After ITB's first victory at the CCT Online Finals #4, bo3.gg reporter sat down with Joey "CRUC1AL" Steusel to discuss recent turmoil in the British-based organization roster, the adjustment to a new CS2 game, and his private life.
You've had your first victory in the CCT Online Finals. Congratulations. You were a hair away from being eliminated, so tell me about the experience in the event.
We got our first win, but it has been difficult because we had to play with a stand-in, which always makes it hard. We were just trying to prepare well for our games, nothing more.
There's an elephant in the room regarding the very short-term change in your roster. Qikert just joined the team in September, but he's already out. Can you tell me more about the decision to bench him?
He was only on a loan deal, and I'm not sure how much I can reveal, but we are now playing with a stand-in instead. I can't say much more than that.
So, will Qikert not be back?
No, I don't think so, no. I liked playing with him. It was just a loan deal, so it was out of my hands. Obviously, we needed an IGL, and he tried to do that job, and I thought he was really good at it.
In this tournament, you are instead playing with bodyy, meaning that you almost have a French majority on the team with misutaaa. How does that affect communication?
It's fine. Bodyy's English is really good. It's just difficult because we haven't practiced with him. It's just another stand-in. We're just trying our best and trying to prepare for the games.
So, even outside of the moves with the players at Into the Breach, your coach (Juve) has also returned; what was that all like as players? It was always intended that Juve's leaving would only be temporary, right?
Juve just needed some private time off, but he returned quicker than expected, which is good.
Was trace similar as a coach? What were the differences between him and Juve?
We didn't have trace for long, but they're both good coaches. In the end, we only needed one coach, and Juve was ready to return, and we trusted him. We were with him at the Major, so we know what he brings to the team.
How are you adjusting to CS2 right now? How difficult was the transition?
I kinda like CS2, you know? It's refreshing. There are still a lot of bugs, but it's getting better with each update, and they're trying to improve. The game is going in the right direction. We still need bugs fixed because you still can't boost sometimes, but at least we're going in the right direction, and as long as they keep patching and updating the game, I feel good about it, and we can have a lot of fun with it.
What change would you make to CS2 yourself?
I would reduce the peeker's advantage. It's pretty OP right now. Also, you can't boost properly right now; you just keep sliding about, and that also needs to be fixed.
Can you tell me more about peeker's advantage? It's been all over Reddit, and everyone has been speaking about it, but can you explain why it's so bad right now compared to CS:GO?
Honestly, I'm not a developer, so I don't know really why it's happening why it is. I just know that it's happening, it's broken, and it needs to be fixed.
Do you have a countdown in your head for when you'll start to enjoy the game rather than coming to terms with the fact that it still needs time to be good?
No, I'm still enjoying playing it. They have some obvious things to fix, but that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying it.
At the end of CS:GO, you went on that immense run at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, from the Challengers all the way to playoffs. After that, there have been quite a few changes to the team. Can you tell me more about your expectations regarding how much the roster needs to regain stability and bounce back to that kind of Major form?
We just need to get stability and stop switching or making roster moves. Now we're playing with a stand-in again, and it's not helping any of us or the team.
Does it feel underwhelming? It's been only half a year since Paris, and now you're back at square one.
Yeah, exactly. We've been playing with stand-ins and not with full fives; it's been a difficult time. We just have to get a stable team and try to bounce back.
Do you ever want to get a break from all of it yourself?
I just want to win games again, you know? it's just hard to be stable if you're constantly changing and playing with stand-ins; it's hard to get consistent results. We just have to focus on getting the right team and players in and start grinding.
Is it hard not to get affected by all the changes around you?
Not really. I focus on myself and my team and grinding tier-two CS online tournaments, hoping we qualify and do well in tier-one tournaments when we get the opportunity.
You're from the Netherlands, a nation without many Counter-Strike pros. Can you tell me more about the Netherlands CS community or even the esports community there?
Yeah, I wouldn't say esports is that big in the Netherlands, but we're also just not that big of a country, so we don't have that many players.
How did you get into the pro scene? Was it just playing online games until you got noticed?
Yeah, basically. I was playing online, and then I got noticed, and then I went from team to team. We also used to have World Cups, and I played for Team Netherlands back in the day when chrisJ was still playing. Other than that, I played, got noticed, joined a team, and now fast forward, and we're here.
You've changed teams quite a lot, but what stands out is that you started playing in 2015 with Team Infused. Can you remember your first games? How did you feel?
I started playing for Infused, and I went to my first international LAN in the UK. Then I played in different UK teams, eventually went to Splyce, which was an American team, and then back over to Benelux.
In the earlier points in your career, you had to combine having a job or education with esports; how was that?
Yeah, I used to go to school, and I was playing in teams basically for fun at that point. When I went full-time, it was around 2017 when I joined Splyce.
So you've never done any work outside of esports?
No.
What did you do in school?
I studied IT. It wasn't really anything crazy; I just went from school to professional CS, and that was it. I'm still playing.
What's the biggest drama been for you in your career? An emotional high or low outside of Paris
I mean, Paris was the craziest moment. It was just joy. I don't think anyone would have guessed we would make it that far. Drama though? I don't think there was any crazy drama.
What a boring career [laughs]. Good for you, though.
Yeah [laughs], it's why I've always been around.
It's great that nothing cruel has happened to you in your career; your story is just one of a hard-working guy who did the right thing and made it to the Major playoffs.
Of course, it's a great feeling, and you're still enjoying the moment because you made it that far. You've already succeeded way more than you had already expected.
How was it for your parents and people like that?
It was crazy; they came to the arena to see me and watch me, and it was the first time they
did that.
So it was the first time they saw you live?
Yeah, and the first time in an arena full of people, it was crazy for them, and they didn't know what they were seeing. It was unbelievable. Also, for me, it was crazy. I'd like to do it again.
Can you tell me the first thing your parents said to you after the game?
They said they were proud of me and that I should be proud of myself.
I was looking at your Twitter, and you don't really tweet that much; that being said, you do seem to be Into the Breach's biggest fan with all of those retweets.
[laughs] Yeah, I'm just not really big into social media. I don't really like to be all over it.
What's the thing about you that fans don't know about that you would like to share?
That's a hard one... maybe before the game, I always wash my hands. They have to be clean. That might not have been what you wanted to know. [laughs]
Wow, I might just have to title this 'the boring interview with boring CRUC1AL' [laughs]
Yeah, you might. [laughs]
Where did you get the name CRUC1AL from?
Honestly, do you want to know the boring answer? Because it is boring.
No, I want the non-boring answer.
But it is boring because it was 15 years ago, and I asked someone, 'What do you think is a cool name?' he said, 'Crucial,' so I changed the 'I' to a '1'.
So it wouldn't be that boring?
Yeah, exactly.
What's the deal with the number one being in people's nicknames?
I don't know, I just thought it looked cooler when I was younger.
Well, you've had a very stable career. There's been no drama, upsets, or cruelty; you went professional straight out of school. And that's good. Last question: what did you buy after the breakthrough at the Major?
Nothing crazy, probably. I did recently buy a new PC, though, which is cool.
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