EspiranTo targets return: "This time I ain't stopping halfway"

The Lithuanian announces his comeback after being out of action for the past year and a half.

Former CR4ZY and c0ntact player Rokas "⁠EspiranTo⁠" Milasauskas has broken a year-and-a-half-long silence to announce his plan to return to Counter-Strike after finishing his military service in Lithuania.

"As of today I have finished military service for my country. I went as a volunteer in hopes of finding myself and facing the reality of how tough life can be. And yes, I am coming back to CS and this time I ain't stopping halfway," he said in the post on X/Twitter.

Though he was once considered a star in the making when part of teams such as CR4ZY and its successor, c0ntact, from 2018-2020, rumors of a poor attitude followed the then-teenage EspiranTo, and he would never return to a stable team again following the disbandment of c0ntact.

"I had all sorts of issues. I lacked motivation, I had problems with self-discipline, it was hard for me to do theory sessions with the team, even basic practices, and I'm not even talking about individual training because there was none of it," EspiranTo has told HLTV. "The only thing that was holding me there was pure talent, I was still performing above average back in c0ntact."

The 22-year-old spent the next two years unable to find a permanent home, playing brief stints with the ill-fated GORILLAZ roster, MANS NOT HOT and Looking For Org. His most recent stint with Budapest Five lasted just a few weeks before he withdrew from the scene at the end of 2022.

"I honestly wish I would have gotten punished for all of my immaturity sooner because maybe I wouldn't have missed as much time as I did. Once in a while, I got motivation to try and push myself forward, just to get demotivated more over and over again. There was never a light at the end of tunnel," EspiranTo went on, explaining that this pushed him to volunteer for military service.

"I decided to make a drastic decision in my life. It was honestly do or die for me, I didn't know what I was doing in life, what the point in all of this was. But that's what happens when you get comfortable living the good life."

The brutal experience in the military, he shared, came as a godsend for EspiranTo, helping him get his priorities and issues with discipline in order.

"When you are in the forest, cold, hungry, tired and during extreme weather conditions, walking for kilometres trying to think about something positive to try to escape reality, I was always thinking and dreaming about coming back."

"Those issues I had with CS, for example routine — I have it now, and self-discipline and time-management as well. There are many things I hated that I now love, and my obsession with becoming the best, now with the goals I have set and the skills that I have gained from it, I know I can do it."

EspiranTo now looks ahead, hoping that his new-found discipline can get him back on track after over three years without a proper team. He's planning to begin a "healthy but hard" Counter-Strike routine next week and stream his progress as he hopes to work his way back into the competitive scene.

"I will strengthen my weaknesses and gain back my strengths, and I will do it for at least a month before even considering looking for or joining any team. After that, if I don't have any options, I will continue grinding and playing until I do."