Jkaem \u201cexcited\u201d about CSGO future: \u201cI feel I\u2019ve still got it\u201d Igor Bezborodov\/StarLadderIn an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Joakim \u2018jkaem\u2019 Myrbostad reflected on EXTREMUM\u2019s failed qualification efforts for PGL Major Stockholm and the organization\u2019s decision to bench the entire roster. The Norwegian player is currently exploring his options after EXTREMUM benched their CS:GO roster in the aftermath of the team\u2019s failure to qualify for PGL Major. EXTREMUM were ranked third in North America\u2019s Regional Major Rankings (RMR) ahead of IEM Fall with a rather comfortable lead over their closest suitors. However, they cut a frustrated figure in the tournament and finished in sixth place. In the end, they were leapfrogged by Evil Geniuses, paiN Gaming, and GODSENT in the RMR standings. It\u2019s been quite the fall from grace for Oceania\u2019s most storied CS:GO team. Just two years ago, playing under Renegades\u2019 banner, they were leaving the StarLadder Major as heroes after reaching the semi-finals \u2014 the furthest that a team from the region had ever gone at a tournament of this stature. \u201cObviously, I\u2019m gutted,\u201d he told Dexerto. \u201cIt\u2019s what we worked for and what kept the team together over the last year, I\u2019d say. \u201cGoing to the semi-finals at the last Major and now not being able to attend this one is crazy. But it\u2019s been two years, so it\u2019s not like we deserve to automatically qualify for the Major. And we started [the RMR process] with some points, so we definitely had like a head start. \u201cBut the only thing that I could say is that this last RMR meant so much. The previous ones meant nothing in comparison. There are teams that didn\u2019t even play the first one that placed top five and got the Major spot. We were third in the previous one and sixth in this one and we didn\u2019t reach the Major. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a bitter feeling, to be honest.\u201d EXTREMUM\u2019s issues As shocking as it is to see \u2018The Boys\u2019 miss out on the first Major in two years, the foreboding signs were there. The team had spent most of the year outside the top 30 in HLTV\u2019s world ranking and, apart from competing in the RMRs, had made only sporadic appearances in tier-two European tournaments and quite often with mixed results. Discover more: Dexerto launches \u2018Pop Flash\u2019 CSGO show ahead of PGL Major – In March 2021, EXTREMUM captain Aaron \u2018AZR\u2019 Ward had already alerted that the players didn\u2019t have the best mentality going into these grueling European tournaments, which often break unprepared teams, regardless of how accomplished they are. Jkaem admitted that, even though practice results were encouraging to some degree, he \u201cdefinitely feared\u201d that the team could falter at IEM Fall. In his opinion, the lack of proper planning over the course of the year hurt them in the end. \u201cWith 100 Thieves, we had all the event spots, we were partnered with ESL and BLAST,\u201d he said. \u201cGoing into EXTREMUM, we ended up with no spots, so we were left to play lower-tier tournaments. \u201cI think we had the wrong mindset at the start of the year. We should have just played these tournaments and grinded everything that was possible to grind. But instead, we were like, \u2018Ah, we deserve better\u2019, that type of feeling. If we could re-do the year, I think we would have played everything, honestly. \u201cI think we expected things to be a bit easier. It was like, \u2018we\u2019re just going to bring back everything from 100 Thieves, we were doing well in the end, we were in many finals in a row in NA\u2019. And things wouldn\u2019t be that hard, but in a couple of months, CS developed, and now these teams were working hard and shooting hard. \u201cAnd people had to adapt to some new roles. Liazz, for example, had a different role when jks was on the team. He took over jks\u2019 role, but they\u2019re not the same type of player. So it was a little bit about the roles and a little bit about underestimating the hard work that needed to be done at the start.\u201d Counter-Strike future EXTREMUM are yet to announce their future plans, with a decision expected shortly. The Russian organization are currently entertaining offers for all members of the team. Jkaem said that he was somewhat surprised that EXTREMUM opted against rebuilding the roster for 2022. Besides spending big to keep their Oceanic trio and Indonesian star Hansel \u2018BnTeT\u2019 Ferdinand in Europe, EXTREMUM also made a serious effort to produce unique, original content around the squad all year long. \u201cI think we all were aware that there was a chance that it might happen,\u201d jkaem said when asked about EXTREMUM\u2019s decision. \u201cWe knew that they had put a lot of resources into this project. And we didn\u2019t have the hardest path to the Major, so we should have made it. \u201cThat was their main goal and our own. So when we failed to reach that goal, we knew there was a chance. \u201cI thought that maybe they would cut some players, make some changes, and rebuild the team because they had invested so heavily into this first year of CS. So in some way, I was a little bit surprised, but we were aware that this could happen.\u201d Quizzed on his future, jkaem stated he doesn\u2019t know what he will do just yet, though he ruled out a transition to Valorant. \u201cI\u2019m too old to switch games,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cAll I can say is that a few teams have reached out,\u201d he added, \u201cso there could be something in the making.\u201d Not done yet It is nearly a year to the day since jkaem left the Australian team and 100 Thieves, and signed for Norwegian organization Apeks with the goal of contributing to the development of his local scene. Two months later, he was out the door, bringing his short tenure with Apeks to a surprising end. The prospect of reuniting with his former Renegades and 100 Thieves teammates proved too tempting to pass up. This time around though, it\u2019s a different story. \u201cI don\u2019t think the [EXTREMUM] group is going to stick together,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe like a duo could stick together, but I think that people might go their separate ways.\u201d Jkaem is confident that he still has plenty to offer teams in need of an experienced entry fragger, pointing to his EXTREMUM form as an indicator that he can \u201cstill deliver on a high level\u201d. Despite EXTREMUM\u2019s shortcomings, he was always a reliable performer for the team. He finished IEM Fall with a tournament-high 1.35 HLTV rating, also topping the event\u2019s charts for ADR (95.9), kills per round (0.88), impact (1.49) and headshots per round (0.48). \u201cI feel in good shape individually,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe I put in good numbers and I\u2019m a role player. I play pretty hard entry and I\u2019m also very aggressive on the CT side as well. So sometimes that might not be the easiest role to play. \u201cWhen it comes to achieving things, I\u2019ve been in a bunch of semi-finals and a couple of finals, but have never lifted a big trophy. It\u2019s always been like a step or two short. \u201cIf there\u2019s something I want to achieve, it\u2019s to start lifting some trophies. I\u2019m not getting younger, but I feel I\u2019ve still got it. I\u2019m excited about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jkaem \u201cexcited\u201d about CSGO future: \u201cI feel I\u2019ve still got it\u201d Igor Bezborodov\/StarLadderIn an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Joakim \u2018jkaem\u2019 Myrbostad reflected on EXTREMUM\u2019s failed qualification efforts for PGL Major Stockholm and the organization\u2019s decision to bench the entire roster. The Norwegian player is currently exploring his options after EXTREMUM benched their CS:GO roster in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}