"We came here without any expectations": Crazy_Gamer on reaching AMD GameOn 2024 Grand Finals
Despite rumors of Carnival Gaming getting disbanded, they exceeded the expectations of the Indian Counter-Strike community with their impressive run at the AMD GameOn 2024. This event was hosted in Hyderabad from November 17, 2024, to the next day, and featured an attractive prize pool of ₹300,000.
As fans may know, Carnival Gaming lost the final match 3-1 against True Rippers. In a surprising turn, Hrishikesh "Crazy_Gamer" Shenoy was given the IGL role during this event, taking over from SpawN. We caught up with him after the tournament concluded for an exclusive interview, and here's everything we talked about.
Note: Since the interview was bilingual, the questions and responses have been edited for clarity.
Crazy_Gamer opens up about the AMD GameOn 2024 Grand Finals, Carnival Gaming, and more
Q) Which map do you think was the turning point in the Grand Finals?
Crazy_Gamer: I think the first map, we could have easily closed it. Ancient was our pick, and we were really confident about it. If we had converted the first map, then we would have easily won the second as well. Their mental state would have been crumbled, and we could have finished the game 3-0.
Q) What steps did your team take to counter the advances of True Ripper on that map?
Crazy_Gamer: I have been playing a lot with Defaulter. We have played a lot of CS together, so I knew how he likes to call, as well as his advantages and disadvantages.
So I mentally countered him, and we were just playing on the call. We didn't have any practice on Inferno, but we were just playing on my counter, followed our strats, and played our usual game.
Q) Before this tournament, the news of Carnival Gaming shutting down broke out. How did you and your team manage to stay motivated, reach the Grand Finals, and put up such a great show?
Crazy_Gamer: I have not been part of Carnival Gaming, but my teammates were. When I got to know about this, I was sad because another esports organization backing out from the scene is really bad for us.
We came here without any expectations. We were pretty chill like, "It’s fine, let’s see what happens." We were simply playing for fun and to enjoy the game — that was the main goal.
Q) What lessons will you take from this tournament for future competitions?
Crazy_Gamer: The main lesson I would take is however you practice, however many hours you put in, if your aim is not comfortable or working in your favor on a particular map, you can lose to anyone.
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Q) Which team in this whole tournament had the most unorthodox playstyle, which is hard to counter?
Crazy_Gamer: I think that was our own playstyle. Before we came here, no one knew that Spawn was not going to be the IGL and that I would be taking on the role. So, nobody knew how I was going to think and how we were going to play the game. Because of this, I think our team was unpredictable, and no one could have guessed how we’d perform.
Q) Please share your experience playing in the AMD GameOn 2024.
Crazy_Gamer: It was pretty good. We had some delays on the first day, but there were no technical pauses at all when the games started.
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Q) What does the future hold for this team?
Crazy_Gamer: We have no idea what the future holds as two of our players have full-time 9-to-5 jobs. I don’t think they will leave those jobs just to play competitive CS. I don’t know if we will get a new organization or not, but we will just play the tournaments together with minimal practice. I think we can beat some of the top teams in our region.