forsyy: "It was only a matter of time before we'd win something with NEOFRAG"

After sitting on SINNERS bench for the past three months, David "⁠forsyy⁠" Bílý reflects on his year 2022 with the Czech side and looks ahead as he awaits international offers.

In November, after a year in which SINNERS remained outside of the top 30, forsyy was benched from the Czech team. The AWPer had been the team's highest-rated player and one of the best-performing snipers on the tier-two scene, but it was not because of his output that the team decided to make the change.

In his place came the man forsyy originally replaced at the beginning of 2022, Tomáš "⁠oskar⁠" Šťastný, whom the organization brought back with hopes they can replicate their 2021 form due to the veteran's wealth of experience and understanding of what it takes to win.

Three months after getting transfer listed, forsyy is still looking for his next team after talks with European teams didn't come to fruition and negotiations with interesting local projects fell through.

We sat down with the 21-year-old and asked him about his year with SINNERS and its lowlights and highlights, such as narrowly missing out on qualifying for PGL Major Antwerp and why following the departure of Adam "⁠NEOFRAG⁠" Zouhar to OG the team couldn't reach similar heights.

forsyy also spoke about what he's looking for in his next team, where he improved over the year with SINNERS and how his playstyle has evolved from the times he looked up to a then-rising star Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov.

Let's start in the year 2022 and how it went from your point of view. How would you rate it and what were your best and worst moments?

I'd rate it as up and down. We had bright moments and some darker moments at the same time. I'd choose the [PGL Major Antwerp] RMR as the bright moment but also as the darkest one, because we were so close to our dream, but at the same time it disappeared.

I think it was a nice year, because I just played a lot, and that's what I wanted, to play as much as possible. I know that I improved a lot, be it in CS or outside of it, especially in the mental side. I think I'm now ready for whatever happens, it won't throw me off. I think I improved a lot in that, so I'm glad.

Team-wise, I don't know, we could have definitely had better results. We only played online tournaments like Elisa and Home Sweet Home cups, in which we had decent results in my opinion, but at the same time we didn't win any, so it's so-so. Otherwise it was a fine year, we won the last tournament of the year, the Czech Championship LAN, which I was pleased with, obviously, but it doesn't matter anything on the European scale.

Already in Enterprise you had a lot of opportunities to play against better European teams and even some of the world's best at V4, but during 2022 you played twice as many maps, almost 300, with SINNERS. How do you look at your own improvement in that time?

I think I improved a lot. I progressed the most I could and I mainly played with people who taught me something, especially Seba, beastik, taught me so much, and so did Tomka [Tomkeejs]. I'm glad we played so much, because I don't mind playing a lot. I don't have a problem with playing officials or practice a lot, I just find it fun to get better and I succeeded in that last year, so I'm glad for that.

In what way do you think they helped you improve?

Especially in CS they improved me in that I stopped overthinking so much and I also realized there were other points of view of the game, that you can help your team in ways other than just getting kills. Outside of CS, they helped me psychologically so that I am a better teammate than I was a year ago. I dare say I improved a lot and now people would say that I'm a better teammate, while the year before that I don't think that would have been the case.

Why do you think you weren't a good teammate a year ago?

I didn't act as I was supposed to, professionally. I wasn't the worst teammate, but I know I'm a lot calmer in communication and when something goes wrong, even I can be the one who will say that it's okay. A year ago this wouldn't have happened.

A few years ago we talked and you said you had sh1ro as a big inspiration from the Gambit Youngsters times, when they were still on the rise. How did your style evolve from then? Did sh1ro remain one of your idols and do you still model your game after him?

sh1ro is probably my favorite player at the moment. I generally love Gambit or Cloud9's style in general. But it has changed over time. I watched a lot of osky's [oskar] demos, I just like how he plays, he's a talented player from whom you can learn outside-of-the-box moves that you only think of in certain situations.

I think I evolved a lot, but I think it was shaped by my team rather than me watching someone and forcing it in my game. I think it was more based on the team, on our theory and how we talked in training sessions. But I also had freedom, so the styles meshed together, and I think I have kind of my own style now. I am getting inspiration from other people, but I have my own solid base. In those two or three years my game changed to an extreme degree. When you play against t1-t2 teams every day, you'll progress a lot.

What do you think you were missing to reach bigger heights with SINNERS?

When we still had NEOFRAG, I think our results weren't the best, but at the same time we had some potential in terms of firepower to win online tournaments or even the RMR, that we could have qualified for the Major. I think it was only a matter of time before we'd win something with NEO, but when he left, we all played better, but our results didn't improve. I think we were missing the firepower. Even though we had an insane team on paper, we couldn't turn it into better results. We played quality CS without NEO, but we didn't have the firepower to beat better teams when our teamplay wasn't entirely on point.

Do you think he was that important, bringing that extra gear to win matches you maybe aren't supposed to, just through being a strong individual?

I think it's important to have five players who play for the team and don't do crazy things, but at the same time it can hurt when the teamplay isn't on point. Someone has to come and put up a good performance for the team to win when you're facing a better team, where just teamplay isn't enough. It's necessary in today's meta to have a rifler that has impact every game, or in games where it's needed, and obviously the AWP needs to play well. Firepower is really important in this meta.

How did you react when you were told oskar would replace you?

It was unexpected, because I think we were fine. I was sad, but at the same time I understood it, osky [oskar] was a free agent and I was probably the only player from the roster who could be bought out by a European team. I had the stats for it and my game corresponds to a European level, so I understand SINNERS knew they'd sell me and that they'd have osky for free, and with him the previous year they had the best year in Czech-Slovakian CS history. Even though that was with NEO. They know oskar's qualities and decided to try it with him, which I can say nothing about. For me it's the past, they made the decision, and I guess it doesn't matter anymore. My thoughts aren't about why they did it, or what ifs, but about finding a new team as quickly as possible so that I can grind again and improve.

Did you agree with their stance, which was basically that they needed someone with a bigger impact on creating the game, his experience and game sense?

In a certain way definitely, but I think I also had other qualities, which not that oskar doesn't have, but I think I'm also a specific player in some ways. But I think I agree that we didn't have anyone mid-round who would take responsibility. Or we were all like that, but sometimes it was nobody, which is a problem. I agree, but at the same time I think there were other options. There's no bad blood.

You say you're ready for a new team. How did you spend the past three months since the time you went on the bench?

It's the first time I'm without a team in maybe two and a half years, since I played in Enterprise and SINNERS, and in these past few months without a team I'm realizing how much the team has an impact on a person's everyday life. You spend five or six hours a day with those people at minimum when you practice or when you play officials, so it's weird when I now don't have a team. I'm used to training and playing a lot and spending time with the team, and now that I don't have that, I feel like I'm wasting my time and potential, which is a shame. I hope that changes.

What are you looking for in your future team?

A good atmosphere, some stability, for open-minded people, and for some honesty and fairness. Those would be the main points. I wouldn't wanna play in a team where people aren't friends and it's purely professional. I want to play at the tier-one level, of course, but when you spend so much time with those people every day you also want to finish the day with a feeling of happiness or that you improved. That's what I'm looking for.

What about in terms of location? Would you be willing to continue playing for a Czech team as opposed to waiting on the right international offer?

My goal is definitely to get into a European team, because I think there are few people on the Czech-Slovakian scene from whom I can learn something. I don't want to sound like I'm the best here or something, but I know on the higher level in Europe, in the top 30, I could learn from almost every player and improve. It could even be from North America, maybe, I don't have a problem with a location, but it obviously depends.

I'm aiming for an international team and for a team where I'd have some freedom and feel good, and for a team that functions well. I know these are basic things, but I'm looking for the atmosphere and relationship between people and for the game and the system in the team to function. I wasn't opposed to Czech-Slovakian offers in the past few months, but the lineups that were interesting and that I knew had potential to play at the top-30, top-40 level in Europe didn't work out, the negotiations didn't work out, and now I'm not interested in Czech-Slovakian teams because there are no options.

You don't see anyone on the local scene who could compete with SINNERS and possibly move on to an international level?

I think ECLOT have what it takes, but I honestly don't know how it will work long-term with anarkez. I don't know what he's like and how moving to English will affect it, when there are six people including staff who are Czech or Slovakian. The cultural difference is there and maybe English will prevent them from reaching their full potential in ECLOT. Even Sampi could do it, if they play well. But in general I think the Czech-Slovakian scene is more aimed at Europe in terms of results now, rather than at local tournaments.

We've seen quite a shift in this sense on the local scene. Even your former team, Enterprise, had an international lineup for some time. What do you think about the local scene moving in this direction?

It's cool. I did not expect lineups like that. If someone had told me last year in February that we'd have international lineups like this, I'd be surprised, but now it seems normal to me. Why wouldn't you take a quality player, when there aren't that many players on the Czech-Slovakian scene, someone from abroad who surpasses most players here in skill and at the same time doesn't have a big buyout or want a big salary? I don't see a reason not to make this change, but it also brings with it some drawbacks, like English communication, some cultural differences and such.

Did you get any interesting offers?

When it was announced that I was transfer-listed, I had talks with interesting teams, even tier-one, but it didn't work out after all. None of the European offers worked out. There weren't many, but there were a few that interested me but didn't come to fruition. Negotiations on the Czech-Slovakian scene also didn't work out, so it's now a bit more complicated and I'm still waiting for offers even though I think I'm really ready to play. That's life.