The mainstream CS press are lying to you! They don’t get the facts rights! Thankfully, I have taken it upon myself to set the record straight by reporting things in the most factual, integrity-y, accurate way. Here is the real news from Day 2 of the Major: 

HEROIC confirm status as most moral organisation by granting everyone their 3-0 pick: 

The Norwegian organisation battered everyone to secure every reasonable person one of their Pick ‘Ems. Their reputation-building came from a new year’s resolution last year. The org’s owners stated that they did some self-reflection following the end of 2024, and still racked by the guilt of facilitating the creation of ‘Stabbi’ decided to act as ethically as possible going forward. The organisation put this into action fleecing as much money as possible from the Saudi-backed Falcons for the sale of Teses, Kyxsan, and Degster. 

I caught up with their IGL LNZ to discuss their recent successes: “When we saw that so many people put us 3-0 that is when we knew we had to deliver, it was just the right thing to do. I hope that we have shown enough in this stage to not be put 0-3 in stage 2 but if we are. We will do what the people need.”  

When asked how he leads their red-hot rifler tn1R he added: “Andrey doesn’t actually speak a word of English, early on I tried to learn some Russian but it turned out to be easier to let him do his own thing. I make sure to sit beside him and nod and fist bump when he says stuff between rounds. Make him feel included.”  

I ended our interview by asking what his and Heroic’s plans were for the future. “Obviously, we’re donating sAw and SunPayus to G2 after the major as their performances show they clearly need them more than we do. I know that the organisation are suffering a lot mentally due to their own inability to make good roster decisions and I thought we could help.” 

Exclusive: INS discusses FlyQuest’s life-cycle, Regali, and cultural fits 

HEROIC won convincingly despite letting a map slip against Australian squad FlyQuest, I talked things FlyQuest post-game with INS: 

INS: “Hi mate, how’s it going mate” 

“Hello. Your team won 2 games yesterday, yet lost today, discuss.” 

INS: “The thing is mate, when you play in an org like this, you have like uh a life cycle, like usually we win the first two, go 2-0, because it lets us lose the next 3 in a close fashion and like really let the fans down. It’s kinda our DNA. If we weren’t disappointing, we wouldn’t be a true Australian team.” 

“Interesting, has it been hard keeping that ethos after bringing in a European AWPer in Regali?” 

INS: “Nah not at all mate. We knew from his time on OG that he was used to mediocrity [Editorial note: Remove if OG playing well], so he’s fitted right in. Vex[ite] is the worrying one. I am not sure he fits the culture. As you can probably see from his performances he’s not exactly sticking to the plan. Playing too well. Trying too hard. Thankfully though he went 5-17 on map 3 against Heroic so there’s still hope for him.” 

“Lastly, you start every answer with exactly one use of the word mate then no more. Why?” 

INS: “Contractual obligations” 

Confusion in media zone as Biguzera mistakenly gives exit interview: 

Following, the 0-3 games yesterday I was confused to meet Biguzera in the media zone instead of art and hampus. The PaiN gaming IGL seemed confused that they had not finished last at this tournament, as they had gotten so used to it. He looked slightly reassured after being told his team would have a chance to go 0-3 in stage 2 of the tournament. 

Lynn Vision vs Nemiga sets new major viewership record: 

The 1-1, Best of 1 game was watched by a record 9,000,000 viewers in China, with 11 in the rest of the world breaking a record low set at the first major in 2013. This was even more impressive given that the game that previously held the record n!faculty vs Xapso was played before the invention of live streaming so only had in-person viewers. Nemiga claim victory, though these allegations remain unconfirmed by admins. 

Players react to the end of the best of ones: 

Following the last best of 1s of this first stage I caught up with both Chr1zN and Attacker following OG’s destruction of Tyloo to discuss the format:  

Chr1zN: “The issue is that we’ve not played any bo1s at any big lans this year, so it is a new environment for us.” 

“But you haven’t played any big  lans this year” 

Chr1zN: “…” 

Attacker: “We are grateful that they are over, we were unfortunate to play 3 but at least we won’t have to play any more until the Budapest major!” 

“You do realise that if you qualify for stage 2, even stage 3, you will have to play more Bo1’s?” 

Attacker: “Of course! Just given our recent performances vs NRG and now OG I am just trying to be realistic. We will obviously not qualify because we are terrible.” 

Quote of the day: br0 on North American Counter-Strike: 

"When people play such shit CS it’s impossible to play well, you have no fucking clue they are doing because none of it makes sense. RESPECT A SMOKE FOR ONCE FOR FUCKS SAKE!” br0 on his poor performance in the NA derby vs CoL 

True Story Corner – Ence have issues with AntyVirus: 

Everything you have read is of course 100% true. This story, however, is in fact 200% true. Ence raised “integrity concerns” about their opponents M1 in an online match in the esteemed: “YGames Pro Series Seaon 5”. (https://x.com/ENCE/status/1930273519352357142). One of their opponents being called 'AntyVirus' looks almost too good to be true. His performances, however, are anything but: https://x.com/cl_fisico/status/1930297697249968592 

If you notice any factual inaccuracies in any of the stories presented here please get in touch, I have tried my hardest to ensure that everything is 100% correct but as we all know mistakes can creep in!