JT: "EliGE needs space and have his own voice to feel comfortable, and I'm always giving him that"

"It feels like old times. He left me about 18 months ago, but it doesn't feel like it's been that long," Liquid's new IGL added.

Liquid 's Johnny "⁠JT⁠" Theodosiou era could have hardly gotten off to a better start, as they defeated Vitality on their debut with the South African IGL and Georgi "⁠Jorko⁠" Mitev .

They followed that up with a win over G2 to secure a spot at the BLAST Bounty LAN Finals, where spoke to JT to talk about his start in Liquid .

"With Liquid I again have strong pieces, plus veterans who know how to win," the 27-year-old said.

"I think the team is built in a very balanced way: two very strong lurkers and anchors, a very aggressive player in EliGE, and Jorko, a young up-and-coming AWPer who's played really well in our first two matches."

Jonathan "⁠EliGE⁠" Jablonowski and company will be dealt another tough test in the quarter-final in Malta, however, as they will be last to pick and most likely be left with either MOUZ or Spirit .

You're here in a Liquid jersey as the team's IGL. How have the first few weeks at the helm been?

Honestly, I'm really excited to play for Team Liquid, and also to reunite with EliGE, and get to play with NAF, malbsMd, and a nice young gun in the AWPer, Jorko. So far, I'm very impressed with the work ethic of the team. We've been working really hard the last two weeks, and it's really showing in the two matches we played. I think myself, flashie, and the team are moving in a good direction.

This is likely Liquid's best result this year, reaching top 8 and beating Vitality. What helped the team click so fast for such an upset in your debut?

It's difficult to say. Even in practice things were going well, but matches are always different. The team has been working really hard, so getting results early was really nice, it shows that things are paying off. It's tough to say exactly why we did so well. Liquid has had a few events in the past year where similar things happened, so I'm just hoping we keep working hard and pushing forward so it becomes consistent.

This might be the most individual talent you've had to work with in your career, in terms of firepower. How happy are you to have these pieces available to you?

I'm very happy. On PassionUA I had strong pieces too, but we didn't have enough time to gel. With Liquid I again have strong pieces, plus veterans who know how to win. I think the team is built in a very balanced way: two very strong lurkers and anchors, a very aggressive player in EliGE, and Jorko, a young up-and-coming AWPer who's played really well in our first two matches. With the structure we have right now, it should be good.

You mentioned all these veterans. Combined with the firepower, does that let you do something different, like give players more autonomy? Or is it the same JT system with a higher chance of individuals popping off?

It's still a very similar system to what I usually run, one EliGE is comfortable with, and the team has picked it up really easily. The big difference is how quickly everyone understands things, we've built everything from the ground up very fast. But every system is only as strong as the players running it. The fewer mistakes you make, the more you win, that's just how Counter-Strike is. Right now the team really knows what to do in most situations, and the real challenge will be seeing if we can keep connecting properly like we are right now.

You've reunited with EliGE after playing together for quite a while. How does it feel to be back on the server with him?

Honestly, it feels like old times. He left me about 18 months ago, but it doesn't feel like it's been that long. I think he's playing just as well as when he left Complexity, and we're gelling just as well as we were back then. It's been really easy to work with him again, and I'm very excited.

It's a small sample size, but he looks back to his best, and from the outside you look like the key to unlocking him. Has he said anything about why he enjoys playing in your system?

I mean, he played very well in FaZe too, so it wasn't only me. But for EliGE, as long as he knows exactly what his role is and what he needs to do, it's very easy for him to play, and he can show off the great mechanical skill that he has. He also needs space to have his own voice on a team to feel comfortable, and I'm always giving him that. It's a nice collaboration between the two of us, and it works out pretty well for him.

Jorko joined alongside you, who is very young and inexperienced. How has it been playing with him, and has anything surprised you given he hasn't played many tier-one events?

I'm very happy with Jorko. He's bringing fresh, young energy into the team every day in practice, and during prep or playing time he's very willing to learn, improve, and keep working hard. It's bringing this energy to a team where every day feels like a building phase, and we're very excited to be there. As a player, he's very skilled, a great mechanical player, and if we can build the system in a way where he's comfortable making plays, it's going to work out well for him.

You also parted with your longtime coach, T.c, when you joined this team. Was that a hard decision given how long you'd been working together?

Yes, it's definitely hard to move on from T.c. We played together for eight years or something like this, and we worked really well together. He's an amazing coach, and a big reason for the success I've had so far in my career, so it definitely was a hard choice to move on. But I'm hoping he's able to find a good home for himself, because I think he's a really great coach.

Does working with a new coach bring a fresh perspective that could help your IGL-ing, after so long with the same setup?

Yes, it's definitely something that will help. Having fresh ideas and a new perspective on how the system works, different strategies and so on, is a big thing. Even in the last two weeks, myself and flashie have been working really hard together, putting in a lot of hours just the two of us, and also with our analyst, DeMars DeRover. He's already making a big impact on the things I call and the way I call them, so I think for anyone, having a new perspective is always good, there are always things you don't think about. So far we're doing a good job together.

You're last pick in the draft this tournament, which likely means you'll end up facing Spirit. Having already taken down Vitality, how do you feel about that matchup?

We had the chance to pick Spirit in the first draft and chose not to, and the same thing happened in the second draft. It's cool that we're doing well enough to be in the third draft, and we'll probably have to play them, though I'm not sure if one of the other teams will pick them first. They're a really strong team, but if we trust our system and the way we play, we can be as strong as them too. It'll be another nice challenge for the team this early in the season, and if we do well again, that's a really good thing to look at.

You also signed up for the Stake LAN, seemingly around when you learned you'd face Vitality here. Did that disrupt prep for this event, or is Bounty the priority with Stake just in the background depending on how results go here?

There was a lot of thought that went into the schedule we chose. Originally, when we signed up for BLAST Bounty, we didn't know we'd be able to play with our full roster, so that was part of the consideration too. We also looked at when the most important ranking updates are, and the next one that BLAST Bounty accounts for is very important for invites for the rest of the season, so playing Bounty was basically a must.