Interview with North's JUGi

As the newest member of the roster, how has settling into the team over the past couple months been?

Coming in on a new team has been quite an experience for me. New faces, new team mates, new office space in Telia Parken, and a new coach. It has been a lot of fun, but of course also energy draining. There has been no time to rest; we’ve had a packed schedule for the past months, finished off with the Major qualifier just recently. 

But the team is very harmonic, we all get along very well, the staff behind the team is very kind and helpful, so I’m looking forward to my time here. 

It is more important to focus on the “process” instead of focus on the fact that you should succeed, in order to actually succeed.

How’s it been reuniting with former teammates Valdemar “valde” Bjørn and Nicklas” gade” Gade?

It is so great! And it has definitely helped me settle faster. I like both gade and valde who are great personalities and very good at the game. The boys have given me a good reception in North, which I think is pivotal when you have such a schedule as we’ve had for the past months. 

When did you decide to focus on playing with the AWP in CS:GO?

It was back when I joined the first professional team back in 2015 in Reason Gaming. Actually, I started as a rifler and felt pretty confident being a rifler on the team. But at one point, one of my other teammates demanded: “JUGi should play the AWP, because he is much better with it”. That was how it began.

Having been inactive for a while before, what was it like being thrown into a competition ten days later?

It was difficult as I didn’t touch the game competitively for a while. But actually, you just need a couple of days to get the hang of it again, and then you’re back. A bit like cycling, I suppose.

How did you get into playing CS:GO?

Like many other players, it was actually my brother who dragged me into playing Counter-Strike. He was playing Counter-Strike 1.6 and I got so fascinated by the game that I also had to play it. Later, I switched to CS:GO. 

Coming in on a new team has been quite an experience for me. It has been a lot of fun, but of course also energy draining. There has been no time to rest!

When did you transition into becoming a competitive player?

Back in 2015, when I was around 18 years old, I started to play a lot of training matches (PUGs). I guess that I did quite well at that time and then suddenly I found myself in a team, together with Andreas “MODDII” Fridh and Thomas “haste” Dyrensborg, among others. In 2016 I joined Tricked and in 2017 I was transferred to Heroic. 

Who was the first player that gave you confidence to start competing?

It was back in 2015 in the team madjicK Gaming where a guy named xanzir picked me up as a youngster. A couple of months later we were transferred to Reason Gaming.

In your eyes what is success and what is failure?

It is more important, I think, to focus on the “process” instead of focus on the fact that you should succeed, in order to actually succeed. You have to set goals, work hard - even on the days where life treats you badly. You have to focus on your work ethics. Then, in the end, if your talent is great enough, you might succeed and reach your goal. Most importantly of all, you must not be afraid of actually failing. Because, if you’ve given your all, and done what you were capable of, I’d hesitate to call it a failure if you don't succeed. 

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your 18-year old self?

Do not take anything for granted in your career. I would tell myself to keep working harder, to set new goals and work hard to reach those, because the competition in competitive CS:GO is only going to get harder. 

You can follow JUGi on Twitter, @JUGiOfficial.