yxngstxr: "It's never nice to play against donk, but it's crazy as an AWPer"
Although he was origfinally benched by HEROIC for the 2026 CS2 season, visa issues with their AWPer, Alkaren, meant that yxngstxr returned to the squad for BLAST Bounty.
Playing as the team's makeshift AWPer, the Swede has performed well in his new role, a return to something he did much earlier in his career.
As we sat down with him ahead of the playoffs, we discussed adapting to AWPing, AWPing against donk, and his future once the stand-in period comes to an end.
"It's probably the most different role from anchoring, but to be honest, it's been going well"
How does this event feel for you? You weren't meant to be here originally, but you've come into the team, and you're playing pretty well considering the role change.
Yeah, it was a last-second call for me to come back and play as an AWPer, it was unexpected for everyone. I'm trying to make the best out of the situation and show up for the team.
As you said, you've been AWPing, so how has that experience been, considering it's quite different from before?
It's probably the most different role from anchoring, but to be honest, it's been going well. I like it more than I liked anchoring at the end of last season. It's been fun.
Do you think you might become an AWPer off the back of this?
I mean, who knows, right? If it goes well in this event, maybe I look at the possibilities, but I'm not sure about a mid-career role change.
Everyone does like AWPing, so AWPing is an easy trap many riflers fall into, but do you think that would be the hardest role change you could make?
Not really, I played as an AWPer in my early days, even in a sort-of team. I was playing as an AWPer for like six months, so I know the basics and the things you need to get good at. Because of that, it hasn't been too hard, but the hardest thing is that you need to adapt fast when you play against good opposition.
What made you stop AWPing originally?
I was a star player before, and then we signed to Metizport, but all five of us were riflers. Since I was the youngest, I figured that it wouldn't hurt my career too much to try it, but after that, we disbanded, and I got scouted as a regular player and started anchoring.
You were meant to play NRG originally, which then got swapped to Friendly Campers, so how did that change affect the already limited preparation?
I actually came to bootcamp a few days before the games started, so we tried to get as much practice in as possible, and we already knew about the Friendly Campers change then, so it didn't affect the prep too much.
You then played paiN, who looked good in the first game, but you pulled off a 2-0 against them. Did that surprise you?
I mean... not really. We played them before at FISSURE, and we lost, so I know they can shoot, but our gameplan was really good, and we always knew what they were doing. Because we had a new AWPer in me as well, it was really hard for them to know what we were going to do.
Who would you like to play in the draft? You beat Spirit back at EWC and Falcons have issues with their team, so would they be the best options?
Anyone except Vitality is ideal. But you never know in CS2, we beat Spirit at EWC, so I think anything can happen. Falcons would be ideal because of the stand-in, but I'd like to play Spirit because of my friends there.
Does playing donk not concern you as an AWPer?
Nah. Well... we've been praccing them a bit, and it's never nice to play against him, rifling was so much better, it's crazy as an AWPer.
You said anyone except Vitality is ideal. Is there that much of a gulf between them and the other top teams in your opinion?
FURIA are the closest in terms of consistency, and they've been together the longest, too, even if magixx and zont1x were in Spirit before. Spirit probably don't have the depth because of that, and Falcons have a stand-in, so I think the deeper playbooks of Vitality and FURIA are much more dangerous.
In terms of your future, do you know how long the stand-in period will be?
I don't, actually. I have no clue. As soon as I got the call, I just came to help the team for as long as they need me, but I don't know how long that will be.
What will your plans be afterwards? Will you take a break or look to get on a team ASAP?
It wasn't planned for me. The announcement of the benching was late, so I knew that it would be hard to get a team, so I said to my agent I'd do more social media stuff and stream more. So I'll probably go back to that in order to stay ready when they don't need me to stand in anymore.
What's the dream move for you? Would you like to stay international or go to a Swedish team?
I think international teams are it for me. I've been doing it since the start of my career, so I'm comfortable in them, and I like the mentality of them. It would be fun to try a Swedish team, but international is definitely the way I'm going.
How does the mentality differ?
What I've heard is that the Swedish teams are more like friendly groups playing together. They're still trying to win and improve, but it's like five friends. In an international team you need to communicate in English, so it's a bit more out of your comfort zone, and I think that makes you develop more when you do that.
