Thomas “birdfromsky” Due-Frederiksen has done his rounds in Tier-2 Counter-Strike. Playing for prestigious Danish institutions such as ECSTATIC and Copenhagen Flames, birdfromsky knows what it’s like to succeed.
Since those days of success winning Tier-2 events at the back end of 2022, birdfromsky has been bouncing around rosters. Recently, he joined The Last Resort before coming to EPIC.LAN birdfromsky had been without an organisation for upwards of a year.
Sitting down to chat with UKCSGOÂ birdfromsky talks about his team’s performance at this event, what it’s like to be playing part-time whilst working, and the old LAN vibes feeling of playing at EPIC.LAN 45
How does a tournament like EPIC.LAN compared to a tournament like Copenhagen games?
I think it’s been a lot better than the Copenhagen games because we haven’t had any delay, there haven’t been any multiple hours of delay. So far, everything has been good, no internet problems, no server problems. Everything is exactly like it should be. The only thing is more space on the table because we are sitting very, very tightly. But it is like old LAN vibes.
Who do you think is going to be your biggest roadblock on the road to the title?
I think Iberian Soul. We faced them once already, and I think we should have won the first map. On the first map, we definitely played a lot better; second map, they just destroyed us. They were just better, and that’s life.
We haven’t played that much before the LAN because there was a storm in Poland, so we have been one guy without internet for a week. Alliance would also be a challenge. But now we are in the lower bracket, so everyone can be a tough opponent.
Do you think the VRS system putting an emphasis on BYOC LANs is a good thing as opposed to grinding out infinite CCT tournaments?
I’m not sure what’s best or what’s not. Because for a team in our position, where we are mainly a mix team but sticking together and trying to make it work, it’s very expensive for us. We went to Sweden last month [for Glitched Masters] and now we are here. It’s because we want VRS points so we can get VRS tournaments online.
Of course, we will still go to LAN events, but it is very tough without an organisation. Not many organisations are willing to support teams unless it’s full-time time and then they already have high VRS points.
How do you feel about the end of your day yesterday with your losses to Glitchtech and Iberian soul?
The loss against Glitchtech, I don’t think we cared too much about it because we are here for VRS. I think we were almost happy that we got Iberian Soul because we could get a lot of VRS points if we won. Also, if we won the first map, we could maybe have won the best of three, then we would be in a very good position in the rest of the tournament. They would be the guys sweating instead of us. Of course, it would be easier to meet other teams instead of Iberian Soul in the first round, but it doesn’t really matter; you’ve got to beat everyone.
Your next opponent is NXT. Was the match you just played versus Aimerlegion a little bit of a warmup before the heavy hitter?
Yeah. This one was nothing fancy; we played okay and won pretty convincingly. The next one will probably be a bit tougher, might even be a loss in the best-of-three. But we are hoping to play better, and I think we should win.
How does it feel to have some form of support, having been without an organisation for a while?
For me personally, it feels very good. I have three or four other jobs at the moment as well besides CS, because I haven’t had income for a year. If we don’t get support, that means it’s going to be seven shifts in a row that I need to do just so I can go here. Which is a lot. It’s definitely good to have someone who wants to support us.
You were on top of the Tier-2 Counter-Strike a while back with Copenhagen Flames. Do you think you can reach similar heights with this roster?
I think very honestly, it’s going to be tough. Simply because we are not playing full-time. Like I said, I’ve been working multiple days a week, and so is b0denmaster. We want to make it into a position where we get VRS tournaments so we can play more online. Very honestly, we can hopefully win some prize money, and then I don’t need to take as many shifts, so I can play more.
It depends on how well it goes. I would say if we don’t get any points here or the next event we do as well, it’s just going to be tough. Basically, I’m working Monday to Friday, seven until three, and then practise, then demos, and then faceit. It depends on how things go.