Zonic: I thought CS:GO was the worst game ever to be created
The star-studded coach reveals why he stopped following Counter-Strike for three years between 2012-2015 and why he hated CS:GO to begin with.
A Counter-Strike romantic would think that when Valve released CS:GO back in 2012, it would be love at first sight for a connoisseur like Danny “Zonic” Sørensen. However, that wasn’t the case at all – in fact, he actually hated it.
In an interview with CS Money, Zonic tells how he experienced the transition between 1.6 and CS:GO and why he decided to take a three-year break from the game.
- I think I was one of the first guys to actually try CS:GO, Zonic said to CS Money. “We were playing a 1.6 tournament in New York, and they had this show match between some star players from Europe versus the US team. And we tried the game, and I hated it.
- I thought it was the worst game ever to be created. And I went straight on Twitter to say, "Okay, this shit game is never gonna be as big as 1.6 so you all might as well–like we did with Source–ignore it." And then we have a group of players turning onto this new game, and we continue playing 1.6. I retired as soon as I saw where this was heading.
Zonic's famous tweet dating back to August 2012
The current Vitality coach continues by explaining why he decided to hang up his mouse and conclude his career as a professional Counter-Strike player at the age of 26.
- I didn't want to invest that much time in me going into a new game. I knew it would be better in time, but I wanted to focus on my studies. And I didn't really feel the energy to spend 10-12 hours, which I think you at some point need to if you're playing a new game per day. And if I don't invest myself 100% into something, I need to quit. So, it was a natural step for me to retire. But I remember the Swedes, GeT_RiGhT and f0rest, switching really, really fast compared to the rest of the scene, which I think gave them an advantage compared to some of the top 1.6 teams who stayed a little bit longer. I remember Karrigan stayed with Fnatic for some time, and they played like half a year before switching as well."
Taking a break
Before joining Astralis and winning countless trophies including four Major titles, Zonic decided to leave the scene for a three-year period, he stated in the interview.
- I stopped actually following CS:GO from 2012 to 2015. I started watching again in 2015. And then I came back. For me, it was doing a cold turkey, I think it's called that. Not being around the game at all, not playing it, not watching it, just focusing on me was one of the most boring parts of my life.
- I really missed the competitions and working with a team towards a common goal. Like, "Next three months, we need to be ready for this tournament." And despite me not being a player, I get the exact same feeling when I coach. So I'm happy that I came back."
Zonic is one of the most decorated figures in the history of Counter-Strike. The Dane started as a profiled player in Counter-Strike 1.6 representing mTw and SK Gaming, where he later on developed into being the most successful coach in CS:GO as the mastermind behind Astralis
You can read the entire interview by CS Money here.
