In Conversation With Keyte

We were lucky enough to sit down with Keyte – CS2 streamer, content creator, and rifler for HIJACK – for a chat about all things Counter-Strike.

For the small handful of users who don’t know you and haven’t seen your content, can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us a little about you?

Absolutely! I’m Keyte – Tom, to my friends – I am a 33-year-old Counter-Strike player, trying to see how far I can get with the limited time I have left to compete. I make content on YouTube: monthly updates on how I’m doing, how my team is doing, and anything I may have learned. I make content about what I’m learning in quite a concise way, as it’s content I would have wanted to watch throughout my time playing CS, or any other competitive game I’ve played.

How did you first discover CS? And what made you fall in love with it?

I first heard of Counter-Strike when I was playing COD 4 Promod. I was playing COD 4 for…too many years. Probably about ten years. I really enjoyed it, and similar 5v5 ‘search and destroy’ type games, and when that was dying, I looked for another game. When I went to a UK LAN for COD, I saw people playing CS: Source, and thought I’d give it a go when CS:GO came out.

Me and my mate from COD played some CS:GO, and we really enjoyed it. It scratched that competitive itch whilst also being an FPS, and also gave a bit more nuance to the experience. In COD 4, you didn’t have an economy to think about. You could buy a sniper rifle every round, for example. There was an additional layer to the competitiveness with CS, which was great.

Here’s a slightly broader question: what does a typical ‘day in the life’ look like for you?

Oh, jeez. [Keyte laughs]. It’s changed so much in the last year.

Originally, when I first started my channel, it was get up, get to work, get back from work at about 5pm, start scripting a bit of a video, then jump on at 7pm to play with my team until about 10pm, then repeat every working day. On the weekend, I’d get up, record, edit, and get the video done by Sunday evening. That was my week. I’d get a video done every week, like that. Then I realised I was putting way too much time in, and my partner wasn’t especially pleased, so the editing part shifted a bit so I could free up my weekends with my partner. 

But nowadays, because I quit my job at the beginning of this year (not to pursue content, mainly due to my mental health), I now get up, I go for a nice walk in the morning, and get myself a coffee. The rest of the morning is spent scripting, designing thumbnails, or recording. I then stream from 1pm to 4pm, then take a break until 7pm. I’ll spend some time with my partner; make dinner, chill, chat. Then, when I’m on at 7pm, I’ll play with my team until about 10pm. After that, I log off and try to sleep. Rinse and repeat.

Tell us about your journey with Refrag. How does it plug into your self-improvement routine in CS?

When I was working full-time, I couldn’t play that much CS outside of training with my team. So, I searched for something that would fill that void, improve me, and be better than workshop maps. I was trying to fill that gap, and I watched an EliGE video about Refrag, decided to give it a try, and instantly fell in love with it. It was a great piece of kit; it filled the void, and it had enough scenarios that it kept me on my toes.

I genuinely mean this: it was the exact thing that I was looking for. It gave me the stats I needed. I’m a bit of a stats-head when it comes to CS. Then, when I was making videos and got a bit of traction, I reached out to Casey and was like “I know I’m small, but I love your platform, and if there’s any way I could promote you guys, I’d love to.” And, yeah, he was happy to work together!

What has been the hardest part of your journey in CS?

Oof. That’s a tough one…

The correct answer is playing against No Comment [the interviewer’s team] in UKIC, obviously.

[Keyte laughs] Oh yeah, obviously! That was the hardest thing I’ve had to do, 100%.

I genuinely think time is the hardest thing. Dedicating the right amount of time; not overplaying, but also being able to play enough. Consistency is one of the most important parts of CS, and that was the hardest thing for me.

I started CS when I left uni and started a job, so my days were gone, my evenings were spent trying to mix socialising with playing, trying to be competitive whilst having busy weekends, all of that. Especially as you get older, it gets harder and harder to find the time to play.

To tie that all in, that’s kind of why I started making content. To not only share my journey with everyone, but to dedicate that time to something productive. If I was being productive with my time in Counter-Strike, I felt like I could keep pushing. Whereas, if I wasn’t, I’d think: “I can’t keep banging my head against a brick wall”, you know?

Also, just to come back to the content thing, as a perfectionist, it was tough to get used to putting videos out so often. They might not be perfect, but they’re good enough, and they go out. It was pretty challenging at first to get comfortable with that.

Being a perfectionist with a comments section is always difficult, right?

Oh yeah, It’s always a bit stressful. Although my partner always says to me, “I don’t know how you’ve done this, but you’ve found the nice part of the internet. Everyone is so friendly and kind in your comments; you must have made a deal with the devil.”

And yeah, it’s actually incredible. The community I’ve built so far is amazing, and hopefully we can keep building on it.

You have tried many different pro players’ training routines, as part of a series on your channel. I’m going to put you on the spot. Which was your favourite? Which was your least favourite?

Jeez. That’s a tough one. I think this is going to be a bit of a shock answer because it’s kind of inverse to the views, but I think my favourite pro player routine was probably mezii’s. It’s not only because he’s the UK GOAT, but it’s because he gave me such insight into the whole day. Working out, diet info, finishing the day with deathmatch, stuff like that. It was really cool. His routine, for me, is the routine I’d want to use if I was going to keep using one of them. If I could keep this as a job, I’d get up, work out before the session, and finish the session with deathmatch. That would be my ideal, really.

As for my least favourite… [Keyte thinks for a moment].

My least favourite is probably donk’s. It’s just Faceit. I think I’m a bit too old for Faceit – the constant grind of it, I mean. And playing with random people. I’ve spent my entire career in CS playing with a team. That’s always been my focus. I find it difficult to separate being able to teamplay with everyone from just being an individual in a 5v5 server. I think that was probably the trickiest one for me.

But I will say, I’ve learned something and taken something away from every single one of them. For example, I think donk’s warmup is the best warmup, for me. I think getting into Aimbotz, getting a couple hundred kills, then using something like Refrag’s Rush mode. I think that has been my biggest takeaway from his routine to just enable me to feel good before I get into the server.

From NiKo’s routine, I took away how he plays deathmatch. How he focuses on something specific each time. EliGE’s Refrag-specific stuff alongside the aimlabs-style stuff, to micro my aim a bit, was also great.

Also, one of the things I wish someone had told me when I started CS was that working out has a huge impact on your performance in-game. It’s very often overlooked; it’s not the flashy part of the routine. But if you can eat well, sleep well, and work out a couple of times a week, you will see genuine improvements to your performance. I try to share that because I was not a healthy kid when I was playing video games.

If you had to build a training routine for someone starting out on their journey in taking CS seriously, what would it look like?

I would probably say, when you get home from work or school, probably do fifteen minutes of a repeatable warmup that you enjoy. Say, a bit of aimbotz into some Refrag. Of course, I’m going to plug my Refrag routine here [Keyte laughs]. I genuinely do think it’s a really solid warmup. Get your shoulders, arms, and wrists fully warm. Put yourself into scenarios that are as close to real games as possible, so you don’t just take the mindlessness of deathmatch into your games.

I would put team CS, if you’re trying to go pro, ahead of pugging. I do think the experience of team CS is extremely valuable. I’ve seen many 3.5k elo players not be picked up because they don’t know how to function in a team; they don’t have the communication or the mindset for a team environment.

Obviously this doesn’t have to be seven days a week. Within that week, take some time off, or get some pugs in – solo, duo, trio, whatever. Find a community you want to play with, and play those games to try to improve some part of your game individually. I follow the ‘Keyte best-of-three’, as I think we’ve named it in my community. It wasn’t my idea – I completely stole it. Basically, you play three pugs. If you lose two in a row, it’s over. You’ve played your best-of-three for the day. If you win two in a row, it’s over. If you win one then lose one, you play the decider. It’s so that you don’t just go spiralling into a loss streak, and you can control your mental a bit. For me personally, when I’m pugging, if I just lose more and more and more, I start to tilt; start to overfocus on things. I think something like the best-of-three idea is pretty vital.

Obviously, try to stand up and get moving between your pugs. It’s pretty important to get away from the screen, even if it’s only for two or three minutes between pugs. Then, once you’ve finished your team practice or your pugs, finish with some deathmatch, or a really focused session on Refrag. Donk, Mezii, and some pros I’ve been talking to recently say you’re warm by the end of your games, so anything you train after your games is additional; it’s where you’ll really improve. Jump into Refrag, for example; do some Prefire, Xfire, or Crossfire, and that’s where you’ll start seeing results.

Training like that will push your head. What I mean by that is, when I talk about training, I use the ‘inchworm’ concept, which I’ll talk about in a video soon. Basically, I’m pushing my top-tier, my ‘A Game’, up, and bringing my ‘C Game’ up as well.

In summary: get on, fifteen or twenty-minute warm-up, practice with your team or pug for two to three hours, then jump into deathmatch or Refrag. Make sure you’re focusing, but make sure you’re not overdoing it, then get to sleep.

What’s the most underrated skill in CS2?

Underrated? Hmm… [Keyte thinks for a moment].

Communication.

And the most overrated skill in CS2?

In CS:GO I would have said just raw aim, but in CS2 I’d say flick aim. I think crosshair placement is the most important skill in CS2 – it’s the top tier – so I feel like really flicky aim is probably the most overrated skill in the game.

In your video titled ‘I’m Changing Everything On My Road To PRO In CS2’, you said that you’re going to be implementing something new every month in your approach to the CS grind. How is that going?

It’s a mix, really. It depends on the month; how busy I’ve been, time management, etc. I’ve done a lot outside of CS to try and improve things like my sleep, for example, or my morning routine. I want to do a video on that at some point, actually. I’ve now just bought a bunch of different vitamins; someone suggested some stuff, so I bought a stack of that and will be looking at that soon. I’ve started creatine and been working out more. Although that’s slipped this month as I went on holiday and then haven’t got back into it, so I need to start that up soon.

So, yeah. It’s going well, but not, I guess, something that’s easy to share visually.

If you had to use one Refrag mode only for a month, which mode would you use and why?

Oh, that’s really tough…

Probably Xfire. The reason for that is that the weakest part of my game at the moment is my T-side. I’m generally better at CT than I am at T. In Crossfire mode, they swing into you, which is very CT-sided. Whereas on the T-side, you’re the one trying to initiate fights, and Xfire allows you to clear an angle, get a kill, and react to BOTs trying to trade their teammates. It’s very similar to how a T-side round would play out in-game. It forces you to make sure your crosshair is reacting to a new position, and make sure you’re not overswinging and leaving yourself vulnerable. It gives you that ability to work on real scenarios that can happen in your actual games.

In one of your latest videos, you reference the importance of mental strength in the CS grind. What are some techniques you use to maintain a strong mental?

Honestly? Well, I crashed out the other day, so I’m not a perfect example [Keyte laughs].

I would say, for me, there are a few things. One of the biggest things that I tell people to do when they’re having a really tough time – say, they’re finding it difficult to mentally reset, or their skill is declining consistently over their session – I would say just take a break. Take a break from the screen. Go touch grass and get outside. Walks are so, so important; it has such an important effect on your mind. I call them my ‘stupid mental health walks’. 

If you can just get away from your PC and get outside, get into the sun, listen to some birds, and ground yourself, you can reset a lot better. And that break can depend on what you need, right? I’ve taken a couple of hours’ break, a day’s break, but I’ve also taken a week’s break before. You can burn out with CS; you can really feel like everything is going wrong, and sometimes you won’t be able to break that habit unless you break your routine and just come back to it in, say, a week’s time.

That’s not just in CS, either. That’s in anything. Other games, work, whatever. Taking time away from it, when you need to, can be extremely valuable to your mental health. Having a strong mental in CS all comes back to you and your own mental health. It comes back to making sure that you are happy, and enjoying what you’re doing. Enjoyment should always be your number-one benchmark.

Even when I was doing my ‘Road to 3k Elo’, I took a break. I went back to Premier, I played some Comp with friends, I had a good time. Yes, I’ll get cheaters, but the games will mean a lot less to me and I’ll rediscover the fun for a bit.

What is your best memory in Counter-Strike?

Playing with friends. I’d say there have been some really fun games I’ve played – win or lose – where I’ve pissed about with mates and just had a good time in the server. Not taking the game as seriously, like in CS:GO playing Comp and doing strat roulette, for example. I can’t pick a specific memory, really.

Although, Cloud9 winning the Boston Major. Oh my god. I was watching that at a mate’s, and I was shouting when they won, and was yelled at by my mate and told to go to sleep [Keyte laughs]. That was incredible.

Is this the wrong time to tell you I’m a FaZe fan?

[Keyte laughs] Hey man, follow who you follow! But come on; Skadoodle, Tarik, Rush, Stewie, ugh. What a lineup.

You’re giving me flashbacks, man. It’s probably my worst memory in Counter-Strike.

[Both laughing].

That was atmosphere, man. I think that’s a really core memory for me, actually. It was so exciting. Similar majors as well – NiKo recently winning his major – they stand out.

I think, recently, making ESEA Intermediate for the first time. It’s been a long grind to get there – ten years or something – and every team I’ve had previously has found a way to disband or hate each other after a few losses, and to finally make it through a season and to do something felt great.

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

Silence of the Lambs. The first time I watched that, it gave me shivers. It’s just incredibly engaging and well-acted. It just hooked me the whole way through. It’s great.

Other than Counter-Strike, what’s your all-time favorite game?

COD 4 Promod. That’s the game I played through childhood, through school. It’s just core memories for me. I made friends in that game that I still speak to to this day. A mate from that game is coming round this weekend. He’s my best mate. We’d played together for like six years, and it turned out he lived down the street. We’re still really close now.

Last Epic LAN I went to, I met a guy there who I’d known for twenty years through COD, called Lukz. We got to catch up, which was really nice.

In my Twitch chat, I’ve got a couple of people I’ve known through COD for a similar length of time. You don’t always get to catch up with them as often as you’d like, but when you do, you’re just straight back into it. It’s great.

If you could only take three songs with you to a desert island, which songs would you take with you, and why?

That’s one of the hardest questions I could be asked, because I suck with music. I literally just chuck a playlist on and listen to it. I’m really bad for it. I have some songs that I will go back to, but generally I just chuck a playlist on and listen to it because I’m feeling that mood. Chuck a Spotify-generated one on and forget about it. I need to get better at it, really.

I have albums that I’ll go back to, though, like Linkin Park ‘Hybrid Theory’, or Eminem’s stuff. Not his newer stuff actually, but his older stuff. David Bowie, I’ll go back to quite a lot, and a bit of Elton John. Nowadays, I’ll try to listen to…well, my guilty pleasure is that I’m a bit of a Swiftie. My partner is a massive Swiftie, so I’ll quite often listen to Taylor Swift. Great vibes, easy listening. I rate it.

I’m also listening to Oliver Tree a lot at the moment. RIP.

Who is the GOAT of Counter-Strike?

For me, it’s ropz. He has elevated every team he’s joined. He has had an insane impact both inside and outside the server, and has an insane work ethic. It’s been touched on in vlogs and interviews. He has also elevated a role that was kind of dying after GeT_RiGhT, and has just created this aura around him where he can just read anyone he goes against.

There’s a round recently, ropz against sh1ro, where sh1ro is looking mid on Dust II as a CT, and keeps referring back to it, like ‘someone is coming, I can feel that someone is there’, and then he finally turns around to retake B, and ropz, at that exact moment, comes round the door. It’s just insane to reach that level of gamesense. And obviously just the amount of finals he has won on his different teams, and the way he has improved them all massively.

I do think he’s one of the GOATs. But I will say that I’m glad that NiKo won his major, as that puts him in contention for the greatest rifler of all time. His ceiling is so high, and has been for so long, and he’s just been at the top forever. He has been in the HLTV Top 3 so many times, and as the only rifler. It’s just crazy. Obviously, we’ve got donk now, which is just different gravy, and I think donk can be the greatest of all time eventually, but he’s new to his career, whereas NiKo has just been at the top for so long.

If you could have dinner with five CS-adjacent people (players, casters, analysts, etc), who would they be and why?

Ooh…

Machine. I actually used to play COD with Machine. Not regularly, but I trialled for one of his teams; we’ve chatted before when he got into casting. He’s had an incredible career in CS now, but it would also be cool to just chat about COD 4 as well.

Next, I think it would be really interesting to chat with ropz. Learn about the way he approaches things and stuff like that; it would be really cool to just learn about that mindset. What he thinks can work, what he thinks would work in the game as well. I think he has a really cool insight into what can be developed on, and how Counter-Strike can improve, which is hugely valuable.

I think, from the content creator side of things, I’m really enjoying Renyan’s stuff at the moment. I think he’s good fun. He’s one of those players who is just bringing fun to the community with his streams, and seems like a positive influence, which is cool.

I’d probably say mezii. He’s the UK GOAT. It would be cool to hear about how he sees the UK scene, how he thinks we could improve the UK scene, and how he sees the UK people coming up.

And finally, I’m going to go with fl0m. Fl0m is a really cool content creator, he’s doing a lot – he’s starting his own LANs and doing a lot for the scene in NA, which is really cool. It’s something I’d want to do in the UK scene as well, to help boost it. I’d love to stream the TLR games, for example. I think he has really good coverage of his scene, as well as sharing insights from when he was one of the best players in NA when he was competing. Yeah, I think he just has such a positive impact on his area within CS.

A UK CS question now: what do you think the UK scene needs to get more UK CS players and teams on the map?

Positive impact. I think it’s something that we need. It’s a very broad answer, but I think…you know, we’ve got Epic LAN, which is great. The coverage for it is as big as it can be right now, but you’re starting to get VRS points there, which means more teams are going to start going there, which is great. But I don’t think we’ve really got anything other than that.

In France, for example, they have loads of LANs and loads of positivity out of that. I think we’re lacking a positive role model. I mean, we’re starting to get it in mezii and Gizmy and AZUWU, and we had Smooya. I rate Smooya now, but when he was younger he wasn’t exactly that positive role model. I think having that positive impact in that sort of stuff is really important. In NA you’ve got fl0m obviously, you’ve got AustinCS, you’ve got WilsonCS2 – I think those guys are great.

We do have TLR in the UK and Ireland scene, which is huge. We’ve got Glichtech, we’ve got 8Sins; we’ve got teams that are starting to come up, which I think is really positive.

And we’ve got you, man. You’ve got to throw yourself in there.

No, no, no. I’m not there yet, man. When I get there, I’ll be big-headed, I’ll throw my weight around, but until then…[Keyte laughs].

What’s one piece of advice that you would give to a beginner, just starting out in Counter-Strike today?

Enjoy the game. Find people and a community that you want to play with. Find a way to understand what you want from the game. Games have different meanings to different people, so find what you want, find the enjoyment, find the right people, and…yeah, have fun. Just have fun. Enjoy the improvement – you will get there.

Finally – without knowing anything about who it is, can you give me a question to ask the next person I interview?

That’s a really tricky question, holy moly [Keyte thinks for a moment].

If you could tell yourself something when you were just starting your grind, what would that piece of advice be?

Thank you, Keyte, for sitting down with us and having a chat!