We caught up with fan favorite Raphael "cogu" Camargo who recently made a comeback for CS:GO in ProGaming.Target Down and has been bootcamping at IOS to prepare for ESWC.

Camargo chose to retire from competitive Counter-Strike in November 2009 after being admitted to law school, his second time as he already called it quits earlier in 2006 for a chance to become a professional soccer player.

To the delight of his numerous fans he has now made a comeback for CS:GO and has been working hard to become as good as he once was in his golden days. Read on to find out what he thinks of CS:GO and his team's chance at ESWC 2012.

How have you prepared for ESWC 2012? Have you bootcamped or only practiced online? Do you feel ready for the competition?

We have been bootcamping at Inferno online for the past 20 days (seems like a long time but it's not haha). We are not 100% ready. Since it's a new game, we still need to fix a lot of things so you won't see our best game at ESWC, but we will be prepared for DreamHack Winter. We are still going to bootcamp at Inferno Online after ESWC.

How many hours have you played CS:GO overall? How about your teammates?

I have around 400h, because i had another Steam account when I was playing in Brazil. My teammates have a little bit less than me, something around 300-350. They will probably gonna have around 400 for ESWC too.

What are you thoughts on CS:GO? What do you like and dislike? If you could change one thing, what would it be?

I'm giving the game a chance, I have a lot of fun playing it, but there's still a lot to fix. If I could change just ONE thing I would change the AWP, because right now it doesn't feel like an... well... an AW ! It feels so random at some shots and I always have the feeling that if I move and shoot, I will hit someone. I don't like the recoil of the AK or the Colt, but I hope they fix it with time.

cogu at IEM IV Global Challenge Chengdu in 2009 with mibr

What do you expect from ESWC 2012? If your life depended on guessing your final placing, what would you guess?

I expect a sick event! It has been a long time since I went to an ESWC and I'm really excited! It's one of the best events in the world (or at least it was in my days). I really don't know what we will place since it's the first big CS:GO tournament, but I guess NiP and ESC will do well, although it's a new game so anything can happen.

What can you tell us about your competition based on seeing them play and practicing against them? Who do you consider the strongest three teams going into the event?

It's hard to tell because every team has a unique style of playing, but I think the strongest teams are NiP, VG and ESC.

Can you talk about your teammates and explain to our readers what everyone's role on the team is in-game?

rkz cooker

steel the killer

zakk showman

zqk snorlax

Hahaha, I can't say that much about my teammates, maybe after the tournament I will be more confident talking about each one of them.

Many say CS:S players had an advantage in switching to CS:GO, do you agree? Has the game been out long enough for it to even out?

Well, I think so, CS:S players have a little bit of an advantage because it's kind of a similar game, but in my opinion 1.6 players have more experience.

Do you believe it is necessary or advantageous to mix players from different games, or do you think it does not help?

I don't think is necessary. It's just happened, at least with us.

cogu in action at shgOpen 2007 

With CS:GO still being a relatively new game, do you believe simply playing more hours still gives players a clear advantage?

It will for sure help, but everything is going to count: everyone's hunger to win, teamplay, etc.

Everyone is anxiously waiting to see cogu in action once again, years since your last appearance in 2009?. How does your current form compare to what people are expecting from the CS 1.6 times?

I hope I can do my best like I did in 2006, but the AWP is so inconsistent right now that i can't promise that much.

What have you been doing since retiring from competitive CS? Have you played any games since then for fun or were you without playing altogether for a period of time?

I was attending university and working towards becoming a lawyer, I was not playing any games. I also want to say thanks to everybody who is supporting us: ProGaming and Lipe who made this all possible, SBG who is helping us a lot and Razer who gave us the best gear on the market. Last but not least, Inferno Online who helped me every time I came here, thanks so much guys!

How have you prepared for ESWC 2012? Have you bootcamped or only practiced online? Do you feel ready for the competition?

We have been bootcamping at Inferno online for the past 20 days (seems like a long time but it's not haha). We are not 100% ready. Since it's a new game, we still need to fix a lot of things so you won't see our best game at ESWC, but we will be prepared for DreamHack Winter. We are still going to bootcamp at Inferno Online after ESWC.

How many hours have you played CS:GO overall? How about your teammates?

I have around 400h, because i had another Steam account when I was playing in Brazil. My teammates have a little bit less than me, something around 300-350. They will probably gonna have around 400 for ESWC too.

What are you thoughts on CS:GO? What do you like and dislike? If you could change one thing, what would it be?

I'm giving the game a chance, I have a lot of fun playing it, but there's still a lot to fix. If I could change just ONE thing I would change the AWP, because right now it doesn't feel like an... well... an AW ! It feels so random at some shots and I always have the feeling that if I move and shoot, I will hit someone. I don't like the recoil of the AK or the Colt, but I hope they fix it with time.

What do you expect from ESWC 2012? If your life depended on guessing your final placing, what would you guess?

I expect a sick event! It has been a long time since I went to an ESWC and I'm really excited! It's one of the best events in the world (or at least it was in my days). I really don't know what we will place since it's the first big CS:GO tournament, but I guess NiP and ESC will do well, although it's a new game so anything can happen.

What can you tell us about your competition based on seeing them play and practicing against them? Who do you consider the strongest three teams going into the event?

It's hard to tell because every team has a unique style of playing, but I think the strongest teams are NiP, VG and ESC.

Can you talk about your teammates and explain to our readers what everyone's role on the team is in-game?

rkz cooker

steel the killer

zakk showman

zqk snorlax

Hahaha, I can't say that much about my teammates, maybe after the tournament I will be more confident talking about each one of them.

Many say CS:S players had an advantage in switching to CS:GO, do you agree? Has the game been out long enough for it to even out?

Well, I think so, CS:S players have a little bit of an advantage because it's kind of a similar game, but in my opinion 1.6 players have more experience.

Do you believe it is necessary or advantageous to mix players from different games, or do you think it does not help?

I don't think is necessary. It's just happened, at least with us.

With CS:GO still being a relatively new game, do you believe simply playing more hours still gives players a clear advantage?

It will for sure help, but everything is going to count: everyone's hunger to win, teamplay, etc.

Everyone is anxiously waiting to see cogu in action once again, years since your last appearance in 2008(2009?). How does your current form compare to what people are expecting from the CS 1.6 times?

I hope I can do my best like I did in 2006, but my AWP is so inconsistent right now that i can't promise that much.

What have you been doing since retiring from competitive CS? Have you played any games since then for fun or were you without playing altogether for a period of time?

I was attending university and working towards becoming a lawyer, I was not playing any games. I also want to say thanks to everybody who is supporting us: ProGaming and Lipe who made this all possible, SBG who is helping us a lot and Razer who gave us the best gear on the market. Last but not least, Inferno Online who helped me every time I came here, thanks so much guys!

Stay tuned to HLTV.org for more interviews prior to ESWC 2012, as we still have ones with members of mousesports, NiP and VeryGames in the works on top of full coverage of the event itself.