It’s true. Counter-Strike is finally back.

After a three-week offseason that felt like six months, top-tier Counter-Strike is back on the menu with FISSURE Playground 1.

Okay, it’s not exactly top-tier, but at this point, we’ll gladly take whatever we can get. And with a $1 million prize pool, you can bet teams aren’t complaining either.

To be fair, the lineup is actually pretty intriguing. With roster moves still fresh from a busy rostermania, we’re excited to see how some of these revamped squads perform.

Kicking off with arguably the most exciting group when it comes to new faces, Group A features FURIA, GamerLegion, Wildcard, and SAW.

Of these teams, only FURIA hasn’t made any changes to their roster, so we expect them to top the group with relative ease, especially given their strong performance at the BLAST.tv Austin Major.

For the other three teams, this will be their first real test. We’re particularly eager to see how Wildcard and SAW match up against such high-caliber opposition.

Both teams made big changes during the offseason: Wildcard dropped their two most important names in favor of nosraC and XotiC - we still can’t say that with a straight face - while SAW returned to a full Portuguese roster after their international experiment fell flat.

Group B would probably be the least exciting of the bunch - if it didn’t feature the GOAT himself, EmiliaQAQ. Alongside him, we’ve got 3DMAX, the still-hard-to-believe Major semi-finalists paiN, and Rare Atom.

With minimal roster changes across these teams, we’re mostly expecting things to play out as predicted, with Lynn Vision cruising to first place. We’re joking... kind of.

If the Major taught us anything, it’s to never doubt Lynn Vision. So really, anything can happen here. That said, the team that signed Trash to replace somebody should, in 99% of scenarios, end up dead last. Still funny after the 15,694th time.

Virtus.Pro and Astralis headline Group C, joined by TYLOO and MIBR.

On the Astralis side, all eyes are on HooXi, who will make his official debut with the team after a solid showing as a stand-in at PGL Astana. Now that the gigachad has had time to work with the roster, we’re curious to see what this new version of Astralis can deliver.

As for VP, the return of Perfecto is also a big reason why this event is worth watching. It’ll be great to see him back on the server after such a long spell on the sidelines.

And perhaps the most interesting group of all is Group D, featuring HEROIC, Complexity, BIG, and BetBoom.

Now, you might be wondering: How on Earth is this the most interesting group when Complexity and BIG are in it? A fair question, dear reader - after all, those two names usually evoke many emotions, but excitement surely isn’t one of them.

All the hype we have for this group rests on a single team: HEROIC. Somehow, they’ve managed to rise from the ashes for what feels like the 157th time. Despite losing SunPayus and, more crucially, sAw - the brain behind it all - they’ve seemingly did it again, this time with nilo, gr1ks, and coach TOBIZ stepping in.

FISSURE Playground I certainly isn’t an IEM Cologne or a future IEM Kraków, but if there’s one upside to the VRS it’s that even lower-tier events now carry real weight. Every single team here will see this as a golden opportunity to rack up some points before the big tournaments roll around.

We’re so back.

Interview

Illustration by NovaH

FURIA’s rifler on growing up with CS Italy, the one player he’d trust to win a 1v1 for the fate of the world, and who he’s absolutely not bringing to a deserted island.

When did you start playing CS?

I started playing CS when I was six. My uncle gifted me a 1.6 CD, which was 2007 or 2006. I remember I was playing CS Italy. My dad added the server to my favorites, so he explained how I joined the server. It was some German-only Italy server. I was playing Italy for a long time.

What would you say is your favourite moment from your career?

I think there have been many great moments. But for me, I think the most important moment was my first big arena, which was Stockholm. Also, walking out to the stage with the Latvian flag, it got me a little bit emotional and proud in a way. At that moment, I felt that this was where I wanted to be.

If you weren't a CS pro, what job would you imagine yourself having?

I think it would be related to cameras, maybe like a host. It could be many different things. It could be an event host. It could be a TV show host. It could be something like this. I like to make people laugh, and I feel like there's nothing better than a smile on a person's face.

Since you became a pro, what's the strangest reaction you've had when someone's asked you your job?

The usual reaction is like: 'What? You can be a professional in that? It's probably so cool to just play video games and get money'.

But the strangest reaction... I don't like the answer, but people usually say: 'Oh, I played 1.6 when I was 20, I can probably do the same at your level right now'. They think if they've played a different version of the game 15 years ago, they are going to come up to the server and they're going to be the next s1mple.

Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Just have a good meal before the game. Honestly, I don't know. For me, I would not necessarily call it a ritual, just common sense. Have a good sleep and have a good meal before the game, so you have energy throughout the best of three.

If you consider it a ritual, I always prep the previous day. I don't mind spending some more time and understanding how the opponent is going to be playing, and going to sleep with thoughts about that. It helps a lot in retaining information and getting some interesting ideas the next day.

How much is a can of Monster?

I would say around €1,89.

You're a bit under.

I'm under. €2,18?

It's still a little bit under. It's $3 for a can of Monster.

Well, now I'm a Red Bull guy with FURIA. But I used to play for Liquid, and I was getting Monsters for free. So, I would never think about that.

Have you got a favourite song to deathmatch to?

All time, it's Eminem Beautiful. Right now, it's a Portuguese song, a Brazilian song called Que Burocracia. It's pretty good.

From any team that you've ever been on, if you had to pick one player to win a 1v1 for the fate of the world, who would you pick?

Jame. Or KSCERATO. I think these two guys are super, super... The thing is, I just have a higher sample size with Jame. So I'm more confident picking Jame. But in terms of what I've seen for the past two months with FURIA, I think KSCERATO is a super talented endgame player.

If you were stranded on a deserted island with one of your current teammates, who would you pick?

The problem with, for example, molodoy is that he's so young that he doesn't know anything about life. When you're on a deserted island, you need somebody who understands at least something. I have to pick the experience of FalleN, but at the same time, I think his experience is only CS-related. I'll just go yuurih. We play sites together, we're going to figure out the deserted island situation.

Who would you least want to be with on the deserted island?

Molodoy, definitely. It's fun with him, and we definitely have a bond, speaking Russian together, but that guy doesn't know anything about nature.

If you could own a house located on any CS map, which map would you choose?

Mirage is a little bit too hot for me. It's a little bit too Middle Eastern. Not necessarily my vibe. I like something warm, but not hot. Not dry and hot. So maybe something like CS Italy. I think that map is cool. Since we already talked about me starting the game with CS Italy, it would be fun to live in a house on the map.

Are you a cat person or a dog person?

That's a hard question because all my life I had dogs, and before I moved in with my mom, we had two dogs and one cat. Now my girlfriend moved in, and she has two cats, so now we're living with two cats. Honestly, I love them both equally, but I feel like cats are less trouble. So I would pick cats most likely.