*the original wording has been retained* *only minor errors have been corrected*
Kamil “Husarz” Zelewski – the 33-year-old captain of Superion Gaming. He joined the team on 3 October 2024. In a written interview, we asked him, among other things, what Superion’s plans are for the “ESEA Open” and “Arrmy Open” playoffs. Later in the article, there is also an answer to the question of whether Husarz minds playing with younger players. I invite you to read on:
[R] Hi Husarz, to start with, please introduce yourself to our readers. What do you do on a daily basis?
Hello. My name is Kamil Żelewski. I run my own business as a construction worker in Belgium; to be specific, I’m a tiler.
[R] We know you play with players much younger than yourself. Does that not bother you when playing or coaching?
I don’t think you feel the age difference at all when we’re at TS or at boot camp. We can all have a bit of a laugh like kids, but when we need to knuckle down for a training session or an official match, everyone is 100% focused. As for leading the team, the lads trust me and listen to my calls, but they’re also not afraid to speak up or tell me something they’ve noticed, for example, in the opponents’ plays.
[R] You’re probably the first organisation in the Polish CS2 underground to have held a bootcamp. Do you think this is a step forward in coming out of the underground?
From what I’ve heard, some teams have organised their own ‘bootcamps’, but probably not as, hmm, ‘professional’ as ours was. I believe that such a bootcamp has massively improved certain aspects of the game that were actually our Achilles’ heel, and such an event also provides a real motivational boost for the team to play together for as long as possible, because there are no empty promises, just real action. Thanks to the bootcamp, we’ve gained a lot of confidence that everything is heading in the right direction, and we can’t wait for the next one.
[R] You finished with a 12:2 record in the ESEA Open. That’s a good result and the playoffs await you – what are your expectations for them? Promotion to ESEA Intermediate, or are you aiming even higher?
I think we could have improved that record even further, but slip-ups happen, and that’s what happened in our case. Because we’re competing in the ‘ESEA Open’ rather than ‘Open 10’, unfortunately we can only qualify for the Intermediate tier, and that’s our goal, although the result achieved in the ‘ESEA Open’ was still a pleasant surprise for me, as I thought we’d do a bit worse.
[R] As for Arrmy Open, you finished with a 9:1 record after losing to a team within your reach. What caused that defeat? A lapse in concentration? Or simply an off day?
Actually, several factors contributed to that defeat; we lacked the focus to simply close out the match when the score was, I think, 11:7, and we were punished for it. We also had to play without our main sniper, which narrowed our range of plays a bit and meant we had to rotate positions on the map, but, either way, the match was winnable. It is what it is.
[R] A coach and a commentator have recently joined your staff. Did the coach take a lot of the pressure off you at the start? What exactly is his role in the team – more mental or tactical?
Yes, the redhead basically joined us just before bootcamp, but he also came to the bootcamp itself. He’s got great tactical knowledge and we see eye to eye on many aspects. As for his role, he mainly handles the CT side and opponent analysis, which he’s very good at and has paid off many times over. He also spots the opponents’ weak points and can give us some sensible tips during breaks, so credit to him for what he does. The lad is a workhorse, as he’d stay up all night to prepare materials for us for the bootcamp, and it’s thanks to him that we’ve improved our defensive play so much. As for the commentator, I’ve known Nietzsche for quite some time, as we also worked together when I had the chance to play for Signum Esports. I reckon he’s one of the best, if not the best, underground commentators, and I really encourage you to follow his Twitch channel – ask him to play the guitar for you. The lad’s a real character.
[R] Are you planning to play in any tournaments during the break between leagues?
Yes, we want to compete in the Galaxy Cup and Winners.gg so we don’t lose our match rhythm, although there’ll be a Christmas break anyway and we’ll have to take a break from the game. At the moment, we’re focusing on the Arrma and ESEA playoffs, and we want to go as far as possible.
[R] What do you think of the current state of CS2?
Well, what can I say, they try to update the game every now and then, but whatever they fix, they break with another update, and so on and so forth. I think it’ll be a long time before the game reaches the same level of playability as its predecessor, and I’m not sure it ever will. I feel VALVE isn’t doing enough when it comes to working with professional players. Unfortunately, the money’s right for Gaben, and I suppose that’s what matters most to him – it’s better to pour money into Deadlock or DOTA. I’m hoping, though, that better times will come.
[R] I know you’ve played not only the previous instalment of this game, but also CS 1.6 and CS:Source. How does CS2 compare to those games?
Generally speaking, compared to those oldies you mentioned above, CS2 relies much more on tactical play; smoke and flashbangs are simply essential to tactics, whereas in CS 1.6 it was more of a typical headshot-focused game with the occasional use of flashbangs. I really miss that pixelated graphics and shooting through every wall, because that was my prime, but I’m also glad that the experience gained back then is paying off in the game after so many years, although now I’m the one calling the shots, whereas in the days of 1.6 I was more of a typical aimer.
[R] What’s the situation with training for you guys? How many times a week do you train as a team, and for how long?
We train six days a week; we have Saturdays off, unless someone has something else come up – we have a calendar and note down absences so everyone can plan their day differently. It works the other way round too; if we have a tournament or qualifiers on a Saturday, then we just play and end up playing seven days a week. In terms of hours, we usually start around 6.30 or 7 pm and stay until about 10 pm during the week. This is largely down to the fact that’s when I get home from work, but we make up for the shorter hours by playing almost every day.
[R] And how much do you train individually?
Unfortunately, I don’t have much time for individual training during the week. It’s a different situation if we have an official match on the calendar; we usually play a practice match as a warm-up before the official match, then we give ourselves about 30–60 minutes to warm up, and during that time I try to spend most of my time on the maps oraim maps, or I also talk to the coach about analysing our opponent and how to approach the game.
[R] Could you share your predictions for the upcoming Major – who do you think will win it, and what’s your pick?
English 
Polish 