Stewie2K: "I know for a fact this won't be the last time you see me"

Somehow, beyond all belief, G2 are just a single game away from making the arena at IEM Dallas with homegrown stand-in Jake "Stewie2K" Yip after defeating the highest ranked team in the world, MOUZ. After this momentous result, G2 face Liquid for an arena spot. The victory is a welcome surprise for a team that struggled in this matchup with their full roster.

After the game, Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore spoke with Stewie2K, the super stand-in, about the game, the process of standing in, and his potential return to professional Counter-Strike.

The full transcription is available underneath, or you can watch the YouTube video below.

You just beat the number one team in the world while standing-in for your first S-tier event in two and a half years, how are you feeling?

It definitely brings back a lot of memories. It revives a lot of feelings I used to have when I went to tournaments. I think the first day here, I had some jitters, or some expectations on my own, so coming back, I wasn't in full force just yet. After the first day, and now the second day, I feel like I've got into the groove of things. My mindset is more in that killer mentality, especially playing against MOUZ.

I know they're not an easy team, but from watching them play and playing against them, first, second map, I didn't even feel like they were all that special. There wasn't anything that was catching me off guard or anything like that. I can read them very well, it was just about getting through the group stage and making sure I feel comfortable.

With that comfort, a lot of people have been looking to your tier one return, wondering if you had the mechanics, the brain for the game from your previous outings, to come back. How are you feeling about your mechanics and your mind for the game?

When you've done something for so long, seven, eight years, it's not something you can forget so easily, or just transition into something else and completely drop what you once knew. With that being said, even when I watch CS or play scrims with G2, it's not anything surprising. Nothing changed drastically in the meta in the last few years.

I think it's more about getting the reps in and making better decisions and understanding the general picture of what teams are trying to do now. I think playing against MOUZ, it kinda all clicks at a certain moment where I just started understanding everything, it's almost like I never left even. It's all about getting into the groove of things and hopefully tomorrow I'll be 100%.

You're going to be playing Liquid tomorrow. Stewie2K versus Team Liquid, is that a weird thought to you?

I would say, maybe if it was the iteration with EliGE it would be a little different. It would be different playing against my ex-teammates, but this time around, the roster has changed so much that I can't really say this is anything personal.

I'm playing against NAF and Twistzz who I used to be teammates with, but for me, this is just another game. I'm not gonna add anything personal to it. I'm gonna focus round by round and play game by game and hopefully make it on the stage.

I gott ask, how did this even come to pass? Nobody really expected Stewie2K to stand-in for G2. What was the whole process like?

To be honest, I cannot give you a for sure answer. Throughout my experience on teams and organizations, I can say that no management would come out nowhere and force you to play with someone you don't want to. I'm sure it's something that's been discussed before, and in my time with Legacy as a stand-in, I stood in for them for a little bit knowing that it wasn't going to be forever. It was going to be a short period of time and I didn't know what was to come next.

I was reached out to by Ricardo, dead, one of the Legacy CEOs, and he said that G2 are looking for a stand-in and they reached out to me. To be honest, the thought process behind it on my end, there's not a lot of free agents out there, there's not a lot of players that are available, so for me to be an option is not something that surprised me.

But definitely, that opportunity coming my way at a tier one event is something I couldn't pass up and I know it won't be easy to jump into that level of competition right away.

For jumping into the deep end immediately, are you having fun?

I think that's the main objective. Having fun is one of the things that's most important in anything you do. If you're not having fun, then it's gonna be a miserable time for you and the group. I think just being able to play with some of the best players in the world and just being on the same team, and being on this side for once, it makes things more fun.

There's a lot of situations that happen that you don't expect. It's been a long time, it's been a while, and it's been an enjoyable experience and definitely not something to take for granted.

On the topic of fun, something very fun you did was that ESL skit that aired earlier today had you interrogated by stunna and moses. A lot of people found it funny with references back to the EG days, is that a sign that now some time has passed, you're able to be more accepting and just view it as part of your career?

To be honest the EG situation is something I've moved past a long time ago. It's not something that recently happened, and all the speculation and rumors that happened, I moved past that a long time ago. I'm not gonna let it define me. I've been in the scene for so long, I've done so much, I've been a part of so many teams, that you can ask any of my ex-teammates. I think every player has their own flaws, nobody is gonna be perfect, but I am not gonna let that define me in a way where I believe its true. If it's true, then it's something I can own up to and I will admit it. It's not something that I can just change in the public's perspective.

For me, coming here and the skit that happened, I understand it, it doesn't bother me, I think it's something to laugh at in the long run. It's not something you're gonna catch up on and, you know, keep that hanging above my head. I think that's something you learn from and move on from.

Looking at your next match against Liquid, there's a very real world where you guys win tomorrow and move forward to the main stage on IEM Dallas, back in front of a home crowd for the first time in man years. What would that mean for you, to be Stewie2K, the smoke criminal, in front of the American crowd once again?

Man, it would mean everything. It's been so long away from competition, being able to have the opportunity to stand in for one of the best teams out there, and especially in front of a home crowd, I think it's almost like it's supposed to happen.

If I were able to play in front of the crowd, that would mean everything. The last time I played in front of an NA crowd was probably Chicago in 2019 or some time around then. It's been many years since I played in front of a crowd. Being able to hear the roars and for them to cheer my name and cheer me on, that would mean everything.

And for the big question, the one that's been on everyone's mind, we see you standing in for Legacy, we see you here for G2 at IEM Dallas, is Stewie2K back for Counter-Strike 2?

It's very hard to say. I wouldn't say I'm trying to leave or I'm trying to put CS behind me. I think I want to stay in the CS scene, but at the same time, I have to look out for myself.

I have to prioritize other things outside of CS and make sure I'm good on the business side of things and make sure I'm good there before I move on and possibly have the chance to affect other people in a collective group. I would say, for now, I'm back, but at the same time, don't expect anything.

But, if everything goes the way it needs to go on the other side of your life, are we gonna see you start looking for teams? What's the immediate thing you're gonna do after IEM Dallas, regardless of the result tomorrow?

Man, I'll say one thing. One thing I'm very appreciate of is that for the two years I've been gone from competitive play, my name is still around the scene and is still floating around, people are still talking about me whether its in a bad or good light. The fact my name is still hanging around, I'm very appreciative of that. I know for a fact this won't be the last time you see me.