Ex Counter-Strike pro: «Once you’ve fallen in love with that competitive scene, you’ll never get rid of the feeling.»

Philipp Rüegg

11/4/2024

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

What does Counter-Strike have in common with tennis? Why are there so many Danish CS professionals? And which map is the best? Swiss ex CS pro Mathieu «Maniac» Quiquerez explains all this and more.

In the Counter-Strike esports world, he’s better known as Maniac. Mathieu Quiquerez, the name our Francophone Swiss gamer really goes by, has been playing the most famous of all multiplayer shooters since its launch 24 years ago. When the game developed into a competitive e-sport, he immediately jumped on the bandwagon. With Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, he made the transition from amateur gamer to professional. He competed in numerous tournaments across Switzerland and beyond for around five years. The now 33-year-old ended his career in 2018, but remained loyal to the scene as an analyst. Now he uses his microphone to commentate on matches instead of giving tactical commands.

With the launch of Counter-Strike 2, probably the most important update in the series, there was and still is a lot for Mathieu to talk about. I spoke to him about a quarter of a century of Counter-Strike, how Part 2 is being received in the community and whether he sometimes gets itchy fingers to get back on stage himself.

You’ve been playing Counter-Strike since the very beginning. What are your first memories?

Mathieu «Maniac» Quiquerez, analyst and former professional gamer: I was nine years old when I first encountered Counter-Strike. My cousin, who lived across the street, told me, «Hey, I got this new game. It’s called Half-Life, and there are mods you can play. You have to come and see it». That was one of my first experiences with an online shooter. First-person shooters were a dime a dozen back then, but in Counter-Strike I was suddenly playing against other people. I remember thinking how amazing it was. These characters moving around me are real people. After that, I kept bugging my parents until they bought me my own computer. From the ages of 13 to 17, I played in practically every Swiss tournament.

How have professional players changed over the years?

I’m a big tennis fan. When you watch a tennis match from 30 years ago, you’ll quickly think: «What are those guys doing?» The level of play was much lower. Counter-Strike has gone through the same process – only faster. When I look at professional games I played in 2015, I ask myself: «What the hell are we doing? How are we aiming? What are we trying to achieve?»

Back then, you were on your own. Today’s pro teams have a completely different infrastructure. How does this affect the game?

Today you have analysts, coaches, nutritionists, sports psychologists, all spending their time helping players stay healthy. Ten years ago, this wasn’t the case. We’ve made massive progress in this respect. The game itself has become more tactical. Decisions are made faster, the game is more complicated and there are finer details in gameplay. Younger players today are achieving things that I would never have thought possible when I was younger.

Like what?

There’s this one player, Donk. He’s part of Team Spirit, who recently won the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice. In an interview, he said he played Counter-Strike for the first time when he was four years old. If he really did play with a keyboard and mouse before kindergarten, his brain must’ve formed synapses I never had. Our brain is more malleable and flexible at this age. I think this new generation will continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible. It’s extremely exciting to watch.

Still, isn’t Counter-Strike essentially the same game it was 24 years ago?

Tactical understanding of the game hasn’t really changed. But the level of play is much higher today. Every player who was active in my time and is still active today has put in an incredible amount of work to keep up with the new generation. Today’s kids have access to better hardware right from the start, from mice to PCs. And they invest an incredible number of hours in the game from an early age.

Another interesting aspect is age. It’s often said that esports are only for the young as the ability to react decreases with age. But many players in professional teams are approaching 30, so age doesn’t appear to be a limiting factor.

It’s less to do with physicality, and more with being willing and able to invest the necessary time. If you’re 16, 17 or 18 years old and you’re lucky enough to get a professional contract, you can probably pump as many hours into the game as you want. When you’re 25 or 30, you often want to devote yourself to other things. Maybe you have a family or you want to lead a more balanced life. That’s when things usually start to get complicated.

20 years ago you could win Olympic gold in snowboarding with a 720° backside. Today, that’s not even enough to qualify. Are these differences in Counter-Strike just as stark?

The work that teams do today is at a much higher level than it was in my day. However, the time invested hasn’t changed much. They simply make much better use of it. Everything is optimised, so progress is quicker. My generation figured out the main principles of the game. In doing so, we laid the foundations for future generations to build upon and improve. We were the pioneers. Today you have professional coaching staff that deal with breaking down strategies.

What’s the concrete difference when playing?

The way you move and aim in the game is at a higher level than before. As a result, everything is faster. The game still plays the same, but everything looks and feels faster. When a duel breaks out today, it practically always ends with a headshot. All these small advances increase quality of play.

Can you give a tactical example?

The French Counter-Strike scene had a golden era about eight years ago. On the offensive, or terrorist, side, we followed this formula: four players stood on one side of the map and the fifth person hid. We called it lurking. This single person tried to surprise the other team, while the rest drew attention to themselves. This was very successful and brought many wins and titles. At some point, the others saw through our tactics. They started to use the map to find out where that individual player was. They then also knew where the rest of the team had to be.

And today?

Higher-level teams usually play in groups of two or three. This makes it more difficult to know who’s attacking you. Tactically, teams have become much stronger, much harder to figure out. An important part of Counter-Strike is correctly assessing what your opponent is doing. Teams have become better at hiding their attacks and concealing them until the last moment. That’s definitely a big change compared to my time. On the other hand, you have to be creative with your strategies. If you only repeat what you’ve seen in other games, it’s difficult to surprise others.

What are other success factors for a good team? Communication? Spatial awareness? Good reflexes?

Certainly communication, it’s essential in Counter-Strike. You operate in a so-called Fog of War. What you can’t see isn’t displayed on your radar. Good teams are able to pass on information efficiently so that everyone in the team understands it and can make the right assessment. At a higher level, you give each other flashbangs, cover each other or switch positions to support teammates.

How important is team spirit?

Team spirit is definitely undervalued. You see it in all team sports. Basketball, football, ice hockey, whatever. A good team functions even when you lose, knowing how to bounce back in difficult moments. This is also extremely important in Counter-Strike.

I’ve watched the last few big tournaments. I noticed that many players come from Denmark and Northern Europe. Do you have a guess as to why this is the case?

That region has been producing high-level players for many years. This inspires new generations of fans to watch Danish players win and become professionals themselves. Since Scandinavia had a lot of success a few years ago, I think they can capitalise on that. The entire CIS region, i.e. Russia and Ukraine, produces extremely strong players. Their mentality means they play an incredible amount and have an impressive, almost frightening dedication to the game.

That probably answers my next question. Do you think CS is more interesting to watch today than it was ten years ago?

100 per cent. Ten years ago, I was right in the middle and really enjoyed it. It can hardly be compared with today’s style of play. There are players with different profiles and histories, and there’s also overlapping generations. Professionals from my time are brought together with young players from today. This creates an interesting mix. Counter-Strike is in very good shape and the professional scene is very interesting to follow at the moment.

Let’s talk about Counter-Strike 2. Smoke physics have been completely overhauled. Does it really have as great an influence as Valve repeatedly emphasised?

It probably has little influence on casual gamers. The correct use of grenades requires a lot of synergy between players. Smoke grenades are constantly flying in the e-sports scene. Either someone throws a grenade for his teammates or uses it for himself to charge. This has changed the whole way Counter-Strike is played. For years, smoke was seen as a wall. You can try to cross it, but at your own risk. In 80 per cent of cases, you’d die as soon as you leave the smoke. With these new smoke physics, things have become more flexible. You can play with it because shots and explosions open up holes. Not everyone was happy about it at first, but teams have now accepted it and are working with it. That’s pretty cool.

How did the scene react to Counter-Strike 2? Especially since it replaced Counter-Strike GO.

Everyone was very excited after the first trailers. The hype was massive. When we saw the state of the game in the limited test phase or beta, the mood changed. All the bugs and lack of optimisation didn’t bode well. When Counter-Strike 2 finally came out, many were furious. Especially since some of the problems still hadn’t been fixed. But I think Valve has done a good job overall by updating and improving the game. However, the esports community is still frustrated – due to ongoing problems and the knowledge that the next big tournament is just around the corner.

What are the biggest issues at the moment?

There’s still a clipping problem, for example. If you jump onto an edge, you sometimes get stuck. Movement is one of the most central elements of the game. If you get stuck at a crucial moment and lose a fight as a result, you’ll get angry. If you run alongside another player, there’s also occasional clipping that didn’t exist in CSGO. Many also wish that movement was more fluid. And then, of course, there’s the performance. CS2 requires much better hardware than CSGO. Unless you have an absolute monster of a PC, it’s difficult to run the game at full power.

Don’t the pros still play in low resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio? Then requirements should be within reason.

By now, more people have started using 16:9. Some even play in full HD resolution. However, there are still hardcore professional gamers who play with 4:3 and a distorted picture despite a 16:9 monitor. They’ve been doing this for years and aren’t prepared to adapt.

Were you surprised that Counter-Strike GO was replaced? As an outsider, I assumed that it’d stay around like the old versions.

Not really. Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike Source used to exist side by side. Only CSGO standardised everything. Valve wanted to avoid further splitting the communities. If CSGO was still playable, there’d be different tournaments and everything would be more complicated. They probably wanted to avoid such a situation. Personally, I have no problem with that. I prefer everyone changing over together. Even if we have to suffer for a few months until the game is in good condition.

Which is your favourite map to play?

I’d have liked to say Inferno, it was my favourite map for years. But CS2 completely ruined it. It makes me really sad. I hope Inferno will rise from the ashes and become a cool map again. Until that happens, I’d go for Nuke. I really like seeing the map come up, it offers something for everyone. You can play it in a variety of ways, there’s more than one avenue to tackle it.

You played your last professional tournament six years ago. Do you miss it?

If you’re asking me whether I miss the intensity or the highlights of my professional career, then yes, of course. I miss the camaraderie, travelling together and experiencing all those moments together. I miss the strong emotions, playing on stage and the adrenaline. What I don’t miss are the sacrifices I had to make, the many hours I invested. It was a sensible decision for me to cut back in 2018. I’m happy where I am now, I made the right decision. But if I had a magic wand and could go back to being a professional player for a day or a week, I probably would. Once you’ve fallen in love with that competitive scene, you’ll never get rid of the feeling.

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur. more

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