For many players they are all bark and no bite, but for Viperio their star rifler will drop 100 ADR without a whisper. The man of few words, Callum “Girafffe” Jones, did the extraordinary by not just dominating fnatic, but also sitting down with UKCSGO for an interview.
The silent killer spoke with Dafydd Gwynn after Viperio’s tough loss to Bad News Eagles in the 0-1 round about playing against their own playstyle and how surreal it is to be alongside the best players in the world. Girafffe gave an insight into how it feels going from having just your friends and family in your corner to suddenly being a player who has made history.
Heading into the second map you had a great showing behind you in the first map despite the loss, how did that change the mindset of the team?
After the first map it gave us a bunch of confidence obviously, going 22-20 against fnatic. We should have won, but we just couldn’t close it. I think it helped us a lot personally, it felt like more of a win than a loss in that way.
What was the biggest takeaway from that first game?
I think the biggest takeaway was that at the end of the day it’s CS, everybody is beatable, it just depends on the day. On that day it felt like we should have won.
After having such a close game against a team like fnatic, how do you prepare for Bad News Eagles?
For Bad News Eagles they are just a completely different team [laughs]. You know? They are going to be roaring at you, running at you, getting in your face – they are a really hard team to prep for. Because at the end of the day they do just play kind of like FURIA, just no fucks given, just run at them.
You guys have had that playstyle before, so how did it feel to have your own medicine?
[laughs]. There’s one team in particular that always run at you, we beat them to get to this stage. Playing against a team that runs at you is a taste of our own medicine, it is hard to counter. They are going to win the fights and if they win the fights its a huge advantage to them because all the plays go their way. Any play they do that works is such a massive advantage compared to normal CS.Playing against a team that runs at you is a taste of our own medicine, it is hard to counter.
In that first game you dropped 100 ADR and have been personally playing really well, what does that do to your confidence and how will that confidence affect you in the best-of-three tomorrow?
I think I came in to the event very well individually prepared. The way I’m playing right now is kind of what I expected myself to play, it’s not a surprise to me. I have put in a lot of work so I can be ready for the RMR so for the best three I am excited. Today I have shown that I can play well against top tier teams, so for myself I have a lot of confidence going into it.
As a team is there anything you need to work on for tomorrow?
It’s more about composure mid-rounds, this is for all of us. Composure mid-rounds can sometimes get a bit messy like we lost a 3v1 to a guy in water that we shouldn’t have lost. It’s just the experience. They have done this hundreds of times, they have played at LANs hundreds of times, on the stage. It’s obviously going to be shaky for us all, you know? I’d say that is probably the main thing, composure.
I know you had media day the other day and you experienced this. This is your first RMR and you are surrounded by the best players and the best coaches in the world, what is that like?
[laughs] It’s mental. You just don’t expect it. On my first day here I was going to my hotel room, it was my first time in the hotel, I turned up to the elevator and electronic stepped out. I was like “errrrrrr” [laughs], I just wasn’t expecting it, it’s just so weird seeing them. It’s mad.On my first day here I was going to my hotel room, it was my first time in the hotel, I turned up to the elevator and electronic stepped out.
Have you chatted to any of them?
We have chatted to a few of them, but not the top tier players yet. It’s kind of hard to talk to them in a way, it’s like they have this aura of just professionalism around them.
From being here and seeing these players are there any habits you are going to try and pick up from these players?
Just watching them play you can see that they are very calm. Every situation is played very calmly, there’s no rush. I would say that is the main thing, their experience is just showing completely. You can’t really learn their experience you have to do it yourself to get better at it.
You are the first UK and Irish Majority team to make it to an RMR, that makes you history-makers. In a way a lot of people are now looking up to you, does that kind of feel weird to be a role-model or someone to be looked up to?
I’ve never really thought about it to be honest you know [laughs], but it is mad now that you say it. Especially with it being the last CS:GO Major, the last RMR. What a time to do it.
In that same vein, how does it feel to have fans?
I don’t know really. I’ve always had people in my life supporting me so I guess it kind of feels the same way as that.
