“I think Alliance is on the right path to building something really strong in Sweden.” – twist on Alliance, nurturing Swedish talent, and attending EPIC.LAN 45

Simon ‘twist’ Eliasson is in Kettering to attend EPIC.LAN…

That is not a sentence that even he imagined would be true not so long ago, but at EPIC45, he is leading a young Alliance roster that has skyrocketed in the rankings of late, in the hopes of victory and VRS points at the Kettering Conference Centre.

twist has had one of Counter-Strike’s most storied careers. In a thirteen-year professional career, the Swede has gone from Counter-Strike: Source to CS:GO to CS2, playing for Fnatic, NiP, GODSENT, and LGB, amongst others, in that period.

Despite attending the biggest events in Counter-Strike, attending two major semi-finals in the process, twist still has a hunger for competition and a passion for Counter-Strike. Perhaps nothing shows that more than this appearance in Kettering.

Esports News UK sat down to speak to twist about EPIC.LAN, Alliance, Swedish talent and his potential career after hanging up the mouse.

Interview with twist at EPIC.LAN 45

First of all, what’s it like being at EPIC.LAN?

It’s great, actually. It’s my first time in Kettering. A lot of people in the UK have said negative things about this, but I like it so far. It’s quiet, peaceful.

Overall, I’m excited to be at EPIC.LAN.

You guys are here in search of VRS points. Do you want to talk about how that’s changed the scene and how it’s changed Alliance’s plan for the year?

We try to attend as many events as possible with VRS, LANs. I don’t know exactly how it works, the VRS system, really.

I know you get more points from events that are VRS-supported, of course. But we try to attend every event possible, just to qualify for the major or closed qualifier.

Alliance have been doing very well online. How’s your feeling of the year?

We did struggle a bit in the beginning of the year. Then we had one good result in Finland, ELISA [Elisa Nordic Championship 2025 runners-up]. After that, we did a player swap. So far, it feels amazing. It feels like poii comes in with a lot of hunger, motivation, and incredible firepower as well.

I think it’s been motivating all of us in the team to step up even more.

A new star joins our constellation!🤩

Welcome to Alliance, @poiiixd!💚 #LongLiveAlliance pic.twitter.com/q54Ql7ZEd0

— Alliance (@theAllianceGG) July 2, 2025

What’s it like for you? It’s a very young team, and you’re the experienced head.

It’s been a good experience so far. I like it. The players are very responsive, especially the younger ones; they look up to me.

I feel blessed to be a part of this team with Alliance, the org, but also the players, because I feel everyone is super fantastic.

Are you a very controlling IGL? Or do you give the players freedom?

I would say give them freedom. We obviously have our structure and things like this, but I want the players to feel as comfortable as possible.

I don’t want to set too many rules. I want them to feel free, be able to play their own game, but at the same time, we need some structure as a team.

Do you think that’s why poii fit so well into the team? Because he gets to go for his plays?

Yeah, exactly. He replaced the star role in the team. I’m the anchor, so he’s the CT IGL.

He has to make himself as comfortable as possible and make the calls. He’s pretty much the caller on CT side.
Obviously, you’ve been in the semi-finals of Majors.

You’ve won some of the biggest events in Counter-Strike. What’s keeping you going?

I don’t know. The love of CS, I guess. It’s what’s keeping me going. I mean, travel around the world. I love travel as well. It’s something I really hated in the beginning of my career. I hated travel. I just wanted to be home, playing at my PC.

But after a while, I just love it. The travelling part, the social aspects, and also the competition. I don’t really know what I would do without the competition, to be honest.

It’s been like a thinking process. Because I’m getting older, it’s been like a thinking process for what I’m going to do next, after this, and I’m soon there as well.

We have so much talent in Sweden, but we haven’t really shown it.

So do you think coaching is maybe a possibility?

Coaching could be, for sure, an option. When I feel like I don’t have the drive to play as much as I do now. It would be possible.

You’re not alone in being a senior head on a Swedish team. Obviously, JW is with the Eyeballers, which is his org. Do you think it’s a part of the Swedish heritage to try and pass on that kind of knowledge of CS?

Yeah, that’s also one thing we want to do. Of course, we want to win ourselves and get to the top again. I think me and JW want that, but you also feel like you want to pass on the knowledge. Especially considering how the scene has been in Sweden.

There’s so much room for improvement because we have so much talent in Sweden, but we haven’t really shown it.

Every now and then, you get a player like nilo, for example, who breaks through, but then the Swedish talent aren’t in the same team as each other. What do you think has prevented that kind of team from coming together?

Good question, actually, but I think Alliance is on the right path to building something really strong in Sweden.

Hopefully, we will show that as well.

Last of all, what do you think of the kind of… Do you think you’re going to have some tough competition in Epiclan?

Yeah, I think it’s good competition for sure. I think Iberian Soul is the favourite at the moment as the highest ranked team, but I feel like it’s good competition.