Gaming
Esports
Red Bull Flick duos look back on 10 years of CS:GO
The 10th anniversary of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is upon us. We ask some of the most memorable Red Bull Flick duos how their CS:GO journey started.
Missing an anniversary can land you in some serious heat, but don't worry – we're here to remind you that the 10th anniversary of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is officially here. First released back in 2012, CS:GO has captured our hearts and minds for a decade now, spawning countless professional esports careers and acting as a gateway to the world of first-person shooters.
The game is also the focal point of Red Bull Flick, an intense 2v2 tournament played on bespoke, unique maps. From the first iteration in 2019 to the upcoming 2022 Copenhagen Invitational, Red Bull Flick has encouraged players to push CS:GO to its limits and really see what the game can do. In doing so, the competition repeatedly proves the strength of this decade-old game.
Red Bull Flick also gives an opportunity for new talent to rise to the top, pitting amateur duos against the pros as the world looks on. After a year of fighting for the top spot, these pairs have already proven themselves in national, regional or international online qualifiers. They must now take on the esports professionals they so admire.
In celebration of this important anniversary, we've rounded up some of the most memorable duos from Red Bull Flick over the years – including this year – and asked them what about CS:GO keeps them coming back for more.
A gateway to gaming
Many professional esports stars cite CS:GO as the game that got them into gaming. Its importance cannot be understated in the world of gaming and esports. What makes our Red Bull Flick duos so special is their decision to stick with the game that started it all.
Nemanja 'huNter-' Kovač, a professional CS:GO player of G2 Esports fame, is often referred to as 'NiKo's cousin', given that his cousin Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač is his team-mate and introduced him to the game. For the pair, CS:GO was a gateway into gaming and a lifestyle they decided on at a young age. "I have always been a big fan of CS, even before I started playing CS:GO. I used to watch all the games NiKo played before I got into it myself," says huNter. "Counter-Strike is the oldest, most special and in my opinion the best game without any competition, especially when it comes to the viewer experience."
The 2v2 format creates an intense atmosphere for both pros and amateurs
© Esben Zollner Olesen/Red Bull Content Pool
For NiKo, the experience of playing CS:GO came at an even more formative age. "I started watching CS very early in my life, when I was five or six years old, and I got attached to the game from the very beginning. I kept playing the game ever since, and at the time, I was always watching the top teams play. I was a huge fan of them, and my only dream was to get to their level."
Rewarding for professionals…
NiKo and huNter both play for a professional team and dedicate their lives to CS:GO, but the pair show no sign of slowing down in the near future. Likewise, Danish player René 'TeSeS' Madsen, now a member of the Heroic squad, cites the close-knit nature of his country's CS:GO community as a big part of a rewarding career. "The CS:GO scene in Denmark is very big and competitive," he says. "There are so many good players in top teams, but also a lot of very skilled players outside the top teams. It's nice to be a part of. Everyone knows almost everyone. It's always nice to see Danish faces at tournaments, but even funnier to play against them."
He comments on the importance of professional players taking time out of their busy schedules to support the Red Bull Flick competition, which gives way to so much up-and-coming talent. "Of course, other pro players should take part in it if they have some spare time. It helps support the scene, and it's another format than the normal CS, and that is always fun to watch and play. It's a chance to get a fun experience, and who says no to that?"
Wiktor 'TaZ' Wojtas, who currently plays for Honoris in Poland, says that the culture of the game has also changed over time. "I'd say that the main thing that has changed is that the quality of gameplay has gone up. We have many more organisations playing on a high level and paying their players now. There is so much more structure around CS:GO than before, and it's becoming a real career path for players." Honoris team-mate, Kamil' Reiko' Cegiełko agrees, saying that "the game evolves every day".
…And amateurs alike
Two rookie players, Paweł 'Yamii' Psota and Maciej 'Zireael' Włodarski, famously took out G2's pros at the Red Bull Flick 2021 competition, using the stage as an opportunity to show the world the incredible talent hiding behind the amateur label.
Yamii says he has learned a lot from the competition and urges rookie players to choose their partners carefully, as we now know that even one of the greatest teams in the world can be brought down by two amateurs with a dream. "Find your perfect second team-mate," he says. "It's really important since they will have to know each other better, and they will need that hunger to win more and more and grind all the time games 2v2 to fit perfectly into the game and positions." Zireael agrees with him, saying that "the most important thing is trust between the team-mates."
Players come from all over the world to participate in Red Bull Flick
© Mahmut Cinci/Red Bull Content Pool
The pair were also thrilled to play against some of their heroes – strong professional players who had already broken into the professional scene. The Red Bull Flick format meant that they could demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and unique playstyle to players who had inspired them, and this was a powerful moment. "From the very first moment when we qualified for the tournament, I was waiting to play against G2," says Zireael, "I've been a fan of NiKo since the time when he was playing for mousesports. So the possibility of playing against him was very special for me. I think I was a little bit nervous, but we knew that we were prepared better and we could win."
Another amateur entry in 2021 was Johannes 'Meltrox' Andersen. He says that the Flick format allowed him to follow his dream of playing CS:GO on the world stage without the stress of joining a professional team. "When Red Bull Flick first came around, I no longer had the time in a day that was required to play on a 'real' CS:GO team," he says. However, I still love to compete to this day, and Red Bull Flick, therefore, gave me an opportunity to keep competing in CS:GO without having to spend five to six hours a day practising with a team."
"It felt amazing to walk out on the big stage and set up your PC. For me, it has always been on my bucket list to play in front of a live audience on a stage. The atmosphere was amazing, and I still see it as one of the coolest moments in my gaming career."
You can catch all the Red Bull Flick action in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 16 as the best international talent comes together in an amateur vs pros clash of the titans.
