Saving NA CS: MaestrO

North American Counter-Strike isn't just made up of players, staff, and organizations. Fans, casters, analysts, and other personalities are important components that sustain the scene. In order to hear the thoughts of these community members, Dust2.us presents "Saving NA CS" as a series of interviews.

With 2024 right around the corner, Counter-Strike is growing every day, and with the recent launch of CS2, the legends from previous eras are slowly being forgotten. One name that entered the scene very early on and is still helping the NA CS community is Michael "MaestrO" Bulostin, more recently known as the Bad News Bears coach. Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore talked with MaestrO about those past days of Counter-Strike with the co-owner of Refrag giving a lot of good advice to younger players and fans. Please note that the full interview can be found below on YouTube, while the transcript has some key snippets from their conversation.

How did you get your start in esports?

My first game in esports was StarCraft, in 2001. That was my first PC game, shortly after I found out about Counter-Strike 1.5 and I had touched 1.3 previously, but 1.5 was what grasped me and I started just griding the game and I loved it and haven't looked back since.

What's your defining memories from those early days of Counter-Strike during the 1.5 or 1.6 days?

Local tournaments that I attended here in Atlanta actually, for 1.6. That eventually led me to take the game a bit more seriously and I actually attended CPL Winter 2006 where I met some of the greatest players on the planet like SK, 3D, NIP, zEx and that was where I really started understanding where this scene was going and what the trajectory could potentially be. Shortly after, I attended the Esports World Cup in Paris as a spectator where again I saw 3D, Craig Levine [current ESL FACEIT Group co-CEO and 3D founder] was there, and other legends at the time. When I was able to see in a short period of time how far the scene had already gone in a matter of two to three years, I realized it was just the beginning of something really incredible that was going to happen over the next decade.

What do you think your proudest moments were during those times before CS:GO came out?

I don't have any defining pride from those early days other than just staying passionate about the game, and understanding and staying close to the scene, networking and going to events, even those I wasn't by any means at a tier one level, I was a fan of the tier one players and I networked and connected with them as early and often as possible, whenever I attended events. It's important to get out there and go to these events, that's why I love continuing to attend at any possible time that I can. I encourage everyone that's young and wants to go to be a part of the scene. Go to your local events, that's where you get outside of your shell a bit and have the opportunity to network and socialize with like-minded people just like yourself.