The Evozoners Interview – CS:GO Back-To-Back Esports Corporate Champions

We talked with the double-time and back-to-back CS:GO champions of the Esports Corporate Championship, the evozoners. Their first win was at Digital Crusade 2021 and they kept their trophy in 2022 as well. We loved watching them play (as the championship was streamed) and we were excited to see them win one more time! To learn more about their prior experience with Esports, how the championship and being part of this team felt like, their training approach, and their hopes in regards to future championships we asked them a few questions. The full interview is available below!

Besides the CS:GO team, we also had one team in the League of Legends tournament this year. Are we slowly taking over the Esports Corporate world? Well, not yet, but we know what our back-up plan is in case we change our software development path. Kidding aside, we’re glad to see an increase in popularity when it comes to this event! It’s a great opportunity for meeting new people, having fun, and improving your gaming and team working skills. And, it’s great for the ones who are just watching and cheering too. Esports – bringing people together.

Without further ado, check out below the interview with the evozoners! And GGWP, team!

 

1. How did your Counter-Strike journey begin?

whuatIsThis: Started from a young age and then I took a break for a long period of time and then I started playing again with a couple of friends.

CosmiC: When I started playing CS 1.6, I did not have internet on my PC, so I used to play with bots for a while. I still remember how my friend and I were talking about how we were going to buy a long cable and connect our 2 PCs so we can play together, however he lived in a different apartment block, so it would have been a bit challenging.  

Crisan: I started playing CS:GO maybe six or seven years ago. I didn’t play CS 1.6 that much before, but I’ve played other FPS games along the way, like battlefield or call of duty.

cr4zydexter: I discovered CS:GO (around 2015) and started playing it with friends. I had lots of experience with FPS games, but this one nurtured my competitive side more and I got hooked. 😀  

P1nky: I started playing CS 1.6 when I was younger and ended up here,  playing CS:GO now :))

Ovi: Probably like most of us, I started playing in the CS 1.6 era when I was around 10 years old with a couple of friends.

 

2. How was the team formed? Did you guys know each other before or did the work context bring you together?

whuatIsThis: I did not know any of my teammates before. The email brought us together. ECC is a great opportunity to meet new people.

CosmiC: No, I did not know any of the others before. Except for Sebi. Him I knew even less. So email. 

Crisan: I didn’t know any of the team members except Ovi, from high school. Actually, he was the one who convinced me to join the team (I never saw the email :))).

cr4zydexter: The email did it for me, I know I went around stressing people to gather up a team of 5. 

P1nky: An email came to me from evozon saying that we are going to play CS:GO in a competition and players are needed, I thought it was some kind of prank haha :))) And no, some of us did not know each other beforehand.

Ovi: Funny thing, me and Crisan used to play together a lot in high school, so when we received the email we talked about joining the team, but then we just forgot and we remembered only after the deadline. Luckily, we still made the team :D. 

 

3. You’ve already won twice (and in a row), which shows you’ve got some great team spirit. What are your tips for team collaboration?

whuatIsThis: Trying to stay calm even when the odds are against us and listening to the calls made.

CosmiC: Laugh before the game. Take things seriously during the game. Enjoy the victory after the game. And remember it’s a game. 

Crisan: Have a positive attitude, try to keep calm, and never give up.

cr4zydexter: Do your best and try to have a positive attitude. Tilting won’t help you play better. And remember – it’s a game, have fun!

P1nky: Calmness and lots of patience… lots 🙂 We can be so different in our temper and the key is taking advantage of those tempers and creating a connection between them, but also, trying to keep that pressure down in key moments

Ovi: Listen to your teammates and let them do what they do best.

 

4. Which match has been the most enjoyable one so far throughout the CS:GO tournaments? And why? 

whuatIsThis: For me, both finals are my top pick because in both no one expected us to win but we proved them wrong by winning in the first final from 0-2 with 3-2 and the second final where the other team that previously won a match against us didn’t have a chance to win a map.

CosmiC: Definitely the final (singular since I’ve only joined the team this year). Knowing the odds are against you, and turning the game around in the first match, I think that was the most enjoyable for me. 

Crisan: Both were pretty enjoyable for different reasons. The first year was tougher because the match was as close as it could’ve been. We made a comeback from 0-2 which was very nice. This year was also pretty good because no one expected us to win and we did. I think I prefer this year’s match because we played in front of a crowd.

cr4zydexter: The final from this year, finally made it to stage as well. (#covidunlucky)

P1nky: I can’t decide between the finals of the first edition and the finals of this latest edition. These experiences are something one of a kind for me.

Ovi: Definitely the final with Celestica. The comeback from 0-2 to 3-2 still feels unreal.

 

5. Can you share some insights regarding your training or warm-ups before your CS:GO matches?

whuatIsThis: Training with the team is always difficult due to different schedules. On a personal level, I try to play as much as I can and learn from my mistakes.

CosmiC: Aim training, deathmatches, map strategies, team strategies, grenade spots, prefire training, competitive games, etc… yeah, quite a lot of training is required before matches. And not every bit of it is enjoyable every time. 

Crisan: I think all of us did the basic aim trainings and deathmatches. We also watched some pro teams’ strategies and tried to apply them (as much as we could) in our games.

cr4zydexter: Training is hard, but it pays off. Aligning 5-6 people to attend the training and not have schedule overlaps is as hard as setting a meeting for 20 people. >_>

P1nky: Trainings with the entire team was a great challenge since every one of us had our own stuff to do and was hard to find the right time when everyone was available. This is a point where we could improve a lot for possible future plays. Besides that, individual practices are essential too IMO.

Ovi: I think training is the hardest part. When you get to the point of actually training it’s not a game anymore. You start to study the game, watch guides and tutorials, and try to learn new game mechanics. It kind of takes away the fun (but the fun always comes back when you’re winning). I still have some notes that I took during training with smoke lineups :D.

 

6. What CS:GO teams do you enjoy watching? What attracts you to their play style?

whuatIsThis: I like to watch all of the top teams play but if I have to pick a team I would probably go with G2. I also watch and support teams that have Romanian players in them like Sprout.

CosmiC: Evozoners. I like their playstyle and they are 2-time champs. 

Crisan: I don’t really watch tournaments that much, and when I do I only watch the grand final 🙂

cr4zydexter: I don’t really watch esports tournaments. I like to play the games myself more. But, I sometimes watch the finals of big tournaments.

P1nky: I haven’t been so active in watching teams lately, but I enjoy watching FaZe, G2, and NaVi.

Ovi: Never been a fan of watching CS:GO. Whenever I start watching a match, I end up wanting to play a match myself.

 

7. What is your top 3 list of CS:GO maps? And on the contrary, on what map do you avoid matches at any convenient opportunity?

whuatIsThis: It depends on how I feel on that day – someday I might feel like playing the classic maps Dust2, Inferno, Mirage, and other days I feel like going for different maps.

CosmiC: Dust 2(of course), Vertigo, Mirage. And the map I usually avoid is Ancient. 

Crisan: I don’t like Ancient at all. I like old maps like Dust 2, Mirage, or Inferno. Maybe Nuke from time to time.

cr4zydexter: Dust2 (this is an ongoing team meme). Mirage -> Overpass -> Inferno

P1nky: Lately, I have liked Vertigo, Nuke, and Ancient. On the contrary, I don’t really have a preference to avoid a certain map, but have not had much fun on Inferno lately :))

Ovi: Dust2 (a lot), Nuke, Mirage. I avoided Ancient for a long time because it’s the newest in the pool and never really got to learn it that well. 

 

8. What’s your take on other games from the esports universe? What’s your favorite one after CS and why?

whuatIsThis: To be honest I do not watch or play any other game besides CS

CosmiC: I used to be a big fan of Dota 2. Spent lots of hours playing or watching my favorite teams play. 

Crisan: I haven’t played anything besides CS for a long time. I played a bit of League of Legends, but I don’t follow the esports scene.

cr4zydexter: I concur with Ovidiu. Rocket League should definitely be more popular. It’s kinda fun watching the tournaments, it’s like watching football on TV, but a lot more fast-paced. 

P1nky: I don’t really follow other esports games besides CS but I sometimes watch some clips or highlights from Valorant.

Ovi: I think it’s nice that esports get a lot of attention. I also play some Rocket League and I’m surprised that it’s not more popular (football with flying cars, come on).

 

9. What’s next for the Evozoners? 

whuatIsThis: We don’t know for sure, we hope we will be there for the next edition but after all, we are not a CS team and we do not have a guarantee that the same lineup will be available next year.

CosmiC: 3rd trophy maybe? Who knows. And maybe some cool company t-shirts with ‘Evozoners’ and the player’s name, that actually are our size (#justSaying).

Crisan: Maybe we’ll aim for a third trophy, but I saw that a lot of good teams are joining, so I think it will be harder and harder to win.

cr4zydexter: Hopefully, we’ll keep going every year and try to get as many trophies as we can (now we have two, for the offices, the rest from now on…. we keep -> 6 more seasons bois :)) ). The experience is really worth it.

P1nky: Pfff… I don’t know. 🙂 If people remain at evo for one more year, I guess we will aim to be triple back-to-back champs 😁 although this seems to get more difficult as newer and more prepared teams join each year. We have been lucky that 80% of our team remained the same since last year but who knows what can happen in one more year. 🤷‍♂️🙂

Ovi: After this year’s final match people were motivated to start playing more and just be better for the next season. So I’d say a third trophy is on its way.