dupreeh: "I don't feel like I am finished"

The five-time Major winner made an appearance on HLTV Confirmed to discuss his departure from Vitality and his desire to make a competitive return.

Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen is a legendary figure in CS:GO with a career spanning 11 years, in which he earned almost every available team and individual honor. The 30-year-old won five Major titles, appeared in the HLTV Top 20 lists seven times, claimed two MVP awards, and a total of 22 Big Event trophies. He is the only player to have attended all 19 Valve-sponsored events and claimed the most recent one at BLAST.tv Paris with Vitality.

The Dane didn't stay for the team for much longer as he was moved to the inactive roster in favor of Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan just one month after his last title with the squad. The 30-year-old took some time to rest following his departure from the lineup and appeared on HLTV Confirmed to talk about his benching, his last title with Vitality, and his relationship with old coach Danny "⁠zonic⁠" Sørensen.

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flameZ replaces dupreeh in Vitality

"It was my personal goal," dupreeh said regarding his last Major title, which elevated him as the most decorated player at Valve-sponsored events with five medals. "I've always tried to put personal goals in my career because I want to chase something, and I think it's important for me to have something to chase to keep up the motivation and to remind myself why I am putting so many hours into this game, and why I am traveling so much spending time away from my loved ones."

The discussion about the Paris Major then moved to Vitality's playoff run, which many fans considered weak due to the elimination of several big teams in the previous stages. "There is a reason why the top dogs were not there. They had to crumble somewhere, they had to choke somewhere, they did not meet their expectations so in some sense that's their own fault," stated the Dane.

"That's always a really bad excuse, and I think that Majors are just special. They are special in the sense they are the biggest thing you compete for in Counter-Strike and the one everyone wants to win the most, and that is also why most people crumble because they don't know how to handle the pressure.

"They get nervous, they don't know how to handle expectations, and they get frustrated knowing that if they screw this one up, they have to wait six months before they can try again. There are so many things on the line, and that is where I think people have a very weak mentality and mindset to overcome a lot of these hurdles."

dupreeh's journey with Vitality was cut short as he was benched to make space for 20-year-old rifler flameZ just three weeks days after the team's Major triumph. "It came as a surprise to me as well," the 30-year-old confessed. "It wasn't a thing I saw coming, especially when you look at the results going into the benching.

"There were a lot of things on the line that I feel were unfair in some sense. I feel like I contributed the best possible way that I could to the team. We had just won a Major, a title prior to that, and made a grand final as well. Then all of a sudden I got benched. I actually had a feeling that I couldn't have done anything to have prevented this benching. Even if we had won in Washington, it probably would have happened."

He also specified that there were no hard feelings with coach zonic later on. "I think it's important for people to know that there is no bad blood between me and zonic," dupreeh stated. "Me and Danny are still very good friends, so I think it's pretty unfair for people to say that he has been backstabbing me, but it's just part of the game and he had to make a really tough decision and it's part of the industry."

The Dane also opened up about his desire to make a competitive return following his break. "Leave and stop at the top. Sure, I can do that, but I don't feel like I am finished," dupreeh said. "Honestly, I am super addicted to the whole process of working with a team, continuing to get better, lifting trophies, and competing to be the best.

"I need to have something that I am competing in right now, and of course, I am 30 and I have a kid. A lot of people seem to think that whenever you turn 30 and you get a kid, there is definitely no room to play Counter-Strike and that's definitely not the case.

"I have had the time to figure how what I wanted and now I am in a much better place mentally because it [the break] was very much needed. Let's say I was benched from Vitality and signed with a team a week later, I don't think I would have done well. I honestly think that because there are so many things that I was used to on the Vitality side, getting coached by zonic and everything, it would have been such a huge transition for me.

"When I got to know about the benching, it was tough. I am not going to lie, it can still be tough and some days it can be worse than others, especially when tournaments are running it's more difficult because I know how everything is rolling. I know how it is to be in tournaments and I want to be there, but unluckily I am not."

The conversation also touched on dupreeh's experience with various elite in-game leaders such as Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen and Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander, but the 30-year-old dismissed the thought of ever transitioning to the captain's role. "I think I am too dumb to in-game lead actually. The [IGL] role has never been my strong asset in Counter-Strike so I don't think that would be a wise choice for me."

The Dane also discussed his opinion on Counter-Strike 2 and various concerns held by other professional players, especially in regard to the new smoke mechanics. "It just feels that people are very uncomfortable around the whole thing because it's a territory that hasn't been explored yet," dupreeh explained. "There are so many opportunities in which you could potentially be caught off guard, there is more tactical depth that you can actually start figuring out and I think it's pretty cool.

"There might also be an issue that we might not see yet that we'll see whenever the game gets picked up a lot more, but now I am just really happy for the game. I think it feels clean and sure, there are going to be plenty of bugs to be looked at. I am pretty confident there are going to be a lot of changes to some weapons or grenades like we saw in Global Offensive with the molotovs."

dupreeh later discussed his departure from Astralis, the organization he represented during his first four Major victories. "We were constantly changing players and looking for the right fit for the team," the 30-year-old said. "When we lost device, we lost a huge person in terms of our performance and how the team functioned. It was a big hit for the team and there wasn't anyone out there to fill his shoes and we never came close to it either.

"When the contract negotiations started, I wouldn't say it went completely bananas, but it just got to a point where we didn't want the best for the team but the best for each individual person. We wanted to stick together, but took a different turn, and that was when I started to lose my motivation and enjoyment of the game, so I needed to find another place where I could continue."

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You can watch the whole HLTV Confirmed episode with dupreeh on YouTube, or listen in audio form via popular podcast apps.