Tech Girl Talks

North American CS fans have had their hearts broken a lot. Complexity's current performance adds to that heartache. In this episode  @launders  joins  @Thooorin  & I to chat about Complexity's current struggles. We look at the decline of the North American scene because of factors like iBUYPOWER match-fixing scandal, the impact of COVID-19 and the migration of players to Valorant. We a...

Here's a whole new SELL ME THIS PRO and EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT.  @BDogCS  and I are doing a special episode to focus in on the results (and drama) surrounding the European RMR Closed Qualifiers for the Perfect World Shanghai Major. We touch on the PARIVISION cheating scandal, the weird on again off again transfer of r3salt between Aurora and 9 Pandas and focus in on the teams who didn't m...

It's the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne recap and we've got A LOT to cover. What a vibe having  @RLewisReports  join  @Thooorin  and I to recap the entire tournament. We talk about the Vitality and NAVI final, the impact of MR12 in CS2 and the overall performance of the likes of Liquid, Spirit, FaZe, G2 and SAW. There is a LOT crammed in. But certified banger, guaranteed. 00:00 Introduction...

The slow burner Pro!  @BDogCS  & I discuss rifler AW from DMS. Part of the conversation includes taking a look at the current state of competitive Counter-Strike in the CIS region and the rise of young talent. We analyse how AW performed with his team at their first LAN: The skyesports event recently held. You can find BDog in X: http://www.x.com/BDogCS 00:00 Introduction 01:41 DMS 03:16 The r...

CS2 team Sangal has dominated the Tier 2 online space, winning back-to-back tournaments. Their IGL is non-other than LNZ, who you may remember from NIP awhile back. Sangal recently qualified for ESL Pro League Season 20 so it seemed like a good time to focus in on LNZ and why he may be a pro that has shown resilience, growth and the potential to re-enter the Tier 1 Counter-Strike space.  @BDogCS ...

Ugly Haters come here!  @DonaCSGO  joins  @Thooorin  and I to talk about THAT X argument with Launders and criticising pro players online. The conversation starts with an explanation about what happened and expands into the role content creators and broadcast talent play in the competitive Counter-Strike community. We talk about A LOT of things in this one and share a ton of personal anecdotes. Th...

All new episode of Feed The Trolls is here.  @Thooorin  & I are joined by Allan Hender to take a look at the drop in performance from two of Counter-Strike's biggest teams: Vitality & FaZe. We explore the expectations placed on both these lineups, the constant roster change discussions which plague the scene and the possible fixes to the drop in form from both teams. Find Thorin on X:...

SELL ME THIS PRO is a show where  @BDogCS  & I discuss up and coming pro players in the competitive CS2 scene. In this episode we're chatting about the young Brazilian Counter-Strike player snow. We chat about the criteria BDog uses to look for a player, with a focus on consistency, longevity and the ability to perform under pressure. We also examine the South American competitive scene an...

@Thooorin  & I are joined by  @fl0m  to discuss the recent changes in Team Liquid's CS2 roster. We go through all the variables which make it difficult to pinpoint the cause of any potential failure. The addition of an unknown player, ultimate, raises questions about the org's decision-making process. We weigh in on Twistzz desire to IGL and what impact this could have on his career. T...

Welcome to the first episode of SELL ME THIS PRO. It's a show where  @BDogCS  and I discuss up-and-coming players in the competitive Counter-Strike scene and evaluate their potential. In the first episode we focus on two players: Ultimate, recently picked up by Team Liquid, and ICY, who gained attention at the PGL Copehagen Major before signing to Cloud9. We chat about the strengths and weakne...

In this episode of Feed the Trolls, Sam and  @Thooorin  are joined by vENdetta to discuss the new Cloud09 roster. vENdetta does not rate the lineup. We discuss the potential trajectory of the team and what the addition of HeavyGod and ICY could bring. We then jump into the history of C9 and the troubles the CS team has faced since winning the Boston Major in 2018. The recent departure of key playe...

hooXi is out and.. Snax is in? WTF. G2 announced Snax as IGL for their CS team, joining new signing malbsMd. In this episode of Feed The Trolls  @vooCSGO  joins  @Thooorin  and I to try figure out what the hell the G2 management were thinking. We chat about Snax and his impressive past playing career, the potential of malbs and how it might all fall to pieces in this new roster. We touch on the ro...

We're not talking about Snax, G2 or HooXi for this one. Instead we're taking about MOUZ!  @KingDempz  joins  @Thooorin  and I to discuss the performance of MOUZ in 2024 so far. Despite their success and consistent performance MOUZ are often overlooked in conversations about the best teams in Counter-Strike. The team is young and talented but seem to struggle on the big stage and have a rep...

At the start of 2024 Team Liquid's lineup of YEKINDAR, NAF, skullz, Twistzz and cadiaN seemed to be a winner. A few months in rumblings began that IGL cadiaN was on his way out and fans were surprised... and a little bit shocked. Fast forward to the player break: cadiaN is gone, skullz is heading to FURIA and coach zews has been let go as well. YNk joins  @Thooorin  and I to talk about what we...

NAVI's decision to form an international roster around a year ago was met with some concern. The team faced language barriers and cultural differences. With the move to CS2 NAVI also saw super star S1mple take a break which raised concerns about the future. However, despite most people labelling it a "fluke" NAVI's CS team would go on to win the 2024 PGL Copenhagen Major. In this...

Complexity wins the whole damn thing. Du Preeh pops off for Falcons. The Aurora manager shouts insults at ELiGE...  @Darfmike  and I have got together to chat about all the best bits of ESL Challenger Jönköping 2024 and to see how our predictions panned out from the BEFORE video we did. We'd love to hear if your predictions panned out as well so be sure to let us know in the comments. 0:00 Int...

At the end of May 2024 Valve announced some changes to the qualification and regional slot distribution for the Shanghai Major being hosted by Perfect World at the end of the year. The trolls were not impressed with the European, North American and South American open qualifiers for the RMRs being done away with... but it made little sense because the changes seemed... positive maybe? Complexity&#...

This is a new Counter-Strike series called CHALLENGED. DarfMike and I realised we work the same events but never get to work together, so we made a thing so we could. CHALLENGED is a series focused around the ESL Challenger Events for 2024. We’ll do a pre and post event video showcasing what to expect from the teams competing and then what we got wrong about those expectations. The first episode i...

After months of question marks concerning their performance, G2 beat Vitality in the finals of IEM Dallas 2024, with a stand in. HooXi is attending his sister’s wedding, Major winner Stewie2K who hasn’t competed in ages, stands in. The final is arguably the best CS2 final of the year. So where to go for G2 now? Were the pundits like Kassad who called for HooXi’s head correct? Should the IGL be rem...

Team Falcons was meant to be the incredible Counter-Strike super team. Rumours flowed as Falcons was touted as the Saudi Arabian CS2 team with deep pockets and a list of legendary players were linked with signing to the organisation after they announced Major winning coach Zonic had agreed to move to Falcons from Team Vitality. However, the lineup never materialised and now the team consisting of...

The Heroic Astralis drama that dominated social media and HLTV forums started a soap opera in competitive counter-strike. Stavn and Jabbi joined Astralis to create a “super team” which never got off the starting line. Recently, the Danish move was to drop IGL BlameF and announced that multiple Major winning MVP dev1ce would take up IGL duties. The announcement was met with shock and concern by the...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...

This is a special short series dissecting the Business of Gaming and Esports in South Africa. Hosted by Sam “Tech Girl” Wright , an esports broadcaster and desk host who was raised in South Africa but now works primarily in Europe on Counter-Strike events, the series targets agencies and business people looking to enter the gaming and esports space in South Africa. It is a unique and developing ma...