"No team in the Top 10 is behind on the meta"- Twistzz talks about FaZe's recent form and expectations for CS:GO ESL Pro League Season 18 [Exclusive]

The CS:GO ESL Pro League Season 18 will see the start of Group C today, with highly popular teams such as Natus Vincere, Fnatic, and FaZe Clan being part of this group. FaZe Clan are the defending ESL Pro League champions and will be hoping to secure a back-to-back title victory. However, the team has not had the best run over the last couple of events.

The momentum with which the roster dominated 2022 has cooled off quite a bit in 2023. Despite the team not being able to maintain their dominant run, rifler Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken managed to perform like a world-class player this year as well.

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Twistzz explains the team's preparations for CS:GO ESL Pro League Season 18 in order to bounce back from their lackluster form and the benefits of working with NEO

In an interview with N Siddarth from Sportskeeda Esports ahead of the CS:GO ESL Pro League Season 18, FaZe Clan's superstar rifler, Twistzz talked about the team's preparation ahead of the big event, the reason for their recent dip in form, and working with new interim coach NEO. The Canadian also chimed in on one of the most talked about debates present in CS2 at the moment.

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Q: How have you been doing and how have the preparations for the ESL Pro League been going so far?

Twistzz: I have been doing good individually. I finally got to spend some time at my home here in Malta, so that's been nice.

The preparation for ESL Pro League has been going good, and I think we are on the right track as a team again. It's nice to see since we are coming to the end of CS:GO and onto a new game.

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Q: You guys did not have the best showings at IEM Cologne and Gamers8. What went wrong for the team at both of these events?

Twistzz: To keep it short, we simply did not show up at Cologne. We did not show up in terms of energy, mentality, and motivation. At Gamers8, I think we played really good.

On that day, it was unfortunate that we lost to the better team, which is a hard pill to swallow, but at least we knew that we played way better CS at Gamers8 compared to Cologne.

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Q: You mentioned that the team did not show up in terms of energy, mentality, and motivation at IEM Cologne. Could this be attributed to the fact that the team has suffered burnout and the entire roster has massive expectations to perform well consistently?

Twistzz: Not really. I think we put ourselves in bad situations sometimes. At certain times, we are not so active with each other outside of the game, and I think it hinders our team chemistry and ultimately hinders the way we can perform inside the game. I think lessons have been learned.

We take what we can and move on to try and improve it. I am not worried about the team, given that we have been together for so long, and I think it's an additional positive factor for us.

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Q: FaZe recently parted ways with Head Coach RobbaN. How has this specific roster change affected the team's atmosphere inside and outside of the game?

Twistzz: I think we have moved on from RobbaN. At first, it was definitely tough to deal with as it came very suddenly. Our new coach, NEO, has been very calm and is a good mediator for problem-solving.

He also brings a lot of new things, and he also did play not so long ago. When he is showing things, he still has grenades that he knows, and his mind is still in the game, akin to being an IGL.

I think we have let go of what RobbaN brought. He was a very funny guy, and he was a great friend to everyone. We lost a bit of comedic value to our team, but we are working on it, and I think we are on the right path.

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Q: There has been general consensus that FaZe as a team has been lagging behind in the meta in terms of strategies and set-plays. Do you necessarily agree with this statement?

Twistzz: The statement probably only applies to certain maps. I agree that on Anubis, like months ago, we were definitely behind on the meta, and we basically played the old-style of CS on Anubis. In terms of economic stuff, maybe we were behind.

The aspect of doing as much economic damage as possible, if that means dropping an AK to someone on the round after the force round just so that they can keep doing damage to the economy, was something that I noticed a lot of teams started to pick up on a bit more than us.

We tried doing it a bit at Gamers8, and it's just small meta things like that. I think there is no team in the Top 10 that is behind on the meta. Everyone is just hesitant about which style of CS to play as it may not work.

For instance, our playing against Virtus.pro was a huge style clash, and it's probably one of the best examples you could really say as Virtus.pro playing against ENCE, G2, or FaZe means a complete style clash in the matchup.

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Q: Talking about NEO, is he the guy who could potentially help FaZe get back on the right track thanks to the various new perspectives he brings to the game for the team?

Twistzz: I don't think a coach can have that kind of impact that can change or improve the team drastically. At the end of the day, it will always be the five individuals in the server that has the responsibility to make game-changing adaptions.

But NEO has accommodated Karrigan very well in terms of the ideas he has, especially during tech pauses, where he has great feedback or great ideas and even gives us a couple of ideas to run down the stretch.

I think he is just a good addition, and he complements Karrigan quite well. However, you can never put so much pressure or expectations onto one person, especially not the coach.

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Q: Natus Vincere is also part of Group C. Do you want to have a potential rematch against them, considering the rivalry between the teams?

Twistzz: We played Natus Vincere back in IEM Cologne, and they beat us pretty badly. We are definitely looking for revenge and proving who we are as a team. To be honest, we are just looking to play really good CS again as a team, have fun, and show that the chemistry is still there.

I don't really care who we play, but obviously, it would be nice to win the group and move on to the quarterfinals. But sometimes FaZe likes to take the hard road, so we will see where we end up.

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Q: What are your general expectations on CS2 as a game as we are nearing its release? Do you like the game so far?

Twistzz: I think it's early days for CS2. It's obviously in the closed beta, and I see a world where we end up playing in the game even in closed beta. I think CS:GO was in closed beta even after it was released, as there were many issues with it, and that's why a lot of 1.6 pros didn't want to switch initially.

For CS:GO to CS2, there is no option really, as you have to switch. I like the fact that it is a new game as there are new elements. There are still a lot of things that they can improve, but at the moment, I think it's good.

Some disappointing stuff is the 64hz vs. 128hz conversation that's been going on. I have to say it is quite disappointing as the servers are still the same as CS:GO after many years of discussion. Overall, I am excited to see what the new game has in store for us.

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Q: Any final thoughts that you would like to say to the fans supporting FaZe and you?

Twistzz: Thank you to the fans for supporting the team and me. I know it's been a rocky road being a FaZe fan. We hold on to that Pro League win we had six months ago with pride.

We have definitely been working hard, and I want to show the fans that we are trying our best to get back on track along with the new supporting cast to our team. We are trying to end CS:GO on a good note, and I hope we can show that here.