CSGO player reveals struggles of coming from OCE as IEM Sydney looks to spotlight region

We spoke with Grayhound superstar Alistair ‘aliStair’ Johnston about the struggles endured as CSGO pros look to climb from OCE as IEM Sydney 2023 seeks to spotlight the region for the first time in years. 

2019 was the year OCE as a region undoubtedly saw its greatest hope to win some of the biggest trophies in CSGO. This was the year local fans cheered on Renegades, a squad led by Australia’s brightest stars at the time, JKS, Liazz, and AZR. A team that made an unlikely appearance in not one but two Major playoffs.

Now four years on from this high point during the 2019 Majors, no OCE team has come close to replicating the successes of the Renegades just yet. But that’s not to say none are vying for history in their own right, looking to eclipse even our region’s top performances. One such lineup pushing OCE back to the top is Grayhound Gaming.

Led by veterans INS, Sico, aliStair, and Liazz, the powerhouse core is joined by a younger prodigy who carved his path through OCE in Vexite.

Now with IEM finally returning to Sydney, with ESL billing it as “The Big Reunion”, the spotlight is back on the region once again. To speak more on the significance of the event and what it means not just for local players, but OCE esports as a whole, Dexerto sat down with aliStair to get his thoughts on it all.

Grayhound clear fan-favorites heading into IEM Sydney

aliStair has been competing since 2016 and has played at every single IEM Sydney event to date. For the past two years, it’s been him and Grayhound (the roster also played under the now-defunct ORDER) who have been holding the banner for OCE, and he knows the stark contrast between playing overseas and on home soil. 

“Oh, it’s completely different,” he said without hesitation. “You’re gonna have probably 80% of the crowd actually going for you, compared to overseas, nobody really cares about you.” 

To show just how little support OCE gets overseas, he gave an anecdote from the IEM Rio Major. “I remember when we were in IEM Rio, we had the whole crowd cheering for ZywOo against us.”

That just so happened to be Grayhound’s elimination match, going home at the hands of the eventual last Major winners of CSGO. In that tournament, Grayhound was picked the most of any team to bow out with a 0-3 record. However, that never came true. 

A Challengers match against Cloud9 resulted in their only win, and in an act of defiance to everyone’s presumptions of the region, it was aliStair who proudly shouted the now famous words after their unlikely victory. “F*** your pickems.”

Coming into IEM Sydney, aliStair admits Grayhound’s goals are the same for pretty much any event, explaining how, “We’re not just going to try and upset teams, as disappointing as our results may have been for the past year or two.” 

As for how aliStair feels Grayhound will hold their own at IEM Sydney, he joked, “Hopefully we get some home timezone buff. We’ve just got to catch everyone while they’re sleeping in, jet-lagged.

“But no, on a more serious note, I think the timeline leading into it, if we have some solid practice and really keep our heads down, I think we do have a good chance to make playoffs. Especially having a home event with the home crowd as what’s on the line basically, it’s gonna motivate us even more, which is really good.” 

The struggles of a CSGO player coming up from OCE

When the conversation drifted into OCE’s historic performance on the international stage, aliStair’s response to it all was simple, “It sucks,” he said bluntly. “Like, what’s there to say?”

“Australia is literally this isolated island and we only get to play and practice against the same two, three, teams. So, practice is very grim here.”

Additionally, he was quite blunt about another glaring issue that OCE faces today, a severe lack of funding compared to more established regions. This is something aliStair also knows well as he was once part of the now-defunct ORDER. 

Twitter: Order

Before Grayhound, aliStair was part of the now-defunct ORDER.

To make his point on how little funding there is for world-class talent on our island, he gave us his estimation of how many paid players there are in OCE right now.

“I could be mistaken, but I’m fairly sure there’s no more than three, maybe four teams, actually getting paid and it’s not enough for people to step away from their jobs.

“People are playing [CSGO] as a hobby and for actual passion, and I’m fairly sure the other team that’s probably pushing for second or third isn’t actually getting paid.”

He continued to explain that because of the lack of credible organizations willing to pay players, in turn, players can’t dedicate their time to improving CSGO. “It’s really difficult and hard for people to commit time and improve at the game, not only individually, but as a team, when they have to be working.” 

And when Australia does shine on the global stage, OCE teams are often torn apart as key players are plucked by international orgs. Despite OCE’s best leaving, aliStair feels there’s no problem in sending Australia’s best overseas. 

“Obviously we’d like the best of our country to represent for OCE, but I would rather see players from this region succeed than just stand out in an Australian team. Nobody wants to hold anyone back.” 

He continued to give an example of JKS, who is now the most decorated OCE player, “It’s amazing, either way, seeing JKS win Cologne, that’s a big win for Australia and Australian players. It should motivate a lot of up-and-coming players, which is a huge thing.” 

As for which teams we might see Grayhound’s bumping into at IEM Sydney, invited teams have already been announced, and Aussie legends like JKS and Fnatic’s Dexter will indeed be playing on home soil for the first time in a very long time. There couldn’t be a more fitting tagline than “The Big Reunion.”

IEM Sydney kicks off from a sold-out Aware Super Theater on October 16.