jason ♡ a · @gircsgo
25th Mar 2022 from TwitLonger
Gratitude and Shortcomings
I want to start this by saying I don't really know where I want to start. Or why I am making this in the first place. The impulsive part of my brain is telling me to do this and I abide by that part majority of the time. Although I don't really need a reason to do anything I want to do, I forget that often and need to over explain myself. So to keep this relatively concise, what I want to do is to express my gratitude for, and of my teammates and to acknowledge my shortcomings.
My gratitude is going to be listed into the players I met first and last. So in appropriate order we have:
zebra/zeb: You're our rock, our support, and foundation. You are the most important person on this team for a proper balance, both in-game and out. You are kind almost to a fault and intelligent to no end. Constantly looking to improve yourself is a trait not most found in players, and I'm grateful that someone as naturally talented as you, possesses that characteristic. When I joined this team I looked up to you to teach me how to be a good team mate, a good player, and anything else that you could show me just by playing. And every time I tried to either replicate or improve on. You are the most influential person to me. In all my 8 years of playing this game, I am extremely grateful for you.
LukeK/Brad: You are the hardest on yourself out of everybody except one, but you are the single most impressive IGL we've ever had the chance to play with. Your resolve and tenacity for how you view the game is admirable and most valuable to the team. I haven't played with an IGL as understanding as you. IGLs in my experience either have a good personality but are lazy and will generally keep the same set plays for most of their time. Or it's the other end of the spectrum where the IGL will be a heavy workhorse and try to do everything themselves, sacrificing what it means to be a good teammate/friend on top of it. You are square put in the middle where your great personality bounces well off your hard working characteristics. You have a knack for understanding the game at a high level without the need of putting excessive work in, but as aforementioned, you are hard on yourself to the point where you will exceed the amount of work you need to put in, threefold. My gratitude comes with no incitement. It only pertains to the utmost respect and appreciation for the brilliance of your craft. You're also one of my absolute dearest friends who I hold uncomfortably close to my heart.
Talen/Talen-ted: Before you joined the roster we were stale. Improving inch by inch each season at a snail's pace. When it came time around to start looking for replacements at the start of season 38, I had initial low expectations of you. Old habits of caring about stats too much arose and I thought since you had 60 adr the previous season, you wouldn't be a good tryout. Fast forward to now, to season 40, where we are second seed in Advanced, playing the best CS we've ever played, I was more than wrong. In only 2 seasons we've become a less-than-mediocre Advanced team, to being a contender to make ECL. We have YOU to thank for our exponential growth in such a short period of time, because if not for the system you've brought, we would still be a bottom of the barrel Advanced team. The work you put in, the money you've spent, the friendships you've built, and the time invested, has been miraculous. For lack of a better word. I envy a lot of things about you both in game and out, but at the end of the day, I am just grateful you are my friend. Despite everything you've done for the team. Your friendship means more to me than that. So thank you, Talen. I want to be a man like you one day.
Mellow/Moe/Mo: You are, in my eyes, the best awper in Advanced. I'm struggling to find words that aren't repetitive to what I've said previously about everyone else, I'll be completely honest. I don't want you to think that I'm getting lazy or that I'm just repeating the same thing over and over again. Because you're naturally talented just like zebra. And you constantly try to improve yourself somehow. Somehow some way you always come to practice and you either want to try something new, or you've theory crafted something that you have no shame in sharing. That is a valuable asset to the team. You have an incredible knack for understanding the game at such a high level just like Luke, but on top of that you are hardworking and watch a considerable amount of demos? What more could you want from your awper? That’s not enough? How about getting flashy plays that only an experienced veteran with the awp can hit, flashy, easy, hard, slow, quick, whatever the shot difficulty is, you’re landing that shot all the time. I envy your style of awping because it’s what I like to be/want to be. You’re extremely versatile on a rifle, so much so it’s made me consider you the best rifler on the team. Your talent has no limits and I don’t see a world where you can’t mesh with any other team. You are incredible and I’m looking forward to seeing your progress as a player.
Thanks to everyone for reading this far. If anyone did at least.
It’s 3/24/2022 11:20 PM est.
After a narrowing 2-0 loss against Unjustified Gaming. We are eliminated from Advanced. To not take too much time with indecisiveness so my teammates can maximize finding a new player, I am announcing that I am taking a break from competitive CS:GO. The game I’ve loved for the past 8 years. I wish I could say I’ve played it everyday, but due to involuntary matters I was forced to take breaks from it. Who knows where I would have been if I was never forced into those breaks. Maybe I’d be further, maybe I’d be more behind. All I can say for certain is that the path I’ve taken brought me to some really cool people. People I can call my friends and people I can look up to. I’m extremely grateful for all the friends I’ve made from Season 38 until now. Thank you everyone for taking the time and talking to me, thank you all for supporting me with my friend’s passing, thank you to every friend I made at the lans, thank you to my teammates and to Coastal, to RLewis, to Angel, and a special thanks to my girlfriend Amber for watching literally every single league match since Season 35. I couldn’t have gotten this far without all of you and I’m happy to have made it this far. All I want to do now is to focus on my mental health as that’s the main reason I want to take a break. I’ll still be around playing pugs and what not! Don’t be afraid to ask :)