TaZ: "I’m not here to prove myself or prove anything to anybody"

The Polish veteran sat down with HLTV to discuss his move into coaching with G2.

When the offer from G2 came, Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas simply couldn’t say no. This was, after all, according to him, the only team that he saw himself coaching when he announced his retirement as a player and put an end to an illustrious career that spanned over two decades and two iterations of Counter-Strike.

The 37-year-old is in Abu Dhabi to soak in as much as possible at the BLAST World Final before taking the team’s reins from Jan "⁠Swani⁠" Müller. It has been a busy end of the year for G2, who have brought Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković back from OG and managed to retain Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač despite strong interest from Falcons in his services.

Some might think that TaZ has been thrown in at the deep end in his first coaching stint, but he’s confident in his ability to lead the team to success, pointing to his track record as a leader of men and someone who set up strong fundamentals in his teams. Still, he is reluctant to give himself a pat on the back and wants results to do the talking. “I feel like you need to show results, you need to show it on the server and outside the server, and only then can you talk about it,” he said.

You’ve joined one of the biggest organizations and teams in the world. What are your thoughts on this new phase of your career?

First of all, I'm excited for the challenge. I have always loved challenges in my life, and I think they allow me to excel. I'm super happy to be around these guys, I was only there for the end of the bootcamp, and everyone has been so nice that this kind of felt like home straight away. Coming to the bootcamp place, talking with the guys, it was overwhelming how good I felt around all of these guys. So that’s a good foundation to start from, right? If you feel welcomed and if the guys are on the same page when it comes to the daily stuff, then there is plenty of room to just get better.

Some people think that this is a gamble on your part, because one player has just been removed, one has been brought in, and NiKo was close to leaving for Falcons. Do you see this as a high-risk move on your part?

I don't see it as a high risk from my perspective. I see it as a high risk, high reward from G2’s side. If you want a coach that is going to teach the team how to play, who is going to come in and teach NiKo or Ilya [m0NESY] how to play, then, yeah, I’m not the right coach, right? I will not tell them how to feel the game, I will not tell them how to shoot. My role is obviously to bring G2’s fundamentals to a good level, but it’s mainly to allow the players to excel and get better. You can't do it by going in with your whole plan and thinking you are the smartest in the room.

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NiKo: "jks would be out of the team whether I left G2 or stayed"

I love to work with people who are smarter than me, so I can learn from them and utilize their strengths. That’s my main strength, making the team better. I totally understand some of the people writing stuff, but on the other hand, I don’t really take this into consideration. I feel excited, I feel motivated. I like the people on this team, I believe in them, and I’m happy that they believe in me.

What it is like to coach m0NESY, who wasn’t even born when you started playing Counter-Strike?

I had the chance to play with players who weren’t here when we were winning tournaments. I would say it’s a privilege to have this kind of talent on a team. I can tell you that he behaves older than his age. I’m super happy to see how open he is, how excited he is, and how cool of a guy he is.

Can you tell me how the discussions with the G2 management went? What vision do they have for the team? And what are your responsibilities going to be, not just in terms of handling the team, but also in terms of setting a direction and making roster changes further down the line, if necessary?

I like to think that I’m a coach who will, first of all, see what the team needs. There has not been enough time for me to put myself in a certain spot. I think that I need to get to know the players, I need to get to know the staff, I need to understand how Rasmus [HooXi] wants to lead, how the guys feel comfortable when they’re playing, what style is comfortable for them. This all comes from research, right? I’m not here to change the lineup, I’m not here to be a tyrant. I’m here to make this team better. I will do whatever it takes to make the team better. I have an open mind.

I believe that, when I was a player, I was very strict, I was very demanding, not only of myself but also of the other players. I think that you need to set an example. If you expect hard work, you need to show it first by working hard yourself, and then prove to them that it will benefit them. And it all starts with trust, right? If they trust my vision, then it’s perfect.

You've already spent some time with the players. Have you already identified some issues with the team that need some fixing?

For me, it came pretty easy… There are a couple of things that I have already noticed and shared with the team. But I cannot go into much detail, I cannot ask for changes before the World Final, I cannot mess with the way the team is preparing, with the system they have running. I believe that the time to discuss the system, to discuss some changes to the game style, will come. But it might not even come to life. Maybe G2 will play the same way, maybe we will make some small tweaks, maybe G2 will have to overhaul the way they play Counter-Strike. But it needs to come after some good talks with the players. I’m here to listen and learn who I am working with. Only after that can we start making some tweaks.

As a former IGL, what is your opinion about HooXi, the way that he plays, calls, and sees the game?

What might sound really funny is that, when I was at the bootcamp, I thought that HooXi was playing very well. As a player, he’s like a specialist. I believe that he should believe in himself more. I think it’s very easy to make one player the scapegoat, to point the finger at one player and put all the bad things on him. I think that it’s not only that. Obviously, when you’re the IGL, you whiff more, you might not be the top player. And there are different types of in-game leaders. Some need more space, some give space, and others gain space for their team. I believe that HooXi has his way of thinking about Counter-Strike, and I think he’s extremely smart. And he has huge knowledge about the game.

When you met up with the rest of the team, what was the atmosphere like? What kind of team did you find?

The atmosphere was really good. When I talk to these guys, it feels like I have known them for years. Everyone is open. I like to be an open person. I like to high-five a guy, have a laugh, crack a joke, then maybe talk some serious stuff. I don’t feel that anyone is fake. I actually like that the guys are very honest in the way that they behave. If they don’t like something, you can see it. If they like something, or if they’re happy, you can see it as well. The worst thing about esports is that, sometimes, in order to stay on a team or to get a paycheck, you just adapt against your will or against who you are. And I don’t want this. I don’t like this. It has only been a few days, so I can’t say anything with absolute certainty, but my first impression is that I’m happy to be here, excited, and looking forward to next year.

You said that you are here mostly to learn. Can you tell me a little bit about the preparation for this event and how you have been working together with Swani?

When I mentioned that I’m here to learn, it’s about the period when Swani is here, when the team is still not preparing for next year. I want to get as much information, as much knowledge, as possible from how Swani works, how the team works, what they feel they lack, what they feel is good, and only then draw some conclusions.

When it comes to the preparation for this event, I tried to chime in. I have already talked a little bit with the guys when it comes to the game, the practice, and the way they should behave and adapt. But nothing big. I’m still not interfering at this event. I let Rasmus and Jan [Swani] do their jobs. I feel that when there are too many cooks in the kitchen, you can’t get anything good. If I’m asked, I’m happy to chime in. If I feel that something is crucial, I will speak my mind. But I will not do anything that could harm the team’s preparation.

Before accepting the offer from G2, did you talk to NEO or kuben about this?

Actually, I didn’t. When I announced my retirement, I didn’t think that coaching was something I wanted to do, mainly because I didn’t see myself starting from scratch, like I had done with HONORIS. I didn’t see myself grinding my way up with players I needed to teach a lot of stuff to, not only inside the game but also outside the game. When I was thinking about teams I could fit in or that I could join and coach, there was only one team in my mind, and it was G2. I didn’t think about any other team because I didn’t feel I was the right fit. But I thought I could be the right fit for G2. Still, they had just won Katowice. They would still win Cologne. So it wasn’t like I was thinking that I would get an offer.

With you joining G2, four members of the Golden Five have gone into coaching, and three of them are currently doing it at the highest level. What does that say about that team and the level it played at?

I was thinking about it a couple of days ago, because it is kind of a funny situation. That’s the first thing. Secondly, I feel like every one of us had a different style of being and a different style of in-game leading. We had different perks, different qualities. I thought it’s funny that we are now coaching three different teams, with three different lineups in the way the guys are behaving and the way that they play. These are three different teams that, in my opinion, needed different qualities to excel and improve.

ENCE, even though kuben hasn’t had much time to work with the team, were able to reach the semi-finals in Elisa. Obviously, ENCE wants to win tournaments, right? But they had a very hectic and unexpected change, that’s how [ENCE co-founder and marketing director] natu presented it. And then you have NEO, who has already won a couple of events with FaZe. I’m not here to prove myself or prove anything to anybody. If I can help, if my qualities are going to make the guys better, then I’m just happy with it. Because this will be a very big part of my legacy. I’m just looking forward to it.

Some people believe that you're going to be more of a motivator, not someone who's going to have a big impact in terms of developing tactics or coming up with new strategies. Is this assessment accurate?

In my playing career, I was definitely pretty loud. I was the guy who never thought we could lose. Every game, going in, I expected us to win. I wanted us to win. And even when we won, I wanted us to play better. So I’m kind of a believer. I’m a guy who never surrenders. And if this is one of the qualities that can help them, then it definitely won’t be hard for me to be this kind of person. But time will show what other qualities I have.

I can say that building a system, creating a structure, and setting up fundamentals are not things that are unknown to me. Oftentimes, I did things to help my teams get back on their feet. I don’t like interviews when you talk about what you have done, what you haven’t done, how good you are, how bad you are… I feel like you need to show results, you need to show it on the server and outside the server, and only then can you talk about it. So let’s work first. Let’s get some nice results and then let’s see what qualities will help us develop.

There's a very strong possibility that you will face NEO or even kuben in this tournament. Is that something you're looking forward to?

I would not personally meet them. That’s one thing. It would be Swani behind G2. But I'm looking forward to the next events where we can potentially face each other and where we can be on opposite sides. I remember back in the day, when we were starting, NEO and I had a very big rivalry in Poland, probably the biggest there was. So it’s kind of funny that, after years of playing each other, then years of playing together, we have gone into coaching and we started the same way as before, on opposite sides.

Some people think that NiKo is hard to work with. Now that you’ve had the chance to work with him for a little bit, what is your impression of him?

When it comes to NiKo, when it comes to G2, some people have the perception that he is a very egoistical player, that his ego decides that he wants to change something and dictates how they want to play. If there is such a guy, I haven’t met him. I believe that, after talking to him a little, it will not be a problem. I feel that he is very open. He is desperate to win. He is committed. That’s all you need to be successful. Work hard. Believe in a team. Believe in your own talent. And I’m here to help with the rest.

One completely off-topic question. siuhy has been rising through the ranks. Have you ever had the chance to talk to him? What do you think about him, his mentality, the way he sees and plays the game?

I haven’t had the chance to talk to him. There was a time when I thought about picking him up, before he joined Izako Boars, but some of the guys who were playing with him were saying that he was toxic. And so I was like, ‘Maybe we don’t need this.’ I take it as a lesson. After that, every time I thought about a player, or had someone in mind, I didn’t just ask around. I made sure to talk to the player. That was a lesson for life. And I’m happy that he proved those guys wrong.

What are your goals for 2024?

Obviously, I would love to win as much as possible. I would like people to think, at the end of 2024, that G2’s games are amazing to watch, that it’s a super exciting team, one of the best teams in the world.