Stewie2K: Didn’t know m0NESY before Dallas

Stewie2K appeared on Mauisnake’s stream to discuss his time with G2 at IEM Dallas.

Tough remote training

“In my head, I knew 160 ping was going to be difficult for practice, but the most important thing was to create chemistry in the games. There were times, maybe later in the week, where we’d practice the same map and I struggled to find kills, and we just got rolled.

I think the G2 guys were losing confidence because they’re results-driven, they saw all the losses and thought it was terrible. But in my eyes, I was always thinking, ‘Wait till you get to Dallas.’ When you get to Dallas, I’ll have 5 ping, and everything will be different.”

Nervous first impressions

“On the first day of practice, not many people were talking, it was a bit tense. There wasn’t much fun in practice, everyone was very serious. When we discussed things, it was almost like a military operation vibe. You had your general explaining the situation for the day, the agenda, giving examples. And everyone was listening intently.

It was a one-man show, nobody was really enjoying their time in Dallas, it felt like a 9-to-5, people clocking in and out. I know that feeling… This wasn’t a real team. Sometimes people weren’t speaking because they couldn’t.

When I felt that on the first day, I tried to crack a few jokes. I could tell m0NESY also wanted to lighten the mood.”

About Ilya Osipov | m0NESY

“I wanted to play because of Nikola Kovač | NiKo.”

“To be honest, I didn’t even know who m0NESY was beforehand.”

“I haven’t watched CS events in a long time, I only saw Complexity vs. FaZe in the IEM Sydney final.”

“But I fell in love with m0NESY on the first day of practice.”

“This kid has a spark, I’ve never said he’s the best sniper I’ve seen in the world or anything. But he’s our game-changer. He loves the game. For example, when NiKo is in charge, if he dies at 1:20 in a 4v5, and he gives an order like, ‘Guys, control mid and then…’ “

“m0NESY would say, ‘You don’t need to give an order, we can push and take map control, force them into mistakes.’ I was blown away by m0NESY’s input.”

“The same with Danil Kryshkovets | donk, I thought he was just an average new guy.”

Strangeness after being away from CS

“When I joined the tournament, I didn’t know that MOUZ was number one, or the players’ names.

I met Ihor Zhdanov | w0nderful in the elevator, he said ‘hi’, I said ‘hi’, but I didn’t know who that was.

I know that sounds rude, but I was focused on my own thing, which was G2 and nothing else.”

Wiktor Wojtas | TaZ’s dynamic with G2 players

“I think TaZ is a good coach, he’s very calm-headed. I think what I saw more was the negative side of G2 in Dallas. A few times, I didn’t know what was going on, those were my first few days there. I could feel that when TaZ spoke, not many people were actually paying attention to what he was saying.”

“I understand that sometimes the coach shows things that don’t work, but we know it’s coming from a good place. Personally, I felt the example he gave was a bit off. But I think many didn’t give him the chance to speak without judgment.

“In my eyes, it felt like cooperation was building slowly. There was tension in the relationships, not a lot of active listening, communication seemed surface-level without addressing issues properly. That’s really unhealthy for a team, and you could say that was part of their problem. But throughout the event, I saw better sides of everyone.”

The miracle in Dallas

“I can’t put into words what this event meant to me. It might be the best event of my career so far, even better than Cologne and Boston.

“In Dallas, I was only at 20% of my capabilities. But during the event, I felt like my floor was higher than people expected. Even NiKo didn’t realize this until the end.

“My feeling was, I needed to show what I’m capable of. I felt like if I trained in Europe for a month, my IQ and decision-making would be over 50%.”

Future plans

“I’m open to any offers, it’s my own business, and I’ve been putting myself first lately.”

“I’ll definitely talk to a lot of people, opportunities will come, maybe not the best ones, but trust that you’ll see me back on the server soon.”