Monte’s rifler Mohammed BOROS Malhas talked with Players Editor-In-Chief Alex Kharchenko about potential offers, Ukrainian fans and close connection between politics and esports.
How did you get an invitation to join Monte?
After two months of my bench at Endpoint, Woro2K asked me if I’m interested to join a team. He said there’s an organisation named Monte and I accepted his offer.
Did you know something about Monte prior to joining this team?
No, I didn’t know.
When you were on a bench did you have any other offers?
No.
How did you find working with experienced teammates such as sdy and Woro2k, as well as coach lmbt?
Everything is good, our mentality is strong, we are friends with each other. sdy is sharing a lot of his experience with the team. We have the synergy but we can be better. I think we have to make more bootcamps. I enjoy staying at Monte.
Our coach is really experienced. He’s bringing a lot of knowledge to the team: how to play, how to do specific things, he helps us a lot.
What about the communication in the team? Is it in English?
Yes, it’s in English.
Do you know Ukrainian or Russian?
No, I don’t understand these languages but I know some words, of course.
Bad words?
Bad words (smiling).
In one of the interviews, you mentioned that in the future you want to play in the top-10 team. Monte already got into top-10 teams HLTV ranking after the major. Did you receive any offers from other teams?
I didn’t receive any offers. For now, I’m staying with Monte.
Let’s recap Monte’s loss at quarter-final at BLAST.TV Paris Major 2023.
We could have won the first map if we played our game. In the second game they just destroyed us. It’s good that we were in Paris. It’s a good experience to play in front of the crowd.
It’s your first time playing at LAN event against such a big crowd. Were you scared? Did you feel any pressure?
No, it was good. I felt no pressure. We had everything that we needed. You need to understand that people that are screaming and shouting, love the game. They give you energy. It means that they won’t beat you after you lose. There’s no need to feel pressure. Have fun and enjoy every moment.
Your personal stats were lower during the quarter-final, while before you did many kills and your ADR was quite high. What happened to BOROS?
I don’t know. Some people should understand that if you lose, you can’t have good stats. Maybe I wasn’t in my best form. I can be stronger.
To what extent did you feel the absence of the coach in Paris? Was it a big problem for you?
Yes, when he is behind us and we feel pressure or our game is not going well, he’s making tactical timeouts, mentions something that we should fix, motivates us to win. We missed something.
Did you imagine that you will get to top-8 teams in Paris?
Actually, no. I have even been benched in Monte but later things changed. Some time ago I was watching BLAST in Abu-Dhabi as a fan and now I am playing here. I didn’t believe it. It’s really a big dream for me.
Are you a national CS:GO hero in Jordan?
Yeah, but there aren’t a lot of people in Jordan who watch Counter-Strike or support it. Maybe it will change.
How do you find the support from Ukrainian fans of Monte?
There’s really great support. Even in arena everyone was cheering for us. I really happy when I see our fans.
Are you receiving social media messages from Ukrainian fans?
Yeah, I’m receiving a lot of those messages. They're just telling: "call me Borosnuk".
Do you know why Ukrainians call you Borosnuk?
Because quite a lot of people in Ukraine have last names with a ‘nuk’ ending.
Do you like it or do you prefer BOROS?
Yeah, it’s fine.
Given the fact that you are foreigner, how do you feel about really strong pro-Ukrainian position of the organisation?
I just support Ukraine. I hope they will win the war. The organisation doesn’t take it like it’s just a game. From my point of view, it’s normal. For example, after the game with Forze we didn’t shake hands with them. It should be like this. Because you shouldn’t think it’s only CS:GO.
Have you tried playing CS2?
No, I’m a bit scared, to be honest. Because it can be a different game. Some good players may become bad players.
Are you playing any other games?
Yes, I’m playing Dota and Valorant but only for fun.
