Som bekant arrangeras 250 000-dollarturneringen ESL One Cologne på Gamescom i Köln, Tyskland i veckan. På plats kommer 16 av världens absolut bästa Counter-Strike: Global Offensive-lag att vara i kampen om förstapriset värt 100 000 dollar. Ett av lagen som kommer att vara på plats är danska Copenhagen Wolves, med bland andra Jacob "Pimp" Winneche i spetsen.

Winneche har vänligt nog svarat på ett par frågor Fragbite ställt honom, där vi bland annat får reda på hans minst sagt tydliga missnöje med implementeringen av två nya kartor och ett nytt vetosystem så tätt inpå turneringen. Den danske spelaren förklarar även att hans lag hade otur rent timing-mässigt när laget grundades, och att en drömfinal föga oväntat vore mot landsrivalerna i dignitas.

Hi Pimp! ESL One Cologne is coming up! How's your general feeling about the upcoming major?

I'm very pleased about ESL ONE! In general I think it is so damn nice to see so many competitive tournaments going on all the time, with these $250,000 events to top it all. With that said I'm a little bit unhappy about the current situation my team and I find ourselves in.

We made the team without knowing this event would be announced, so when it actually got announced we had to rework our agreement, and with the result that we no were near have enough time for practice. Not only do we have to start from scratch on the standard maps, they also added two completely new maps, and a veto system that forces us to play 6, and not "only" 5 maps during a tournament. It's a shame for us, but we'll try to fight trough it!

Yes, the map pool for ESL One Cologne is quite interesting. Would you care to dig a little deeper into your thoughts about the changes? Have you practiced the "new maps"?

I think as I've said before it's so stupid from Valve's side. I fully understand the thinking process behind all of it, wanting more maps to the map pool, new maps, maps that already are integrated in the MM system. But as you many times see, can good ideas and a good thinking process easily be ruined by a bad, unserious, and absolutely ridiculous way of implementing the maps.

Giving the players 1 month to play two whole new maps is questionable, but when you add up the fact that the veto system has been changed so you have more randomized map picks, and only have 1 ban in a bo3, you also have to play 1 extra map of the standard maps that you beforehand always have removed. Eg. Na`Vi are forced to play both new maps, or one of the new maps and then start playing Nuke.

Just that fact, that the idea to implement the maps like this is bad, they also decided to put in a map that is from current experience not suited for competitive play, and definitely not in a $250,000 tournament. Cobblestone is so bad, like really bad, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks that, while Overpass is decent. It actually seems like a playable map, were Cobblestone just feels so random, so big, and so unfinished. Would love to know if the guy who made the map was having Hide'n'seek in his mind, or actually competitive CS...

Pimp närmast kameran med radarpartnern gla1ve vid sin sida.

You're going to Cologne as a rather fresh team, and when first announcing your lineup, both cajunb and Nico was in it, but lately both of them have sporadically been replaced by smF. How has the inconsistency of a fifth player affected your preparation?

Well as I said before we made this team going in with a deal about a summer vacation. We did not knew anything about the upcoming ESL ONE at the time. Therefore we made some plans, and unfortunately these plans was not changeable when the tournament got announced. Therefore smF have been so nice to fill in for either of them, when they were on their already scheduled vacations/activities.

We had two pracc days in a period of 11⁄2 month during the summer, so the fact that we already knew that, made us new from the beginning that we never will be fully prepared. We started practice around the 5th august, which gives us 7 pracc days to start from the scratch on at least 6 maps, not optimal but still enough time for us to believe that on the right day, we can cause some damage.

You're in the same group as Na'Vi, LC and LDLC, considered to be one of the toughest groups. What's you general thought about the group?

The group itself is really hard, just as all the other groups there is at ESL ONE. The special thing about our group is that we got the lowest highseed, the best middle seed, ourselves, and by far the best non­seeded team at the event. That makes the group so close, cause in the state that CS is in now, at an event with GSL bo1 groups, and a newly, allow me to say stupid, veto system it's so random.

I think every single team can beat each other in our group, and I think that the random map draw between the 3 maps left will get a huge impact on the group results. Just like we want to be, right? Competetive CS:GO in a tournament for $250,000 needs randomized veto system, why not.

Looking at the participant's list, is there any team you feel are slight favorites in this tournament?

NIP, Titan, and Dignitas are my personal favorites. Then comes Vitrus.pro and others that very well can cause some damage and might even win the event. It's so close to call out the 2nd tier team, cause almost every team at the event, could potentially go into a quarter final and play well. I think NIP will have enough motivation to actually claim the major this time. Dignitas have been playing really good lately, so if they get a lucky bracket draw together with some solid play, I could easily see them going into a final, same goes on for Titan.

Pimp med två forna lagkamrater, numer dignitas-rivaler, i bakgrunden.

If you were to reach the grand final of the event, who would you like to face and why?

Dignitas, without a doubt. One thing is that two Danish teams in a major in Germany would be so damn nice, but playing against our by far biggest rivals at such a match would be so cool. Besides that I have always felt that gla1ve and my teams have had the egde over Dignitas (Copenhagen Wolves in the past), so why not battle them out for $100,000!

I'd like to thank you for the interview and wish you the best of luck in Cologne!

Thanks!

ESL One Cologne arrangeras på Gamescom i Köln, Tyskland och har 250 000 dollar, motsvarande 1,7 miljoner kronor, i prispotten. Turneringen drar igång på torsdag morgon och Fragbite kommer givetvis att vara på plats för på-plats-bevakning.

Tidigare ESL One Cologne-intervjuer:

• Xizt (NiP Gaming): "Skönt att vara lite underdogs"

• dupreeh (Dignitas): "We won't underestimate anyone"

• flusha (fnatic): "Har praccat de nya kartorna rätt intensivt"

• Polly (London Conspiracy): "Overpass har definitivt potential"