STYKO: "I came to the RMR to do one job, and that job is done"

Apeks have qualified for the PGL Major Copenhagen with a 3-1 record.

After making the BLAST.tv Paris Major semi-final with Apeks in 2023, Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk's stock decreased significantly during the remainder of the year. The team lost Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius to Natus Vincere and couldn't build on the Paris run, which ultimately cost the Slovak his place on the roster in October.

His Apeks chapter wasn't done, however, as he returned to the team to replace Damjan "⁠kyxsan⁠" Stoilkovski to reunite three members of the Paris Major core and earn the team a direct invite to the RMR. In Romania, Apeks secured a Major berth after traversing the tournament with a 3-1 record, with STYKO's improved fragging a huge part of that as he averaged a 1.17 rating.

After the deciding win against ECSTATIC, the Slovak spoke to HLTV about his expectations, Ådne "⁠sense⁠" Fredriksen's adaptation to the IGL role, and his love for content creation.

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After a turbulent few months, you return to a Major with Apeks. How do you feel right now?

I feel so relieved. I came to the RMR to do one job, and that job is done. Now, let's see what the CS2 Major brings us. Our run in Copenhagen depends on a lot of factors, but the first step is done. I'm proud of myself and of what I achieved, and obviously, the team helped me achieve this, we helped each other. I can't really describe it right now, I will have to make a video about it on YouTube.

I wanted to ask about this series against ECSTATIC. Some people might say that you got a bit lucky with the draw, but it was a very close game. Did you expect it to go this way?

We expected it. Every 2-1 game is going to be a bloodbath, I don't think there are going to be too many blowouts. Especially for us, we are not heavy favorites that are constantly winning against lower-tier opposition, so it was always going to be tough. There were times when we lost to ECSTATIC online, we lost to them in practice. All these things happen, but here we pulled through. They're very annoying to deal with, their anti-stratting. reads, and the way they play, it's a very Danish style of CS. It fits us, but it's annoying.

You bounced back from a late 3vs1 loss on Anubis. What helped you do that?

I think we took a pause after that, and it was mainly our coach talking because he understood what we needed. We were playing good CS and were going to win it eventually, and we had one more round to do it. It was a bad buy, but we were going to do it. I honestly don't know a single word that he said and I'm pretty sure all my teammates don't know either, because we were just refocusing and forgetting that 1v3. And if you didn't bring it up now, I would have already forgotten that it happened.

You returned to the roster in January after kyxsan left, which meant you got the RMR spot. Did you expect to make it to the Major?

Yes, it was 100% my and the team's goal, the goals just aligned for everyone. Of course I'm going to come here and expect us to make it through. Maybe it looked a little bit rough in the Katowice Play-In, but after that 0-13 against donk, we came together and started working really hard. I'm super proud of what we achieved in the last 14 days, both on and off the server.

After you returned, sense took over IGLing. How has he done in this role?

I'm super proud of him. It's really hard to slot him into this role and expect him to qualify for the Major, but he's done that. We use every spare second that we have to get him on the same page as the rest of the team. He understands how and what to call, what we want and don't want to do, and we give him complete freedom. He called banger T-sides throughout the RMR and his improvement is just exponential, it's great to see.

You said you needed to reinvent your playstyle now that you've come back, and your performances have improved a lot since then. What has changed from the STYKO of the previous Apeks roster compared to this one?

It's just about having more confidence in my abilities. I started practicing in various ways and experimenting with a lot of stuff. I'm pretty old in the scene, so I've been through days when there were no workshop maps. You had no way to warm up, whereas now you can literally warm up on different games, aim trainers, and stuff like that. All of this played a huge role.

During my benching, I was streaming a lot of it because it was fun and interactive. I'm hopefully inspiring other people to do the same because I'm living proof that it works, and I hope I can elevate the level of other players in this tournament or anywhere else. Just give it a shot, and you will like it.

You are confirmed as an Apeks player only until the end of the Major. What does the future hold for you?

I don't know, and I'm not in a position to say it right now, so I will skip that question.

You have been focusing a lot on content creation recently. Is that something that you enjoy, and do you feel like more players should focus on that, especially when their professional roads end?

I just found this the perfect chaos that works for me. I don't encourage anyone else to do it because it takes time and focus away from the game, which I understand. But to me, it is a way to relax. I'm studying the game anyway and if I get the chance or opportunity to share it with others, that's just an extra motivator for me to study even more, it's like a perfect balance for me.

I understand a lot of players are going to roll their eyes and say, "What the hell is content? I don't want to stream, I don't want to do this." But this works for me. I'm in no position to say who should and shouldn't do it, but I am glad that it's helping other teams and players.