After holding the same core for over six years, ALASKA went out in a blaze of glory as they lifted the UKIC Season 5 Division 1 trophy, one last time together.
Tom “arTisT” Clarke, Matas “Extinct” Strumila, Callum “Girafffe” Jones, and coach Ciaran “biscu” King have grinded from the bottom of the food chain to the top of not only the scene, but international Counter-Strike. Through thick and thin they achieved their goals, becoming the undisputed best UK CS team over the last year. Even before that, they have won many international LANs, including a trip to the BLAST.tv Paris Major European RMRs.
Unfortunately, due to playing under no organisation and thus receiving no funding, it was impossible for ALASKA to continue with this roster as they simply ran out of money. It has been confirmed that Girafffe, biscu, and new addition Jamie “Tree60” Callan are leaving. arTisT, Extinct, and Mason “Vacancy” Haines want to stay together, but this could all change if someone gets a better offer, or if someone simply decides not to play competitive CS anymore.
Regardless of outside factors, ALASKA still can walk away with their heads held high as they maintain their title as the best team in the UK after defeating 8Sins in the UKIC Season 5 Division 1 Final. It was a riveting game which saw ALASKA win eight rounds in a row on map three after being down 5-11.
After lifting the UKIC trophy for the third time in a row, UKCSGO sits down with IGL arTisT to talk about the series, the current situation of ALASKA, the highs and downs of his career, and what is next for him.
You can find the full 36-minute interview down below.
