Fresh off the addition of Jason "JBOEN" Boe Nielsen in the summer, results have improved in the FaZe camp, who topped off a semi-final finish at XSE Pro League with two wins in the online phase of BLAST Bounty to advance to the Malta finals.
However, the organization's lack of communication around the future of the lineup, especially Ryan "Neityu" Aubry, who joined the team as a stand-in almost three months ago, as well as Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken as the IGL, gives off the notion that changes may still happen.
In an attempt to clear up the situation, HLTV spoke to Twistzz on the media day ahead of the Bounty finals, but was not quite successful, as the Canadian said both decisions lie with the organization.
"No matter what role I'm playing, I'm going to have a long-term image of it," he began when asked about his future in captaincy. "I want to dedicate myself to the role to make sure that I can be the best version of myself, or find the best version of myself. I think that'll be the case until FaZe says otherwise."
"Until then, I will give everything I have to the team, and also become the best leader that I can be."
Regarding Neityu, Twistzz said: "That's for FaZe to figure out. I'm sure they're working out some contract, or there's something going on between the org and his agency. But at the moment he is here. We love playing with Ryan [Neityu], and we just look forward to continuing."
You can listen to or read the interview, in which the 26-year-old also spoke about JBOEN's development, relationship with Niclas "enkay J" Krumhorn and FaZe's uptick, below:
You're here with a new-look FaZe. What's the feeling like coming into this tournament?
The feeling's great, of course. I think we accomplished one of our goals. We always want to make playoffs at every event we attend, so this is a big step forward. We're two for two for playoffs this season so far. Some of the results that have happened in the online stage were a bit shocking, but nonetheless we can't underestimate any opponent at this stage.
You've played a few tournaments already this season, even though most other top teams skipped XSE. Do you think that's given you a good start into the season, especially considering you made top four there and playoffs here as well?
Of course. I think with our lineup, it was a huge step in kind of learning how the team operates, getting to know Jason [JBOEN] a bit more. We went into that event without much practice time, so it was kind of nice to see the work ethic and how much we could get done just talking about the game. Yeah, it's definitely a big jumpstart in terms of our progression.
One thing that jumped out was your Cache performances. You've played it four times and no team even got double digits against you. Is that down to the map fitting your play style, or the fact that you put more work into it than other teams so far?
When the map first got released back into the pool, I think we definitely must've been one of the first teams to put a lot of effort on it, not overlooking it. I was also a bit upset because I put a lot of time into Overpass, and then one morning it's just gone. I had like a one-and-a-half hour theory session with the team on Overpass, all these new ideas, and then next day it's all for nothing, so…
But I just put more time into Cache than I would've put into Overpass. I think the special thing was that everyone worked really hard on the map, everyone was finding things in their area. Everyone talked about how they want to approach their positions, and it was kind of like a collective thing where then me and enkay J eventually took more over the T side in terms of what's happening there.
Of course, it's been very rewarding, but I feel like we understand that because we're kind of the ones leading the meta of the map, it's just going to take even more effort and time to continue leading the meta and being one step ahead. So we definitely don't want to fall behind in terms of how the map is being played.
Does a map change benefit a team like yours? You switched players, you switched coach, and while you don't necessarily need to start from scratch, you need to do a lot of new things. Is a new map something that helps you get an upper hand?
Yeah, absolutely. I think a new map going into the pool definitely works in our favor. It's a fresh slate for all the teams to work on, so it gives us an even playing ground against the better teams.
I remember I felt the same way about Anubis before when I was on Liquid. It just feels good to start getting ahead on a map that's a bit newer to everyone. I've always enjoyed Cache, back when playing with Liquid, I think we were the best Cache team around 2018 and 2019. I've always appreciated this map. It was one of my favorite maps before it got removed, and I think the entire team is really enjoying it.
You mentioned the 2018 period. How much do you think the meta has changed since then? Because the big picture seems kind of similar to the meta that was played in 2018.
Yeah, when you look at the macro and the big picture, you definitely, even in the game now, need to check all the boxes to make sure that your round is looking pretty solid on the T and CT side. I think there's just so many new game mechanisms and stuff that makes it different.
Back then there was a skybox, now there's no skybox, and there's a lot more intricate things in CS2 that weren't thought about before in CS:GO. You have all these spawn smokes for CT and T, breaking smokes. The map was fun to play back then, and I feel like it's even more fun to play now.
To ask about you more personally: you're IGLing this team, which is your second stint in the role. Given that we had an off-season during which you guys did not sign a new IGL and you stayed in the role, is this something you're now committing to long term?
No matter what role I'm playing in a team, I'm going to have a long-term image of it. I want to dedicate myself to the role to make sure that I can be the best version of myself, or find the best version of myself. I think that'll be the case until FaZe says otherwise. Until then, I will give everything I have to the team, and also become the best leader that I can be.
A big part of leading is having a coach who shares your vision, so that you can work together on game plans. How has your new coach been? Have you found a common ground, a system that you can both agree on and introduce to the rest of the team?
Yeah, of course. I mean, we haven't had the most practice time. I think we had a week of practice now and before XSE, and then also the time we had balancing practice and officials on the online stage.
But enkay J and I talk a lot about the game, even on our off days we find time to chat. He's very insightful, reflective, and very productive. He's not really worried about saying the wrong thing. I feel like he usually always finds the right words, even if sometimes a harsher tone is needed. For me it's been very important to feel like I have a coach there that's helping me, helping me progress in the role.
Another new piece of the team is JBOEN, who came from an academy team and made a really big step up to FaZe. At least the start has been great by him, especially if you look at the numbers. How have you found working with him, given that he didn't have a lot of experience coming in?
Honestly, with Jason, he doesn't give you the vibes that he's a rookie. The way he approaches the rounds in game, the way he knows what he wants to do, his level of communication… There's a good understanding of the fundamentals already. I think that comes from the system that BIG had in place. He got to work with gob b, I think he got to work with the main team a couple times.
So I think he learned quite a few things in that process, and that leads us to kind of feeling that he's not exactly an inexperienced player in that sense. It's more so that for him, he'll learn some things himself, like, 'Oh, maybe against better teams you can't overpeek this much.' Or that you have to sometimes give more respect to the opponents, and then in some games you'll have to give less respect. So far this is a great learning experience for him, and the team is very happy with him.
Neityu has been with you for a slightly longer time, but he hasn't actually been officially announced for the long term. Is that still in the works, or is he here for the season at least?
I think that's for FaZe to figure out. I think as players we just focus on the objective ahead of us, and that's every event that we play. In terms of management stuff, I'm sure they're working out some contract, or there's something going on between the org and his agency. But at the moment he is here. We love playing with Ryan [Neityu], and we just look forward to continuing.
You guys are second picks in the draft, which gives you two teams you need to prepare for. Does that give you a pretty big upper hand, at least in this first round, since you get your prep time down to just two?
Yeah, of course. During the entire process, it's always better to be the one picking instead of getting picked, because you can narrow down a priority list, and that allows you to get prep done early. It gives you the upper hand against other teams, and I think it's the case here too.
I think paiN is the first pick, and I'm sure that they have their opponent, and they only need to prep one team. It's not really a big problem to prep two matches. If you look at a team like Spirit and MOUZ, they're in a worse situation in terms of the fact that they might have to prep for multiple teams if they want to get work done early, and they also play tomorrow. Of course, it's better to pick the opponent.
Niclas 'enkay J' Krumhorn
FaZe
Jason 'JBOEN' Boe Nielsen
David 'frozen' Čerňanský
Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken
Jakub 'jcobbb' Pietruszewski
Niclas 'enkay J' Krumhorn
Jason 'JBOEN' Boe Nielsen
Ryan 'Neityu' Aubry
Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken