IEM Cologne 2023 will be the biggest tournament for young Iulian ‘Regali’ Harjău in his career so far. Before the Cathedral of Counter-Strike opens its doors again, we at bo3.gg got lucky enough to interview the newest OG sniper. He told us about his own game form, kick from the Copenhagen Flames team, and how he found himself in his current position.
The 20-year-old Romanian also spoke to us about his idols in the CS:GO pro scene and the rise of the Romanian national esports society Counter-Strike in 2023.
– So, let's start from Romania, don't you think? Looking through 2023 as a whole year in CSGO, we will find out that the Romanian pro scene in CSGO is actually stepping up a bit. Raw talents popping up here and there, for example, you, I am. Is it a big deal for you?
– Yeah. We can see people like lauNX took the opportunity from international teams and proved their worth. We like motivating each other by seeing how everyone is doing, us three, right? So when iM, for example, became the finalist of the major, this made me want to be a finalist of the major, and so on. And so the other people from the Romanian scene that are still playing, they see us, and they get motivated as well.
But I think that in Romania, only two or three teams probably give a low salary, from low to decent. And so everyone expects a high salary. Everyone, like people, does not work that much, you know, they don't have the right mentality regarding how we can have a great team because everybody wants to be a star player in Romania.
– Obviously, I want to talk about your coming up into the OG roster, but I think it would be a bit of a misfortune not to speak about your time in Copenhagen Flames. Do you feel it was your defining moment as a shape-forming experience for you as a player?
– I'm definitely forming up as a player still. Copenhagen Flames was the first team where I played full-time, first of all. So any team that would have got me last summer would have had the benefit of playing with me because I knew that I'd instantly become a better player, and this is what happened. This is how I was on the radar of many other teams.
But I definitely like getting the experience now in OG with the people around me because until now, it was mainly like, “Regali, kill and do your shit,” but in OG, people also realize that I'm really good at fragging, so I just need to learn more team stuff. In CPH BirdFromSky was micromanaging way more, so I didn't have to think about other many things as I do now.
– I feel you owe a bit of attention to the thoroughly nourished CS:GO tier-2 pro scene
– Yeah, because they were the only tournaments we were playing. It was CCT and Eliza and one more. So we won a lot of those, and we were still improving based on the official games we had. Because sometimes we had official games every single day, maybe two official games a day. But it was a lot of experiencing and playing officials, and it was nice.
- Can you recall how you first came to play with OG? Who contacted you?
– My agent told me that OG needs a player because Degster has visa issues. So that was my time when I jumped in as a stand-in.
– Was it like a one-time gig, or did you feel that they were testing the waters with you?
– I never thought about it. I really wanted to prove that I was good at the game, even though I didn't play competitive CS for two months before that. I didn't think they were testing me as a player or something. Because I knew that as long as I would shoot back and be good enough if OG is not searching for a new player, maybe other teams would search.
– Obviously, after the event, you've got the attention of the management of the OG, yes? Can you recall the conversation with the team, with the organization, that turned your partnership with OG into a long-term thing?
– They told me after Dallas that they were impressed and liked how I play and my mentality. I was playing in a Danish team, after all, and as we all know, Danish CS is very strong, and the game's vision is pretty nice. It's all about being a team player and many other things that the coach and the analysts liked about me. I had okay chemistry with F1KU in Dallas. He kind of created a bond.
– It's not a minor deal; if I'm not mistaken, you were one step from the playoffs.
– Yes. I think, in OG, people like how I see the game and just me as a person. They gave me an opportunity, and I also had a great time in Dallas with them. This is why I chose them, after all, after the break, with complete confidence.
For now, I'm not at my peak form from Dallas, for example, but I don't feel any pressure because I know that they all support me.
– I'm still searching for the balance because it's not like I'm playing a FACEIT game. This is a kind of mentality I should have because this would give me more confidence in my role. Especially being an AWPer, you need to have complete confidence and be next to the IGL in terms of talking. After all, the AWP is the strongest weapon, so my call is almost as important as the IGL call. So I just need to talk more.
This is the biggest difference between me and Degster. He was very... not provocative, but like demanding. Very demanding in terms of what he wants to do on the map, while I am like to play around teammates. But after all, everybody needs to play around me, so I need to go with full confidence that I can finish up my call and put the pieces together.
– In the same interview, FlameZ predicts you to have a long career in Counter-Strike. And he’s hardly alone in that statement, with the most recent, I’d say, being Nexa, who called you a key part of this OG roster for sure. What do you think about those comments about your career and your own potential?
– I take them in a very nice way, but they also come from very nice people. I'm not sure that the other teammates from Copenhagen Flames feel this way. In OG, I have to be at my best here because I have the AWP, and people only help me because this is how the system is basically. So I need to put up numbers either way.
I must be confident that I'm good enough to prove that those words are true and facts, but I just have to find the consistency. I've never had this kind of people around me. We are developing and learning every day, and I've never learned so much stuff in such a small amount of time.
– Understandably. One thing I noticed about the parting ways with Copenhagen Flames. You said that players from that team would have a bit different opinion about you. Why do you think so?
– I don't know. I just said it because I got benched without any explanation. I've been called on TeamSpeak, and they said they'd bench me. But it was very strange.
– Have you spoken with your ex-teammates from Copenhagen Flames about the situation ever since?
– No, never. And I hope that particular person I will never speak to again. But I really like b0RUP.
– In your last month with CPH, I remember my colleagues and I were discussing you and your game, and it was noticed that you have been not as sharp as during the winter time. Is it true?
– I agree, basically. If there's no enjoyment, I cannot perform, right? It's so easy. If you cannot enjoy your job, you go like with this disgusting lump in your throat.
We tried to change something, but nothing came out of it. And I didn't like the mood either of the team anymore. I didn't like anything. There was some internal stuff as well.
– And you won't be sharing?
– No, I'm not sharing.
– Speaking about your most recent tournament, obviously, BLAST Fall wasn't quite a success for you, but you had a small room for preparation, and it was like the first tournament after the shuffle window, so I won't actually consider your performance as a casual failure. It wasn't a failure; it was like some lessons you took, it was some challenges you faced, and maybe some conclusions you've made. So what about them?
– First, I'm getting more experience with tier-1 plays. During this vacation, for example, I played a lot of FACEIT, so I think I am playing FACEIT. So yeah, I need to get into this team mentality and then get into the tier-1 mentality and then get on my peak form and then learn the practices maps, and then it's a long way because of this break and because of a new team, but it will come.
– Speaking about this infamous tier-1 mentality, what does this term mean to you?
– It's like you need to be good in every aspect, in my opinion. Maybe my role or maybe my goal is to be good in every aspect. I cannot answer for everybody, but I just see it this way.
– IEM Cologne arguably is one of the most prestige tournaments on the CS:GO calendar, don’t you think? You got there by luck, though. So, what are your expectations about this tournament?
– I think we'll do good, and maybe we'll qualify for the Playoffs. Personally, it’s my own goal, but I don't know about the others.
– Your first opponent is 9INE, any thoughts about that particular match?
– I'm not thinking about it that much, you know. Just have to practice with the team and show what we can do. What about 9INE? It is a very good team, to be honest. They improved a lot during the qualifiers they played in.
– Switching to another topic, you actually play with the high sensitivity. How did you come up with that? It's a bit unusual.
– It all started when I watched s1mple ever since he joined Liquid. So it's way back in 2016. That toxic era of s1mple, but I was enjoying watching it nevertheless because he was destroying everyone in NA. So I put up his settings, and since then, I'm always playing basically with his settings, like the same resolution, same view model, same sensitivity. I always played with that. So yeah, it's since 2016 because of s1mple.
– Is s1mple a player you're looking up to the most?
– Yeah, he was always the player I was looking up to.
– Sometimes I've heard that learning after s1mple is difficult. His play style is not chaotic per se, but it comes from his inner sense of a game. Is it true for you or not?
– Yeah, because s1mple does whatever he wants to do. I realized I need to have the same approach but maybe a bit smarter, like taking more responsibility. For my training, watching Dev1ce is more useful because he is, skill-wise, not as good as ZywOo or s1mple, right, but he's smarter. I don’t mean literally smarter, but he's very technical and smart as well.
It's good to watch smart players if you have the skill already because you can mix it up. If you watch after someone like ZywOo, who is already smart and so fucking skilled or s1mple, it’s pointless to repeat a very confident play that they can pull off and you cannot. But if you go where Dev1ce goes and you know you basically can shoot like him, it's better because you learn and push yourself to your limits.
– If you put yourself on a scale between s1mple and Dev1ce, where are you between your inner feeling and the technicality of the game?
– Everybody says that I play way more like Dev1ce, so I have to watch his demos, and this is how I learn CS anyway. In Copenhagen Flames, I learned the basics of CS, but I also learned the Danish basics of CS. So basically, only Dev1ce’s style will fit me. I want to be a mix of s1mple and Dev1ce because I want to be aggressive as s1mple and smart as Dev1ce.
Regali, as part of OG, will play in the first match at IEM Cologne 2023 against 9INE tomorrow! You can find more details about the tournament at this link.
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