HaZ - "I didn't play to my capacity in LA"

Posted by: -Radical-

Continuing with our series of features, we welcome back one of last Seasons Counter-Strike: Source players; Erik "HaZ" Holm. Erik is one of the most well known Counter-Strike: Source players in Europe with him being in some key team rosters in the past, and managed to achieve quite an impressive result back in September where he left the British organisation 4Kings for EYEBallers only a few days before the Championship Gaming Series Season 1 Combine. Where himself, and the rest of EYEBallers were drafted as the first team of Stockholm Magnetik.

When the first season of the Championship Gaming Series ended, Erik teamed up with his past team mates from 4kings in London Mint to attend the well known event; I-Series 33 which was held at the Newbury RaceCourse, England. He, along with his team mates managed to battle their way through the event to take an achievable 2nd place, falling to fellow CGS players Birmingham Salvo, with the help of Louis "Red" Nyberg. Erik was the 4th protected player for the Stockholm Magnetik franchise of Season 2, we caught up with him about this which you can read below, Enjoy!

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First of all congratulations on being redrafted back into Stockholm Magnetik, how does it feel to be back on the team for Season 2?

Thanks! It feels really good to be here and I'm excited to play another season.

How do you feel that you performed over the time of September till the 2nd Season Combine?

I didn't feel like I got a decent shot at showing what I had in LA. I played decent but not as I normally do. Going to i33 as a standin for the London Mint was really good for myself, I saw it as a chance to show that I belong in the CGS and it went pretty well!

In your opinion, what about you made the General Manager; Emil Christensen want to redraft you back into the team for Season 2?

I think he knows that I didn't play to my capacity in LA and when he saw what I did @ i33 I think it became clearer.

At the Combine only a few weeks ago in Birmingham it came quite clear that a change was going to happen in the Stockholm Magnetik Source team with previous team mates; vizzion and NightMan missing from the event. Was it difficult to lose team mates from over the past few months?

It's never easy to build a team from the bottom. We came into the first draft with only 2 weeks of pracc and won it which kind of proves that we had a good combination of players. I think our playing style will be a bit different this time around.

During your time in Birmingham, you had to play against the Dutch team Fnatic in the 2nd round what were your thoughts about the match before it went live?

I knew it was gonna be a really tough match as they had practiced a lot prior to the combine. We had to really step it up if we were gonna win a best of three vs them. They deserved to win though, they played really good!

As a whole what did you think of the competition in the Counter-Strike: Source tournament?

It was tough competition, especially as it was bo3. Frankly I didn't expect us to win because the lineup we had pracced 1 week before the combine.

How would you compare the competition in Counter-Strike: Source in both Europe and America, are there different playing styles in both regions?

The biggest difference is the playing styles. Europeans tend to be more cautious and rely on tactics, while americans are good at doing stuff you don't expect, catching us Europeans off-guard! They have a more aggressive style overall I'd say.

In relation to the CGS rules, are you still happy with the format in Counter-Strike: Source that the CGS sets? And Why?

I don't understand why they still play normal rules! CGS-rules are the best, you don't have to eco, it's fast, it's fun :) I think CGS-rules are the most even as well. If you get unlucky on a pistol round it might lose you the whole match as you normally have to eco/deco twice.

Since returning home from Birmingham how have you been training both as an individual and a team to make sure that you get the best possible result in Los Angeles?

We've had some tactics sessions and tried some new stuff. It's gone pretty good but we're not satisfied with everything yet! I've been playing mixes and deathmatch to keep myself in shape.

Have you made any plans after Los Angeles in regard to attend other gaming events in Europe?

I'd like to go to TeX.dk again, but we'll have to see how far we go in LA!

Any shoutouts?

Shoutouts to my family, friends, teammates and my ill cat :(