glowiing in his 30s: Who is 9 Pandas' star rifler?

glowiing rose to fame with an absurd carry performance at the RMR and now gears up for his first Major appearance at 30 years old.

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Update March 16, 11:10 :

9 Pandas will not participate at the PGL Major Copenhagen due to travel issues, after all. They have been replaced at the tournament by GamerLegion.

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Official: GamerLegion replace 9 Pandas at Copenhagen Major

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The correlation between age and performance hasn't been as thoroughly studied in Counter-Strike as in traditional sports. Esports is slowly catching up, however, and early research on the topic has indicated that the peak age for a CS player is the mid-20s and that most begin to drop off after that, but several outliers have bucked the trend over the years.

One of the most recent examples is Aleksandr "⁠glowiing⁠" Matsievich. The 30-year-old just qualified for his first Major after an RMR run that ended Astralis' dreams and announced his presence to the world following a superstar performance against GamerLegion. He seemingly came out of nowhere and is at the top of his game despite being way past the perceived peak of a CS player.

In an interview with HLTV, glowiing spoke about his journey to the top, admitting it was not a conventional one. His involvement in Counter Strike began back in 1.6 in his teens, but it wasn't until deep into CS:GO that he gave a career in the game a real shot. "I come from Siberia and got to know CS in gaming cafes in my small town," he told HLTV. "I realized very quickly that I stood out because I understood the game super fast, and quickly began to improve. I was one of these young prospects in Siberia and ended up in a good team when I was about 15 or 16. It was called Godmod, a Krasnoyarsk [Siberian city] team, but it didn’t work out to go to a LAN. After that, 1.6 ended, but it was a cool time, one I will remember for the rest of my life."

"After 1.6, everyone said that CS:GO is a game that is not worth trying. At that time, I had to serve in Russia for one year of conscription service in 2012, after which I came back and worked for five years here and there. At one point, somewhere at the end of 2017, I realized that I didn’t want to do the job I was in and wanted to make money from CS," glowiing shared about his start in Counter-Strike.

His decision meant he had to move across the country to pursue his dream. "I decided that it would be difficult for me to play on 100 ping, so I needed to save money to leave my home city. After some time, I saved up 150,000 rubles [Editor's note: around $2,500] and left for St. Petersburg, where I was looking for a job to combine with playing.

"I didn’t consider Counter-Strike, 1.6 specifically, as a career at all. I simply liked it very much. But if we take CS:GO, I left the city I grew up in for one goal — to become a professional esports player. I understood it would not be an easy path, and I would have to sacrifice something, but everything worked out.

"I worked from 8 AM to 5 PM and trained from 5 PM to 2 AM. I worked without a vacation for more than two years, roughly speaking, and sooner or later it paid off. I started studying CS:GO late because I didn’t believe that it could blow up, but after I played it for the first time, I realized that I liked this game even more than 1.6."

He first appeared in a HLTV-featured match in August of 2018 while playing for PEY in the MSI MGA 2018 CIS Last Chance Qualifier, where he 30-bombed in what would foreshadow the rest of his surprising rise up the Counter-Strike food chain. glowiing was already 24 years old at that point, and few expected the rifler to make inroads into the tier-one scene.

He then spent the next 18 months in the lower reaches of the Russian scene and turned out for mix-teams like NorBant, Atlants, and eL'quvet as he continued to wait for his opportunity to display his talent at a higher level.

glowiing's chance came at the start of 2020 when he got the call-up to Cyber Legacy in what was his first professional team. After the roster went through a few roster changes, he started playing alongside current teammates Denis "⁠seized⁠" Kostin and Timur "⁠clax⁠" Sabirov and under the tutelage of coach Andrey "⁠Xoma⁠" Mironenko.

"When we were playing in Cyber Legacy for the first time, he was so young and green despite his age, so he was just starting to learn basic things," seized recalls his first experience alongside glowiing.

glowiing averaged a 0.97 rating that year, which showed a few growing pains by the Russian rifler as he tried to adapt to a professional environment. "The experience in the first professional team was something new because I only played in FACEIT before that and had a basic set of usual moves and knowledge of the game. And when the coach [Xoma] came, he started teaching me from scratch and helping me with everything.

"I worked very hard and played 14-15 hours a day. For six months, I just worked. I watched demos and recorded my game to analyze it myself or sometimes with a coach. Therefore, the experience was tremendous."

The core then made the jump to Trident, where glowiing spent the next six months of his career and began to show glimpses of what he was capable of. An improvement to a 1.10 average rating helped him get on the radar, and while Trident fell short of a LAN appearance, glowiing's performances earned him a move up to 1win.

The team was a fringe top-30 fixture during 2021, and glowiing kept up his level against higher-ranked opposition. He put up a 1.13 rating in his first season with the team, claimed a title at Malta Vibes Knockout Series 2, and placed well in several other online tournaments.

When 2022 came around, glowiing was still an unknown quantity in the world scene, but he was just months away from his international debut. 1win qualified for the IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR A and flew to Malta to fight for a coveted Major spot.

The best-of-one portion of the tournament went well for the team, which at the time featured Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev and Igor "⁠lollipop21k⁠" Solodkov, and they found themselves on a 2-1 record after edging past G2, who would eventually miss out on a Major appearance. 1win required just one more victory to make the Major after their match against G2 but fell to Cloud9 and fnatic in what was a heartbreaking end to their RMR campaign.

"We didn’t have much preparation for our opponents or any kind of experience in LAN tournaments, so we just played," says glowiing about his first RMR appearance. "We made it to 2-1, but then Cloud9 and fnatic beat us simply because they prepared for us and understood what we would do, while we played the same CS and didn’t change anything at all."

The team returned to online play, and glowiing remained on the roster for the start of the 2023 season but only played five maps before 1win signed Major winner Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov in his place. That left him without a team, but he soon landed on 9 Pandas to reunite with seized, clax, and Xoma.

The coach said he knew what to expect from glowiing and was heavily involved in his signing. "​​When I came to this squad and when I was looking for players, I always knew that glowiing is a very hard-working person. He indeed started playing this game very late, but age is actually an illusion, the main thing here is desire. During the tests, he showed that he is ready to work, develop, and, most importantly, prove that age is not the limit."

In theory, this move was a downgrade. 1win were a fringe top-30 team throughout glowiing's time at the organization, while 9 Pandas just made several changes and were languishing outside the top 80 at the time of his signing. Despite their slow start, 9 Pandas showed a steady rise by showing consistent-if-unspectacular performances in the online circuit to enter the top 40 in July, but they were just getting started.

glowiing says he feels comfortable in the organization because they provide him with everything he needs to perform at his highest level. "I believe that everything in a team should start from the very top. There must be very good people in the organization who understand what they are doing from A to Z," he begins.

"I work with a psychologist and can ask for a massage at any time at bootcamp. Everywhere possible, the organization always says, 'Okay, no problem, we will do whatever you want, just play and rest when you need it.' The team's success is not only the work of the five of us, the coach, and the analyst. It’s the work of the entire team, starting from the CEO and ending with all possible staff who work for the organization."

The support around the roster meant something changed the second time this core came together, as the team continued to reach new heights with every passing moment. 9 Pandas would make their LAN debut at PARI Dunav Party, where they reached the semi-final after beating Aurora but had to bow out to Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets' Spirit after a marathon three-map series. glowiing came alive in the LAN setting and averaged a 1.21 rating, and his coach attributes his rise in form to a strong work ethic.

"He is an industrious worker and has very strong aim. He wants to improve his performance from series to series, and most importantly, he understands that there is no limit to perfection and only hard work pays off," said Xoma. "He also tried to be an IGL in the past and understands what it means to manage the process in his positions, which helps us in many situations and gives me the opportunity to choose roles for him based on that."

9 Pandas didn't stop there, though. Just three months later, they reappeared in Belgrade to attend the $100,000 PARI Please, where they were up against the likes of Eternal Fire, FURIA, and BetBoom and came into the event as the second-lowest ranked team.

The group stage went swimmingly with 2-0 wins against BetBoom and MIBR, and they never let off the gas in the playoffs. 9 Pandas bested FURIA before they dispatched Eternal Fire 3-0 in the best-of-five final to lift the trophy and achieve their biggest success to date.

glowiing was a massive part of their title run as he averaged a 1.36 rating across the event and also topped the server in the grand final, where his performance (1.35) outshone that of Ismailcan "⁠XANTARES⁠" Dörtkardeş (1.05) and announced him to the world as a star rifler.

The PARI Please title propelled 9 Pandas to No. 20 in the HLTV World Ranking and coincided with a rise in Valve's regional standings, which meant they received a direct invitation to the RMR Closed Qualifier for PGL Major Copenhagen a few months down the line.

Their Closed Qualifier campaign began according to expectations, as they ended the first two days with a 2-1 record after wins against Nexus and ECSTATIC on either side of a loss to Natus Vincere. A loss to SAW sent them to the 2-2 bracket, where they edged past 3DMAX to qualify for the European RMR.

Pre-RMR expectations were low for the team that didn't light up the server in the Closed Qualifier, but Xoma believed in the team. "In addition to hard labor and work, we have learned to play based on our opponent and their weaknesses, understand where people make mistakes, and use them to our advantage," he said.

"What makes our lineup successful is that we are all on the same page," added glowiing. "Everyone listens to each other. There is no talk behind the back about players kicking someone, and everyone trusts each other. This is the key to success. We also had a very difficult schedule since we came together and played the most maps on HLTV. So hard work pays off, as they say."

9 Pandas ended the best-of-one portion of the RMR with a 1-2 record and needed two straight victories to qualify for the Major and avoid the dreaded Last Chance Qualifier. They passed their first test of 3DMAX but faltered against AMKAL after taking the first map of the series. glowiing, whose Copenhagen Major qualification seemed to be going the way of his previous RMR with 1win, ended the event with a 1.03 rating in what was a solid display from the rifler but far from the level he showed less than a week later.

Due to the loss against AMKAL, 9 Pandas were sent to the Last Chance Qualifier and began with a match against Astralis, who were the favorites to make it through to the Major. Their bout went against community sentiment, though, as seized and company defeated the Danish superteam and moved to the second day of action, where they would receive the highest seed and avoid the first match.

GamerLegion were their opponents in the final do-or-die match of the RMR, and the series started terribly for the Russian squad. A close-fought 14-16 loss meant they were up against the ropes from the start, but glowiing was a shining beacon of hope for 9 Pandas. He put up 34 kills, 98 ADR, and a 1.63 rating in the map loss before continuing this kind of form on Ancient, where his team won 13-8 thanks to his 1.82-rated performance.

Nuke was the decider, and glowiing remained dialed in to once again top the scoreboard with 27 kills and an incredible 130 ADR that brought his average rating across the entire series to 1.69, far ahead of his closest teammate clax (1.13), as he completed an absurd carry performance to get 9 Pandas into the Copenhagen Major.

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30-year-old glowiing shines to secure 9 Pandas Major berth

"These are incredible emotions because the first attempt was in Malta when we played for 1WIN, but we didn't prepare as well as this time. It was very joyful to get to the Major, especially through the Last Chance Qualifier of six teams. We deserved to reach the Major, so I was very happy about that," said glowiing about his maiden Major appearance.

Xoma, who has also made his first Major as a head coach after previously qualifying with Entropiq as an assistant, admitted the team had some stage fright in the final RMR games. "During the event, especially after the victory over SAW, we were afraid of the fact that we were one step away from the main tournament of the year.

"We started to be afraid to play this game, to make mistakes. After the loss versus AMKAL and before the start of the Last Chance Qualifier, we agreed to enjoy the process. We are not those who should worry that we would not qualify, but the opponents who had already been to the Major more than once, and it worked."

Since their RMR success, the focus has unsurprisingly shifted to the Copenhagen Major, which 9 Pandas will begin in the Opening stage. Despite surpassing all expectations by making it to this stage, Xoma says the team still has a lot to offer and remains entirely focused on showing its best face in Copenhagen.

"Now emotions have subsided, we realize that we have made another step forward, and it's time to show what we can do and prove that it was not an accident. The belief in everyone has only increased, and we became a team where any player can step up at any moment," said the coach.

glowiing is about to face his biggest test yet in Copenhagen, where he will connect to the server as one of only eight players in their 30s, but his career seems to have only gotten started. Most other players in his age bracket needed to reinvent themselves in a different role, but glowiing enters the Major as a star rifler.

Despite their lack of experience in the team, where seized is the only member to have played at a Major before, glowiing insists the team is flying to Copenhagen without any pressure. "The goal for the Major is to enjoy the game. There is no goal to win against someone, just to have fun and play for fun. If we play our game, we can beat any team in the world. If we are mentally calm and just play, we all know how to shoot, and we can beat any team."

The first team to stand before 9 Pandas is AMKAL, who sent seized and company to the Last Chance Qualifier at the RMR. The match gives them a chance to exact revenge as well as start their Major campaign on the right track, which is needed if 9 Pandas want to make it through to the next stage. No matter what happens in Copenhagen, though, glowiing says that his Counter-Strike journey is at the start of its lifespan.

"In general, age is just some form of measure accepted in the community, as if a player can only start playing and show himself on the scene between the ages of 16 and 20. It all depends on your motivation, how passionate you are about the game, how much you love this game, and whether you are ready to sacrifice and work for it.

"In traditional sports, people play until they are 45 or older, and if you love this game, it doesn't matter what age you are. I only started playing this game six years after the release. Yes, it was a difficult path, but in any case, I think my career is just beginning. With something like this, the work only continues," concluded glowiing.

Date	Matches
PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 Opening Stage
17/03/2024	GamerLegion 16:05 AMKAL	Match