worked.

How did the struggles in Virtus.pro affect you individually? Did your motivation drop, do you think your progression as a CS player has been slowed down because of it?

Struggles in Virtus.pro affected me a lot last year. I didn’t progress individually, and due to constantly making the same mistakes as a team, my motivation level dropped. You know, we were not a bad team on LANs and we were always able to show our power. However, situations such as the ESL Polish Championships or the struggle to maintain our spot in ESEA MDL mean that you are starting to seriously wonder what is the cause of those failures and whether you are pulling your team down. It was extremely hard because, on the one hand, we were able to win against FaZe or mousesports, and on the other, we lost to mix teams.

Do you think your career would've been in a better place if you didn't join Virtus.pro, either by staying in AGO or joining a different team?

I think that the experience gained in Virtus.pro is invaluable. I had a chance to work with some great professionals. Despite the results and many rumors about the entire composition - I had the opportunity to train with the world's best players. They taught me many things that I didn't even pay attention to. I can't assume what would have happened if I stayed at AGO or went to a different team. Every Polish player will tell you that being a part of Virtus.pro at this time was a dream and I made this dream come true.

Your time in Virtus.pro and with that core of players has come to an end. Looking at the positives, what is your favorite memory from your time with the team?

My favorite memory? I'd say it was V4 Future Sports Festival in Budapest. We performed really well there against good teams and it allowed us to rank up in the HLTV ranking.

Now that you are not playing in a team, what does your day-to-day regiment look like? How are you keeping in form or developing your game?

I try to do what every professional player should do while being a free agent. I devote a little more time to other activities, although I still spend a lot of time on the server, whether it’s playing qualifications with some mixes or on FPL. I also started streaming. On the matter of looking for a team, together with my agent we are looking for the best option and I hope soon you will see me on the server with a new team.

Your "stock" on the CS:GO market has dropped in recent times as other teams and players rose to prominence. How do you view that issue as a free agent? What do you bring to a team that would make you worth picking up, that perhaps isn't apparent?

In a way, everyone knows what I'm capable of. I believe I'm already recognizable for, in a way, a very aggressive playstyle, which sometimes might be too aggressive. I'm working on it and I learnt that sometimes it's worth to retreat to your position and by that win a round. Working with the players from former Virtus.pro also taught me a lot. After all, Snax was considered one of the best snipers in the world at one point in his career. I gained some skills and behaviors from each of them that will allow me to become a better player.

On the other hand, what are you looking for in a team that you would join? Are you looking to move if necessary and ready to communicate in English in an international team?

At this point, I'm considering several options. There are currently a lot of very good players on the Polish scene and if there will be an option to build a perspective and ambitious team - I'm open to it. Of course, the second option is to play in an international team. I am open to any proposal. Poland has many talented players such as MICHU, NEEX, or dycha who will have a chance to prove themselves in an international teams.