Snax: "I'm coming to win and be the best"

Snax is one of the most legendary figures in all of Counter-Strike history. A Major winner way back in 2014, he made a comeback to tier one last year as he joined GamerLegion as their new IGL following the departure of neaLaN.

Ten months on, Snax now finds himself in one of the world's best teams after joining G2 in the recent off-season.

With the team currently playing in the Esports World Cup and set to light up BLAST Premier Fall Groups in just over ten days, we spoke to the Polish giant about his time with GL, joining up with G2, and being back on a team with his old VP teammate, TaZ.

Together with TaZ again

You're on a new team now, how are you feeling?

It's pretty nice to be with G2 and to play with NiKo, m0NESY, huNter-, and malsMd. I feel like they're all nice, fun guys and it's also nice to join an organisation like G2 and to play alongside players of that calibre.

I really like it, I'm enjoying it, and I've known NiKo for a lot of years now because we've played against each other for the first time something like eight years ago, so it's a long time.

I'm happy.

Snax and TaZ won a Major together on Virtus.pro in 2014. Photo: Michal Konkol

A lot of people were surprised to see you join G2, were you surprised yourself to get the call?

I would say I was and I wasn't.

I feel like I'm pretty experienced and I remember two years ago I had propositions to join organisations as an IGL, including G2, but I answered then that I wasn't ready to be an IGL in English. It wasn't right to jump into deep water like that.

I said that I needed time to become more comfortable as an IGL and after some time I worked with some teams and then started with GamerLegion and got there.

I can tell you that it's a big chance to show myself again and prove myself as a good IGL. I hope it will be a good addition for the guys and that they enjoy the way I'm calling. I think there's a lot of freedom for people, I'm giving them a lot of space, but also sometimes I have to cut it too.

People were also surprised about you deciding to work with TaZ again because of perceptions about your relationship with him after the end of your time together on VP, how does it feel to be back on a team with him? Did you ever expect it to happen?

As I'm getting older I realise that everything is possible in life.

Maybe if after VP we didn't have the best relationship with each other, we're now adult enough to understand that everything that happened, happened and I've said before that everyone from that team all share good and bad memories.

Our relationship is pretty good now, we're colleagues and we're having fun. There's no bad blood between us. What happened back then, happened, and we know we can never stay mad at each other until the end.

You haven't played any officials yet but what's it like now that you're IGL/coach rather than playing together?

I think we share the same wisdom in the game. Whenever he is telling us something I understand it pretty well and although we may have had a different vision in the past, now we all understand the game well.

As for how I feel, there's definitely a sense of nostalgia. Of course, in VP I IGLed sometimes, it was always me, NEO, or TaZ IGLing, but it's a little different now he's the coach and it's nice. It's good to be back with him.

TaZ joined G2 as coach after BLAST Premier World Final 2023. Photo: Michal Konkol

The future of GamerLegion

How are you looking back on the time with GamerLegion?

I would sum it up by saying that it was really nice and that I really enjoyed working with the GamerLegion management and with the coach. I really like ashhh, he's a hard worker and he helped me a lot with stuff in-game. I also liked working with the assistant coach, imd, he's a very smart guy and he understands the game very well.

I enjoyed my time even if there were a lot of changes in the team. It was sometimes hard to fix everything on time to match up with the schedule we had and with those changes, but I can tell you that I'm glad I got the chance to play there because it opened my game to be able to play again on the big stage and in the biggest tournaments, even if we didn't manage to do it together [laughs].

Despite that, it was still nice and I would say now that if I didn't join GL, I wouldn't be here now in G2.

You were never going to say no to G2, but how do you feel leaving behind a GL team that looks so promising with all of those young stars?

It was sad to leave. I had a good vacation and I was ready for the new season with the new guys, we'd found the best way to play together and people were really enjoying it from my perspective. They really liked me and I feel like I was good to them as a captain [laughs].

So, it is sad that I'm leaving them to play with G2, but like you said, if G2 calls, you answer.

What do you think the future holds for GamerLegion? How far can those players go?

I think all of them will have many chances to go big in the scene.

I don't want anyone to feel like they are lesser, because they are all very, very good, but if I needed to pick one, I would say FL4MUS. He's really good, a hard worker, and I really enjoyed playing with him. He really understand the game and he takes it really serious, I like that about him.

I would say they can all achieve really great things if they keep the same attitude and keep working hard.

If you look at volt, this guy is a really great person and he's really good at CS. He understands the game so well, and the roles he had might not have been perfect and he couldn't frag so much but the way he plays those roles is incredible.

They have a great future.

Snax was impressed by volt's performances on GamerLegion. Photo: Michal Konkol

The new G2

You're going from a very inexperienced team to a very experienced team, how are you feeling about that change and how might it effect how you build a system?

We haven't had much time yet to really find out, but I don't think it will change that much. I was always trying to put the players on the same level and think that they will always know as much as I do.

Maybe it was a bit of a problem that I came in with such a young lineup when I did, so maybe I should've put more effort into the structure because I think that's maybe what we did need the most, so I think that's what I would have changed after the break if I had stayed.

With G2, I don't think I will change anything. I'm always trying to keep the balance between structure and freedom, and making sure people know when to listen to me and when to just play.

m0NESY is having an incredible year, how do you ensure that year keeps going as an IGL?

I think he's a prodigious talent who is playing like a beast, so I just won't put him in chains. He can play his game.

What about everyone else? People have been wondering how roles will work, will we see NiKo as a lurker and malbsMd in the map control pack?

It depends on the map. It's very balanced. malbsMd will lurk on some maps, NiKo on others, huNter- as well.

But of course, I can't share much more than that because people might not know how we'll play just yet [laughs].

On CT sides though, malbsMd has said he'll be anchoring, presumably you will be the other?

Yes, I'll be playing all of those roles. I like those roles.

m0NESY has been one of the highest-rated players so far in 2024. Photo: Michal Konkol

Goals and debut

With yourself being new to the team as the captain and also malbsMd being new and having to change some roles, what are you expecting in terms of results? Is it a longer term project or are you hoping for instant success?

I always treat each tournament as a tournament I want to win, but obviously six days before our first event isn't much so I'd say we're probably more of a dark horse for this one.

I would say that in two months I will have prepared everything and people will understand it all and their new positions. Changing IGL is a big step and it's the same with changing lurker as well, so it will take some time. I think people here are very experienced and understand the game a lot though, so it's not that much time. I hope so, anyway.

What are the long term goals?

For me, it would be really nice to win a Major again, and it would be especially for NiKo. I would like to win one with NiKo and the rest of the team, and of course TaZ.

It would be such a great story. Ten years later we have become coach and IGL and we win another Major. It would be great and it could definitely happen.

I am aiming to win, not everything because you can't win everything with this schedule, but it would be nice to win more than we lose.

Snax impressed during his ten months with GamerLegion. Photo: Stephanie Lindgren

You'll debut during the Esports World Cup, you've said you're a dark horse already but how are you feeling about it?

After four days of practice, we're already playing pretty well and we understand each other.

I can't put too much into the game because we don't have the time yet, but we're good, for sure.

After that you'll head to BLAST Premier Fall Groups, what are the expectations and are there any teams you'd like to face?

It doesn't matter who we play, we want to win so we need to beat whoever we get.

I'm coming to win and to be the best.