KennyS: “This event makes me want to go back to a BYOC in France”

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Kenny “KennyS” Schrub has played on the biggest stages that Counter-Strike offers. Winning a Major at DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015, playing in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike, and winning over the crowd at Katowice just to name a few. But now he can rest easy knowing he has played at EPIC.LAN in Kettering.

In a sponsorship deal with TradeIt.GG, the main sponsor of EPIC.LAN, both KennyS and Cédric “RpK” Guipouy came over from France to play in the LANs showmatch. Representing team TradeIt, they beat Team EPIC.LAN 13:10 – even though Karlo “whsky” Humpage got a tasty 1v1 versus KennyS in round 18.

After the showmatch, the gun painting, and the 3v3s UKCSGO got a chance to speak to The MagiciaN about his experience at BYOC LANs versus the big stage and being back in the UK.

Firstly, how was the showmatch and how was your first EPIC.LAN been?

First of all, I would like to thank TradeIt for inviting me here. I didn’t really know what to expect coming here. We had a lot of technical issues but it didn’t really matter because the atmosphere was really fun and very British. Everybody was having drinks together and we had beers on the stage. The atmosphere got really friendly really quickly. The people here were really friendly.

I really enjoyed the day, I didn’t expect today to be as enjoyable.

I saw on stage you started to shout back at the Binmen. How was it being on stage like that for fun?

I am a really competitive person and I want to win every competition I am in. I realised I was playing people that are really happy to be there and I wanted to give everyone the best time possible. Over the course of the showmatch, I had fun and enjoyed some beers.

I just got myself into it. I know you British like the banter and I liked the way it was. I just got into it really naturally.

You went to Insomnia twice in 2012, winning your first MVP at Insomnia 46. What was it like being back in the UK for a BYOC?

It is the exact same thing which is really fun. Insomnia was the last event I played at that looked like this. There was a turn from the BYOC vibe. After Insomnia I only went to huge and structured tier one events.

Going back to the roots is really satisfying, this event makes me want to go back to a BYOC in France competing myself, and spending two or three days with friends not necessarily just aiming to win. All of my life has been about performing and winning, so it felt good to go back to my roots.

All of my life has been about performing and winning, so it felt good to go back to my roots.

When you played in 2012 you moved to tier one and had structured tournaments. What was it like going from BYOC tournaments to tier one events?

I think it was also the transition of CS:Source and CS:GO that changed it all. At the end of the year, Insomnia was a tier one event for CS:Source. Now it is totally different.

It felt pretty natural though. I always will remember my first stage, ESWC 2014, and Cologne 2015. The stages when you end up actually playing in front of 2000 people, 5000 people and then 15000 people are amazing. I am a player who enjoys this atmosphere more than anything else. This is the atmosphere that leads me to my best performances.

At first, I was really impressed and nervous but I got used to it quickly.

You said you loved playing on the stages. What is it like now being retired and not playing doing what you have been doing for the past 15 years?

That is tough. I am happy to be retired because there are parts of the job that I don’t feel comfortable doing anymore. I don’t feel like I can be an athlete anymore. The job I am doing right now is demanding but for different reasons. For sure when I was in the Paris major, at Antwerp it was really hard for me to just be a spectator of the stage and the vibe and the atmosphere. I was born into this and I love this, I will always miss it. I will never be able to move on from this.

The thing that ties me to competition is the envy of performing on the stage. Sometimes you have to accept the facts.

You said you don’t want to compete again, but do you think you would join a team in a different role?

No, I am much more interested in developing content and that type of thing. I am a big fan of entertainment. I am a really huge YouTube consumer.

In France for example the YouTube audience is out of this world. I would like to reproduce what I see and like in a CS vision. I would like to develop content like that.

You have been to many English BYOCs and many French BYOCs. Are there any comparisons? And which is better?

Oh wow. I don’t want to say anyone is better. Obviously, when I go to French events I probably would meet more people I know. People drink as much and people have as much fun.

French events such as this have some drama, but I have the feeling here there is no drama. Maybe we Frenchies should learn from our neighbours.

Maybe we Frenchies should learn from our neighbours.