XTQZZZ interview: Death of the French scene, "tough period" in G2, Vitality then vs. now

Vitality's skipper also discussed evolutions in apEX's style, their relationship, and going international.

Rémy "⁠XTQZZZ⁠" Quoniam returned to Vitality in October after two years away from the team he had helped form. During that time, he oversaw G2, took a step back from competition, and then returned to create the new TSM roster.

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The Frenchman was ousted from 'The Hive' in late 2021, when the organization added Danny "⁠zonic⁠" Sørensen, Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen, and Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif in a move that, XTQZZZ tells HLTV, didn't catch him off-guard but did leave him "a bit disappointed."

A tumultuous period on G2 followed, a pivot to an international lineup that was made all the more challenging at the start as XTQZZZ didn't feel his English was ready. His tenure lasted just ten months before he stepped down, describing it as a "tough period" for himself, stating that he "felt he was not the right person" for that team, and voicing his anger at "some experts" who said that he'd given up on the lineup and their lack of effort to find out what happened.

XTQZZZ took a break before returning to help Vitality from the sidelines in the lead-up to their BLAST.tv Paris Major championship run, but says that his influence during that period wasn't "as huge as people think." It did, however, spark a return from him soon after the tournament break, with the 34-year-old crafting a lineup for TSM, only to leave just one month after they were signed, when Vitality came knocking.

The French organization had lost zonic, Magisk, and sports psychologist Lars Robl to Falcons, and XTQZZZ was reunited with Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire and Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut in a very different Vitality lineup. The team was now international, something that XTQZZZ doesn't see changing in the future because of the state of the French scene, and the work ethic had evolved to a new level in the absence of "lazy" French players.

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The French skipper talked about all of the above and more in an interview with HLTV after the BLAST Fall Final, and touched upon the differences he sees in apEX and ZywOo between then and now. He also spoke about coaching new players in Vitality and working with Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi, Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan, and William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman, as well as winning a title with the team at his first event back.

I wanted to take it back to your original departure from Vitality. You were forced out a little bit with zonic coming in, the three Danes package. You said that you never really wanted to leave; can you just talk me through that a bit, and what that moment in time was like for you?

I expected to be benched, to be honest. Because the 3-4 months before leaving, I felt something different, and the director told me, 'You want to go with an international roster?' But I was not consulted about the new players, et cetera. They asked me maybe once, but that's it.

After, I think it was the Major, the CEO told me they would bring in some new players and staff. Of course, I was a bit disappointed, but a bit expected from my part, I would say. After that, we had three tournaments just to make that last dance and make sure we could finish the journey properly.

You ended up joining G2. There were some pretty mixed results, you were doing well at first but then it went downhill a bit. What was that tenure like, working under that organization and with those players?

It was a big challenge, because, as you know, I guess, my English was not ready. I don't remember how many lessons I took after the Vitality kick. For two months I had a teacher, I took so many lessons, and at the same time I was talking with G2 about the roster with the manager, NiaK. NiaK decided everything, basically. For me, it was like, 'Okay, it's a good challenge,' but at the same time, I was really focused to make sure I could be ready with my English.

Unfortunately, I was not ready, because in two months there's no way you can, but I was just excited to work with new players and get new experience as a coach because it was something new. Just thinking about how we can work together, and at the same time, they had had a bad experience with the last coach, they told me, so for me it was like, 'I'm excited, but I need to figure out immediately what the good thing for the players and for the team in general is.'

You were there for about ten months, until October 2022 or so. When you left, you had a stream where you said that you felt useless and unable to influence anything. Can you expand on that a bit and talk more about what you meant by that, the end of your time on the team?

I needed to give the right picture of when I left because I read so much shit around that. So we failed the RMR, right? And it was a tough period for me, I don't want to explain what happened. At the same time, after ten months, it was not enough from everyone, but from me. What can I say? It was the best decision for me. I also think it was the right thing to do because... I don't know, if I don't think I'm the right person and I can't be 100%, then I get up and leave the room, basically.

I felt I was not the right person, that's it. Maybe it came as a surprise to people, but sometimes you don't fit, that's it. You just need to accept, learn from it, and move forward. It was my point. I just didn't like at all the fact some experts were saying I'd given up on them [G2], et cetera. I was really angry that these people didn't make the effort to find out what was going on, basically. It was a personal and professional decision and I have no regrets, especially for my family. It was a risky decision, I know, but I do think I needed some time and rest to think about my future and my life.

You took a lot of time off as well, almost another full year. You helped Vitality a bit at the Paris Major while you were away, but you did end up on the sidelines for a bit. You said you didn't want to take paychecks for no reason, you wanted to find a project you believed in. Walk me through that time away, where you weren't really on a team and also coming back to help Vitality for the Major.

It was not as huge as people think, to be honest (laughs). They overreacted. I don't remember when, but Neo [Vitality's CEO, Fabien "Neo" Devide] talked to me, we talked about maybe building an academy just to help them, and to challenge zonic and MaT about the roster, the way of playing, the way of thinking.

Props to them for accepting, because that is not easy. I was hired just to give some feedback on what I saw during the match, et cetera, sometimes just to give 2-3 pieces of advice about opponents. It was not only for the Major. It began at the beginning of January.

Thinking about the future of the roster, I had some talks with the management of Vitality, but it was not a huge thing for me. I helped them a bit, but definitely it was zonic and MaT's stuff.

You mentioned in an interview, a little while after you left Vitality and zonic took over, that you didn't recognize apEX or the way you taught him to call. Can you tell me more about what you meant by that, and how that developed until you came back to help?

I think in 2022, yes, I didn't recognize the way of apEX calling because they play really slowly, and I felt like when I played against Vitality, most of the time I expected some different reads, some different calls, some different spacing, and finally it was almost the same. It was my feeling, and I told him, 'I don't recognize you,' and I think that's not easy for him as well because it was his first international roster, right? And he gave, for me, too much space to all the players.

I do think that, on an international roster, you need to have your DNA as an in-game leader, even though you have a different culture and style, but still you're the in-game leader and you're here because you are good. If you try to give everything to everyone, I think it will not work. That's why I brought HooXi as well in G2, I told him instantly, 'You need to play as you want, as in-game leader, your style, and they need to accept the fact that it's different.'

In 2023, zonic and Dan found the right formula, and they have a better balance between apEX's style and zonic's style, I would say.

In one of the interviews you just did at BLAST Fall Final, you mentioned that not much had really changed from apEX between then and now. That kind of contrasts with some of what you had said, so do you think he got back to calling how he used to?

I don't know. When I say that, it's like Dan has exactly the same way of working, thinking about the game, how to call during the game, how to snowball the game. Yeah, maybe 2-3 different things, but it's tough for me to judge because with the French roster, it was really difficult to do defaults, for example, because we had a lot of young players and, basically, they didn't understand how to play defaults, even though we worked on it a lot.

Now, when you see the international roster and even with Spinx, mezii, et cetera, it's a new way for me than back then because now I can hear more, 'freeze,' or 'do mid call but play slowly.' In the past, I never saw that because we played really fast in Vitality with a French roster, right? So yes, maybe it's a bit different, and you need to have that to be a functional player, it's always a good balance between players and the in-game leader, but at the end of the day, it's definitely apEX's style.

Before you came back to this team, there was this period with TSM, you created a roster for them. It was a project that, at least from the outside looking in, seemed a little odd, it felt a bit piecemeal. TSM are a big organization coming back in, but the players didn't quite fit at that caliber. Can you tell me about bringing that roster together?

First of all, it was tough because we started the mercato [transfer window] really late. After that, we contacted around 50 players, something like that.

Yeah, that's true that TSM is a big organization, but they don't want to spend a lot of money. We had a big chat, and of course the goal for me was to get a good balance between good players and young players, so that was not easy. The goal for TSM was not to instantly be at the Major, but just to work for the future. Start with a new roster, and, step by step, create and add some better players in three or four months, I don't know to be honest.

When this roster came together, it seemed like everything was set. Then, reports came out that there was some drama with the signings, there were verbal agreements broken, but then right when it looked like you wouldn't be a part of the project anymore, suddenly everything turned around. What changed there? Was there just a conversation with TSM that happened on your end?

Nothing special. We just didn't get an agreement, and we kept talking. At the same time, the players asked me, 'Never mind, let's go play,' so you know... I have nothing to say. Basically, it's not because some people talked about the situation, it's always like that to sign the contract. Finding an agreement took a long time, maybe too long, but we just talked to TSM and no other organization; it was fake news, just to be clear. It took too long, and that's it.

You created this team but you didn't stay for very long, even though you were the mastermind behind the project, because Vitality came calling. For you, that just was an offer you couldn't turn down, right?

Yup. But you know, Neo contacted me, and at the beginning in my mind it was like, 'Okay, basically they will find the solution,' you know? So I didn't think too much about that, but then he told me that we had to do it quickly, so everything went very fast. Of course I needed maybe one day to think about the offer, and in my mind it was like, 'I can't decline, it's a good opportunity for me.' I called every player in TSM, and each player told me, 'You have to go. You will be stupid to decline the offer,' so it was basically like that.

When Vitality was French, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of you exploring an international roster but people said you didn't want to work with English-speaking teams. What has that transition been like in the last two years, and now coming back to an English-speaking Vitality?

I never understood why people said I didn't want to work with an international roster. My point in Vitality was that we could do it but we needed to think much more about the project and the process. I never said I didn't want an international roster.

My English was not the best at the beginning... I could explain everything but I was not comfortable at all, and I needed time and to get more experience. I kept taking some lessons with my teacher, and now it's... basic, you know.

I do think the French scene is dead, so I was just focused on international rosters. I learned a lot from G2 as well, to know new players, new cultures, et cetera, and now I'm ready with Vitality to get better.

I want to touch more on that comment, about the French scene being dead. Why?

The French scene is dead. We have a great in-game leader and the best player in the world, right? But the problem is that we don't have organizations, except Vitality. We don't have new in-game leaders in French, or at least a good in-game leader. Maybe Graviti in the future, I have hopes for him, but that's it. We don't have new players in the French scene. I hope maybe in 2-3 years it can be different, but I'm not sure.

The problem is, in France, we are kind of lazy. It was my first thought after working with young players on international rosters. The difference between misutaaa and Kyojin and m0NESY, for example, or a new young player, was crazy. Now, the coach [role] in Vitality is really different. In the past, I was like a babysitter sometimes in Vitality with the French roster (laughs), and now it's different.

I do think it's the main problem with the French scene, and we lack people who can lead in the right direction. I do think now that if you are French, you need to learn English and try to play on an international roster. It's my only advice, because now if you only focus on trying to make a French roster, it's tough because I do think organizations know it's pretty expensive to buy a French roster, and they don't have a lot of options if they need to make a change.

So we are in trouble for sure, and maybe after one, two, maybe three years, when a lot of players have played on international rosters, maybe the French scene will be back. We never know. But actually, I think we have to accept the fact that Vitality was just the last good French roster, definitely, especially because of ZywOo and apEX.

Coming into this Vitality now, you've mentioned a little bit that there's a difference in work ethic with the new players. Do you see a difference in apEX and ZywOo, now versus before?

Yeah, with apEX, I do think Lars Robl did a great job. Because in the past, apEX, you know how he is, he could be very emotional, and sometimes he could win almost every game because of this mentality, and sometimes he could be mad, and unfortunately, the team would go down. Now, it has been just one tournament for me, but I can feel how different he is, how he thinks about that, to make sure everyone is comfortable. It's the biggest difference from before.

For ZywOo... I don't know, he is almost the same, you know (laughs). Maybe he is taking more initiative in the game, he creates many more plays, communication-wise, and sometimes to make a good decision. But you know, after one month, it's tough, but it's my first answer for them.

One of the quotes he had at the end of the event was that he is trying to have a bit more of an ego. Have you noticed that?

Yeah, yeah! I know. After Sydney, he told me, 'I did shit. I just need time to feel the game and I will show to everyone that I'm still the best.' But, in general, he is really quiet, you know? You can feel he has an ego because he plays much more, or sometimes maybe it's a surprise but he can be... not mad, but he can react in practice if he's not happy about the performance or the opponents. So I felt he would be ready for BLAST, for sure.

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You said Lars did a really good job with apEX. He has now gone to Falcons, so you don't have his support anymore. How do you see that evolving going forward? Are you looking for someone who can have a similar effect or are you working with apEX to keep that dynamic going?

We have a new performance coach already, from Australia. I expect exactly the same, he has good experience. I do think Dan understood a lot of things with Lars, and he is really open to working with a new guy and to continuing to work in this area, for sure. I'm not worried at all.

Another thing apEX mentioned is that he and you are 'getting to know each other again.' What does that mean from your side?

After two years, of course, I can change my way of working a bit, from practice to schedule, everything. If I'm still pushing players or maybe I'm more calm. It's a lot of new things after two years, you know? Two years in Counter-Strike is almost five years (laughs). I don't know, it's really different, I had another child, life is different, so you can change a bit. So just making sure we are thinking exactly the same way as before, it's nothing special from me.

We just need time, you know? I accept the fact that it's not easy for Dan and for all the players because they were the best team in the world, and the dynamic changed completely just because one player and one coach left. I accept it's difficult for them to know a new person.

We've talked a lot about apEX and ZywOo, two players who are still here from your last tenure, but everything else has changed around that. You mentioned the work ethic as a difference, but tell me about what working with Spinx and flameZ is like, before we get to mezii.

I like the fact that if you say something to flameZ and Spinx, they fix the problem instantly. About playing, about finding new utilities, et cetera, you don't need to find a lot of new things for them because they have a good work ethic.

They are pretty funny as well (laughs). I understand why apEX likes Spinx so much, because he is a really good player, funny, works so hard. We finished the tournament but he already did, I don't know, 20 FACEIT games, maybe? (laughs)

The fact is, for flameZ and Spinx, the goal is to be best team in the world, and they are working a lot for that. It's really cool, and I like the fact that flameZ and Spinx have already asked me a lot of things about how they can improve, if I am happy with how they play, et cetera. They are really concerned about the team and how we have to improve.

Moving forward into picking up mezii then, just one tournament with him so far, but what are your early impressions?

I'm happy actually, because he helped Dan a lot with midrounds, CT and T. He has good communication, of course he is not comfortable with new positions, but that's pretty normal when you've played with a team for two years and you've done absolutely everything. That's pretty impressive for me, to see William really cool. And even though he had a bad game, for example versus FaZe on Vertigo, he made some jokes, he kept helping apEX, so I'm really happy, and I can't wait to see him in the next tournament because I'm pretty sure he will get better.

One of the big conversation points around that was that losing Magisk is a huge blow for Vitality, just in terms of the role he plays and the impact he has on the server. You didn't get the chance to coach him, but did you notice something was missing, something just absent from the team that you have to work on fixing going forward?

Yeah. It's basically the experience, small details in a round communication-wise, and energy. In the game, except Dan, we have a team that's really quiet, very calm, and apEX and Magisk did everything about the energy part. That's the first point, and the second point is that when I talk about experience, it's like small details about talking when you die, talking about what you can do with the guys, helping each other more.

Now, everyone needs to step up on that. If you want to be the best team in the world, you need to be really good communication-wise, and that's not to say basic communication, but helping each other.

You're now working with a very different set of things that you need to fix now versus two years ago. Is that also a bit of a relief for you that you're working on more minor things, and can actually take aim at titles and it's not more of a struggle?

Yeah, because two years ago, I don't think we could have been the best team in the world. It was a different project, and, actually, I think we did great to be the best team in the world after NAVI, when you see the roster. Now, of course, we have some stuff to fix, to improve, but I do think I have everything to be the best team in the world. Of course it's on paper, and we need to find out the best solution for each player, but we have everything — the organization, the staff, and the players — to be the best or at least to win some titles.

Let's see how it goes, but, yeah, when I decided to come back, my only goal was that it was time to win some titles. Of course, we had done it with the French roster, but now we are talking about Majors, Cologne, and Katowice, because we didn't win those in the past.

How has CS2 felt for you from the coaching perspective? That is probably one of the biggest differences coming back as well.

I like it a lot. It's a lot of new things with smokes, HEs, the influence of the AWP, peeker's advantage. It's feeling good. I'm just surprised to see people complaining a bit about everything, because we knew almost everything in CS:GO. It's really good to have, not a new game, but one that is almost that, you know? So I'm really happy to enjoy it, to figure out what the best strategies we can have are, outplay the opponent, surprise the opponent. I'm really enjoying it a lot, working every day on new utility, new strategies. It's pretty fun to be a coach in CS2.

To round it out, you went to BLAST, got your first title win already. Did you expect that result so soon, and how does it feel to come back and immediately hit the ground running with this kind of win?

You know, I did think before the tournament that we could win it. Right now, okay, FaZe have had great tournaments, but in CS2 there's a lot of change with players in the game. I think every team can win tournaments, so I was not so surprised to win the tournament because it was a bit weird. A lot of teams are waiting for some changes, so that is normal for me. As I said to the players after the tournament, I expected to win the tournament with this team, but the most difficult part is coming.

It's about finding new stuff, working on our team. For me, it's a honeymoon trophy a bit, that's normal. Now, every team expects us to play well. I'm just happy to win the trophy, but the goal for the team is definitely next year, and we are grinding a lot to understand the game, playing a lot, and that's it. For the BLAST World Final, it's basically just to keep learning about the game, and try to give our best.