Striker

HLTV viewers could never handle these kinds of technical difficulties.

HLTV viewers could never handle these kinds of technical difficulties.

We can easily blame Call of Duty for this. It's great. It's easy. We can blame Call of Duty because it was the Cod Orcs that came in in 2016. Those are the ones who had the initial increase. And once one org comes in and says, we're going to pay $15,000 instead of $7,000, everyone's going to start... Only one of them stayed, though.

We can easily blame Call of Duty for this. It's great. It's easy. We can blame Call of Duty because it was the Cod Orcs that came in in 2016. Those are the ones who had the initial increase. And once one org comes in and says, we're going to pay $15,000 instead of $7,000, everyone's going to start... Only one of them stayed, though.

Yeah, that's what I mean. They all came in. They all bumped up the salaries and all fucked up. Remember NBS?

Yeah, that's what I mean. They all came in. They all bumped up the salaries and all fucked up. Remember NBS?

Okay. Mostly because they were embroiled in insane business battles behind the scenes, but yeah.

Okay. Mostly because they were embroiled in insane business battles behind the scenes, but yeah.

That's like the peak behind the curtain of show business.

That's like the peak behind the curtain of show business.

Probably not. I would assume no.

Probably not. I would assume no.

Which is good because Lucas says some wild shit.

Which is good because Lucas says some wild shit.

So it'd be a week late, essentially.

So it'd be a week late, essentially.

I'm just listening to it. Like, what am I supposed to say? Our entire scene is set up on technicalities of what words you use.

I'm just listening to it. Like, what am I supposed to say? Our entire scene is set up on technicalities of what words you use.

unfortunate. I don't want to say anything. I have only bad things in my brain right now. I don't want to say I love you and they're bad things. Yeah, it's like the only like I'm thinking like, what should I say? What should I say? And it's all the things that you shouldn't say. So I'm just gonna chill.

unfortunate. I don't want to say anything. I have only bad things in my brain right now. I don't want to say I love you and they're bad things. Yeah, it's like the only like I'm thinking like, what should I say? What should I say? And it's all the things that you shouldn't say. So I'm just gonna chill.

Yeah, dude, just don't do format. So we'll stay away from the format.

Yeah, dude, just don't do format. So we'll stay away from the format.

Yeah, but if those teams, if you can't make the progress as a brand new team, you have to have that.

Yeah, but if those teams, if you can't make the progress as a brand new team, you have to have that.

You're saying we have a similar number of open qualifiers this year coming than we did last year.

You're saying we have a similar number of open qualifiers this year coming than we did last year.

I'll give you the ballpark as well. Does that matter if the ability to get to go from tier two to tier one is more closed off than ever.

I'll give you the ballpark as well. Does that matter if the ability to get to go from tier two to tier one is more closed off than ever.

Well, yeah.

Well, yeah.

Endpoints bowed out of Counter-Strike altogether.

Endpoints bowed out of Counter-Strike altogether.

That was actually the most clear factor of the VRS.

That was actually the most clear factor of the VRS.

Well, let's also highlight the last five years were like two years of COVID where everything was extremely locked down. And then we saw the Luver agreement, the Blast agreements, everything was extremely locked down. And that was part of the issue of creating this VRS was to open that back up.

Well, let's also highlight the last five years were like two years of COVID where everything was extremely locked down. And then we saw the Luver agreement, the Blast agreements, everything was extremely locked down. And that was part of the issue of creating this VRS was to open that back up.

ESO was so relative. It was a little bit. No, it wasn't. Yeah, it was. There's avenues to get in.

ESO was so relative. It was a little bit. No, it wasn't. Yeah, it was. There's avenues to get in.

But let's not act like it's not a little bit locked.

But let's not act like it's not a little bit locked.

Sorry, I clumped them together. We're in the semantics era. Yes, apparently we are.

Sorry, I clumped them together. We're in the semantics era. Yes, apparently we are.

Really important.

Really important.

Those are leather-wrapped thongs.

Those are leather-wrapped thongs.

There we go. That counts.

There we go. That counts.

Well, I think they had an issue with the Asian one as well, didn't they? You could only sign up for their Asian Open Qualifier if you had a mainland Chinese number, so a bunch of teams couldn't actually sign up for the qualifier.

Well, I think they had an issue with the Asian one as well, didn't they? You could only sign up for their Asian Open Qualifier if you had a mainland Chinese number, so a bunch of teams couldn't actually sign up for the qualifier.

Why are you evading again? It's the same situation, just a different region. That's why I brought it up.

Why are you evading again? It's the same situation, just a different region. That's why I brought it up.

It's fine. I'll go play some Counter-Strike. No, you can't.

It's fine. I'll go play some Counter-Strike. No, you can't.

Here's one more thing I'll say about this, okay? Boys, can we do the show?

Here's one more thing I'll say about this, okay? Boys, can we do the show?

Okay, so you like the lawnmower a little bit more?

Okay, so you like the lawnmower a little bit more?

What's a bush in Australia? Lots of bush. Oh, there's a ton of bush in Australia. You guys have the biggest bush, I think, of the whole world. You've been in the thick of the bush before. I've been way deep into the bush.

What's a bush in Australia? Lots of bush. Oh, there's a ton of bush in Australia. You guys have the biggest bush, I think, of the whole world. You've been in the thick of the bush before. I've been way deep into the bush.

No, I'm good. I just don't know if I'm allowed to talk or if someone's going to be smart-ass comment.

No, I'm good. I just don't know if I'm allowed to talk or if someone's going to be smart-ass comment.

Yeah. Oh, Jason, don't be like this. Well, I'm ready to go. What do you want to talk about? What have we got?

Yeah. Oh, Jason, don't be like this. Well, I'm ready to go. What do you want to talk about? What have we got?

It's my fault. What's next on the subject list? That's all right.

It's my fault. What's next on the subject list? That's all right.

Last time I did one of these, I did really good.

Last time I did one of these, I did really good.

I think it's funny. There's a lot of intersections going on. It's cool. I'm excited by the collaboration. I'm just happy to be here.

I think it's funny. There's a lot of intersections going on. It's cool. I'm excited by the collaboration. I'm just happy to be here.

one team in the group stage in 2015 you said okay why isn't titan an option that was cologne that was the first thing i thought about too how is that kind of beats in 2015 in the group stage that that's what's all about the ones there's no shot they beat fanatic fanatic won beat bit nip Yeah, but this is the group stage.

one team in the group stage in 2015 you said okay why isn't titan an option that was cologne that was the first thing i thought about too how is that kind of beats in 2015 in the group stage that that's what's all about the ones there's no shot they beat fanatic fanatic won beat bit nip Yeah, but this is the group stage.

Flipside was always playing in those elimination games because they were always that ratty team that got to the majors and did nothing else all year.

Flipside was always playing in those elimination games because they were always that ratty team that got to the majors and did nothing else all year.

Navi was a really slow-paced tactical team and Chad did not have the brain to beat them at the time. Actually, harsh but fair.

Navi was a really slow-paced tactical team and Chad did not have the brain to beat them at the time. Actually, harsh but fair.

Flipside's the easy one, but that's the obvious one.

Flipside's the easy one, but that's the obvious one.

Who was on Navi in 15? Seized? Flaming at the time, maybe? Let's just say Flipside, dude.

Who was on Navi in 15? Seized? Flaming at the time, maybe? Let's just say Flipside, dude.

You guys were playing in NA at the time, and Cash is an NA map, so you guys had plenty of practice.

You guys were playing in NA at the time, and Cash is an NA map, so you guys had plenty of practice.

It's Luminosity.

It's Luminosity.

Are we live?

Are we live?

That was the event too where those boosts you were talking about that happened at the empty arena. That was the one where the day went so late that they had to empty out the arena.

That was the event too where those boosts you were talking about that happened at the empty arena. That was the one where the day went so late that they had to empty out the arena.

Two of the three were on time.

Two of the three were on time.

I was hoping, because I knew it was 2017. What roster was he on in 2017?

I was hoping, because I knew it was 2017. What roster was he on in 2017?

Was Titan still around in 2017?

Was Titan still around in 2017?

That was also the Dallas one. What are our options? Envy, Titan, G2. I think Titan was done by then. I think it's Envy or G2.

That was also the Dallas one. What are our options? Envy, Titan, G2. I think Titan was done by then. I think it's Envy or G2.

Yeah, sure.

Yeah, sure.

The Frenchies were also the only people who won the major in Cluj-Napoca and then went to the major in Columbus and got last place.

The Frenchies were also the only people who won the major in Cluj-Napoca and then went to the major in Columbus and got last place.

Just being nice because you were a dick earlier, but keep going.

Just being nice because you were a dick earlier, but keep going.

I think it was Axl.

I think it was Axl.

Lock in Shiro.

Lock in Shiro.

Yanko didn't want to say it, so I'm trusting the friend.

Yanko didn't want to say it, so I'm trusting the friend.

I'm just thinking in my head. I'm not saying it out loud. It is happening. You can say it.

I'm just thinking in my head. I'm not saying it out loud. It is happening. You can say it.

I didn't say it.

I didn't say it.

Welcome to my life.

Welcome to my life.

No one's saying. It's not true. I've seen both of you drink coffees after dinner at 9 p.m.

No one's saying. It's not true. I've seen both of you drink coffees after dinner at 9 p.m.

Oh, sure. So now there's qualifications.

Oh, sure. So now there's qualifications.

Is this the second of the show where we just inspect my life? I just wanted to have a coffee. I'm a grown-up.

Is this the second of the show where we just inspect my life? I just wanted to have a coffee. I'm a grown-up.

No, I think he's basically said it all. I mean, it sucks, man.

No, I think he's basically said it all. I mean, it sucks, man.

Kassad did get all the attention with that tweet.

Kassad did get all the attention with that tweet.

I'm so confused.

I'm so confused.

I was going to say, when you have a member of Talon who's just signed as an ambassador of one of your competing teams, it makes complete sense as well. If Talon are going to start having associations with teams, it's like, yeah, bro, you give up your ability to stand behind a team and record a cool piece of content for Twitter, Instagram, whatever.

I was going to say, when you have a member of Talon who's just signed as an ambassador of one of your competing teams, it makes complete sense as well. If Talon are going to start having associations with teams, it's like, yeah, bro, you give up your ability to stand behind a team and record a cool piece of content for Twitter, Instagram, whatever.

Like a 12 page playbook just sitting on the table.

Like a 12 page playbook just sitting on the table.

that's why i feel like when i ask you these questions i feel like i'm actually asking striker i'm just hoping that you're like the go-between if there's a long enough delay between when you ask me the question uh if it's via text and me giving the answer normally i've double checked with strikes dude i just like i like alicia's tweet vrs takes a harvard degree to figure it out so do you have a harvard degree i do not i don't have a degree at all okay well

that's why i feel like when i ask you these questions i feel like i'm actually asking striker i'm just hoping that you're like the go-between if there's a long enough delay between when you ask me the question uh if it's via text and me giving the answer normally i've double checked with strikes dude i just like i like alicia's tweet vrs takes a harvard degree to figure it out so do you have a harvard degree i do not i don't have a degree at all okay well

If it's an organization a little bit less reputable than HLTV, that shit's everywhere.

If it's an organization a little bit less reputable than HLTV, that shit's everywhere.

Locker talk.

Locker talk.

I want to see him without the tooth. I wonder which tooth it was. Hopefully a front tooth because that's the front.

I want to see him without the tooth. I wonder which tooth it was. Hopefully a front tooth because that's the front.

How do you feel about throwing away this man's tooth? Did you keep the tooth? Do you realize he had to play an entire game of Counter-Strike with a mask on?

How do you feel about throwing away this man's tooth? Did you keep the tooth? Do you realize he had to play an entire game of Counter-Strike with a mask on?

Here's the question. Is it going to swing the game in the favor of CTs a little bit more now that they can afford a cheaper and more effective rifle?

Here's the question. Is it going to swing the game in the favor of CTs a little bit more now that they can afford a cheaper and more effective rifle?

again maybe leaning a little bit too much on hlt it may be accrued a little bit too much power at this point almost feels great in games of counter you just planned some before i did use it quite a bit yeah it's fun it's good it can give you like a nice precise like feeling of like a three bullet burst you can spray with it it runs out of bolts quickly obviously but

again maybe leaning a little bit too much on hlt it may be accrued a little bit too much power at this point almost feels great in games of counter you just planned some before i did use it quite a bit yeah it's fun it's good it can give you like a nice precise like feeling of like a three bullet burst you can spray with it it runs out of bolts quickly obviously but

The MP7's making a comeback after the MP9 nerf. Have you noticed that?

The MP7's making a comeback after the MP9 nerf. Have you noticed that?

I saw Spirit and Liquid both using it.

I saw Spirit and Liquid both using it.

Yeah, but it was not nerds. It was other Liquid players. For whatever that matters to anybody. The big one in that statement was the Spirit players using it.

Yeah, but it was not nerds. It was other Liquid players. For whatever that matters to anybody. The big one in that statement was the Spirit players using it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's Chad leaving around. Middle of the round, yeah.

That's Chad leaving around. Middle of the round, yeah.

How do you sleep at night?

How do you sleep at night?

That'd be the apex happy ending to the group stage.

That'd be the apex happy ending to the group stage.

I kind of enjoy that we're just stopping at the handjob-heavy-ending-tuck-chair thing.

I kind of enjoy that we're just stopping at the handjob-heavy-ending-tuck-chair thing.

Good show.

Good show.

And then at some point we're just going to, we're just going to be live on the HLTV channel.

And then at some point we're just going to, we're just going to be live on the HLTV channel.

That's all Joko dropping out. That's the rumor.

That's all Joko dropping out. That's the rumor.

And Joker's had some very good games for them too.

And Joker's had some very good games for them too.

Yeah. That one has... Risky move. I can see Yanko's building up to that. He wanted to make sure we all knew Yanko did beat him in 1v1 at ESL Pro League. Why didn't you say, Yanko?

Yeah. That one has... Risky move. I can see Yanko's building up to that. He wanted to make sure we all knew Yanko did beat him in 1v1 at ESL Pro League. Why didn't you say, Yanko?

That's the old Astralis Furia shit fest. That was a gross ending to that nuke. I watched it back with Harry later that night because he was complaining so much and it was just a terrible ending. It was ugly to watch.

That's the old Astralis Furia shit fest. That was a gross ending to that nuke. I watched it back with Harry later that night because he was complaining so much and it was just a terrible ending. It was ugly to watch.

It was. Furia won that series. Or no, sorry. Astralis won that series. And their top rated player in the whole series had a 1.0 rating. They had no one above a 1.0 rating and they won the series. And you watch the end of that nuke and it was like the last five rounds are like three saves from Furia. 3v3, not going for it.

It was. Furia won that series. Or no, sorry. Astralis won that series. And their top rated player in the whole series had a 1.0 rating. They had no one above a 1.0 rating and they won the series. And you watch the end of that nuke and it was like the last five rounds are like three saves from Furia. 3v3, not going for it.

2v1 like 2v2 not going for it 3v2 not going for it and you're just like what's happening are we going to try and win this game because

2v1 like 2v2 not going for it 3v2 not going for it and you're just like what's happening are we going to try and win this game because

Welcome, everybody, to Talking Counter. Now that we've got that other thing over with, we're here with the real show.

Welcome, everybody, to Talking Counter. Now that we've got that other thing over with, we're here with the real show.

I thought it was solid. Yeah, it was good. Well, the headlines are sick. It'd be fun if everyone brought two.

I thought it was solid. Yeah, it was good. Well, the headlines are sick. It'd be fun if everyone brought two.

Australian man slurps Asian meat. Yeah. That's a great time.

Australian man slurps Asian meat. Yeah. That's a great time.

What are you giggling at?

What are you giggling at?

He's ready for Counter-Strike.

He's ready for Counter-Strike.

making a meme about the vertice pro performance or the electronic performance or how he's moved in game leader of his past two teams and they've all gone to like you once you enter that meme territory it just becomes the fun thing for most people to say i think they've looked i mean i think they got dumpster their first game here if i recall they lost a pain in there yeah yeah they got dumpster but then they've looked good otherwise whenever i've got stores or some like they look yeah but i think that's sore in mibr

making a meme about the vertice pro performance or the electronic performance or how he's moved in game leader of his past two teams and they've all gone to like you once you enter that meme territory it just becomes the fun thing for most people to say i think they've looked i mean i think they got dumpster their first game here if i recall they lost a pain in there yeah yeah they got dumpster but then they've looked good otherwise whenever i've got stores or some like they look yeah but i think that's sore in mibr

I enjoyed watching VP for the most part of this event. The most frustrating thing about it is, like, it's crazy, like, having spent the whole last year and just being like, now that Electronic just fully has control of the team, it's like you immediately see an improvement. Yeah, they got a few new players as well, so that adds into it as well.

I enjoyed watching VP for the most part of this event. The most frustrating thing about it is, like, it's crazy, like, having spent the whole last year and just being like, now that Electronic just fully has control of the team, it's like you immediately see an improvement. Yeah, they got a few new players as well, so that adds into it as well.

But, like, just being like, oh, you guys aren't, like, fucking completely lost in terms of who you're supposed to be listening to.

But, like, just being like, oh, you guys aren't, like, fucking completely lost in terms of who you're supposed to be listening to.

It was don't talk about the in-game leader situation of Virtus.pro.

It was don't talk about the in-game leader situation of Virtus.pro.

What are you talking about? I was like, no, I will be mentioning that at some point.

What are you talking about? I was like, no, I will be mentioning that at some point.

Dude, when I saw Fame giving an interview earlier this event, I was like, that bad?

Dude, when I saw Fame giving an interview earlier this event, I was like, that bad?

But he needs to do it in Russian so he can express himself properly.

But he needs to do it in Russian so he can express himself properly.

How do you ask follow-ups for that?

How do you ask follow-ups for that?

Vibe and that team has taken a 180. They look fucking happy.

Vibe and that team has taken a 180. They look fucking happy.

I think Icy's really good, too.

I think Icy's really good, too.

His game's got to get fleshed out still, but I think he's good for where he's at.

His game's got to get fleshed out still, but I think he's good for where he's at.

I was going to say, though, like I have... That game I casted him against ZywOo, he looked like shit.

I was going to say, though, like I have... That game I casted him against ZywOo, he looked like shit.

No, it's fair, actually. Okay. Okay. I think he looks on. I think he's got a lot of work to do, a lot of places to go, but I think he's a pretty cool offer to watch play.

No, it's fair, actually. Okay. Okay. I think he looks on. I think he's got a lot of work to do, a lot of places to go, but I think he's a pretty cool offer to watch play.

Yeah. Twists had some better games, I think.

Yeah. Twists had some better games, I think.

He had a couple one-two punches with Rops.

He had a couple one-two punches with Rops.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, well, I think there's two factors to this event that I think should be kind of kept in mind. I think one, they stripped down their playbook pretty hardcore. Like if you watch that Spirit series, they ran like three plays on the T side.

Yeah, well, I think there's two factors to this event that I think should be kind of kept in mind. I think one, they stripped down their playbook pretty hardcore. Like if you watch that Spirit series, they ran like three plays on the T side.

They did really well with those three plays, but they stripped everything down to the basics because they felt like things were being overcomplicated with Nerds' edition, I'm assuming, and some of the lead up. So they kind of just took everything back to the basics and just kind of played that really fundamental style.

They did really well with those three plays, but they stripped everything down to the basics because they felt like things were being overcomplicated with Nerds' edition, I'm assuming, and some of the lead up. So they kind of just took everything back to the basics and just kind of played that really fundamental style.

um so they'll flesh that out and maybe that'll show some improvement i think also to the spirit game was like uh i know nerds tweeted out that he had he had the flu he was like extremely sick like they didn't know yeah but don't activate yanko's trap card because we always talk about players they're always sick players are always sick no i mean to the extent to where they didn't know if he was going to play in the match he had a 40 fever like the night before they didn't they had mither pack his gear up and bring it to the arena just in case for the studio just in case

um so they'll flesh that out and maybe that'll show some improvement i think also to the spirit game was like uh i know nerds tweeted out that he had he had the flu he was like extremely sick like they didn't know yeah but don't activate yanko's trap card because we always talk about players they're always sick players are always sick no i mean to the extent to where they didn't know if he was going to play in the match he had a 40 fever like the night before they didn't they had mither pack his gear up and bring it to the arena just in case for the studio just in case

And that's not to be an excuse. I don't know if they would have beat Spirit, but I think this team is going to get better. I don't know by how much. I still think if they want to start beating top five teams consistently and having deeper runs, I think there's probably one more change in the future of this team before they can get to a new ceiling.

And that's not to be an excuse. I don't know if they would have beat Spirit, but I think this team is going to get better. I don't know by how much. I still think if they want to start beating top five teams consistently and having deeper runs, I think there's probably one more change in the future of this team before they can get to a new ceiling.

I think maybe the scariest thing, it's still early returns, but you still have that same issue of not being able to contend with the top five teams, being able to beat teams that you should beat and not being able to escalate to beat the top five.

I think maybe the scariest thing, it's still early returns, but you still have that same issue of not being able to contend with the top five teams, being able to beat teams that you should beat and not being able to escalate to beat the top five.

Yeah, I think the big issue for the AWPer is like, you used to be able to get those angles towards main. And if they smoked you off, there was like another one on the other side of a train, a train down.

Yeah, I think the big issue for the AWPer is like, you used to be able to get those angles towards main. And if they smoked you off, there was like another one on the other side of a train, a train down.

Outer yard and train is crazy.

Outer yard and train is crazy.

It's going to be fun to see how that map evolves though. There will be changes.

It's going to be fun to see how that map evolves though. There will be changes.

I hate the icon area, camera, whatever you guys want to call it. I hate that whole back area.

I hate the icon area, camera, whatever you guys want to call it. I hate that whole back area.

Elish likes to make plays. Oh yeah, for sure. He likes to go for things and make plays, for sure.

Elish likes to make plays. Oh yeah, for sure. He likes to go for things and make plays, for sure.

um i i thought they looked fine i thought they looked good i thought elise looked good within the team uh yeah i don't know i didn't really have any kind of like crazy statement on phase to be honest with you well we were on early games i don't think you were on other games too i didn't i didn't cast it no i did some of their stuff or or watched some of the other games

um i i thought they looked fine i thought they looked good i thought elise looked good within the team uh yeah i don't know i didn't really have any kind of like crazy statement on phase to be honest with you well we were on early games i don't think you were on other games too i didn't i didn't cast it no i did some of their stuff or or watched some of the other games

I just thought it was funny. I said this at lunch earlier today. I just thought it was funny. The first interview he gave in FaZe was just like, yeah, I'm going to have to work on fixing their comms, more like some of the things we had in Complexity. And I wanted to be like, what? They were just in a major final. I mean, they are always crazy.

I just thought it was funny. I said this at lunch earlier today. I just thought it was funny. The first interview he gave in FaZe was just like, yeah, I'm going to have to work on fixing their comms, more like some of the things we had in Complexity. And I wanted to be like, what? They were just in a major final. I mean, they are always crazy.

Do you think so?

Do you think so?

Our podcast doesn't have a host.

Our podcast doesn't have a host.

This might be me talking on my ass, but if I put myself in G2's position and just try and imagine what they're currently experiencing within that team, you just had Niko depart and mobs kind of step into that role in those positions. Yeah.

This might be me talking on my ass, but if I put myself in G2's position and just try and imagine what they're currently experiencing within that team, you just had Niko depart and mobs kind of step into that role in those positions. Yeah.

mobs has got skills but he doesn't have the experience and he doesn't probably have the big picture approach and i would imagine nico did a lot of help in mid rounds in terms of what he wanted to do so even if there's a round where snacks calls something in freeze time or out of spawn i'm sure nico was like i'm going to get mid control i'm going to try and find a position in con or he's going to be communicating something in the mid round that allows them to do add an extra layer onto what snacks wanted to do and now you're missing that force who can kind of call a play for himself within within the context of what they're trying to do

mobs has got skills but he doesn't have the experience and he doesn't probably have the big picture approach and i would imagine nico did a lot of help in mid rounds in terms of what he wanted to do so even if there's a round where snacks calls something in freeze time or out of spawn i'm sure nico was like i'm going to get mid control i'm going to try and find a position in con or he's going to be communicating something in the mid round that allows them to do add an extra layer onto what snacks wanted to do and now you're missing that force who can kind of call a play for himself within within the context of what they're trying to do

across across the whole game right is this a new trend or is this just teams talking about it openly for the first time that i've recognized that i've had because we've always you've always had players and teams that are more comfortable calling maybe a t or a ct side yeah you've had certain teams who have said i do more i'm more vocal on ct sides but now we have coaches and shit saying this is our ct side caller is this a new evolution that teams are saying you're our t side igl and you're kind of our ct side captain only about the you're talking about only about the communication part of it not that actually happening

across across the whole game right is this a new trend or is this just teams talking about it openly for the first time that i've recognized that i've had because we've always you've always had players and teams that are more comfortable calling maybe a t or a ct side yeah you've had certain teams who have said i do more i'm more vocal on ct sides but now we have coaches and shit saying this is our ct side caller is this a new evolution that teams are saying you're our t side igl and you're kind of our ct side captain only about the you're talking about only about the communication part of it not that actually happening

Yeah, I guess so.

Yeah, I guess so.

It's always been a concept, but it's never been, like, an official, like, role or something. But it's always been, like, this guy understands CT side rotations a lot better, so let him take the helm.

It's always been a concept, but it's never been, like, an official, like, role or something. But it's always been, like, this guy understands CT side rotations a lot better, so let him take the helm.

Well, no, mid-round is just... Because, like, awpers are always going to be vocal about how they want to play a CT side.

Well, no, mid-round is just... Because, like, awpers are always going to be vocal about how they want to play a CT side.

Sure.

Sure.

I'm just curious if teams being so vocal about it now. I've never seen a coach come out and say he's our CT side caller before.

I'm just curious if teams being so vocal about it now. I've never seen a coach come out and say he's our CT side caller before.

Right, that's the thing. Well, I mean, there's a lot of teams in these tournaments now too, though. So you get a lot of leeway in terms of making sure you have all the proper teams there.

Right, that's the thing. Well, I mean, there's a lot of teams in these tournaments now too, though. So you get a lot of leeway in terms of making sure you have all the proper teams there.

Yeah, Echo's got something.

Yeah, Echo's got something.

What is it again? The donkey stuck in the mud?

What is it again? The donkey stuck in the mud?

It's more for a talking counter audience. We'll do it in the next ad break.

It's more for a talking counter audience. We'll do it in the next ad break.

That's a happy little accident. Tell me who's the real winner, Jason. I think Mongols is.

That's a happy little accident. Tell me who's the real winner, Jason. I think Mongols is.

It feels like this Eternal Fire is looking real hot to start the second half of the year as well.

It feels like this Eternal Fire is looking real hot to start the second half of the year as well.

This move they've made for Jota instead of Kallax has been awesome. Jota showed some... Which makes me feel bad. For Kallax? Just because he stepped up at the end of the, at least in my mind, when I was watching a trial fire games, like the major at the end of the year, I was like, Calix has hit like a new level.

This move they've made for Jota instead of Kallax has been awesome. Jota showed some... Which makes me feel bad. For Kallax? Just because he stepped up at the end of the, at least in my mind, when I was watching a trial fire games, like the major at the end of the year, I was like, Calix has hit like a new level.

No, he's absolutely not. His impact comes in different areas. And this one was clearly needed, but I am just like, Oh, you did step up your game, but we're still going to be seeing you off. It's fine.

No, he's absolutely not. His impact comes in different areas. And this one was clearly needed, but I am just like, Oh, you did step up your game, but we're still going to be seeing you off. It's fine.

Hello? I'm doing great. How are you?

Hello? I'm doing great. How are you?

Imagine if they start sending you bank details. I don't remember putting my number on anything now.

Imagine if they start sending you bank details. I don't remember putting my number on anything now.

Okay, that's enough.

Okay, that's enough.

oh well we could have pranked it was a little bit serious there for a moment that was like you know i don't know what to say he's just like if you put your number on a coupon last year at any point i was like uh nope there's nothing i can really come back to that yeah yeah that's unfortunate we could have trolled them but uh okay we were talking about something oh eternal fire mongos you're saying mongos tilt blitz

oh well we could have pranked it was a little bit serious there for a moment that was like you know i don't know what to say he's just like if you put your number on a coupon last year at any point i was like uh nope there's nothing i can really come back to that yeah yeah that's unfortunate we could have trolled them but uh okay we were talking about something oh eternal fire mongos you're saying mongos tilt blitz

Mongols, let's go. Yeah, I'm still taking Eternal Fire. Xantaris is playing real fucking good right now. Really good.

Mongols, let's go. Yeah, I'm still taking Eternal Fire. Xantaris is playing real fucking good right now. Really good.

That was a joke. It'd be nice to Jason. We had a conversation earlier about like... In terms of game planning and stuff.

That was a joke. It'd be nice to Jason. We had a conversation earlier about like... In terms of game planning and stuff.

let's let's talk do you want to talk about spirit navi because that's another game yeah did you you cast that one didn't you i did the three mapper yeah it was a banger was that like a game that came down to clutches and or was it did it feel like navi were no it felt like uh navi hung in with them really really well nuke was kind of like that though it could have gone the other way because of clutches man i think navi hung in really well and then towards the end of games even like the dust two loss they took the comeback um and then and then the nuke jl started doing his bullshit where he was just like here's two entry kills

let's let's talk do you want to talk about spirit navi because that's another game yeah did you you cast that one didn't you i did the three mapper yeah it was a banger was that like a game that came down to clutches and or was it did it feel like navi were no it felt like uh navi hung in with them really really well nuke was kind of like that though it could have gone the other way because of clutches man i think navi hung in really well and then towards the end of games even like the dust two loss they took the comeback um and then and then the nuke jl started doing his bullshit where he was just like here's two entry kills

See you guys as well on your podcast. What's right. He just sits there and fucking stirs the pot.

See you guys as well on your podcast. What's right. He just sits there and fucking stirs the pot.

like every like the last like four or five rounds of some of these games he was just like here's two entries here's an upper bombsite here's here's access to this part of the map um he played really well um i think navi they they kind of had like a it was weird like there was that one time out that that they took where blade was just like a lot of focus outside like a lot of begging really yeah really out of it for like the first half of nuke some really tough calls on t side but um they were man those two teams went blow for blow

like every like the last like four or five rounds of some of these games he was just like here's two entries here's an upper bombsite here's here's access to this part of the map um he played really well um i think navi they they kind of had like a it was weird like there was that one time out that that they took where blade was just like a lot of focus outside like a lot of begging really yeah really out of it for like the first half of nuke some really tough calls on t side but um they were man those two teams went blow for blow

It's a sick rivalry. It should be another close, drawn-out affair, I think. There was no clear indication that one team was playing on a different level and someone just barely holding in.

It's a sick rivalry. It should be another close, drawn-out affair, I think. There was no clear indication that one team was playing on a different level and someone just barely holding in.

because like alexis like i talked to alexis after that this is like how do you even recover from that and he's like in the moment like he was basically like in the moment i didn't think we could like i thought that broke us man it's wild because like they both play like that like pretty smart tactical style with like protocols and it just so happens that their protocols always like they're they're so good at reading each other i think because they obviously play each other so many times they played eight series in the past year so like they always are rotating to the right position so there's always a fucking cool battle happening in that match

because like alexis like i talked to alexis after that this is like how do you even recover from that and he's like in the moment like he was basically like in the moment i didn't think we could like i thought that broke us man it's wild because like they both play like that like pretty smart tactical style with like protocols and it just so happens that their protocols always like they're they're so good at reading each other i think because they obviously play each other so many times they played eight series in the past year so like they always are rotating to the right position so there's always a fucking cool battle happening in that match

think the nice thing about that matchup is I think Navi is maybe the one team that doesn't have to be like too intimidated by Dust2 pick from Spirit as well. They can compete with him on Dust2.

think the nice thing about that matchup is I think Navi is maybe the one team that doesn't have to be like too intimidated by Dust2 pick from Spirit as well. They can compete with him on Dust2.

play good news is i think zontix is playing pretty well i think zontix had a good series against navi as well he's not like they don't have it's not that look of spirit towards the end of last year right before the major where like you have like no supportive elements kind of firing when zontix looks good magic chopper's looking pretty good he's had a lot of decent really good games actually copenhagen he was good at blasts and here he started out pretty well but i mean yeah they got that's that's obviously very dangerous if it gets to that i'm gonna pick navi

play good news is i think zontix is playing pretty well i think zontix had a good series against navi as well he's not like they don't have it's not that look of spirit towards the end of last year right before the major where like you have like no supportive elements kind of firing when zontix looks good magic chopper's looking pretty good he's had a lot of decent really good games actually copenhagen he was good at blasts and here he started out pretty well but i mean yeah they got that's that's obviously very dangerous if it gets to that i'm gonna pick navi

The hard part is in that veto, I think every single map except Anubis is in the favor of Spirit, except now Mirage and Anubis are tied.

The hard part is in that veto, I think every single map except Anubis is in the favor of Spirit, except now Mirage and Anubis are tied.

Dude, I brought that up during the cast because it's always like the map you're like, it's not really worth having it as like your home map because it's an upset map. But I'm like, oh, but I'm watching Spirit just fucking destroy people on it. And I'm like, okay, fair play. Like, I guess that doesn't really matter.

Dude, I brought that up during the cast because it's always like the map you're like, it's not really worth having it as like your home map because it's an upset map. But I'm like, oh, but I'm watching Spirit just fucking destroy people on it. And I'm like, okay, fair play. Like, I guess that doesn't really matter.

Teams have gotten too good with utility and rotations now for you to be able to like pug and aim Stardust 2 the way that made it such a dangerous upset map.

Teams have gotten too good with utility and rotations now for you to be able to like pug and aim Stardust 2 the way that made it such a dangerous upset map.

Nice. Anubis, Dust2, Nuke. And what was the last one?

Nice. Anubis, Dust2, Nuke. And what was the last one?

I haven't. This is new for me.

I haven't. This is new for me.

Of whose odds they agree.

Of whose odds they agree.

Hello, Lucas.

Hello, Lucas.

like it is possible look if somebody why couldn't we do it is that so if somebody's gonna because he was that good he would be in the fucking final now wouldn't he basically but that's not always how it works okay okay jason hold on i mean nerds was really good until the game versus spirit don't let him get to you i i know i'm fine i'm just saying it's not a crazy thing to be like a 1.6 rating if he gets out in the semifinals but the next person has 1.2 are we that's an insane thing to say

like it is possible look if somebody why couldn't we do it is that so if somebody's gonna because he was that good he would be in the fucking final now wouldn't he basically but that's not always how it works okay okay jason hold on i mean nerds was really good until the game versus spirit don't let him get to you i i know i'm fine i'm just saying it's not a crazy thing to be like a 1.6 rating if he gets out in the semifinals but the next person has 1.2 are we that's an insane thing to say

Why? He said it's not, and he decides the MVP.

Why? He said it's not, and he decides the MVP.

Their head-to-head is 2-6. Navi's 1-2. Spirit's 1-8. So the odds are against Navi.

Their head-to-head is 2-6. Navi's 1-2. Spirit's 1-8. So the odds are against Navi.

You're saying 60% chance that Donk does not win the NBA.

You're saying 60% chance that Donk does not win the NBA.

I'm going with the head-to-head matchup odds, which is 33%. So it'd be 67% that he doesn't win.

I'm going with the head-to-head matchup odds, which is 33%. So it'd be 67% that he doesn't win.

You know that Spirit is the... I know, but then I did the reverse math with the 64% in the strike.

You know that Spirit is the... I know, but then I did the reverse math with the 64% in the strike.

They're going to bet off the odds that are made. At the end.

They're going to bet off the odds that are made. At the end.

No, I'm just curious.

No, I'm just curious.

I haven't heard anything out of him for a while. I haven't either.

I haven't heard anything out of him for a while. I haven't either.

Just bottle it up inside and get cancer like everyone else in the world when they deal with their issues.

Just bottle it up inside and get cancer like everyone else in the world when they deal with their issues.

Yeah, what else is going on? Anything?

Yeah, what else is going on? Anything?

Yeah, dog. I like it. It's pretty good. except there's like a bug right now where I can't like log in.

Yeah, dog. I like it. It's pretty good. except there's like a bug right now where I can't like log in.

Well, see, I figure the only way to get people to maintain is actually fucking use it. So I'm going to be one of the people using it.

Well, see, I figure the only way to get people to maintain is actually fucking use it. So I'm going to be one of the people using it.

It is. It is. I get punished for that frequently. Um, but you know, it's, it's nice. I like it.

It is. It is. I get punished for that frequently. Um, but you know, it's, it's nice. I like it.

No, I'm good. I have a strong mental health compared to these two degenerates.

No, I'm good. I have a strong mental health compared to these two degenerates.

Best method?

Best method?

That's a wild conversation. Neat and tidy chat.

That's a wild conversation. Neat and tidy chat.

You got to do neat and tidy at least.

You got to do neat and tidy at least.

uh i've i've tried uh i've tried there's a popular brand that i don't want to you know that we're not sponsored that sponsors everybody though yeah you're gonna sponsor us one day surely i don't think it's that one though yeah actually i have recently had the philips one blade it's nice yeah it's very nice yeah does the trick yeah it does it really does waxing is nice you waxed so you had that clean no not at the moment i was gonna but you that's a regular thing no

uh i've i've tried uh i've tried there's a popular brand that i don't want to you know that we're not sponsored that sponsors everybody though yeah you're gonna sponsor us one day surely i don't think it's that one though yeah actually i have recently had the philips one blade it's nice yeah it's very nice yeah does the trick yeah it does it really does waxing is nice you waxed so you had that clean no not at the moment i was gonna but you that's a regular thing no

I've never done the Brazilian. Did you do that too? I've never done the Brazilian.

I've never done the Brazilian. Did you do that too? I've never done the Brazilian.

I've had my crack waxed. That's an experience. You guys should all try that once for Twitch viewers at home. It's a fun, exhilarating feeling. And everyone deserves to have it.

I've had my crack waxed. That's an experience. You guys should all try that once for Twitch viewers at home. It's a fun, exhilarating feeling. And everyone deserves to have it.

No, it was more recent than that, yeah.

No, it was more recent than that, yeah.

It wasn't like a forfeit of a bet. It was after 2009. No, I did lose a bet.

It wasn't like a forfeit of a bet. It was after 2009. No, I did lose a bet.

It's going to be a special night for both of us.

It's going to be a special night for both of us.

They're in his bathroom on the countertop if you want to go take a look.

They're in his bathroom on the countertop if you want to go take a look.

Yeah, but in that situation, you have to stay on top of it. You could fucking stab yourself.

Yeah, but in that situation, you have to stay on top of it. You could fucking stab yourself.

Just making sure, man.

Just making sure, man.

Go on.

Go on.

There's no rug to push on.

There's no rug to push on.

HLTV viewers could never handle these kinds of technical difficulties.

We can easily blame Call of Duty for this. It's great. It's easy. We can blame Call of Duty because it was the Cod Orcs that came in in 2016. Those are the ones who had the initial increase. And once one org comes in and says, we're going to pay $15,000 instead of $7,000, everyone's going to start... Only one of them stayed, though.

Yeah, that's what I mean. They all came in. They all bumped up the salaries and all fucked up. Remember NBS?

Okay. Mostly because they were embroiled in insane business battles behind the scenes, but yeah.

That's like the peak behind the curtain of show business.

Probably not. I would assume no.

Which is good because Lucas says some wild shit.

So it'd be a week late, essentially.

I'm just listening to it. Like, what am I supposed to say? Our entire scene is set up on technicalities of what words you use.

unfortunate. I don't want to say anything. I have only bad things in my brain right now. I don't want to say I love you and they're bad things. Yeah, it's like the only like I'm thinking like, what should I say? What should I say? And it's all the things that you shouldn't say. So I'm just gonna chill.

Yeah, dude, just don't do format. So we'll stay away from the format.

Yeah, but if those teams, if you can't make the progress as a brand new team, you have to have that.

You're saying we have a similar number of open qualifiers this year coming than we did last year.

I'll give you the ballpark as well. Does that matter if the ability to get to go from tier two to tier one is more closed off than ever.

Well, yeah.

Endpoints bowed out of Counter-Strike altogether.

That was actually the most clear factor of the VRS.

Well, let's also highlight the last five years were like two years of COVID where everything was extremely locked down. And then we saw the Luver agreement, the Blast agreements, everything was extremely locked down. And that was part of the issue of creating this VRS was to open that back up.

ESO was so relative. It was a little bit. No, it wasn't. Yeah, it was. There's avenues to get in.

But let's not act like it's not a little bit locked.

Sorry, I clumped them together. We're in the semantics era. Yes, apparently we are.

Really important.

Those are leather-wrapped thongs.

There we go. That counts.

Well, I think they had an issue with the Asian one as well, didn't they? You could only sign up for their Asian Open Qualifier if you had a mainland Chinese number, so a bunch of teams couldn't actually sign up for the qualifier.

Why are you evading again? It's the same situation, just a different region. That's why I brought it up.

It's fine. I'll go play some Counter-Strike. No, you can't.

Here's one more thing I'll say about this, okay? Boys, can we do the show?

Okay, so you like the lawnmower a little bit more?

What's a bush in Australia? Lots of bush. Oh, there's a ton of bush in Australia. You guys have the biggest bush, I think, of the whole world. You've been in the thick of the bush before. I've been way deep into the bush.

No, I'm good. I just don't know if I'm allowed to talk or if someone's going to be smart-ass comment.

Yeah. Oh, Jason, don't be like this. Well, I'm ready to go. What do you want to talk about? What have we got?

It's my fault. What's next on the subject list? That's all right.

Last time I did one of these, I did really good.

I think it's funny. There's a lot of intersections going on. It's cool. I'm excited by the collaboration. I'm just happy to be here.

one team in the group stage in 2015 you said okay why isn't titan an option that was cologne that was the first thing i thought about too how is that kind of beats in 2015 in the group stage that that's what's all about the ones there's no shot they beat fanatic fanatic won beat bit nip Yeah, but this is the group stage.

Flipside was always playing in those elimination games because they were always that ratty team that got to the majors and did nothing else all year.

Navi was a really slow-paced tactical team and Chad did not have the brain to beat them at the time. Actually, harsh but fair.

Flipside's the easy one, but that's the obvious one.

Who was on Navi in 15? Seized? Flaming at the time, maybe? Let's just say Flipside, dude.

You guys were playing in NA at the time, and Cash is an NA map, so you guys had plenty of practice.

It's Luminosity.

Are we live?

That was the event too where those boosts you were talking about that happened at the empty arena. That was the one where the day went so late that they had to empty out the arena.

Two of the three were on time.

I was hoping, because I knew it was 2017. What roster was he on in 2017?

Was Titan still around in 2017?

That was also the Dallas one. What are our options? Envy, Titan, G2. I think Titan was done by then. I think it's Envy or G2.

Yeah, sure.

The Frenchies were also the only people who won the major in Cluj-Napoca and then went to the major in Columbus and got last place.

Just being nice because you were a dick earlier, but keep going.

I think it was Axl.

Lock in Shiro.

Yanko didn't want to say it, so I'm trusting the friend.

I'm just thinking in my head. I'm not saying it out loud. It is happening. You can say it.

I didn't say it.

Welcome to my life.

No one's saying. It's not true. I've seen both of you drink coffees after dinner at 9 p.m.

Oh, sure. So now there's qualifications.

Is this the second of the show where we just inspect my life? I just wanted to have a coffee. I'm a grown-up.

No, I think he's basically said it all. I mean, it sucks, man.

Kassad did get all the attention with that tweet.

I'm so confused.

I was going to say, when you have a member of Talon who's just signed as an ambassador of one of your competing teams, it makes complete sense as well. If Talon are going to start having associations with teams, it's like, yeah, bro, you give up your ability to stand behind a team and record a cool piece of content for Twitter, Instagram, whatever.

Like a 12 page playbook just sitting on the table.

that's why i feel like when i ask you these questions i feel like i'm actually asking striker i'm just hoping that you're like the go-between if there's a long enough delay between when you ask me the question uh if it's via text and me giving the answer normally i've double checked with strikes dude i just like i like alicia's tweet vrs takes a harvard degree to figure it out so do you have a harvard degree i do not i don't have a degree at all okay well

If it's an organization a little bit less reputable than HLTV, that shit's everywhere.

Locker talk.

I want to see him without the tooth. I wonder which tooth it was. Hopefully a front tooth because that's the front.

How do you feel about throwing away this man's tooth? Did you keep the tooth? Do you realize he had to play an entire game of Counter-Strike with a mask on?

Here's the question. Is it going to swing the game in the favor of CTs a little bit more now that they can afford a cheaper and more effective rifle?

again maybe leaning a little bit too much on hlt it may be accrued a little bit too much power at this point almost feels great in games of counter you just planned some before i did use it quite a bit yeah it's fun it's good it can give you like a nice precise like feeling of like a three bullet burst you can spray with it it runs out of bolts quickly obviously but

The MP7's making a comeback after the MP9 nerf. Have you noticed that?

I saw Spirit and Liquid both using it.

Yeah, but it was not nerds. It was other Liquid players. For whatever that matters to anybody. The big one in that statement was the Spirit players using it.

Yeah.

That's Chad leaving around. Middle of the round, yeah.

How do you sleep at night?

That'd be the apex happy ending to the group stage.

I kind of enjoy that we're just stopping at the handjob-heavy-ending-tuck-chair thing.

Good show.

And then at some point we're just going to, we're just going to be live on the HLTV channel.

That's all Joko dropping out. That's the rumor.

And Joker's had some very good games for them too.

Yeah. That one has... Risky move. I can see Yanko's building up to that. He wanted to make sure we all knew Yanko did beat him in 1v1 at ESL Pro League. Why didn't you say, Yanko?

That's the old Astralis Furia shit fest. That was a gross ending to that nuke. I watched it back with Harry later that night because he was complaining so much and it was just a terrible ending. It was ugly to watch.

It was. Furia won that series. Or no, sorry. Astralis won that series. And their top rated player in the whole series had a 1.0 rating. They had no one above a 1.0 rating and they won the series. And you watch the end of that nuke and it was like the last five rounds are like three saves from Furia. 3v3, not going for it.

2v1 like 2v2 not going for it 3v2 not going for it and you're just like what's happening are we going to try and win this game because

Welcome, everybody, to Talking Counter. Now that we've got that other thing over with, we're here with the real show.

I thought it was solid. Yeah, it was good. Well, the headlines are sick. It'd be fun if everyone brought two.

Australian man slurps Asian meat. Yeah. That's a great time.

What are you giggling at?

He's ready for Counter-Strike.

making a meme about the vertice pro performance or the electronic performance or how he's moved in game leader of his past two teams and they've all gone to like you once you enter that meme territory it just becomes the fun thing for most people to say i think they've looked i mean i think they got dumpster their first game here if i recall they lost a pain in there yeah yeah they got dumpster but then they've looked good otherwise whenever i've got stores or some like they look yeah but i think that's sore in mibr

I enjoyed watching VP for the most part of this event. The most frustrating thing about it is, like, it's crazy, like, having spent the whole last year and just being like, now that Electronic just fully has control of the team, it's like you immediately see an improvement. Yeah, they got a few new players as well, so that adds into it as well.

But, like, just being like, oh, you guys aren't, like, fucking completely lost in terms of who you're supposed to be listening to.

It was don't talk about the in-game leader situation of Virtus.pro.

What are you talking about? I was like, no, I will be mentioning that at some point.

Dude, when I saw Fame giving an interview earlier this event, I was like, that bad?

But he needs to do it in Russian so he can express himself properly.

How do you ask follow-ups for that?

Vibe and that team has taken a 180. They look fucking happy.

I think Icy's really good, too.

His game's got to get fleshed out still, but I think he's good for where he's at.

I was going to say, though, like I have... That game I casted him against ZywOo, he looked like shit.

No, it's fair, actually. Okay. Okay. I think he looks on. I think he's got a lot of work to do, a lot of places to go, but I think he's a pretty cool offer to watch play.

Yeah. Twists had some better games, I think.

He had a couple one-two punches with Rops.

Yeah.

Yeah, well, I think there's two factors to this event that I think should be kind of kept in mind. I think one, they stripped down their playbook pretty hardcore. Like if you watch that Spirit series, they ran like three plays on the T side.

They did really well with those three plays, but they stripped everything down to the basics because they felt like things were being overcomplicated with Nerds' edition, I'm assuming, and some of the lead up. So they kind of just took everything back to the basics and just kind of played that really fundamental style.

um so they'll flesh that out and maybe that'll show some improvement i think also to the spirit game was like uh i know nerds tweeted out that he had he had the flu he was like extremely sick like they didn't know yeah but don't activate yanko's trap card because we always talk about players they're always sick players are always sick no i mean to the extent to where they didn't know if he was going to play in the match he had a 40 fever like the night before they didn't they had mither pack his gear up and bring it to the arena just in case for the studio just in case

And that's not to be an excuse. I don't know if they would have beat Spirit, but I think this team is going to get better. I don't know by how much. I still think if they want to start beating top five teams consistently and having deeper runs, I think there's probably one more change in the future of this team before they can get to a new ceiling.

I think maybe the scariest thing, it's still early returns, but you still have that same issue of not being able to contend with the top five teams, being able to beat teams that you should beat and not being able to escalate to beat the top five.

Yeah, I think the big issue for the AWPer is like, you used to be able to get those angles towards main. And if they smoked you off, there was like another one on the other side of a train, a train down.

Outer yard and train is crazy.

It's going to be fun to see how that map evolves though. There will be changes.

I hate the icon area, camera, whatever you guys want to call it. I hate that whole back area.

Elish likes to make plays. Oh yeah, for sure. He likes to go for things and make plays, for sure.

um i i thought they looked fine i thought they looked good i thought elise looked good within the team uh yeah i don't know i didn't really have any kind of like crazy statement on phase to be honest with you well we were on early games i don't think you were on other games too i didn't i didn't cast it no i did some of their stuff or or watched some of the other games

I just thought it was funny. I said this at lunch earlier today. I just thought it was funny. The first interview he gave in FaZe was just like, yeah, I'm going to have to work on fixing their comms, more like some of the things we had in Complexity. And I wanted to be like, what? They were just in a major final. I mean, they are always crazy.

Do you think so?

Our podcast doesn't have a host.

This might be me talking on my ass, but if I put myself in G2's position and just try and imagine what they're currently experiencing within that team, you just had Niko depart and mobs kind of step into that role in those positions. Yeah.

mobs has got skills but he doesn't have the experience and he doesn't probably have the big picture approach and i would imagine nico did a lot of help in mid rounds in terms of what he wanted to do so even if there's a round where snacks calls something in freeze time or out of spawn i'm sure nico was like i'm going to get mid control i'm going to try and find a position in con or he's going to be communicating something in the mid round that allows them to do add an extra layer onto what snacks wanted to do and now you're missing that force who can kind of call a play for himself within within the context of what they're trying to do

across across the whole game right is this a new trend or is this just teams talking about it openly for the first time that i've recognized that i've had because we've always you've always had players and teams that are more comfortable calling maybe a t or a ct side yeah you've had certain teams who have said i do more i'm more vocal on ct sides but now we have coaches and shit saying this is our ct side caller is this a new evolution that teams are saying you're our t side igl and you're kind of our ct side captain only about the you're talking about only about the communication part of it not that actually happening

Yeah, I guess so.

It's always been a concept, but it's never been, like, an official, like, role or something. But it's always been, like, this guy understands CT side rotations a lot better, so let him take the helm.

Well, no, mid-round is just... Because, like, awpers are always going to be vocal about how they want to play a CT side.

Sure.

I'm just curious if teams being so vocal about it now. I've never seen a coach come out and say he's our CT side caller before.

Right, that's the thing. Well, I mean, there's a lot of teams in these tournaments now too, though. So you get a lot of leeway in terms of making sure you have all the proper teams there.

Yeah, Echo's got something.

What is it again? The donkey stuck in the mud?

It's more for a talking counter audience. We'll do it in the next ad break.

That's a happy little accident. Tell me who's the real winner, Jason. I think Mongols is.

It feels like this Eternal Fire is looking real hot to start the second half of the year as well.

This move they've made for Jota instead of Kallax has been awesome. Jota showed some... Which makes me feel bad. For Kallax? Just because he stepped up at the end of the, at least in my mind, when I was watching a trial fire games, like the major at the end of the year, I was like, Calix has hit like a new level.

No, he's absolutely not. His impact comes in different areas. And this one was clearly needed, but I am just like, Oh, you did step up your game, but we're still going to be seeing you off. It's fine.

Hello? I'm doing great. How are you?

Imagine if they start sending you bank details. I don't remember putting my number on anything now.

Okay, that's enough.

oh well we could have pranked it was a little bit serious there for a moment that was like you know i don't know what to say he's just like if you put your number on a coupon last year at any point i was like uh nope there's nothing i can really come back to that yeah yeah that's unfortunate we could have trolled them but uh okay we were talking about something oh eternal fire mongos you're saying mongos tilt blitz

Mongols, let's go. Yeah, I'm still taking Eternal Fire. Xantaris is playing real fucking good right now. Really good.

That was a joke. It'd be nice to Jason. We had a conversation earlier about like... In terms of game planning and stuff.

let's let's talk do you want to talk about spirit navi because that's another game yeah did you you cast that one didn't you i did the three mapper yeah it was a banger was that like a game that came down to clutches and or was it did it feel like navi were no it felt like uh navi hung in with them really really well nuke was kind of like that though it could have gone the other way because of clutches man i think navi hung in really well and then towards the end of games even like the dust two loss they took the comeback um and then and then the nuke jl started doing his bullshit where he was just like here's two entry kills

See you guys as well on your podcast. What's right. He just sits there and fucking stirs the pot.

like every like the last like four or five rounds of some of these games he was just like here's two entries here's an upper bombsite here's here's access to this part of the map um he played really well um i think navi they they kind of had like a it was weird like there was that one time out that that they took where blade was just like a lot of focus outside like a lot of begging really yeah really out of it for like the first half of nuke some really tough calls on t side but um they were man those two teams went blow for blow

It's a sick rivalry. It should be another close, drawn-out affair, I think. There was no clear indication that one team was playing on a different level and someone just barely holding in.

because like alexis like i talked to alexis after that this is like how do you even recover from that and he's like in the moment like he was basically like in the moment i didn't think we could like i thought that broke us man it's wild because like they both play like that like pretty smart tactical style with like protocols and it just so happens that their protocols always like they're they're so good at reading each other i think because they obviously play each other so many times they played eight series in the past year so like they always are rotating to the right position so there's always a fucking cool battle happening in that match

think the nice thing about that matchup is I think Navi is maybe the one team that doesn't have to be like too intimidated by Dust2 pick from Spirit as well. They can compete with him on Dust2.

play good news is i think zontix is playing pretty well i think zontix had a good series against navi as well he's not like they don't have it's not that look of spirit towards the end of last year right before the major where like you have like no supportive elements kind of firing when zontix looks good magic chopper's looking pretty good he's had a lot of decent really good games actually copenhagen he was good at blasts and here he started out pretty well but i mean yeah they got that's that's obviously very dangerous if it gets to that i'm gonna pick navi

The hard part is in that veto, I think every single map except Anubis is in the favor of Spirit, except now Mirage and Anubis are tied.

Dude, I brought that up during the cast because it's always like the map you're like, it's not really worth having it as like your home map because it's an upset map. But I'm like, oh, but I'm watching Spirit just fucking destroy people on it. And I'm like, okay, fair play. Like, I guess that doesn't really matter.

Teams have gotten too good with utility and rotations now for you to be able to like pug and aim Stardust 2 the way that made it such a dangerous upset map.

Nice. Anubis, Dust2, Nuke. And what was the last one?

I haven't. This is new for me.

Of whose odds they agree.

Hello, Lucas.

like it is possible look if somebody why couldn't we do it is that so if somebody's gonna because he was that good he would be in the fucking final now wouldn't he basically but that's not always how it works okay okay jason hold on i mean nerds was really good until the game versus spirit don't let him get to you i i know i'm fine i'm just saying it's not a crazy thing to be like a 1.6 rating if he gets out in the semifinals but the next person has 1.2 are we that's an insane thing to say

Why? He said it's not, and he decides the MVP.

Their head-to-head is 2-6. Navi's 1-2. Spirit's 1-8. So the odds are against Navi.

You're saying 60% chance that Donk does not win the NBA.

I'm going with the head-to-head matchup odds, which is 33%. So it'd be 67% that he doesn't win.

You know that Spirit is the... I know, but then I did the reverse math with the 64% in the strike.

They're going to bet off the odds that are made. At the end.

No, I'm just curious.

I haven't heard anything out of him for a while. I haven't either.

Just bottle it up inside and get cancer like everyone else in the world when they deal with their issues.

Yeah, what else is going on? Anything?

Yeah, dog. I like it. It's pretty good. except there's like a bug right now where I can't like log in.

Well, see, I figure the only way to get people to maintain is actually fucking use it. So I'm going to be one of the people using it.

It is. It is. I get punished for that frequently. Um, but you know, it's, it's nice. I like it.

No, I'm good. I have a strong mental health compared to these two degenerates.

Best method?

That's a wild conversation. Neat and tidy chat.

You got to do neat and tidy at least.

uh i've i've tried uh i've tried there's a popular brand that i don't want to you know that we're not sponsored that sponsors everybody though yeah you're gonna sponsor us one day surely i don't think it's that one though yeah actually i have recently had the philips one blade it's nice yeah it's very nice yeah does the trick yeah it does it really does waxing is nice you waxed so you had that clean no not at the moment i was gonna but you that's a regular thing no

I've never done the Brazilian. Did you do that too? I've never done the Brazilian.

I've had my crack waxed. That's an experience. You guys should all try that once for Twitch viewers at home. It's a fun, exhilarating feeling. And everyone deserves to have it.

No, it was more recent than that, yeah.

It wasn't like a forfeit of a bet. It was after 2009. No, I did lose a bet.

It's going to be a special night for both of us.

They're in his bathroom on the countertop if you want to go take a look.

Yeah, but in that situation, you have to stay on top of it. You could fucking stab yourself.

Just making sure, man.

Go on.

There's no rug to push on.