DeKay Mailbag Part 3: Source 2, Lekr0's Future, and Potential Roster Moves

Welcome to Part 3 of the DeKay Mailbag, a monthly feature in which Counter-Strike reporter and insider Jarek "DeKay" Lewis answers questions from readers on Twitter. Do you have a question you'd like to see in a future mailbag? Tweet @dekay.

Valve would probably be the last developer that would be worried about what another developer is doing. I’m sure they will pay attention and see if anything about Valorant could inspire new features in CS:GO but that’s about it. The players that did leave to Valorant are just taking advantage of a great opportunity to get in early, but a good amount of them will only make it so far. No top player has left Counter-Strike, which is all that matters.

Well we all know it’s coming eventually, but I really have no idea why everyone assumed it was coming in May. I never heard that at all.

You are right in that I really don’t care either way. I’m sure it’s possible but I don’t expect it and don’t mind if I never win. I will always try my best to put the highest quality work out there for people to read and whatever happens, happens.

I agree that he is playing very well. He is also pretty young, which adds to his chances of getting picked up somewhere. I think if they qualify for some larger events, he might draw interest. It really helps that most Bulgarian players seem to perform when they get picked up by international teams, so it’s only a matter of time in my opinion.

That’s the tough thing right now because many people say they were aware and others said they weren’t. Xyp9x was a surprise to everyone, even the organization. However, many have told me that they knew about gla1ve and that the entire team wanted time off but weren’t allowed to do it. It’s tough to say right now for certain.

I like the idea of going with an in-game leader like they did, but not at the expense of lekr0. He sacrificed everything for that team through countless iterations only to get kicked for it, I didn’t like that. I do think they will improve over time, but it will be tough at first while Hampus gets everything figured out.

Out of all the things they could change at some point in the future, I do think they make a coaching change. I see that happening before a roster change takes place. I’m not sure who it would be though.

I would label it as a burnout issue but also possibly a clash in approach between the veteran players and the organization. It's still very much an ongoing situation and story.

I didn’t really look into it at the time but from what I know, there was a chance for him to go to Valorant or something but it didn’t pan out.

I think those two have a separate set of opportunities. The Maikelele situation has left him with less of a chance to join a team, even if it comes out that most of the issues with GODSENT weren’t his fault. The drama that has come from his departure is something other organizations and players won't touch.

Lekr0 comes down to how much money NiP wants for him right now and the length of his contract. He will have interest, but if they ask too much, he could sit for a while. I hope that doesn’t happen.

ALEX has some interest but I still think it will take some time before we see him pop up with a new team. Same goes for potential new teams for FLASHPOINT, we have to get through this pandemic situation and figure out when things will return to normal first.

I’m sure there will be a few. If there is an issue that is systemic and wouldn’t be solved by performance improving offline, a change will come. I don’t expect many of them though.

I think they are similar to Liquid in that they will wait until offline play to really decide if anything needs to change. In fact, I think they are less likely to change than Liquid.

Envy would be the more likely, but I haven't heard anything to confirm that move.

I absolutely agree but snax is unique in that his play never returned when he stopped in-game leading. Most players improve once they stop, but he didn’t.

In the short term, yes you are probably right. However long term, I expect plenty of interest as the younger generation of players improve and generate attention due to their potential.

I think they intend on seeing how well they can do once he gets everything in place for them to try. Then, if things aren’t consistent enough or improved enough, I could see a change. We are talking 2021, so not anytime soon.