petr1k: “I like CS: GO in its current state much more than Dota 2”

One of the analysts at StarLadder, who is covering PGL Major Krakow 2017 for a Russian-speaking audience, petr1k gave an interview for our portal.

- So. Now all viewers are talking on social networks, on Twitter, VKontakte, on Facebook that PGL Major Krakow 2017 has become a rather disastrous tournament. Do you agree with this statement or are you ready to refute it?

I believe that now everything is basically good at the moment. Today is the third day of the tournament, so far it is not a failure at all. Yes, there were technical difficulties in the early days, and PGL apologized very much for them. They were very offended by what was happening, but I still think that we can only say whether this tournament is a failure or not based on the results of all the days. There are technical difficulties so far, no one is safe from this, but I do not agree with the statement of the audience who call PGL Major Krakow 2017 a failure. It is too early to draw any conclusions.

- Let's talk about these technical problems that were at the tournament. The organizers of the tournament are PGL, who have experience in conducting several major Dota 2 tournaments. At one time, their Major tournament in Manila made a splash, but the same company had various technical problems at the tournament, and one of the matches (BIG vs Cloud) was not shown to spectators watching the events through a live broadcast. This has never happened in Major tournaments before. Why do you think such a large and experienced company has such technical difficulties?

PGL has been preparing for the CS: GO Major Tournament for almost a year, they have worked a lot on this, and all PGL employees are real hard workers. Despite this, no one is safe from black days. I don’t know what kind of problems there were, due to which the match between BIG and Cloud9 was stopped and why I had to finish the match without a stream. As far as I know, there were some problems with the Internet, but I'm more than sure that PGL will fix everything, everything will be fine and the level of the tournament will be the same as the one they held in Manila. I think they were just unlucky.

- The tournament also noticed technical problems that related not only to video broadcasts. Players often complain about poor computer performance and low FPS. What do you think about this?

There was such a moment: during the preparation for the tournament, the organizers set up a computer with i5 processors so that players could warm up. At that very moment, Twitter began to fill up with negative comments like “How so?” This is a major tournament. Why such a weak computer? Players need to play in Full HD! ” etc. But then PGL corrected everything and the i7 processors, along with all the best equipment, were installed in the training rooms and in the computers that were used for games. That is, this problem was solved very quickly, but other problems arose, such as with shroud video drivers, for example, in the match between BIG and Cloud9. When he played without the right settings, it was the player's fault. The fact that he cannot set up his computer before the game is not a PGL problem. I am more than sure that if he talked about his problem, then it would be fixed in 5 minutes, because at the Major tournament there are PGL employees who are experts in solving all problems.

- That is, not only the organizers, but the players themselves are to blame for such mistakes?

The organizers are not at all to blame. They provided everything and they will fix everything. Perhaps there are some mistakes, but it is always there. PGL fixes everything quickly.

- Name your list of eight participants who, in your opinion, will reach the playoffs and two participants who, in your opinion, can reach the final.

Initially, we all thought that FaZe Clan would get into the playoffs, but in the end FaZe could not show anything, they had a complete failure. Because of this, it is now difficult to make predictions, but judging by what I saw at the Major-tournament, SK Gaming is clearly heading towards victory in this championship. They have very good chances. Virtus.pro can also be attributed to teams that claim to reach the playoffs and even to the semi-finals, and possibly even to win. VP is really good at the moment. Gambit eSports should also make it to the playoffs, just like the BIG team. VP, BIG and Gambit are the three that I never expected to see in the playoffs, but when I saw their first matches, I came to the conclusion that they are claiming the status of Legends. Also in the top 8 I'm waiting for Natus Vincere, Astralis, G2 Esports, which North should not be forgotten about.

- Name the participant of the tournament who surprised you very much, from whom you did not expect the current result at all.

Probably Virtus.pro is most suitable for this definition. I generally expected that they would end their participation in the tournament with a score of 0-3 and fly out of it, and PGL Major Krakow 2017 would be another failure for them. The guys really prepared and they play very hard, at least such a conclusion can be drawn from the first two matches. Let's see what will happen next. This is currently VP. Gambit eSports also surprised me. From them, I also did not expect such that they show now here.

- And FlipSid3?

FlipSid3 won one good match against FaZe Clan. The rest of the matches played well, but if they reach the playoffs, then I’ll say such a thing about them.

- Who at this tournament surprised you unpleasantly?

FaZe Clan naturally. From Vega Squadron I expected them to cling to the matches, but in the end they lost almost without a fight and they lost the last match with such a comeback that was unpleasant, they were unrealistic in the long run, but could not finish the game. That is, FaZe Clan and Vega Squadron, the teams that ended their participation in this Major tournament without a single victory are naturally naturally the main disappointment. Well, BIG team also upset me, which in the first two matches very roughly used the bug. I hope they will not use it anymore and I will love them someday.

- Let's talk about the global CS: GO scene. Dota 2 will soon be the main, large-scale tournament of the year (The International-editorial note), which not only breaks records in e-sports, but also breaks records in many sports. Currently, his prize pool is over $ 20,000,000. Will there be any development in CS: GO? Why are Valve organizing major tournaments in this discipline now with prize pools of only $ 1,000,000? Why don’t they organize fundraising with the crowdfunding system?

As far as I understand, completely different people work on CS: GO and Dota 2. This is one company, but there are different development vectors. Some points in the disciplines are similar: skins and other things, for example. Major tournaments also say that these people adopt ideas both there and there. Honestly, I like the CS: GO model in its current state much more than Dota 2, I don’t want CS: GO to have The International and there was nothing else. I can only say about the development of the CS: GO scene that I hope for a smooth increase in the prize pools of the championships. Initially, the prize pool at the Major tournament was $ 250,000, and then the prize pool began to be $ 1,000,000. Over time, they will grow. I do not want tournaments with prize money of $ 100,000,000, $ 300,000,000 to suddenly appear, I want CS: GO to develop as it is developing now, gradually. So far, so good. If The International appears, the teams will not pay attention to other tournaments. At the moment, CS: GO is alive 24/7, 365 days a year and it’s very cool. I am not an expert on Dota 2, but in my opinion this is not the case in this discipline. The model in which CS: GO exists at the moment, I like the most.