It may be too early to say that Aussie Counter-Strike is back, but the FlyQuest boys are flying high after exceeding expectations in Chengdu and Malta this weekend. While a change of scenery at their new org has been beneficial, young gun Declan “Vexite” Portelli puts the shift down to team composition.
The 19-year-old, who is now over a year on from his international LAN debut at the IEM Rio RMR, said the team’s shift from Grayhound to FlyQuest this year has not left a mark on the team when it comes to performance or expectations. Instead, he specifically highlights the personnel swap—the return of Chris “dexter” Nong—as what truly lit a fire under the squad.
“The main thing was picking up dexter and having time to integrate him fundamentally into the team,” Vexite said to Dot Esports, adding that dexter’s addition after his stint in Europe freed up Joshua “INS” Potter—and to a lesser extent Vexite himself. The effect this has had statistically is profound, to say the least.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed among the community—INS is currently averaging a 1.28 rating at ESL Pro League season 19 according to HLTV, good enough for 11th so far across the entire tournament. These numbers are more in line with his performances back before he picked up the captaincy at Grayhound. “It makes everything make sense: I think everyone knew in the back of their heads that [INS] would prefer to be a player with a main role if there was someone he respected enough to be IGL,” Vexite said.
With INS in his comfort zone and Vexite happier under an aggressive captain, the team is beginning to thrive after what has been a dark two years for the squad on the international stage. Despite dominating Oceania, FlyQuest—then Grayhound—was bundled out of every big event with barely a whimper. Missing the PGL Copenhagen Major after a defeat at the RMR came as a shock, but, as Vexite explains, the squad was still getting accustomed to changes at the top.
“We sort of got the composition down, we got a bit of practice in and a bootcamp behind us,” Vexite said. “We feel confident we can make it further at events now instead of just winning one or two games. INS is a pretty vocal person as an IGL but now he’s adapting to this lurker role, slightly quieter while dexter is very vocal player with a lot of aggression which is also how I like to play. It’s all about finding that balance and playing off each other.”
The changes are already bearing fruit. FlyQuest finished just shy of the playoffs at IEM Chengdu in April with competitive matches against the likes of Virtus.pro and FaZe Clan. Their form has stretched into ESL Pro League this week, finding themselves once again on the precipice of international playoffs CS2—something Aussie CS hasn’t tasted since DreamHack Leipzig 2020.
For Vexite, the bright lights and the big stage don’t bother him anymore. “I don’t really care about who we’re versing, any of the big names—it’s all just CS, and you’re only as strong as your team,” he said. At the end of the day, he just wants to find consistency where he can show up no matter the match or occasion and frag out.
“The toughest thing for me to understand has been my role in the team and I think it’s important for every player to think about that approach. When I first joined the lineup I thought the more input the better you are, but I’ve learned it’s about working with people around you so you all play at your best. I’m still finding the balance where I’m comfy and I’m hitting my shots, but still having input.”
Apart from adapting to a new captain and the ever-evolving meta of pro CS2, FlyQuest also received a bit of a gift from Valve: Overpass’ removal on April 26 means the team’s permaban map is now gone. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do, it’s so tough,” Vexite joked, but he didn’t rule out the team’s expansion into Dust 2 in the future, especially given dexter’s previous experience on the map.
“We haven’t given it too much thought, we’re still focusing on this event on the old update, but we’re just going to have to wait and see,” Vexite said. “We could have a seven map pool… it’s all up to [coach] erkaSt and dexter and we’ll see what we do. I definitely like how MR12 feels even though the economy needs a bit of a change, particularly for CT like perhaps a kill reward or defuse kit price change.”
FlyQuest has a massive opportunity to break their duck against Ninjas in Pyjamas in today’s lower bracket final, kicking off at 6:30am CT.
