pyth: "Not close to my peak"

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi has been a somewhat controversial character since breaking out in mid-2013 in Markus "pronax" Wallsten's Publiclir.se at DreamHack Summer, when they were one round away from knocking out NiP.

Later in 2013 the team won DreamHack Valencia and placed 5-8th at DreamHack Bucharest, before pyth changed to SK Gaming, with whom he placed 3rd at MSI Beat It.

#	Event	Team
2nd	ESPORTSM Stockholm	VYE
2nd	Svecup Norrköping	hGh
2nd	NLAN	hGh
2nd	Svecup Västerås	mixteam
3-4th	DreamHack Summer IOS Qualifier	Team X
9-12th	DreamHack Summer	Team X
1st	DreamHack Valencia	n!faculty
2nd	Svecup Jönköping	mixteam
5-8th	DreamHack Bucharest	n!faculty
3rd	MSI Beat It	SK Gaming
3rd	Svecup Grand Finals	AliGon
5-8th	DreamHack Winter BYOC qualifier	Omtalad
9-12th	DreamHack Summer	Publiclir.se
5-8th	ESPORTSM Finals	Publiclir.se
9-16th	Copenhagen Games	Publiclir.se
5-8th	ASUS ROG Summer	Publiclir.se

Fans have criticized pyth for his inability to stay on the same team for a longer period of time, but according to fnatic's in-game leader pronax, it's not pyth's fault.

Continue reading to find out what exactly is going on in pyth's career right now, what his future aspirations are, how he expects his new team Unwanted to do, and more.

pyth at DreamHack Summer 2013 

You first broke out in the scene in early 2013, mostly impressing fans in online play. How long had you actually been playing for at that point? I know you attended tournaments already in CS 1.6, but was it serious or you simply being able to attend them due to being conveniently located in Sweden?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I think I have played CS for around 10 years, my interest in Counter-Strike began when a friend of mine introduced me to the game but I never played it competitive. Back then it was just my hobby for me as I was still attending school and I had no clue how big Counter-Strike was back then.

Your first known team was Team X/Publiclir.se, with pronax as your leader. You came within a legendary 1v3 win by Xizt of upsetting NiP at DH Summer, and later on won DH Valencia with the same roster under the n!faculty banner. Was that your break through as a player as well, or was that only the first time you got to shine in the public's eye?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I think it was a breakthrough from our entire team, I attended all lan events I could to prove myself since everyone was calling me a onliner back then and our lineup during n!faculty was not just a team, we were good friends and we had fun together which is one of the reasons we did very good together, I liked pronax game plan and calls during the games and I felt confident playing with him as a leader and that's why I succeeded, I had a role in the team that I enjoyed. Winning DH Valencia was a relief for me as it proved that I can perform on a international event and I worked really hard to become good at the game especially together with my boys in the team.th

After a mediocre finish at DH Bucharest, you were removed from the team to recruit gla1ve. How did you feel at the time? Did it come as a surprise or was it somewhat expected for you? What were the reasons given for this change?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I did not get removed from n!faculty, SK Gaming approached me and asked if I were interested in playing with them to attend MSI Beat IT in China as we lost in the qualifiers against them so I told my team that this is something I wan't to do because I was unhappy with our game plan and our team because lidde left and he was a good friend of mine and I got along very good with him, then we had karrigan in our team who is a great player but it made us communicate in English which was very hard for me because he was our new in-game leader and I did not understand him so much.

You quickly found a new home in SK Gaming - who previously finished second at DH Bucharest under the Lemondogs banner - but only lasted through MSI Beat It in Beijing, before being replaced by MODDII. What do you believe led to this change? Were you simply a bad fit for the team, or did something happen in China?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: Nothing happened in China, the only reasons was me not performing well due to having a player role that I was not comfortable with and I played really bad during the event because I cannot play good with 60hz monitors and laptops in general. I'd say I just needed more time and I think that I'd perform much better with them at Dreamhack if I were given the opportunity but I did not get the faith and they believed that a player change a few days before Dreamhack would benefit them. I also think that SK was just a team that focused on results and not the players in the team, we just played together and didn't have any fun whatsoever so in the end I think it might have been a good choice for myself.

Around this time LGB broke out as a top-tier team. In your early career you attended a number of Swedish events with Maikelele, KRiMZ and SKYTTEN. How come you never wound up playing for LGB? You played some SLTV matches for them, and I heard you were also going to be their stand-in at DH Summer this year, had they wound up attending in the end. Is that something you ever think about?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I don't know honestly, I don't think we had the experience back then as we did not get the chance to practice against top teams due to us being "unknown" for the pro scene. They asked me if I could stand-in for some SLTV matches as I am good friends with them and I had nothing better to do so I had fun playing and just wanted to stay active as much as I could. They asked me if I was interested going to DH Summer with them since dennis took a full time job and did not want to play anymore due to summer vacation so everyone was lacking motivation and wanted to skip the event.

pyth at DH Summer 2014 with Publiclir.se

Most recently you've attended Copenhagen Games, DH Summer and ASUS ROG Summer with mixteams. Is it concerning at all that despite your obvious talent, you have to keep attending these events with mixteams as a last minute stand-in as opposed to finding a long-term home?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I just do it as a fun thing because I attend those events with good friends of mine and we go there just to have fun and try to be the underdogs who wants to beat some good teams :) I also love competing so it's just positive for me attending events with some friends just to have some fun.

For whatever reason, you seem to struggle staying on teams. Why do you think that is? I realize this question requires a very honest answer, but is there something you can think of that might be why you're not on one of the Swedish top teams? Is it a case of not finding the right team? It seemed you got along together with pronax, until he went to fnatic. Were you ever considered for their team before they decided on olofm and KRiMZ?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I just think that I'm not given the right opportunity and the time that I need to adapt in a team, I know that pronax was asked several teams to join Fnatic as they believed he was a really good in-game leader and I agree, he is definitely one of the best in Sweden as he can take a talented group of players and make them a force to be reckoned with. (Look at them for example, they won DH Summer 2013 and placed 2nd at ESL One Cologne). I don't think I ever was considered in their team as there were a lot of talented players without a team back then with much more experience than me.

fnatic's in-game leader and your former in-game leader last year pronax recently tweeted saying "trust me, I did not have to work hard for it to work with pyth in n!faculty, he is a very good player, but very unlucky." What do you make of it? How do you see yourself being unlucky?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I definitely agree, I just gotta find a group of players that I enjoy playing with as I've not been myself since n!faculty times, I just gotta stay positive and try to find my old form as I believe I have the potential to do it. It's kinda of sad to see all the hate I am getting on the forums, you all probably know me for interacting and helping people on HLTV and Fragbite a lot so I probably read everything that is being posted out there. People out there don't know who I am and just and prejudice against all my past actions due to being removed from SK Gaming and now, FlipSid3.

@brexbrexbrex trust me, i did not have to work hard for it to work with pyth in n!faculty, he is a very good player, but very unlucky.

— Markus Wallsten (@pronaxCSGO) August 7, 2014

Your most recent tenure with a team was in FlipSid3 together with players such as twist, MODDII and schneider, but you were removed from the team after losing to ENCORE in the ESL One qualifier. What do you think went wrong in that team?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: We were recruited to FlipSid3 in a rush to the ESL One Cologne qualifiers as we practiced about 3-4 days before attending it. We lost to Encore 2-0 and got eliminated from the qualifiers and it was a very big disappointment for everyone in the team. Encore had practiced several weeks and I believe that it was their hunger that made us fall as we were a relatively new team that struggled because everyone was uncomfortable due to low amounts of practice.

I think that we had the wrong set of players to start off with, I had a role that I was not comfortable with and needed time to adapt with the role to become good at it but I was not getting any time and they thought it was better to replace me with Spitfire as they needed someone that could take command and lead the team as he is a backup leader type. (Not sure if he's the IGL of the team)

Spitfire replacing me was a really good choice for their team as he provides with something that I was not able to, when I played with him in n!faculty he was a really good support utility player and did a fine job with the AWP and had really good rotations on the CT side, I don't have the same experiences as he does on those roles.

Let's say you get to decide which team you join right now, but instead of doing it based on how good they are, you do it based on how well you would fit in. If that were the case, which Swedish player would you replace in which top team? Whose role could you fill the best, and which team could you improve the most in your opinion?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I would play with people that I enjoy playing with and people that believe in me, I don't agree that roster changes in a team is a solution as you need to build chemistry and teamwork together especially when you're a team with 5 individually strong players. I also had a really good time playing with pronax in n!faculty so if I ever wanted someone as a leader in my team it would be him for sure.

How good do you consider yourself individually? Your career rating is 1.09, which puts you in the same group of players with Dosia, Maikelele, seized, n0thing and JW for instance. Do you think you're close to your peak, or do you expect to improve much more if you get on a good team?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I'm definitely not close to my peak, I have a lot to improve to become a good player and I still lack the experience. I have not played on a top level for a very long time and I believe playing with some good friends of mine now will improve me a lot, not just as a player but also as a person and a team player.

How frustrating is it being left out of all these teams despite knowing you're a good player? Has there ever been a point where you've considered quitting CS:GO, unless you get a good offer from a team, or are you set on continuing to play unless you get picked up by a team that's aware of your potential?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: It can be very frustrating sometimes especially with the community hating on me, I have actually never considered quitting CS:GO I just took some small breaks from the game but CS and competing is something I love and something that I won't give up for a very long time. I am not going to give up before a fight and I'm just more motivated and hungry to succeed as of now. “Anyone can give up; it is the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would expect you to fall apart, now that is true strength.” is a quote that I inspire a lot.

You have now announced your return in UnWanted together with Maikelele, SKYTTEN, maxAki and pb. While everyone's aware of the two best known ex-LGB players on the roster, can you tell us more about maxAki - who played LGB earlier in 2013 - and pb? What role will everyone play on this team?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: maxaki will be the leader of the team and pb is just a generally good and friendly guy who played on a semi pro level in 1.6, I believe they both have the potential to become solid players with some experience in the game, as you can see we don't focus on maximum firepower but we rather focus on the team play and having fun together, of course it would be nice to score some good results against top teams and do this as a team, together.

Maikelele is the AWPer of the team and I am surprised that he got this good with the AWP, when I played with him back in hGh he rarely picked up the sniper rifle and were really good with rifles, today he's a talented AWPer with the potential to become one of the best in the world, SKYTTEN is a consistent rifler who is also very open minded and likes to come with ideas when it comes to how we should play in the rounds.

Can pyth find the way to a podium with his new team Unwanted?

Do you believe UnWanted, given proper organizational backing, has what it takes to become a legitimate top team in the scene? What would be realistic goals for you and your team for the rest of 2014?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: Yes I believe we have the potential to become a top team, right now we're just trying stuff out and have a lot of fun together, UnWanted is just a temporary name and we have something big going on so stay tuned for that! We will set up goals for ourselves and we base our game with friendship and share the passion of CS:GO together, of course it would be nice to beat some top teams and qualify for a major event which I haven't been at yet.

You've mentioned that you haven't been put in the right role in your previous teams. Can you describe your ideal role on the team? In what role could you be the most successful at? What would you prefer playing?

Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi: I've played roles and positions that I'm not comfortable with, I like to play a bit aggressive and not so passive and defensive which I haven't had to chance to do in others teams so I just gotta get the experience and find a nice balance of it. Sometimes I like to go for the entry frags and sometimes I just prefer to play passive and try to get frags as we are executing a bombsite. I guess I've just had bad team play overall with the other teams due to low amounts of practice which I don't have any problems with now as I know how my team is playing and what they like to do.

pyth has now created Unwanted together with players such as Mikail "Maikelele" Bill and Alexander "SKYTTEN" Carlsson. The Swedes are currently looking for an organization.