Let’s get back in time. Stewie2k joined your team early 2016, when he wasn’t really known out of America. Why did you choose him and did you have other players in mind to replace sgares ?

We chose him, to be honest, out of desperation. We knew he was a solid PUG player, but didn’t know if it would transition. Our gamble paid off, as you all know, and he’s blossomed into a well rounded player. We were looking at autimatic, tarik, and a few others at the time, but those didn’t pan out.

Just before the MLG Colombus, the first US Major, you won the iBUYPOWER Spring, but you were in the hardest group in the Major with Na’Vi, G2 and Virtus.Pro. How were you feeling before it started? In spite of the group, did you feel confident? Did Stewie’s integration go well?

We were 100% confident necessarily, but we were playing well against all the NA teams, so we knew if we got in grooves we could beat the teams in our group. We started 6-0 vs NaVi on train, then lost - then followed up with a crushing defeat to G2 on Dust2, where we also felt like we had a chance until the start of the 2nd half.

Soon after, fREAKAZOiD was replaced by Slemmy. You made an unusual choice by choosing a 100% in-game leader, losing some firepower. Now, do you think that was the right decision?

We wanted to try it at the time, so it felt like the right decision. Obviously at this level it's tough if someone isn't confident in their skill. Slemmy worked hard and was a great teammate, but it just didnt' work out.

Slemmy and n0thing at the DreamHack Austin 2016

You reached Top 3/4 at the DreamHack Austin 2016 with him, while both of the Brazilian teams made it to the grand final. How could you explain this Brazilian dominance since they settled in the USA? How did they manage to surpass the other NA teams so quickly?

A lot of dedication, hard work, and passion for the game.

Then you failed to qualify for the next Major, ESL One Cologne, in a match against a shox on fire. Does pressure affect you a lot?

Pressure may have affected our team there, but I think without shox’s god performance on cache and a slight change in small events, we'd qualify – so yeah that sucked.

During this Major, Liquid reached the grand final. How do you feel when you see a team from your country led by Hiko, your former teammate, going that far in a Major? Were you jealous, did you have some regrets on some roster decisions? (Hiko’s departure, not recruiting EliGe… )

I would say that it was more led by s1mple, than Hiko, but I get your point - and I guess in a way I always wish it's us representing USA and no one else. No regrets!

Then, Slemmy left the team, and autimatic joined to replace him. Another young player for C9, another surprising choice. Why him over someone else?

autimatic had a good relationship with Stewie and more than that we saw in him a solid player with the ability to think independently and make big plays.

You are, by far, the most experienced player of Cloud9, how do your teammates benefit from your experience? Are they eager for advices?

I think at this point the experience I have over the others only comes in clutch for certain small moments. Maybe when we’re experiencing some unusual issue or something like that - then I can chime in or maybe bring some calm to the environment. I’d say everyone is eager to learn, not just them from me, but also me from them. I think this is important for any team to not stagnate!

Your results have been improving since autimatic joined, you placed second in Toronto at the Northern Arena, second at DH Bucarest, until those EPL season 4 finals. What was your goal in Sao Paulo? Was your team thinking about winning the title ?

I think to be honest we were just confidently approaching each match individually. Everyone seemed pretty focus so that was a good example for us to follow in the future. Mentality is huge for any team, including us.

Everything was going well for you, until the final against SK. You took a huge comeback on the first map (from 13-2 to 17-19), and when everyone expected you to break down, you easily won the two remaining maps (16-6 / 16-5). What was your mindset at that time? Why were you so powerful?

We felt kind of robbed first map and remained confident because at that point we felt we deserved to be there. So it’s kind of like… why not stay optimistic? 

Triumph at the ESL Pro League S4 Finals

Despite this victory, the end of 2016 was more complicated. You failed in the group stages during the DH Winter, and didn’t qualify for the ELeague Major. How come you weren’t able to get the same great results you had during Fall?

I think we burnt out a bit, simple as that. Of course you could elaborate on it more, but that's essentially the point!

Right now, the role of IGL seems to be shared between autimatic and Stewie2k. You also had a try with this role last year, before stating that you couldn’t play and lead at the same time. What were the difficulties you had encountered?

Just feeling responsible for a lot more each match. At first it was a welcome new challenge. I was watching a lot of demos and felt the ebb and flow of each round more. The difficulties include more pressure, less individual focus, and learning how to call off intuition from a different seat so to speak.

Recently, during the cs_summit, swag played with you. How was it with him? Does he often train with the team, or do you only call him when you need a sixth player?

He didn’t play with us at all, and doesn’t. We just called him up straight from Rank-S. It was a blast playing with him even though he didn't know our strats.

Everyone praise his skills a lot. You used to play with him within compLexity in 2013, then 2014. How would you assess his current skills compared to 2014, after two years without officially playing at a top level?

He’s still just as good mechanically. He just is out of the meta a bit in terms of being on a team. He would catch up pretty quick and be ready to own.

You are a veteran of the scene, playing at a top level for several years, who’s already won many successes in many countries. Today, do you have a specific goal that drives you to continue?

Winning multiple major events in CS:GO in a year, beating our rivals, and in general just pushing myself to be on point as much as possible.

Here is the last question for you, the easiest I guess: why “n0thing”?

n0thing was chosen long ago, after people in public servers were claiming I was “killing people through smokes/walls like it was nothing”. I initially tagged up “Like its nothing”, then shortened it to nothing/n0thing.

Thanks a lot for those answers! I’ll let you have the final word of the interview.

Thanks for the interview and C9’s sponsors! Head to www.cloud9.gg for more info and follow me on twitter @n0thing