AdamJC on returning to UK CS: “I would be looking to play with up-and-comers to try and help them grow”

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The spotlight at EPIC.LAN 45 was stolen by the Tier-2 European teams that came in and took over Kettering. However, there was one underdog story that arose from UK CS. A ragtag mix of an ex-coach and ex-players who haven’t competed consistently for almost two years, rustled some feathers.

The AimerLegion mix that won UKIC Season 6 Division 2 came into the Summer LAN with pretty low expectations, to just make it out of the group stage. Seeded into group B, which contained the top UK teams, NXT, 8Sins and Synical, AimerLegion were placed on the lower end of the pecking order.

In a shocking turn of events, they not only beat Synical but also 8Sins in overtime, and then only narrowly lost to NXT 13-10, after being 9-2 up. This success continued into the playoffs, starting in the lower bracket, beating Shuaib “Shoobie” Saddique DWF Group to qualify for the HLTV stage. Unfortunately, the madness stopped at the start of play on Saturday after they matched up against one of the European sides, The Last Resort. As you would expect, they got stomped 13-4 and 13-3, finishing 9th – 12th, the joint fourth-best UK CS finish.

After they got knocked out, UKCSGO sat down with ex-EPIC.LAN finalist AdamJC to talk about his return to EPIC, their success against the best domestic teams, and the possibility of coming back to competitive play.

It has been a long time since you’ve attended an EPIC.LAN. You seem noticeably very excited to be back.

I was saying this to pretty much everyone. I haven’t played at an EPIC.LAN since October 2023. I was thinking that was way too long to not see anyone. The competitiveness is out the window; just not seeing everyone was the big thing.

Obviously, as someone who has been competitive their whole life, I do want to do well at EPIC. Even if I am just going with a mix, or with friends, I still want to do well. It has been a while, and I am so happy to be back.

Before we start discussing the LAN, you have not been present in the UK CS space for a long time. What caused you to return and rebuild AimerLegion?

It started around February with fett1s, crit, oskvr and me. There are 10-15 of us who just talk and pug in our TeamSpeak, and we realised that us four have some good chemistry going here.

They then came third in UKIC Season 5 Division 3 without me, fett1s, harper and crit. So, then the most recent season, I wanted to play Division 2 because they needed a player. I played with fett1s and crit, and we started speaking about going to the summer LAN. I thought it had been a while, so why not? crit is insane, in terms of raw mechanics, brain-wise, let’s not talk about that [laughs]. fett1s and I make up for that, hopefully. I always believe that my brain outsmarts any sort of aim.

Before the LAN, oskvr said to crit, “Should we refund our tickets?” Because we lost to ArcherAce in the UKIC Masters qualifiers.

So all of this started because oskvr and Dimitryyyyy wanted to go to a LAN together, and oskvr was winning Div 2 with us, so it just made sense to go together. We played some pugs together and UKIC Masters qualifiers, and did pretty well.

I mean this with the utmost respect, but it feels like you guys have done too well this LAN. You beat 8Sins and Synical in the group stage, and almost beat NXT, ultimately finishing as one of the highest-placed UK teams. Did you ever have the expectation that this would happen? 

Before the LAN, oskvr said to crit, “Should we refund our tickets?” Because we lost to ArcherAce in the UKIC Masters qualifiers. I didn’t know about this until we got to LAN [laughs].

I went into EPIC thinking I had never been grouped at a LAN, so that was our goal really. Before all of the EU teams signed up, we were thinking we could come top four as there weren’t many good UK teams signed up. So when they signed up, it was just like “let’s get out of groups.” We got fourth pot, which felt a bit unfair, because of the level some of us have played at previously. But hey, fuck it, play with full confidence and an open mind.

I turned into prime s1mple against 8Sins.

We beat Synical in the second game, which gave us so much confidence because it basically confirmed we would get out of the groups. The only thing we have to do to get the upper seed is to beat 8Sins. Then we see 8Sins have beaten NXT. Fuck, we have to beat both of them.

We then beat 8Sins in an overtime game, which was crazy. I need to get the demo from it because I turned into prime s1mple against 8Sins. I am not even joking, the things I was doing were so stupid that it was just genius. I was going over silo with an AWP on Nuke, jumping into main and killing the guy top hut with zero support. I cannot wait to see the demo because it was just crazy.

We then went on to play NXT and were 9-2 up on Train. I thought, guys, “I am feeling a 13-2 right now”… we then lost 10-13. If we had won that game, we would have been 7-0 in groups, then would have played Byfield, Thomas and MIGHTYMAX, which we would have been so confident in. If we had beaten them, we would have been top six. We were basically three rounds away from top six [laughs].

We glossed over the NXT and 8Sins games. But I want to focus on how you guys managed to compete so well against them. Did you just hit a flow state, and the vibes were high? 

I am generally loud when playing against people I know. I have played with wfn, Wolfie, and Dutchy. So having that motivation to beat them was exceptional. I also know Tree60 on NXT from being my ex-teammate, and also Tom [arTisT] is the person I have pugged the most with. And of course, Tom and Matas [Extinct], being Irish, I know them well.

We played NXT and were 9-2 up on Train. I thought, guys, “I am feeling a 13-2 right now”… we then lost 10-13.

I know they see me as a joker, so they don’t really take the games seriously, and then they start losing and get tilted. “I can’t lose to AdamJC”.

On day two, normality somewhat resumed, which isn’t a bad thing. You lost The Last Resort, one of the European teams. How did it feel to play on the same server as these big-name players at an EPIC.LAN?

I knew b0RUP coming into this LAN, and we joked around saying, “imagine we played each other.” Then turns out, we did.

We won the pistol round on map one, and I screamed my lungs out. We then instantly lost round two, so that was a big reality check [laughs]. They were just a completely different class than us. We would be punished for the tiniest of things.

I may have practised against teams like that when I played on Raptors full time, but playing in an official on LAN, it is crazy. Playing against a Major finalist is a big reality check. Skill-wise wise it can always be similar, as you can put in time to get good raw aim. But playing in the mid-round, they do it on a whole different level.

Outside of CS, it must have been a bit surreal to be surrounded by these people, having the opportunity to chat with them.

Yeah, it is really cool having these teams at EPIC.LAN. I hope there are more in the future and are as friendly as these guys here at this LAN. Some teams might come here strictly for business, but the TLR guys especially have come here with an open mind and have been chatting with everyone. Talking to them and getting these insights is super nice.

You seem like you have enjoyed this LAN the most out of anywhere. Is this scratching an itch for you to come back and compete properly?

As one of the few IGLs in the scene who has played at a semi-high level, high ESEA Main. I feel like there is a need for good IGLs. I am looking at the scene, and there are two good teams, then a massive fall-off. I am looking at this and thinking who could be the next upcoming players, so maybe there is a way back in, but it would have to be an enticing project.

I wouldn’t want to play with anyone who has been in and around the scene for a long time; I would be looking to play with new up-and-comers to try and help them grow. I genuinely think there is a gap in the market for a proper IGL who can share knowledge. It is so common now that IGLs just go away and retire, not coming back or spreading knowledge.

Byfield mentioned it once, the old 1.6 players left the scene, the people who went to VALORANT left he scene and didn’t spread their knowledge. It just always happens, and even with me, albeit I didn’t play at that high of a level, but someone like MIGHTYMAX or mezii spreading the knowledge down the scene could be really helpful. So hopefully I could try and help in that way.

I joined Viperio Academy for like two weeks, potentially putting together a project, but then I decided to cancel that and focus on myself. Maybe, in the next few months, we can think about a comeback.

I wouldn’t want to play with anyone who has been in and around the scene for a long time; I would be looking to play with new up-and-comers to try and help them grow.

Finally, how does it feel to have never won an Irish LAN?

Fuck you, I knew this was coming, you fucking dickhead [laughs].

I am gonna be calling in the big guns next LAN, Tom “arTisT” Clarke, if you’re listening to this, please fucking put together a super team.

You’ve tried this before.

No, no, no, no, I have never been on a super team. I need help… I am never gonna win an Irish LAN.