HLTV Confirmed - Counter-Strike Podcast

Latest Episodes:

HLTV Confirmed S5E1 (feat. 100T jks) | Will there be a LAN in 2020? jks is "keen to go", talks NA offers & Liquid Jul 31, 2020

Show notes

Justin "jks" Savage joined HLTV Confirmed to discuss recent roster news, including nitr0's departure from Liquid, opened up about his development as a player and 100 Thieves' coaching change, and the chances of LANs, particularly Pro League and the Major, happening this year. The Australian is wary of the dangers the pandemic presents, but also admits that he would enjoy going to Europe where he could play against more different teams. He also touched on offers from other teams and his expectations at upcoming tournaments.

➡️ Connect with us: https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed

📺

Join the discussion and watch live: https://twitch.tv/HLTVorg

🎧 Listen to audio podcast (Spotify, iTunes, Google): https://anchor.fm/hltv

0:00 - Podcast intro

Hotseat with jks

2:10 - SPUNJ and jks talk about Aussie legends

4:35 - Why was 100T underperforming at the end of last season?

7:40 - Were 100T playing from bootcamp and did the lockdown help them?

11:00 - jks: "A week before the change it was getting to a boiling point"

15:40 - jks explains "not doing VOD reviews with kassad"

17:20 - Setting up a routine for good individual form

21:30 - "I said 'f*ck it' and stopped caring" - jks about confidence and NAF

23:51 - Expectation for the second half of 2020

Recent news

29:45 - What does the nitr0 - grim change mean for Liquid

35:56 - Professeur: “nitr0 is a good player, but has nothing to do in Liquid anymore”

39:25 - Where could nitr0 go? Gen.G? EG?

43:10 - Lekr0 dumps MAD Lions

46:05 - Kjarbye leaves North - where to?

49:27 - ALEX to FaZe $600,000 rumor

56:57 - mithR joins Renegades, outlook for the Aussies?

Best news of 2020 so far

1:04:40 - Thinking of good news in 2020

1:13:20 - Ranking the news into top-3

DreamHack Summer

1:16:00 - First test for NA top teams

1:19:20 - 100T's historical issues playing Liquid

1:26:30 - Reviewing the European league

Rest of 2020

1:35:30 - Cologne online, SPUNJ talks about TO budgets

1:36:30 - Would jks travel to Europe?

1:40:30 - How important is "online Cologne" to a player?

1:45:20 - Pro League/Major chances of happening?

1:50:30 - What is stopping us from running a LAN?

Playtime

1:53:53 - BREAKING: Astralis in talks with Mad Lions over Bubzkji

1:59:55 - Viewer questions: jks confirms getting big NA offers

2:04:25 - jks remembering funny moments with SPUNJ

2:09:00 - How did CS change over the past years?

HLTV Confirmed is a CS:GO talk show featuring Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill, Zvonimir "Professeur" Burazin, and Milan "Striker" Švejda, with guest appearances from community members such as GeT_RiGhT, device, Maniac, Pimp, YNk, JW, smooya, seang@res, and more. The show is based around interviews, breakdowns, analysis, and discussions about the esports and casual side of Counter-Strike.

https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed

https://twitter.com/LukasWiinholt

https://twitter.com/StrikerHLTVorg

https://twitter.com/Professeur_CS

https://twitter.com/SPUNJ

https://twitter.com/100Tjks

HLTV Confirmed S4E22 | device gives opinion on expanded Astralis roster, talks gla1ve & Xyp9x return Jun 23, 2020

Show notes

Connect with us: https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed

Timestamps:

00:00 Podcast intro

Hotseat with device

2:47 - device on the situation in Astralis

4:40 - How did the events in 2020 affect the device’s team?

7:35 - How to know if a player (gla1ve) needs to take a break?

9:30 - Was the initial 2020 calendar easier comparing with previous years?

11:30 - Did Astralis recover from 2019 travel and competition?

13:33 - Decision to sign es3tag

16:00 - device's honest opinion on the extended roster

18:17 - Pros and cons of just five players vs. expanded roster

20:55 - Was device at the point of needing a break?

25:00 - Playing with JUGi and Snappi, DH & BLAST

28:43 - device on community pressure, Twitter comments

30:50 - device dismisses player contract requiring 37-48 hours per week

35:05 - Who decides the roster shuffles in Astralis?

Recent news

18:05 - ImAPet joins 100 Thieves

22:11 - smooya’s experience with kassad and 100T

24:16 - Sharing opinions on ImAPet as a coach

28:28 - Gratisfaction’s role in 100T

32:18 - Xyp9x takes leave, Astralis bring in Snappi

38:10 - CS without breaks

48:40 - 5+ players roster

52:00 - Would smooya be a backup player?

54:44 - Maikelele's ugly breakup with GODSENT

1:00:13 - The origins of the story, looking into the tweetlongers

1:08:40 - HECTOz completes Copenhagen Flames

MR12 playtest

1:12:50 - SPUNJ starts MR12 talk

1:15:30 - Thoughts on the Gamers Without Borders matches and MR12 viability

1:24:25 - Is BO3 too long for a player nowadays?

Dreamhack & BLAST

1:32:20 - DH Masters: Can FURIA win it?

1:44:40 - BLAST Showdown: who will make it through?

1:47:10 - Ties, round-robin groups viability

1:54:30 - Are we spoiled with ‘good’ formats?

Playtime

1:58:10 - SPUNJ on keeping up with personal level as an observer

2:03:30 - Visualizing step sounds (learning from Valorant!)

2:05:50 - Final words

HLTV Confirmed S4 EP20 | Rostermania: olofmeister steps down, Liquid swap IGL, TaZ & NEO new project May 25, 2020

Show notes

➡️ Connect with us: https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed

📺 Join the discussion and watch live: https://twitch.tv/HLTVorg

🎧 Listen to audio podcast (Spotify, iTunes, Google): https://anchor.fm/hltv

0:00 Recent news

3:40 - Stewie2K takes over as Liquid IGL

10:45 - “If you’re taking thing seriously, and one of your teammates isn’t, it’s gonna lead to the changes eventually” - Striker on the roster changes

13:25 - Is Stewie the right guy to call?

15:55 - Making NA dream team

20:00 - DH Masters: mouz struggling

25:15 - The reasons behind the team’s performance downfall

First impressions on roster changes

33:00 - JUGi in Astralis

38:00 - “What is the point… What is anything at this point?” - Professeur on Astralis roster

40:35 - Kristou with North

45:50 - trk on MIBR

Confirmed, but unseen changes

50:40 - hampus replaces Lekr0 on NiP

58:20 - olofmeister takes a break, Bymas jumps in

1:03:00 - Will olofmeister come back? To be a part of a six-man roster?

1:12:10 - Farlig on GODSENT, Maikelele benched

1:22:35 - buster takes break, YEKINDAR joins VP

1:27:20 - NEO, TaZ reunite

Rumors and reports

1:31:10 - smooya, Snappi to TIGER

1:35:00 - ALEX ponders return

Rankings time

1:37:40 - Ranking the roster changes that happened

1:45:00 - Top 3 changes we would do right now

1:50:00 - Getting ZywOo and s1mple on the rifle?

2:00:40 - Picking the top-3

HLTV Confirmed: Gamechanger special | Can we shorten maps (MR12), change pistols, & fix CS economy? May 19, 2020

Show notes

In a special episode of the HLTV Confirmed podcast, we delve deep into the current CS:GO competitive format, examine its potential flaws and explore solutions for issues such as map length, the coin-flip nature of pistol rounds, and the comeback mechanic within the new economy. SPUNJ presents his ideas on overtime, while Rejin chips in with mouz's experience with the latest changes.
HLTV Confirmed: Gamechanger is the first of a series of in-depth shows focused on theorycrafting and further improving CS:GO.
➡️ Connect with us: https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed
📺Join the discussion and watch live: https://twitch.tv/HLTVorg
🎧 Listen to audio podcast (Spotify, iTunes, Google): https://anchor.fm/hltv
Timestamps:

3:20 How long does a CS:GO map take?

8:40 Argument against long matches by Rejin

12:00 Viability of BO1s in early stages

16:45 What do casual CS:GO viewers want?

19:12 Fixing the double freezetime mechanic

25:00 How long should a map last?

30:00 Rejin's idea for OT only on map 3

39:00 The effects of the new economy

47:30 Why are we talking about MR12?

55:10 MR12 kills the "Blue Shell" mechanic

58:00 Tweaking the old economy for MR12

1:02:00 "Pistol rounds are a coin-flip" argument

1:07:10 Potential changes to pistol rounds

1:15:30 SPUNJ: "Maps should be CT sided"

1:18:20 MR12 won't shrink the playbook

1:22:00 Drawing conclusions from first half of the show

1:31:00 What's the best overtime format?

1:38:00 Tennis-style overtime in CS:GO

1:44:50 How many tournaments should a team play?

1:54:00 Hunting rankings and burnout

2:00:00 "Make the tournament 2-3 weeks, but give players time off" - Rejin

HLTV Confirmed S4E18 | pronax talks fnatic glory days, FaZe trial, relaunching GODSENT, and VALORANT May 12, 2020

Show notes

➡️ Connect with us: https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

Hotseat with pronax

3:20 - Reading pronax biography

4:40 - What does pronax do now?

5:58 - What’s pronax role in the team?

7:55 - Looking back at the history of initial GODSENT

10:45 - Rebooting GODSENT

16:20 - How much does being a CS legend help pronax’s business?

19:25 - Book recommendation by pronax

20:40 - History of the GODSENT’s CS:GO squad

23:35 - kRYSTAL’s role as IGL

26:20 - How did pronax know that it was time to retire?

29:35 - Why pronax decided to not pursue coaching?

34:18 - Did pronax trial for FaZe?

36:45 - Has the game accelerated in terms of individual plays?

VALORANT effect

38:50 - pronax shares his opinion on VALORANT

40:20 - Who has switched to the game and why?

49:50 - How does GODSENT look at VALORANT?

53:30 - VALORANT as a chance for those who are not able to compete in CS

55:20 - The business reasons for mostly American players quitting

Recent news

59:20 - Astralis to sign JUGi and go to seven

1:04:25 - pronax’s take on the Astralis’ strategy

1:12:55 - MIBR gave up on meyern

1:16:55 - Is it hard to remain at the top?

1:21:40 - Dilemma of a team dropped from being top-1

1:24:45 - HUNDEN join Heroic

1:31:00 - SPUNJ on how online affects the scene

1:36:23 - Touching on why pronax hasn’t tried being an analyst

ESL One: Road to Rio

1:39:42 - Addressing round-robin issues

1:45:40 - Reviewing RMR system

1:53:40 - The 20% points loss rule and reasons behind it

HLTV Confirmed S4E17 (feat. North MSL) | How did MSL find form with the AWP? What should change in the CS:GO map pool? Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

Connect with us: https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed

0:00 Hotseat with MSL

1:47 - Welcoming MSL

3:00 - Running through the MSL’s history at Rogue and OpTic

7:11 - What were MSL’s goals in NA and what MSL experienced there

9:20 - MSL talks about rejoining North

12:40 - The role of the performance coach in the game

14:37 - MSL on AWPing

17:55 - MSL about device, acoR, and JUGi and their applications in the game

20:49 - MSL’s approach to using a coach

26:40 - North’s results at EPL and Road to Rio

Recent news

29:27 - Major coaching rule vote

32:30 - Is bigger involvement of coaches an issue?

34:40 - SicK retires from competitive play

38:50 - ENCE add Jamppi as sixth

40:10 - 6-man rosters - do they make any sense?

42:05 - Conflict of interest ruling

47:50 - SPUNJ smashes Valve for throwing TOs under the bus

Danish scene

49:57 - What is the Danish secret to success?

54:42 - Does a high recognition level among the general population of Denmark play a role?

56:47 - Danish scene power rankings

1:00:45 - What’s the potential for HUNDEN?

Smarter than the Twitch chat quiz

1:02:24 - MSL vs. the Twitch chat

Map pool

1:09:40 - MSL’s take on the map pool

1:11:40 - Discussing Dust 2

1:17:00 - Which map should be removed from the map pool?

1:21:00 - Which map should be brought to the map pool? Discussing Cobblestone

Playtime

1:29:45 - FPL drama

1:35:34 - MSL about sports psychologist

1:37:35 - What does North need to become championship contender?

1:41:12 - MSL on salary speculations

1:45:04 - Why are mousesports dropping off?

1:51:00 - Some last words from MSL

HLTV Confirmed S4E16 (feat. daps) | Is Valve doing a good job with updates? daps talks NRG kick and EG changes Apr 19, 2020

Show notes

Gen.G in-game leader Damian "daps" Steele joined the HLTV Confirmed podcast to talk about the recent updates to CS:GO, Valve's relationship with the game and how the coronavirus has affected North American Counter-Strike. The tenured leader also spoke about his removal from NRG, the relationship with tarik and stanislaw, as well as the coach change in Evil Geniuses, as they replaced ImAPet with zews.

Connect with us: https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed

HLTV Confirmed S4E15 (ft. G2 maLeK, bleh) | Effect of SG nerf on teams, EU to dominate CS after corona? Apr 12, 2020

Show notes

➡️ Connect with us: https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed

📺 Join the discussion and watch live: https://twitch.tv/HLTVorg

🎧 Listen to audio podcast (Spotify, iTunes, Google): https://anchor.fm/hltv

Timestamps:

0:26 - Welcoming issues and sharing corona experiences

Hotseat with maLeK

1:57 - Introducing maLeK

3:07 - maLeK’s origins in Counter-Strike

4:42 - maLek's experience as a butler for royal families

6:09 - Who did maLeK play with during the Source times?

8:00 - What coaching means to maLeK?

10:00 - Transition to the international roster

11:55 - Working with ocelote - how is it?

14:25 - “When we’re rolling, there’s not even one percent problem with English” - maLeK

19:22 - Talking notorious "Bambolero" and other terms

21:40 - Talking about G2’s EPL results

24:14 - maLeK on his team’s preparation

Recent news

26:35 - Evil Geniuses: -ImAPet +zews

30:50 - maLeK’s take on the conflict in EG

38:20 - Heroic changes

41:46 - Weapon balance: AUG is back, Krieg is dead?

44:30 - “Why did they wait so long to destroy SG?” - Professeur

47:40 - Is FAMAS actually usable?

49:35 - Talking about Tec-9 and Revolver

52:17 - Who will suffer the most from the weapon change?

58:10 - Discussing Deagle’s new jumpshot capabilities

EPL and the online play

1:02:12 - Talking about the NA season results

1:05:50 - maLeK on issues of working online

1:08:30 - Will EU teams dominate when corona is no more?

1:11:11 - “This is like a reset button for the teams” - maLeK on the lockdown

1:17:20 - Discussing Astralis’ 6-man roster move

1:22:09 - maLeK vs. Twitch chat

Major changes

1:29:00 - Striker explains what happened

1:35:40 - maLeK shares his opinion on the changes

1:38:33 - Winners and losers of the changes

Playtime

1:47:47 - How HLTV ranking is adjusting to the move to online play?

1:51:10 - Does Scream have a chance to come back?

1:52:50 - Where could ImAPet go?

HLTV Confirmed S4E14 (ft. mouz Rejin) | How will Astralis use es3tag? Are 6-man rosters the future? Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

https://twitter.com/HLTVconfirmed/

Hotseat with Rejin
1:35 - Reflecting on IEM Katowice results
3:54 - What’s different between mousesports before and now?
6:04 - Rejin on preparing for EPL
8:03 - Having a roster where everyone can show up vs. a superstar-based team?
10:40 - Who’s gonna be an upset in EPL?
12:20 - Are there any teams that will benefit from more online?
Recent news
14:59 - Heroic-FPX situation
18:45 - Striker: “you’ve put 4 million dollars into CS and you allowed this to happen”
26:47 - Major postponed to November
32:00 - AdreN takes over as VP captain
40:36 - GamerLegion add coach, disband
Six-man roster
45:11 - Discussing Astralis’ move to sign es3tag as 6th player
56:32 - Why six-man roster didn’t work in the past?
EPL Season 11
1:07:47 - Impressions of Vitality with misutaaa
1:10:47 - Rejin on his experience of standing in and having a near-zero rating
1:14:51 - Astralis, Na’Vi recover after slow starts
1:23:04 - Who will top group C of EPL Europe?
1:30:40 - Professeur, BanKs, and Striker predict the team topping group C
Good, Bad, Ugly
1:33:55 - Ugly: FPX debacle, production issues
1:39:27 - Bad: Stand-ins galore
1:41:50 - Good: Banter, MAD Lions & MIBR deliver
1:42:08 - Talking about the removal of HUNDEN
1:45:21 - Rejin on if AcilioN can improve MAD Lions
Playtime
1:49:03 - Will the meta change due to more online CS and less events?
1:52:48 - Question: why is chrisJ better than s1mple?
1:53:50 - Question: what’s the difference in coaching Tricked and coaching mousesports?
1:59:15 - Rejin shows mousesports bootcamp schedule
2:03:10 - Does chrisJ help out with in-game leading?

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