“It’s really hard to have any sort of culture, consistency, or cohesion when you’ve gone through three IGLs in one year.” – fl0m on Liquid’s struggles, pioneering co-streaming, and NA teams at the Budapest Major

Esports News UK spoke to Counter-Strike co-streamer, content creator, and Monster Energy Ambassador, EriK ‘fl0m’ Flom, at the StarLadder Budapest Major.

The American has become one of the most popular and consistent forces in Counter-Strike esports content creation, streaming his competitive matches for his organisation, Mythic, and pioneering co-streaming in the CS space.

fl0m discussed his early belief in co-streaming, the state of AWPing in CS2, VRS’s effects on the region, and the performance of NA teams at the Major.

“I was just the guy who wouldn’t stop annoying everybody about it and kept asking for it and kept pressing for it.” – fl0m on his early push for co-streaming

Esports News UK interview with fl0m at the StarLadder Budapest Major

As you prepare to host your own event in Vegas, how do you see VRS in NA, and how is it affecting the region? Is there anything you would change about the VRS after 1 year of the VRS experiment?

I think VRS has been a success, I would say, so far. But I also think it’s got a lot of flaws. Like, a lot. That’s like anything.

You can’t just completely change the system and have it just work day one. That’s delusional.

For NA specifically, I think it’s tough because we don’t have as much support. That’s why you need events like mine, or like Fragadelphia and stuff like that.

Without them, then the region just kind of falls behind, especially since we’re combined with South America, and they have a lot of closed region events as well.

They can pump the numbers on VRS. Because there isn’t as much support in NA, we have a hard time keeping up with their teams.

I’m not going to get into an argument about who’s better. But it’s undeniable that because they have a lot more fans, it can create a problem where they have too many tournaments, and we don’t have enough.

So we’re trying to find a way not to combat that, but to make sure we’re on equal footing to give the NA teams a chance.

That’s the flaw right now with VRS.

It acts or pretends that everybody’s on an equal playing field in terms of how many tournaments they have access to and how frequently they run, but they aren’t.

So there have to be people who step in, and hopefully the fan support’s there as well, so you can keep doing it.

That’s where VRS falls a little short.

But given time, hopefully, if my event goes well, Fragadephia keeps doing their thing, we can get to where there are more VRS events, and there’s more potential opportunity for the NA teams.

So, growing fans is the very short version. I think we’re in that stage, but I think it’ll be better as we go.

“In professional Tier 1 Counter-Strike… every single element of the game is designed to make you move, miss and not be able to hit your shot at all times.” – fl0m on Tier 1 AWPer struggles in 2025

There was a post recently that pointed out that there are a few standout AWPers, and then everyone else is struggling. Do you think AWPers need help in CS2, or is it down to the talent?

I definitely don’t think AWPers need help.

I think it’s always been that type of weapon. It’s one shot, one kill. I haven’t seen that post, about the ratings and stuff like that, so I haven’t really dived into it.

However, my first instinct would probably point to the change from HLTV Rating 2 to Rating 3.0, giving different weights to different stats, especially with saving and deaths, and how they weighted some of that stuff.

That may have made that gap look larger and changed those numbers a little bit.

AWPing has always been like that in my opinion. There’s always literally the best ones in the world and then everybody else, and that’s just the nature of the gun.

I always talk about this. I think it’s the hardest thing to do in professional Counter-Strike [AWP in Tier-1], but it doesn’t feel that way to an average player.

You buy an AWP, nobody knows all the smokes. They don’t really flash you. Nobody’s jiggle-peeking you.

In professional Tier 1 Counter-Strike, every single angle you’re on as an AWPer, every single element of the game is designed to make you move, miss and not be able to hit your shot at all times.

When you have the game revolving in that way because it’s so powerful, only the true elite will thrive, and that’s what you see.

It’s not that the other players can’t do it. For example, w0nderful that you mentioned. It’s clearly there. It’s just that the consistency is so hard.

There are only a few that have it because every single shot you take, if you miss it, everybody just dogpiles you. Even if it was not the easiest shot in the world, and everything is stacked against you.

When you’re hitting all your shots, you’re going to be the best player in the world. When you’re missing them, you’re just going to immediately fall.

It’s just the nature of the gun.

And then when you throw in things like MR-12, you’re going to get the gun less, right?

I also think, in general, rifling is stronger in CS2 because I feel like the first bullet in CS2 is stronger than it was in CSGO – literally just the first. I think that’s why some AWPers get punished more.

It’s not that they’re worse. It’s not that the gun is worse. I think that you just get punished more for any little mistake you make.

awping is in such an interesting place right now. There are 4 snipers who bring a lot of positive value to the table and all other awpers are trying just trying not to drown.

Can you win the Major without having one of these top 4 awpers? pic.twitter.com/iyC9uzvuWZ

— Roope Leppänen (@RobuJohnson) November 25, 2025

“JT was the difference maker. He actually showed it too when he sent them home.” – fl0m on Passion UA eliminating M80

We’ve seen co-streaming grow a lot in recent years in CS. What do you think put you in that special position where you were able to become such a popular co-streamer in Counter-Strike?

Well, for one, I was just the one pushing for it.

Shoutout to BLAST, way back when they actually paid me to go to their events to cast with WarOwl. That was probably my first…

I think this is 2018; whenever they did Blast Miami. They flew out WarOwl and me, and we did our own stream separately in a locker room. It was a good time.

That was my first time doing a co-stream. That was more like an official cast. BLAST really liked it. Then they brought me out again. So, I started doing co-streams onsite.

After that, obviously, there was COVID, but it was a huge fight to get it (that opportunity).

The short version is, I was just the guy who wouldn’t shut up about it. I felt like it was really good, and we could be doing it.

I saw with the team that I have behind me, who manage me, they handle some of the biggest streamers on the platform.

That was around the same time that non-esports-related big events were starting to be co-streamed, like the Game Awards and stuff like that.

I was like, ‘Why aren’t we doing that?’ It seemed stupid not to.

All you do with co-streaming is bring in more value, more communities, and more people to watch.

Some people get it mistaken that these co-streamers are taking viewership away from the main broadcast. I’m not going to tell you that for sure, I don’t. I’m sure they take some from me. I take some from them, whatever.

But, undeniably, if you took all the co-streamers away and they didn’t stream, they are people who are also not going to show up in the main broadcast.

That’s just not how it works, which is why I think it’s so good.

For me specifically, I was just the guy who wouldn’t stop annoying everybody about it and kept asking for it and kept pressing for it, even though everybody kept telling me that’s just not how things were supposed to be done.

I think overall, the viewership has only gotten higher and higher and higher and higher for every event. I think that’s because of co-streaming.

So I’m annoying is the answer.

I wanted to ask about NA teams in this Major specifically: is there anything that surprised you? Did you expect Passion UA to take down M80?

This one’s actually pretty easy for me. M80’s map pool sucks. I mean, that’s pretty much it.

M80 is stronger mentally, and I like M80 more as a team than PassionUA.

JT was the difference maker. He actually showed it too when he sent them home. On the last map, JT out-called them. He was the top player on the server, and PassionUA’s map pool is deeper.

I could sit here and try to give you something grander than that, but the reason PassionUA beat M80 and why they were better is because of JT and because they have more depth in terms of their map pool.

M80 has really strong shooters. They can play mid rounds decent, but the problem is, they also just love playing Mirage. They love playing Ancient. They love playing Inferno.

You’re just not going to make teams uncomfortable in a Veto when Passion UA knows they get Train, or a map like that on you. They just know they can wipe the floor with you. They know they can take you.

They had so many options in that veto where M80 knew that Passion UA was just going to be in the driver’s seat, and they had to over-perform to have a chance.

So, I agree with you. I think going into that match, M80 looks better, and I think they’d have a stronger chance based on the individual level going into the next stage, but that’s why you play BO3s. You need that depth.

It was the same complaint I had last major. I think their map pool is one of the weakest. You need a specialist map.

You need to be able to play a Nuke, or a Train, or an Overpass, really, really well right now with the current map pool, or you are so far behind in the Veto that you will just get mopped up.

“They’re just so stuck. There’s not a clear upgrade you can make to that roster.” – fl0m on Team Liquid

Any reflections on Team Liquid?

I think you have to give them a little bit more time, but that was a really bad showing.

We’ll all forget about it, though, if they come out and do well in the first couple of tournaments of next year. We’ll instantly just throw that out in the bin.

This team is still new.

When I look at Liquid, I think they’ve had one good tournament in 2025, and that got them to Stage Two of the Major. Then, everything else has been an abject disaster. I don’t think they’re a team. They’re just five guys. What are you seeing when you’re looking at them?

Well, I think that’s a good way to put it.

I do think that when EliGE got there, it seemed like there was something good forming with him and NertZ.

I think NertZ had a really rough major. They all did. I’m not trying to put it on one person.

I’m just saying, coming into it that when EliGE joined, NertZ started looking like he was getting his form back.

I thought, ‘Wow, this, maybe this can work. Maybe this is their solution together.’ And then it wasn’t.

I think it’s hard to have a culture and have like a team when you’re just… I mean, look at all the changes they had!

How are they not supposed to just be five guys on the server when you’re changing out IGLs?

We’re on the third IGL this year for them, right? Cause you started with CadiaN, Twistzz, now we’re on siuhy, and siuhy was technically on loan, so who knows if he was actually going to stay?

And then they did plus Twistzz, minus Twistzz, brought back EliGE.

It’s really hard to have any sort of culture, consistency, cohesion when you’ve gone through three IGLs in one year.

We would be saying the same thing about G2, right? G2 used to do that. They loved to kick their IGLs every few months, when they were bored with them, even when they had success.

You can’t build a culture when you’re swapping out IGLs like that.

I think, for better and for worse, whatever you think of siuhy, you still just have to give them time with all the changes they’ve had.

Just let it settle for a second and give it till the next Major.

If the next Major is a failure, I think that’s when you really start getting aggressive with the roster changes and seeing what you can do.

They’re just so stuck. There’s not a clear upgrade you can make to that roster.

So, you need to see how it develops to see what your strongest points are and try to build around that going forward.

Otherwise, you’re just going to be firing off into the wind and hoping it works – guessing, basically.