CS:GO journeyman Audric ‘JACKZ’ Jug spoke to Dexerto about regaining his confidence after enjoying for Vitality, the problems with HEET and what he’s in search of in his subsequent problem.
“I nonetheless know the best way to click on on the server,” JACKZ tells Dexerto.
For JACKZ, enjoying for Vitality in ESL Professional League was the chance to show simply that. Not solely to himself however to everybody.
4 and a half years in the past, his profession lastly took off when he was signed by G2 Esports. He was 26 on the time. By that time, most gamers have reached the autumn of their careers; he, alternatively, was simply getting began.
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JACKZ had first two years at G2 however his impression began to fade when he was pushed to a peripheral function on the server a number of months into Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković’s stint as captain. In the summertime of 2022, after a run of blended outcomes, JACKZ was given permission to discover his choices and finally signed with HEET.
On paper, it appeared like an ideal vacation spot for JACKZ, who was reuniting along with his previous teammates from DBL PONEY, the crew he had represented as a stand-in two years earlier throughout a quick interval on G2’s bench. However he struggled to carry out with the crew and introduced the connection with HEET to an early finish 5 months after his arrival, amid stories that the group owes him a payment within the area of $75,000 associated to his buyout from G2.
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Together with his inventory at an all-time low, JACKZ seized his massive probability with each palms.
“I noticed some individuals on the web say, ‘Oh, it’s the stand-in buff. He received’t have strain. It is going to be simple for him to kill,’” JACKZ says. “I don’t agree with that.
“With HEET, I used to be not adequate, you realize? I used to be not good in any respect. I believed that if I couldn’t carry out with Vitality at this occasion round good gamers, individuals would simply say that I used to be washed up and completed. I performed to be assured in myself and to carry out.”
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JACKZ performed a few of his finest Counter-Strike in years whereas filling in for Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen in Malta, averaging a 1.26 HLTV score and 1.35 Influence as Vitality topped their group after defeating Grayhound, OG and FaZe Clan (who would go on to win the match and the Intel Grand Slam).
Vitality captain Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire switched to a quicker model that suited JACKZ completely and gave him the sort of freedom that he had been longing for years. By his personal admission, he merely performed to kill.
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“apEX put me in good roles,” he explains. “I used to be taking area, being energetic on the T aspect, calling for flashes, doing the peeks that I wished to do. That is what I didn’t have at G2 in direction of the tip and what I didn’t have at HEET. I used to be on the extremities. I used to be B on Dust2, I used to be B monster on Overpass, I used to be B on Historic.
“All this stuff aren’t Jackie. You don’t put Donnarumma, the goalkeeper, in assault. However that’s what occurred to me.”
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Skipping dessert
Regardless of some standout performances, JACKZ wouldn’t get to see motion within the playoffs. Again from parental depart, dupreeh reclaimed his beginning spot forward of the quarter-final match with ENCE, which Vitality misplaced 2-1.
JACKZ admits to feeling a way of disappointment after lacking out on the playoffs, and likens the scenario to being denied a dessert after going out for a meal. After such a promising begin, he noticed it as the right alternative to lastly get a tier-one trophy underneath his belt and break his streak of grand last losses. (G2 had been on the dropping finish of title deciders at IEM Katowice 2020, IEM Cologne 2021, PGL Main Stockholm 2021 and IEM Katowice 2022.)
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However on the similar time, he understood the crew’s reasoning. Getting the crew again in sync earlier than the European Regional Main Rating, the decisive qualifier for the BLAST.television Paris Main, needed to take priority over the mere risk of successful Professional League.
“An important for them is the Main they usually wanted to have some play [time] with dupreeh,” he says. “However yeah, I used to be a bit unhappy.”
JACKZ was unhappy that he didn’t get to play within the Professional League playoffs
JACKZ spent only some days with crew, hardly sufficient time to get a full sense of their lingering points. However he insists that the ambiance within the crew was actually good and that everybody is raring to “transfer on and be taught from their errors”.
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It’s onerous to overstate how necessary the BLAST Paris Main is for Vitality. Greater than a 12 months after the crew turned worldwide with the high-profile additions of Main-winning trio Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif, Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen and head coach Danny ’zonic’ Sørensen, they’ve just one trophy to point out for his or her efforts.
Since Vitality entered CS:GO in late 2018, they’ve reached the knockout levels in solely two out of 5 Main appearances. They couldn’t transcend the primary spherical of the playoffs in both match.
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With the subsequent Main happening in Vitality’s yard, loads of strain can be on the crew to ship.
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“Once I left the crew, I instructed them, ‘Please inform me you’re going to play [at the Major] together with your coronary heart. It’s so f***ing particular for us. You can’t fail. I don’t need to put strain on you, however you can’t fail,’” JACKZ says. “The crew was created nearly from scratch to carry out on the Paris Main.”
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Regardless of Vitality carrying an enormous burden of accountability, JACKZ expects the crew to do properly in Paris, pointing to FURIA’s deep run on the IEM Rio Main as proof that the help of the house crowd can present a big enhance.
For JACKZ, Vitality should recover from a psychological hurdle to change into an elite aspect and contend for titles repeatedly. He noticed the identical factor occur whereas he was with G2, who’re at present the No.1 crew on the earth and just lately received the BLAST Premier World Closing and IEM Katowice.
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In response to him, the road that separates success and failure could be very skinny.
“We choked,” he says, laughing. “It was possibly a meme. However on the finish of the day, it actually was a psychological problem, they usually wanted to vary one thing. HooXi has completed a very good job, and jks is stable as f*** proper now, however it’s extra like generally it’s essential open a distinct door to carry out like that. I’m actually, actually comfortable for them.”
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JACKZ says that he has agreed to be Vitality’s substitute participant for the Paris Main if the crew qualifies for the match. However barring a last-minute setback, he received’t get to play, lacking the first-ever Main in his house nation and the ultimate Valve-sponsored occasion in CS:GO.
“I really feel so unhappy,” he says. “I wished to be on this one actually badly. It’s a dream for us to have a Main in France and to show to those that the French scene shouldn’t be actually lifeless.”
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What lies forward for JACKZ
As he prepares for the subsequent chapter of his profession, JACKZ is working onerous to remain in form. He’s additionally brushing up on his English, admitting that his poor grasp of the language was a limiting issue whereas at G2 (one thing that the even group poked enjoyable at).
A few groups have sounded him out since Professional League (together with one prime 12 aspect, he says), however he received’t decide earlier than the tip of the Main cycle. He’s taking his time and ensuring that he chooses the proper mission, the place he can play to his potential.
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“HEET was a mistake from me,” he says. “I really like all the blokes. Once I got here into the crew, I used to be like, ‘Okay, guys, I don’t need to disturb your system. I’m man. I’m going to adapt. No worries.’
“This was an enormous mistake on my half. I have to have extra confidence in myself. I’m a tier-one participant and if I need to carry out, I have to have my roles. I can’t be placed on the aspect, simply ready or performing some sh*t I don’t like.
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“For me, an important is to not be too sort to individuals. I’m going to be good however I simply need to have my roles. And I do know that if I’ve my roles I can get the job completed.”
On the subject of his reported cash dispute with HEET, JACKZ says solely that his agent is dealing with the matter.
JACKZ, who turns 31 in July, is aware of that some within the scene may use his age in opposition to him however he hopes that his Professional League performances had been sufficient to show his doubters improper. On the similar time, he continues to exhibit the sort of ardour that one sometimes associates with a younger participant — the results of being a late bloomer and having a “distinctive” profession.
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“I nonetheless have this hearth in my hand,” he notes.
After so many heartbreaks, he has his sights on lastly lifting a trophy.
“Yeah, if I can get that, it might be good,” he says. “You by no means know what the longer term holds, however yeah, one trophy at the very least. I feel that, after all of the finals I’ve performed, I deserve one trophy.”