Monte player Jack Gizmy von Spreckelsen talked with Players Editor-In-Chief Alex Kharchenko.
How did you get into Monty Academy?
I was playing with shield in The Prodigies roster and he got an offer from Monte Gen. And obviously he joined them. Then about a week later he messaged me saying they're still looking for another player. I got a trial with them and it went well. And it was like a no brainer really to join them.
You joined the Monte Academy in November 2023 and in March this year you got into the main roster. Did you expect such a rapid growth and invitation to the main roster so fast?
No, I didn't expect it to be that fast. If you asked me when I joined in November, how quickly I think it could have happened, then definitely it wouldn't have been in five months. But our team from the academy was playing really well. We didn’t play that many officials but destroyed a lot of teams. The quality of CS was good. Once I was picked up, I wasn’t surprised as we were playing a relly good Counter-Strike and shpwing what we can do.
In one of the interviews you mentioned that you have a trial within the main roster and after that they decide what to do. When this trial will end?
I'm not really sure. I think it was 2-3 months. I’m not thinking about it, I view myself as a part of the team and work to prove myself. I’m here to win games and that's the only focus really.
Let’s come back again to the question of moving to the main roster. How did you find about your move to the main roster?
What initially happened is that I was a substitute for sdy at the RMR. And I guess they were somewhat impressed by my performance. Then after the RMR, when sdy left, they were obviously looking for two players. I was part of the people they were trialing.
Kvem was one of the players Monte trialed.
Yes, he was one of the players. I played a few officials with him on the trial. But overall, the decision they made was based on a bunch of factors.
Unfortunately, Monte hasn't had the best results lately compared to the last year. How are things in the team right now? Do you feel the pressure from the community because of the results and also the pressure for you as a new player who is on a trial?
Yes, you can create a pressure for yourself. I'm not too worried personally. I know what I need to do. I know what the team needs to do to win games. And definitely circumstances have been unfortunate. During the IEM Chengdu we weren’t able to fill the whole roster.
I think that IEM Chengdu would have been quite important. For us, we would have done well, because we were in a good form before it. And then in Brazil, the results should have been different. We just had these tiny mistakes that kind of escalated to big round losses and consecutive round losses. Obviously, there's nothing we can do about it right now. But, you know, we can all understand that these mistakes are easily fixable. We shouldn't be worried about our future performances. Instead, we should just focus on fixing the micro details and moving on to the next games.
In your opinion, if we look at the future, who is closer in Monty Gen to joining the main roster?
I guess it would be leen. He was one of the top fraggers when we were all playing as five. And also, when you look at who will be replacing who, n0te played similar roles to DemQQ, and DemQQ is obviously exceptionally strong. And same goes for Woro and shield. Woro and DemQQ are going to continue playing, so it's much harder for these guys to come up, especially for shield.
We did an interview with mezii and discussed the British CS scene, and a lack of pro players. How did you get into Counter Strike?
I always liked gaming, but I was playing Minecraft a lot when I was younger. Then my older brother introduced me to CS. We played together and had a lot of fun. You know, you are starting to show progress over the years, join different teams, get better. Also, I was having fun. Then you find yourself in a situation where this can be a bit more serious now. And that's kind of how it happens.
Your your first EPL match will be against FORZE, which is a pretty big game for Monte in terms of the opponent. I believe your teammates told you about it. Do you have any special preparation for this game?
No, nothing special. We'll play how we usually play, do the necessary preparations for the game, but nothing unusual. There's the only thing that could be different is the fact that people will probably be louder in the games, you know, screaming, especially with the enemy team being like opposite us. That's a first for me. It’s not a UK LAN, it's EPL, which is pretty crazy.
Are you a bit nervous before the start of these big games?
No, this isn't my first big game. I've definitely been in more situations where there's been more pressure, like my first RMR. There's a lot more pressure, a lot more on the line.
Now I'm more used to the feelings you get before the game, right before the match, the night before. You know what to expect, really. So it's nothing new at this point.
I know that you tried Ukrainian cuisine and tried borscht. What can you say about it? Did you like it? Maybe, you tried other dishes?
Yeah, borscht was great. I was a bit worried beforehand but it was very tasty.
Have you tried salo?
Salo?
Yes, it’s a pork fat.
Yes, a white thing. I had the toast with salo and some onions. Also, there were some kind of tartar. I can't really remember what it was but it was nice. Also, potato salad. It was all very good.
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