siuhy: I'm not focusing on reaching bigger teams
In an interview with Pley, siuhy opens up about his first years in competitive CS:GO, how he’s not concentrating on getting picked up by a better team, and much more. We have also asked launders to give his take on the young and promising captain.
Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek already has an impressive résumé in CS:GO despite his modest age.
In recent years, the 20-year-old Pole has managed to build a strong reputation as one of the most promising and hyped in-game leaders in Counter-Strike, having led a super successful MOUZ NXT squad to multiple academy trophies and gained two impressive Major qualifications with GamerLegion.
And as this article is being written, siuhy and GamerLegion find themselves competing at the last-ever CS:GO Major in Paris, where they yesterday secured a spot in the Legends Stage.
The perfect path
Before the French Major, we got the chance to speak with siuhy about his development and journey thus far in CS:GO, and how it has helped shape the person and captain he is today.
- I think over the last three years, I have gained almost, you could say, the perfect path or the perfect experience that was needed for me to be in this situation. I came from starting off in Izako Boars, which was my first professional team. That's where I grew as a young player. Then I went to MOUZ NXT where I had the opportunity to play with really good players, siuhy says and continues:
- It was my first time being an IGL and growing from there, where I was also a sort of like mentor inside the team later on because I was the captain and I had to lead maybe younger players as well. And that also taught me something.
Early success with GamerLegion
In September 2022, siuhy joined GamerLegion after having represented MOUZ NXT for 14 months.
- In GamerLegion I moved from being limited from playing Majors to now being able to compete against the bigger teams at Major as well… and then to go out and make it through to the Major the first two times was just incredible.
- Also for GamerLegion, who was not really on that level yet, but I feel like the changes they made, bringing in Freddy [acoR] and Nico [keoz], and I made a huge difference. We just clicked well together and the results showed instantly in the squad.
- The way I have grown is my strength because I don't think a lot of players get this chance to grow like this, to gain experience this fast and to have opportunities like I did. So I'm really thankful for that. And maybe that is the reason why, I'm in this position today and that's what made me the player that I am on the server. It has built my playstyle.
A rare species in modern day CS:GO?
When looking at the statistics, siuhy appear to differ a bit from other in-game leaders. Because it’s a common sight to see IGL’s and main callers among the lowest-rated on the server map after map. However, that’s not the case for siuhy as he poses a strong 1.06 rating throughout 2023, outfragging two of his teammates.
siuhy explains it in this way:
- Actually, that's an interesting topic because whenever I was not an IGL, I don't think I was performing as well and as consistently as I would be right now. I think once I became an IGL, I stopped focusing on the little things like; you know, trying to perform good for the team whenever you're a star player or like whenever you're an entry fragger you want to always have good entry stats, right?
- Instead, I focus on giving my team the best position every time. And whenever I focus on this, my fragging ability, my performance and me being impactful just comes naturally to me. I really like it this way, and that's why I feel comfortable in this role.
“I'm not focusing on reaching bigger teams”
siuhy does not dream or focus about a big transfer in the near future, he explains when asked about it.
- My only goal is to continue growing as an individual. I'm not focusing on reaching bigger teams, higher rankings or stuff like this. I prefer to grow as an individual and then see where this brings me. Right now, it's working. As I said, the last three years have been really good for my individual improvement, and I just hope to continue growing in this exact way, siuhy states.
A very young IGL
Being only 20 years old and the youngest player on GamerLegion doesn’t bother siuhy at all. In his opinion, he has a track record and experience to back him up.
- I don't personally think about it. I don't look at it as a bad thing or anything. Obviously, I think it's a common thing that whenever you have a young leader sometimes, you're sceptical or hesitant to listen to him or truly believe in him. Because maybe you have a more experienced player on the team who might think that he knows a little bit more. But that has not been the case in any of the teams I played in. Every team I went into, I feel like I got the trust that I needed. And it's proven that it works. So I don't think that is an issue in our team. And it's really nice to see because I know this would be an issue for maybe other players around the world.
Do you think your success at Mouse and NXT helped on that because you won nearly everything you touched on that team?
- Yeah, for sure. It created a huge fundamental mental base for me of who I can be and what I can achieve more. We were winning those academy leagues pretty confidently; We had a good roster, and we were able to even fight against the bigger teams back in MOUZ NXT. This created a completely different mindset for me moving on, where I felt like I was ready to compete even against bigger teams and in bigger tournaments.
A lot of praise from expert
For this article about siuhy, we reached out to the renowned caster and expert Mohan "launders" Govindasamy for his take on the young IGL. Here launders quickly expressed his devotion and admiration towards him.
- siuhy is my favorite lower-ranked IGL. While he was at MOUZ NXT, he was the best IGL in the WePlay Academy League, where he at that time showed what he could do with a lot of the players that ended up splitting and going on to better teams, but he sort of got left behind.
- His last RMR run with GamerLegion was fantastic, this RMR run they did it again and he did it with players like iM, keoz and isak – players where people can’t name any of their big results. And also acoR, who people never thought we would see again. So he does a lot with any teams that he has.
launders on siuhy’s strengths
- I think he’s a very smart IGL. I have listened to his comms, and he sort of reminds me of every great IGL. He has very clear comms that really stand out, and even in the maps where MOUZ NXT had a lot of people talking at once, you could always whether it was siuhy talking, which is a very underrated skill. He got the calmness, he understands the map really well, and he can move pieces around the map without sacrificing tons of advantages all at once, which most IGL’s can’t do.
Could you see him make the jump and be picked up by a better team in the near future?
- I think so. There are not many good IGLs in the game, and there are a lot of teams questioning the IGLs of their rosters, and I think that siuhy absolutely is one of the best options here. He will get a chance, launders round off.
launders is clearly impressed by siuhy
You can watch siuhy and GamerLegion in action at BLAST.tv Paris Major tomorrow at 11.30 (CET), where they will take on the CIS giants from NAVI in the opening round of the Legends Stage.
