AdreN on founding NOVAQ: "I left the big game, but the big game never left me"

The player-turned-coach speaks about founding his own organization and the impact he hopes PGL Astana will have in Kazakhstan.

Dauren "⁠AdreN⁠" Kystaubayev's NOVAQ made their LAN debut with the organization at LanDaLan 2, where they played three group stage matches against GUN5 and Chimera, losing to the former 1-2 twice and beating the latter 2-1 in a 5-6th place finish.

"I did media, and I liked it, but it never really got me high," the Major MVP says about his drive to create NOVAQ. "I played for almost 20 years, but there was no drive, no 'being in the big game', as I called it. After I went inactive and wasn't playing for quite some time, I started missing tournaments and those emotions."

We sat down with AdreN to talk about creating this organization and fielding a team from Kazakhstan — from the motivations behind it to the goals he hopes to achieve in the medium and long term. The clutch king with 100 ping also spoke of the importance of an event like PGL Astana for Kazakhstan.

[Editor's note: This interview was conducted in Russian and translated to English]

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We're at LanDaLan, where you're here with your new team, NOVAQ. Can you tell us about this project?

It's a project that I've been planning for a long time. It's a logical continuation of my career. People used to ask me if I would want to become a coach, and I would say no for a number of reasons. I don't want to be a coach for tier two or tier three teams where I would not be paid well, considering those orgs are not mine, and joining tier one is not an option because I don't have coaching experience.

I was thinking for a long time, and many would also ask why I wouldn't make my own team. And I thought, indeed, why not? This kind of project was very much needed. There was this void left after AVANGAR, with no one there to give support. I have a big baggage of experience, so I thought, why not?

Another factor was that experience. I was doing media, and I knew that my experience of nearly 20 years in Counter-Strike would be wasted for nothing since no one would absorb that experience. I didn't want to waste it, so I decided to share the experience with the young players, which is what I'm doing now.

Tell us about the roster you decided to support. How did you put that together?

This is simple. I needed players who were showing some results, at least minimally. And there was this team that I had been following for a while, they used to be AVANGAR's academy team. I followed them, and I saw that these players were winning all of the big events in Kazakhstan, but they were unable to go abroad and show those results, so these players were perfect for me.

I also needed a captain with experience playing in the pro scene. Luckily, neaLaN coincidentally got free, and it was perfect for me. We talked, we found common ground, and from that point, I've set the goal of building a team and doing this.

It mattered to me to have players with a core that has a spirit, a spirit of winning. It would be harder to put it together from pieces because everyone would need to learn everything again, but when you have players that have played together and have some sort of a base, it's much easier to build a game on that.

When contemplating a team, you likely considered and evaluated the pool of Kazakhstan's talent overall. How deep is it?

There are difficulties in the lack of tournaments, and not every talent gets to show themselves. With no tournaments, they have no motivation to play. Of course, parents of many can get in the way of playing because for them it's a video game, while it's a big game for us. Many don't understand this, and to show it, we need big tournaments, like PGL Astana.

And there are very few opportunities for young players. Maybe the next donk is somewhere outside of the big cities, but he doesn't know about it. Exactly for this reason, we need tournaments or some sort of motivation. Now, NOVAQ will be one of those motivators because we will be creating an academy team where the young talents will be able to show themselves.

If your primary goal is to make a difference for the Kazakhstani scene, and a lack of tournaments is the problem, did you have ideas to run tournaments yourself?

I was considering it. I even had the experience doing some events and micro tournaments, but it's all very hard to do in Kazakhstan because few sponsors believe in it and are willing to provide big investments. Spending your own money on it is also hard if there's no return on it.

Making a team was far more logical to me because I don't have experience as a tournament organizer and such, but I have more to offer in terms of passing on my experience as a player, so I went with an easier option.

After becoming a coach, do you feel comfortable? Or is there some struggle?

Of course, as a young coach, I learn and try to grow, and read books by different coaches who have trained big athletes. I'm learning from them, and I'm never shy to ask for pieces of advice from my ex-teammates and ex-coaches. Before, when I was a player, it would have been a bit awkward to ask for a bit of advice because pride would get in the way, but now I have none of that. I just need to show results.

So, as a coach, I'm still growing. I thought it would be harder, actually, because I've never had such an experience, but with my guys, it's way easier because they want to win, they're passionate about that. They absorb everything I say, and it motivates me even more.

What pushed you to invest in this project and take up some obvious risks? Before that, you were actively doing media work, and it's a less risky endeavour.

I did media, and I liked it, but it never really got me high. I played for almost 20 years, but there was no drive, no 'being in the big game', as I called it. After I went inactive and wasn't playing for quite some time, I started missing tournaments and those emotions. I left the big game, but the big game never left me. I'm undertaking this project for myself because Counter-Strike is my love and my game. I wanted to be in the big game. And how else could I do it other than this? Only making my own organization and being the coach.

In the aspect of having a team, what do you see as your primary role? Running the organization as CEO or GM, or being a coach?

Making my organization and leading it to be the top esports club in every aspect, of course. So it's not only results, it's also media and all of those aspects. I've gained a lot of experience in different things, and now all the pieces have fallen into place for the organization to be the ideal solution that covers all of my needs. Doing media and running tournaments does not. There's no drive in that. As I said, the big game is still within me, so I wanted to make a comeback. And this was an ideal decision, as well as logical, for me.

You have ambitious goals in the long run, but what are your team's goals, let's say, till the end of this year?

I will get a little bit ahead of the timeline: My goal is for the team to be competitive for the next PGL Astana. In 2026, I want our team to be in the tier one and already be competing for trophies, and this is precisely our goal, to show a good level at home.

This tournament was also a step for your team, a relatively big LAN. How do you evaluate your team's results at this event?

It may appear that we haven't played that well at this event, but for me, we've gained that precious experience that I wanted to get. I could see that the team has become stronger; it has taken a step forward. Of course, I'm not fantasizing about winning straight away. Everything takes its time. I told the guys that we will improve bit by bit, but we will be moving forward.

What matters is that we make progress. It doesn't matter if it's in big or small steps. I saw progress, and for me, that's what matters. Also, for the guys to see that they're capable if they're willing. Some morale problems happen since they're young guys, but everything has its time, we're in no rush.

You said you wanted NOVAQ to be a tier one org. Do you allow for a scenario when you will be able to grow a talent or two who will be in demand, and they will be leaving for other teams? Or do you count on the team growing together as the best Kazakhstani team?

My initial goal was to make a team that players would want to join. Being on that team would be their final goal, so they wouldn't want to leave. There are a lot of teams that sell their young players and take two steps back. Instead, my goal is to make a team that everyone would want to join. Everyone wants to join Vitality, or FaZe, and I want a similar story. So I want players to consider this team as their final team where they will be playing. Of course, it will be a hard process, but step by step, we will be there sooner or later.

You said it was hard to run tournaments because it's hard to get sponsors. How is it with having a team? Is it hard, or are there some developments?

There are some developments. We've signed partners already. Straight away, we found the guys who had faith in us: PARIMATCH and Logitech. It was good for us that those companies believed in us despite having a relatively young team. Some said that after we play and show results, we'll talk, but in this case, they believed in us, and that mattered to us. If you have faith in us, we won't let you down.

We are also waiting for the end of PGL Astana. Maybe something will change in Kazakhstan. Maybe some sponsors will wake up and believe in us after seeing the scale of that event. We'll see, I don't make predictions. I was asked about the results and whatnot, and I said, guys, we're not making assumptions, we just work.

Your ex-teammate mou, who's also a coach, will soon play at PGL Astana. What are your feelings regarding such a big tournament coming to Kazakhstan?

I rejoice. I will fly there in a couple of days. I will go there not to work or do anything, I just want to enjoy it, to see it more as a viewer. Of course, I will also be there. But overall, I will just go there to rest and enjoy the process.

Speaking of mou, I will be cheering for them. There are some of our guys [from Kazakhstan] on that team, and we will be cheering for all of the Kazakhstani guys. I spoke with mou recently, and he really has stepped up as a coach. There's a hope that they can upset someone, and I have a sincere faith in that.