Banks on London Spring Final: "My excitement level is over 9000"

"It took a lot of time and a lot of meetings, waiting for the right opportunity and saying no to the wrong ones. I am an interviewer and host, not a manager, I only agreed to manage and help the boys back at the Antwerp Major because they didn’t have any support.

I always make this very clear, I never took any money or percentage of prize money or sticker money, I just used my spare time to help and advise them because honestly, they are great guys."

I had a lot of meetings with different teams and organisations and none of them felt right. After the first meeting with Guild I instantly felt good, when I left Guild’s offices I told the boys instantly how it went and how I felt about it. I explained the offer and what potential I saw in Guild for them to grow and be at their best.

After that, we involved ULTI Agency to take care of the negotiations and contract side of things that needed a much more experienced and knowledgeable touch and it all worked out pretty quickly from there.

I am really happy for the team, they now have a real manager, great support staff and an amazing facility in London to train from."

"Work harder than they ever have before, benefit from the support an organisation brings them, live and breathe only Counter-Strike and use it all to go deeper at the PGL Copenhagen Major than they ever have before!"

"Losing a player like s1mple is always going to be sad and a huge loss for the team but I completely understand his reasons for taking a break and it is a very smart thing to do so that he can come back better in and out of the server and continue to write his legacy.

With the signing of w0nderful, he showed the second-highest-ever debut of a NAVI player in his opening game, he does lack some experience but he can gain it here in the black and yellow and I think he will grow fast under the leadership of B1ad3 and Aleksib."

"It has been an incredible year, my best year ever and I feel really happy. I can’t believe I got to work nearly all of the biggest events in Counter-Strike and I am just so thankful for all the opportunities that came my way.

My personal highlight would be going back to China for CAC, it has been four years where they didn’t have any big Counter-Strike events and the fans were so hyped for us to return. They were so kind to me and gave me many gifts and shared stories with me of their favourite moments from the broadcasts that they had seen. It was so nice to travel back out to that side of the world."

"If we are talking in 2023 it was the Paris Major, that arena was going wild, this was the first arena that started to cheer and scream “Bring the hype” with me as I did it as well.

If you mean all time, Antwerp Major won’t be beaten until maybe the Shanghai Major because the energy in that room was unbeatable and you could literally feel it… it's hard to explain in words!"

"My excitement level is over 9000, I have never worked in a big arena in London, its a dream for me. I want to step on that stage, raise the roof, and bring the hype like never before!

This would also be the first time ever my son could watch me host a big S-tier event and that would be a life goal completed, he watches so much online and knows what I do but he has only ever been to small events."

So please BLAST, this one is a must for me, let me come work on it!

"We have a great crowd across football, boxing and other sports and it has translated to esports as well.

We love a drink or two - but please, drink responsibly - and we love to get loud and rowdy. I think it will be even better because we have no home team to cheer for, which means we cheer for amazing Counter-Strike. I hope the British CS fans will do us proud in London!"