Our Counter-Strike division had the chance to take part in the "Polish Pro Night", an initiative organized by Xfire. In this initiative, the "Golden Five" did not only play with the fans and give live feedback, but they also answered various questions - here is the report from the chat!

Serious Questions

mileylover: Which victory up to this point has been the most important for you guys?

Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas: With our current line-up, our most important victory has been the first place finish at ESWC Poland however we are hungry for more victories! :)

Mariusz "Loord" Cybulski: In our current line-up we haven't had such a major victory yet.

9bear4: Recently you guys found out you will be attending GameGune. Will you prepare heavily for this event to earn a top placing on the podium and to show that Poland is the best defeating the world?s elite teams?

Jakub "kuben" Gurczyński: Of course we will prepare the best we can. We love playing in Spain, and we have always placed high when playing there so our hopes are high that this year we will also be able to get a good placing!

synowiec: What is your secret to playing with such a close line-up for so long?

Filip "Neo" Kubski: You have to focus on the goal which your team has and you must put your differences and disagreements behind you to not break up.

palisontbg: For TaZ. Is it easy to manage every day responsibilities and studying during law school while playing Counter-Strike?

TaZ: It isn't easy because of the constant travelling. Most of the international tournaments take place during the egzamination session or very close to those dates so I always have to choose between passing my exams or training individually. A lot also depends on what you are studying, the university, and how open the deans are to the students.

Zimny: What are your chances for a good placing at ESWC 2010 in Paris? Are you guys well prepared skill wise and mentally, or do you still need more time?

kuben: We still have over 2 weeks of preparation ahead of us and we are trying to prepare skill wise as well as trying to improve our tactics. I personally feel like we have improved a lot, so we are aiming for a top 3 finish.

The point at which the game becomes a chore is the moment in which a person should stop playing CS. Without motivation other than money, nothing will come out of the game. - TaZ

zolaaaloz: In recent times after changing out LUq for pasha your results have visibly gone down. What is the cause of this? We know for sure that pasha is not worse than LUq. Is it a mental issue? Chemistry? Maybe a lack of proper preparation?

Neo: Personally, I think that it's a mental issue. Even if LUq would be with us at those tournaments I believe our results would have been the same. Pasha has finally started to hold his own, which has been visible in our recent tournaments.

ocus1215: This is a question for the whole five - what kind of training do you guys focus more on? Tactics or so called "skill"? Do you play in deathmatch servers, mixes, or do you play with the Germans? :)

kuben: Each and every one of us does this individually. Some of us spend more time in DM while others watch demos or play mixes. We all try to meet somewhere in between. The above we try to do after our practices.

michio77: What type of servers help you train your individual skill best?

Neo: Different servers help you train different parts of your game. It is worth playing in everything. Mixes help train the way you think and predicting where your opponent might be in certain 1onX situations, DM trains basic shooting, and aim maps train your accuracy. It is best to play it all.

|Shin.Crew|Lucyfer.VCL: How long do you plan on playing?

TaZ: As long as this game still is fun for me, and as long as I will represent a high level of play and my team will have a good chance of succeeding on an international stage.

Koziol: Are your tactics all in your head, or do you have them noted down in a notebook somewhere?

Loord: Everyone has them memorized, but we also have them written down.

rafcio3d (rafcio3d): Does CS still give you guys a good time? Or are you approaching the game as a chore and your job?

TaZ: The point at which the game becomes a chore is the moment in which a person should stop playing CS. Without motivation other than money, nothing will come out of the game.

ESL|Tajgeer: Which team according to you guys was a positive surprise at the Polish ESWC qualifiers? How do you rate your chances and the chances of BenQ.Delta at the upcoming ESWC Finals?

Neo: No one at the Polish ESWC surprised us. A lot less focus was put on the games since they were played over the internet. About the question of our chances alongside Delta's chances, it's hard to say. I wish them the best of luck, but it all depends on the group they get placed into.

No one at the Polish ESWC surprised us. A lot less focus was put on the games since they were played over the internet. - Neo

osks69: How long do you think Counter-Strike will last as a popular FPS title?

kuben: As long as possible hopefully. All of present love this game ;)

Davidka: A question for the whole team: What do you think of the new Polish Counter-Strike teams in the scene? Do they have a chance to reach a top level and start to have some major victories?

kuben: It is a long process to reach the top level which only the most dedicated will reach. We all saw a bunch of new faces at this year's ESWC. These players are the ones that have the chance of reaching a high level currently; however they will have to sacrifice a lot to do so.

wiiq: Are your tactics all based on the demo's you guys watch, or do you make up new ones from scratch as well?

TaZ: Both. Sometimes we take another teams tactic and change it to fit our team more while sometimes while watching demo's we come up with different ideas for flashes, tactics and set-ups.

Are you friends outside of CS? Do you meet up? Do you go out for a beer?

kuben: Only before tournaments, and after if we win :D

TaZ: We spend so much time together at tournaments, Ventrilo and CS servers that sometimes everyone needs to rest and meet with their girlfriend, school mates and friends from our neighborhoods. We are like an married couple. And we don't go out for beer :(, we send each other beers over gadu-gadu.

whitesh4rky: Is there a way to find a good player not knowing anyone in real life or online to help me get known on the scene? The forums aren't the best place to look and I feel like with a good team I can really do some damage.

Loord: First try showing up to a LAN tournament, and the rest might go easily from there :-)

Igorek: Many players who play CS dream of having you guys on their friends list. Is there a chance that you might accept an invitation from a person you don't actually know?

Loord: Have you ever thought of a reason we might have such a person on our friends list? :>

kuben: I have accepted a few invites in the past and answered whatever questions they had. After that I would delete them.

rychupn0: When you go to LAN you hook up your gear and what next: do you change some settins in Widows and your graphics card? Maybe you know some less known commands?

Neo: I check the graphics card settings to ensure they are the same as I have at home (meaning almost everything turned off such as anti-aliasing and v-sync). Next I install some kind of GUI (usually form this page -> www.satanion.dk), I download the ESL GUI - the latest version. Everything should work smoothly. :p I also change my mouse HZ to 500 (I download the program from this page).

kodexxx: Do you still maintain contacts with LUq?

Neo: Sometimes we still talk, however not as much as in the past.

(About succeeding in CS) It is a long process to reach the top level which only the most dedicated will reach. We all saw a bunch of new faces at this year's ESWC. These players are the ones that have the chance of reaching a high level currently	however they will have to sacrifice a lot to do so. - kuben

cedzik11: What do you think of the Universal Soldiers academy?

Loord: It's the first time I've heard of this. I?ve heard of some lessons, but a school? Hmmm.

TaZ: Who leads the lessons? A better professor will teach you more, just wait for GAD :)

infinitz: Do you sometimes look for "medium scrims" on IRC to help calm down after a loss just to punish them severely?

Neo: If we want to calm down after a loss in such a way, we look for a match with a Polish team :))

preB++: According to you guys, who is the best team in CS at the moment?

Loord: According to me, we are the best! Right behind us is fnatic.

Do you remember the line "What's wrong GeT_RiGhT"?

Loord: No, I forgot already.

LeRri?: TAZ, YOU PLAYED AMAZING AT ESWC (PL)! Was this because of your intense training, or did you just have a good day?

TaZ: None of the above. The morning before the first match I spilled hot coffee over my hands and I wanted to end the match as soon as possible because of the pain I was in :/

mtobi666: What is it like to dominate the national scene in a way similar to Adam Małysz dominating ski jumping? Do you think someone will be able to defeat you guys finally?

TaZ: When we stop focusing so much on the game and fighting for top finishes then we will have this problem. However until that point we are safe?

Flichu: After replacing LUq for pasha you played a lot with your new team member. Even with your Polish opponents now Neo is lagging behind pasha. Shouldn't you change your style of play to get the most out of all of your players, even Neo, who certainly still has his fantastic aim? Maybe you guys are competing amongst each other for frags (even subconsciously)? Maybe you need a coach such as fnatic or Na'Vi who could calm you guys down, or even motivate you guys after a few rounds lost in a row?

TaZ: The problem with our team is that attending a tournament we know we have to win it or place at least top 3. This causes a lot more stress when we lose a few rounds in a row and we didn't know how to relieve the stress in such situations. Now we have nothing to lose and we will only think about our next match and not about the final result. This will cause us to be stronger mentally. And Filip will still show his worth. :)

(Talented players) The players will reach a high level on their own. One which we most probably will not be able to reach anymore. They only need to have a lot of will and tons of time. - Loord

hubcio7: Do you accept scrim requests from unknown teams? If so, how can one challenge you guys to a match!?

Neo: We don't accept such requests. We try to play against teams which will challenge us which we usually find on IRC.

solo: Does our scene have players which could join together like you guys did years ago to play with the top teams in the world and even to defeat them?

kuben: If they don't train actively as we do then they don't have a chance. They have break through and start constantly winning with us, and then they will play without a handicap. Up to that point, we will continue to defeat them by wide margins every time.

chranchips: If you found talented players with a passion, would you help them break through to spread their wings?

Such talented players will eventually reach a high level on their own. One which we most probably will not be able to reach anymore. They only need to have a lot of will and tons of time.

solo: Some time ago an article written by Hayabusa was published "Fx: how they lose -playbook". Did this article help you notice your mistakes and fix them?

kuben: Different generations have different views on the game!

Silly/Funny Questions

What do you feel when you get onto the big stage and you know that you are representing Poland?

Loord: I feel that I have to get a bunch of juicy headshots.

4fanatic: What do you think ? will you be able to WCG 2010 in the United States and prove that POLAND is the BEST?

Loord: Easy.

vP o L 4 K ?!: For TaZ: Do you like oranges?

TaZ: Yeah!

Ruszek JARQ: What do you think of Na'Vi's form this year?

Neo: We're extremely excited.

(After a defeat) We close ourselves in the toilet and we don't leave until dawn. - Neo

ketraboss: What do you do with your extra hardware?

Neo: I have 5 computers at home so there is no extra hardware :p

maniek: Question for Loord: What kind of music do you listen to?

Loord: Maniek's music of course.

1ppp: For kuben: Do you like pancakes?

kuben: Of course!

evovskY: Why isn't pasha here? What happened?

Loord: Someone told me that pasha is helping keep up the anti-flooding walls. Might be true?

Fx Knorr: KUBEN, DO YOU EAT "GORONCE QBKI"? (A reference to the ramen style soups called Gorące Kubki)

kuben: I prefer frozen soups hehe.

phyran: What happens when you lose to some weak unknown team?

Neo: We close ourselves in the toilet and we don't leave until dawn.

slajd: For NEO: HOW DID YOU FREE YOUR TEAM FROM THE MATRIX? Cheers :D

Neo: Haha.. Illegaly, however I shouldn't talk about this.

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