The first Major on the game Counter Strike organized by Blast takes place in France until May 21st. The final will take place at the Accor Hôtel Arena de Bercy, in Paris.
“Different, original and spectacular” : it is with these words that Robbie Douek, the boss of Blast who is organizing for the first time a Major on the game Counter Strike, in Paris, from May 8 to 21, 2023, described, in September 2022, the event he wanted to create for all French fans. A tournament organized for the first time in France this month, with the support of the City of Paris and the Élysée. The details of our esports consultant from franceinfo, Laure Valée.
franceinfo: Can you clarify a bit for neophytes, what these Counter Strike tournaments actually are?
Laura Valee: This Major, as its name suggests, is a major event on the game Counter Strike. If we could equate the competition on Counter Strike from what you can see in the traditional sport, I think what would make the most sense would be to assimilate it to tennis. Several major events around the world which are hugely followed by fans of Counter Strike.
And this one is really special since it takes place in France. Historically, Counter Strike in France has a large community and a lot of players who have performed over the years. And we have a French team, Vitality, which qualified. So I think people are really looking forward to seeing them on stage.
This is the first time that there is such a big event around Counter Strike in France and we imagine that for Vitality, as a Frenchman, it’s even more special. What does that imply?
Vitality, they’ve been really preparing for this Major and for this event for months. So, for a professional esports team, it simply involves looking for information about opponents, and trying to apply it during training sessions. All this coupled with a healthy lifestyle and mental preparation.
And this is what Dan and Mathieu, alias a apEX and ZywOo, explain before the event: “Our coach, who only works on that, will, for hours, work on them and on their routine, what they usually do, what we can do against them. Afterwards, we have little videos to watch here and there”, explains apEX.
“What’s cool is that the coaches, they give us a hard time. We arrive, we just have to watch a little bit what they do, etc. And in the end, it’s a bit like in the sport, the coaches prepare the videos beforehand and we just have to watch. We also train against teams that are at the tournaments, so not to show too much, but so we create a bit of new stuff to surprise you a bit , but it’s not the basis of the game”, adds ZywOo.
The Vitality, they had a bit of a slump recently. This qualification at the Major, they were waiting for it, they hoped for it?
Vitality, for sure, they are coming back from a year 2022 which was very complicated for them. Many changes of players, within the team. They have managed to stabilize this year and they have really given everything to qualify for this Major, and we can imagine that for French players, for the rest of the players as well, it is very, very important to be able to play in front of their audience. But for Dan and Mathieu, playing in front of an audience that is their own is of particular importance.
And aliases apEX : “I don’t feel stressed at all, or have a bad aura around us, we are focused, we are in our bubble with the team, and we are ready. Mentally, we are ready. Our mental coach has given us good We talk a lot with him, and I think we are ready now to attack the Major.”
Mathieu alias ZywOo : “Il you have to take it just as a pleasure side, and I know that potentially, playing in front of our audience, we’re just going to love it, we’re just going to enjoy the moment. There is no big pressure. It’s just goosebumps and an incredible kiff, when entering, or during the match.”
“Playing in front of the French, making everyone happy. I have a lot of people from my family who will come, and I’m just going to make everyone happy, if I can”, add apEX.
The Blast Major of Counter Strike in Paris, until May 21. The finals in public, next weekend, at the Accor Hotel Arena in Bercy.
