Jacob “Pimp” Winneche – Refrag Community AMA

We sat down with CS2 analyst, ex-pro, and cycling demon Jacob “Pimp” Winneche, to ask him some of our community’s burning questions. Let’s find out what you wanted to ask, and what his answers were!

Note: All of these questions were asked by members of the Refrag community in a community AMA event a few weeks ago, before the start of the IEM Cologne Major 2026. If some questions seem outdated considering the events of the major, this is why!

Why the name “Pimp”?

[Jacob laughs] Good question. It’s something I regret, I guess, and have been regretting throughout my entire career. Long story short, it started when I was still in school, twelve or thirteen years of age. In Denmark, you go to school, and then when you’re done, you go to this clubhouse where you hang out, play football, play various games. There’s a computer room. You basically chill out until your parents finish work and come get you.

In this little clubhouse, we had to book in times when our class could take over the computer room and, for some reason, we always took over from some of the older kids, and they would call us ‘the small pimps’ whenever we walked in and kicked them out. I thought to myself, ‘Okay, if we’re the small pimps, I’ve got to be the pimp.’ 

I don’t actually know if I’ve said this before, but my very first gamer name was ‘Harry Potter’, because everyone called me Harry Potter, as I looked like a fat version of him when I was a kid, to be completely honest. So, I was looking to change my name, and when people started to call me the little pimp, I just thought to myself, alright, I’m going to be the Pimp.

Whenever I was at any family gathering, early on at the beginning when I made it as a pro player, people were like, “So, Jacob…you’re calling yourself Pimp? Why is that?” And I’m like “I don’t know, Grandma. I don’t know what to tell you.” [Jacob laughs, again].

What dream career did your childhood self want to do?

That’s a good question. I don’t think I got to a point where I had a dream career as a kid. I think we all had the idea that ‘I’m going to be a professional football player’ or, in Denmark, we play a lot of handball. A lot of sports-related stuff. I was a pretty good sports guy when I was a kid. I played Handball at a high level, and played for a team in the local area. So, that was the closest I ever got to that.

I kind of knew when I was thirteen or fourteen that Counter-Strike was my thing. I was growing up with Counter-Strike as it became an esport, so I don’t know if I ever dreamed of anything other than being a pro player in CS, which then happened. So it’s not like I ever really had a dream that I didn’t chase, or had an idea of becoming an astronaut, or something like that. I timed it pretty well and managed to fulfil the dream I had as a kid. Counter-Strike was something that took up the entirety of my life; I never got to dream about something else. That’s the honest answer. I wanted to be a pro player, and I made that happen relatively early in my life.

Why do you think gym is better than cycling?

Why do I think gym is better than cycling? [Jacob laughs]. I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think either of the two is better than the other. 

When I lost weight and became very skinny, I also lost all the muscle I had in my body. I was very thin and very weak, to be completely honest. So, I had a couple of years where I went to the gym, and I liked it. I liked going to the gym, and I liked lifting weights. There’s something satisfying about seeing your muscles grow and being able to lift more. That’s what motivated me in that period, but I’ll be honest – going to the gym is not better than cycling. I cycle a lot. I love cycling. I am an endurance athlete, and I don’t really go to the gym any more. If I do, it’s to train my legs and nothing else. 

I wouldn’t say one is better than the other. It’s just about whatever passion you have, whatever you find fun, and whatever motivates you. What I will say, though, is that doing any sort of activity – whether it’s football, cycling, going to the gym, curling, golf, whatever – it’s good to go out there and get yourself moving. I remember my life when I was very overweight and not moving around, and the feeling I had in my body at that time was probably the worst I’ve ever felt. 

It may not sound like something you want to do, but anything you can do to move your body is going to make you feel better at the end of the day. I’m not really trying to make a case that cycling is better than going to the gym, or football is better than handball, or whatever. Whatever motivates you – whatever you find fun – that’s what you should do.

What are your thoughts on ESEA League, and other lower-level leagues for team Counter-Strike? Would you recommend it, and is it ever too early to start?

To answer the last question, I don’t think it’s ever too early to start. I think you can begin whenever – whether you’re a kid or whether you’re twenty-five years of age. Get going. If you think it’s fun and you want to play in a league, do it.

I like it a lot. I grew up in a time of Counter-Strike when we were all learning as we went along, and we had these different leagues in Denmark and in Europe. I had to grind my way along as well. I started playing on a team that was in a ‘C Division’ in Denmark, then, when I did well in that division, I was asked by a team in the ‘A Division’ if I wanted to join them, so I made that move. 

It’s a good way to get experience – getting to know what it’s like to play in a team, what it takes to be good in a competitive game of CS instead of a game in FACEIT or Matchmaking. I think it’s a great thing to chase and to be a part of if you have any desire to play CS competitively. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at or what league you’re in. It doesn’t matter at all. Every time you play a game, every time you compete, you learn. Whether your ambition is to move up in the ranks, or to make your team improve, or just to have fun, it’s great. 

You know, sometimes people just play football for the sake of playing football, and they find it fun to just play against another team. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the fifth division or second division, so long as you have fun. I am very much a supporter of anyone who is participating in any of these leagues, and I wish there were more of them, to be honest.

Do you think there is a particular reason why Eastern countries have more top-tier players?

Hmm. That’s a good question as well. I don’t know specifically why that may be, but I can tell you that from my time playing Counter-Strike professionally, the CIS teams were kind of like machines, in a sense. When my team would practice – four or five games throughout a practice day – they would do seven or eight.

We had this Facebook group where you would sort practices against each other, and we’d put that we’d play a game at 5pm, then 6pm, then 7pm, then 8pm. These CIS teams, they’d put a message in saying they’d play at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, have a break at 6pm, then play at 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, etc. And we’d be like ‘how the f**k do you play eight or nine games in a day?’ They were just willing to grind harder than pretty much anyone else. I think that’s part of the culture, maybe? Part of their mentality. 

You see m0NESY, you know, when he’s fourteen years of age playing Faceit all the time and being signed to G2, and he’s sort of like the picture of that mentality. They’re just willing to play and play and play. I also think, to be completely honest, that there’s some cultural things behind it. I live in Denmark. We’re privileged, to some degree. There’s great safety, it’s impossible to be homeless in Denmark unless you really want to be, so maybe there’s a bit less urgency sometimes, I would imagine. 

Maybe I’m wrong, but from a cultural point of view, in some of the Eastern European countries that maybe aren’t as wealthy as Denmark, there’s a bit more urgency and a bit more upside to putting in the work and getting out of whatever situation you’re in. I have the utmost respect for that. 

How can I improve my overall thinking in-game – not so much in clutches, but in the 5v5 rounds? 

It depends on the setting. If you’re playing solo, with four teammates you don’t know, there’s only so much you can do with that. I think the best advice I can give you is this: question yourself. Constantly ask yourself questions. I see a lot of people who play on intuition only, which can be a good thing, but if you were to ask them why they did something, they can’t tell you. They just did it. It felt right. 

I think that when you’re a player who wants to get better – to understand the dynamics of Counter-Strike at a higher level – you need to get to the point where you’re understanding why you’re doing what you’re doing. Questioning yourself can get you to the point where you understand that maybe you should have done that differently, for example.

Why are Vitality so good right now?

Yeah, they’re the greatest team of all time. You might think that, because I’m from Denmark, I might try to defend Astralis and their era, but there’s no doubt about it anymore. Vitality is the greatest team to ever exist. As to why? I’ll give you two answers.

They have the perfect players in their perfect roles, as of right now. A lot of it is great management from Vitality, which I think can be a bit underrated. The fact that they got to sign ropz for free is great, the fact that they were ballsy enough to kick dupreeh and sign flameZ after winning the Paris Major. A lot of people were like “What? How can you kick dupreeh? You just won the major, and he’s a legend!” Dupreeh is one of my great friends, but if I am able to remove myself from the situation and look at it, signing flameZ on a cheap deal – this up-and-coming talent and a signing for the future – I mean, look at him now. He’s in the best shape he’s ever been in, and is part of the greatest team of all time. Sometimes you need to be ballsy as a GM and as an organization, and Vitality have done that and are harvesting the fruits of that now.

Also, it has to be said that apEX is one of the most underrated aspects of this Vitality team. He’s the heart and soul; he’s the guy keeping them motivated at all times. When you’re winning stuff and you’re at the top, sometimes it can be a bit hard to stay motivated, but apEX just has a way of pressing people’s buttons and is great at pushing them and making sure they stay focused. We’re talking about Vitality now, like, you’ve won two majors, you’ve won all the tournaments, you’re the greatest team of all time. What motivates you now? What’s the next goal? Winning the Cologne Major, obviously. Winning another IEM Grand Slam? For apEX, being the player with the most majors? That’s still dupreeh, but apEX can get there. He constantly has the desire to find new ways to stay motivated, and the team buys into it. No apEX, no Vitality dominance.

Wow. You’re really saying that without apEX they wouldn’t have got to this level? Even with another IGL?

[Jacob smiles wryly.] I think this could be a good clip for social media…

I think it’s easier to replace ZywOo for Vitality than it would be to replace apEX, yes.

No way…

Yep.

Okay, next question. What’s your favourite dish/meal?

Ooh. That depends on the day, I’d say. On a big training day – I’ve just been out biking for four hours before I got here today, actually – today is burger and fries. When I’m doing a lot of exercising, especially in the heat, I like a good crispy French fry, a good burger. In everyday life, I like sandwiches as well, I like bagels – making different types of bagels, sandwiches, paninis, grilled, un-grilled, you name it. That’s probably the most go-to, everyday thing I like to eat. But on a big training day, I’m all about the French fries and the burger.

How was your experience as an esports professional? If you had the option to, would you do it again?

100%. I’d do it again. I don’t regret anything, per se. There are definitely things I would do differently in terms of managing my playing career. That’s why I have…not regrets, but potential that wasn’t fulfilled, shall we say? 

People who didn’t play CS back then, or didn’t follow it intensely, around 2015-2017, have no clue how good I actually was. There was a time when I was, without a doubt, a top-three or top-five player in Denmark. I was also part of the team that became Astralis, and I think I would have become a part of Astralis as well had I not been a little kid, you know? Kind of rough to play with, immature in a lot of different ways, etc etc. 

If I could go back in time, I would have done some things differently, and the odds of me being part of Astralis would have been quite high, to be completely honest. It was never about me not being good enough. It was about me not being a nice teammate back then. So, in that regard, there are things I would do differently, but I don’t regret anything at all. 

I think, in terms of what I do now – being part of Refrag, working in the broadcast space as well. It’s just been announced that I’ll be working the IEM Cologne Major, which will be the twelfth major that I’ve worked. I think I’ve got the maximum amount out of that as well. When I was in school, when I was fifteen years of age, I barely spoke English. Today, my English is not perfect, but I think I’ve found a way to articulate myself in a way that most people understand, or at least eloquently enough to be part of the broadcasts. It wasn’t really in the cards that I would ever have a career within broadcasting, and I had to work really, really, really hard on it. In that part, I’m really proud. I feel like, in that part, I have fulfilled my potential and maybe even exceeded it. The parts I f***ed up as a player, I made up for as a broadcast talent, I would say.

Not to be a guy who tells you how to live your life but, you know, we’re all going to f**k up, we’re all going to do stupid things, but it’s about how we react to it. You know, what do we learn from it? First and foremost, say sorry to whoever it affected and, secondly, how do we make sure it doesn’t happen again? I think it’s one of my favourite things in life – to learn. I am obsessed with learning stuff. Take cycling – I’m obsessed with learning about cycling, about nutrition, about how to become a better cyclist. With Refrag, it’s all about learning how to make sure our users are satisfied, you know? What can we do to get better? And I use that in all aspects of my life. The reason I do that is because I didn’t do that when I was a kid, and I didn’t do it when I was a player to the same degree.

Would you prefer a pet cat or dog?

If I had to choose? Dog.

Who’s your favorite football player, and why is it Ronaldo?

[Jacob laughs] It is not Ronaldo. My favourite football player was Eden Hazard, when he was at Chelsea. I loved him. He made me fall in love with football again, after a period where I didn’t really care. Now that he’s gone off to Real Madrid and kind of messed up his career, it’s never been the same for Chelsea, let’s put it that way. I’ve been a Chelsea fan since I was a kid, and yeah. It’s dire days at the moment…

Can you do a backflip?

I have never in my life done a backflip.

What’s the highest altitude you’ve trained at?

I’ve been on Mount Teide, which is a volcano in Tenerife. I think that’s 2300 metres, or something like that. That’s probably the highest I’ve been.

Who is the most handsome Counter-Strike player?

I think people liked device, back in the day. Didn’t they call him Tom Cruise or something?

[Jacob thinks for a moment…]

Tom Cruise is a midget, though. I don’t know if he’s hot. I don’t know. Um…I’m going to go with fer. Fer is a stud. Let’s put it that way.

Do you think Astralis will ever make it back to the Major playoffs?

Oof. Will they make it back to the Major playoffs? I think they have the best chance heading into Cologne that they have had in a long, long time. Which is also because they qualified for it, which they have a habit of not doing…

My honest answer would be no. I don’t think that’s in the cards. The Astralis as we knew it is gone, just like the Fnatic as we knew them back in the day is gone.

Who is your favourite American Co-Founder of Refrag who isn’t a current professional Counter-Strike player? (Yes, Casey Foster asked this question…)

Well, some might argue with the way he’s playing right now…[Jacob laughs] I’m going to have to say EliGE, because I don’t really like Casey. And I don’t like the way he framed the question. The way he forced me to call EliGE bad. He’s done more damage than good, here. So yeah, EliGE [Jacob laughs].

What is your best memory from an event you worked at? (A question from Stefan)

BOT Stefan, yeah?

…yeah.

Just make sure you include the ‘BOT’ part. Favorite memory from an event I’ve worked? I would say the PGL Major in Copenhagen, 2024. Getting to do a major in Denmark, where I’m from. Did the Grand Final, did the entire event. We filled out the Royal Arena. That was crazy.

I know I get a lot of critique, hate, you name it, on Reddit. People keep calling me out on HLTV. If you were to read the forums, you’d think I’m the most hated guy in the world, but I always love coming to events because I feel like I’m the guy who gets asked the most out of all the talent to take pictures with fans, sign autographs, you name it. There’s this love/hate relationship, and I guess when you stir the pot, a lot of people will have an opinion about you. 

I just felt incredibly loved at that event. Being in Denmark, you know, I was exactly where I wanted to be. So that is probably my favorite event memory I have. The playoff weekend at the PGL Major in Copenhagen was fantastic. I got home afterwards, and my face was…have you ever smiled so much throughout the day that your entire face is just sore? Your jaw is just messed up? That was my face for a couple of days after that major.

Can you recall a really hard moment for you as a pro player? As well as your favorite moment as a pro?

The toughest moment I’ve ever had as a player was back in Cologne, 2015, when it was a major. I played for Copenhagen Wolves. Back then, it was all about getting top eight at the major, because if you got top eight, you would automatically qualify for the next major. We played NAVI to get into the top eight, and we were leading 15-13. We had a 4v2 with the bomb planted on A Site, Dust II. Basically, if you were to do one of those Falcons radar shots with an unlosable round, that would be the worst of all time. Somehow, some way, we lost that round. 15-14, 15-15, it went to overtime, and we lost, back when NAVI were playing with GuardiaN and all those guys. 

That is the only time I have ever cried after a game of Counter-Strike. I was just…I was devastated. I knew it meant the team was probably going to crumble; we missed top eight, we missed making a significant amount of money from the stickers, etc. It was a heartbreaking moment.

[Jacob thinks for a moment]

We should never have lost that game. That sucked…

Best memory? That was probably in North America, when I played for Team Liquid. We played in ESL One New York, in 2016. We played Fnatic in the quarter-final, and we were down 14-7 or something like that. Being in the home stadium, having thousands of people rooting for us, we made a massive comeback, and at 14-14 I won a 1v3 clutch, and we went on to win the game and qualify for the semi-finals.

That was a crazy feeling – being on the stage, and ten thousand people going batshit crazy because you did something. That was an unreal feeling. It’s something I will forever remember.

What do you think are the marks of a good Caster or Analyst? And what made people hate jL when he was on the desk?

Good question. I think first and foremost it’s important to establish that it’s based a lot on people’s preferences. I have certain football commentators that I think are great to listen to, and certain ones that I don’t rate that highly. But I can also make the difference between someone I like because of the way they articulate themselves, and someone who is really good technically. 

Certainly, from the point of view of HLTV forums or Reddit, they have no clue what it takes from a technical aspect to be a caster or analyst. What you need to be able to do when, all of a sudden, you lose communication with your producer, or you have a technical timeout that takes twenty-five minutes. How do you keep the show flowing? How do you keep it interesting? There are so many things you need to learn, with experience, that a lot of people don’t understand or don’t realise, and don’t appreciate. So, it always comes down to who they like to listen to the most. It becomes a preference thing.

I think a great caster – and a great analyst, for that matter – is someone who is calm, collected, someone who you can’t throw off their game. Someone who, if they’re put on the spot, can always give a good answer and can always make up a thought on the spot. If something unexpected happens, they can react to it and don’t get thrown off guard. Then again, do I think some caster duos have a better energy? That’s when it becomes personal preference. 

I think, at the end of the day, we’re incredibly lucky in CS that we have such talented people in pretty much all positions. I don’t watch too much League of Legends, DOTA, etc, but I think it’s fair to say that Counter-Strike has, by far, the best group of broadcast talent out of any esport. I would even go so far as to say that, from a technical point of view, we’re even better than some of the people you see when you watch Champions League football, or the World Cup, or whatever sport you like. I worked on Danish television, with Counter-Strike, and I’ve seen how they work and how they conduct themselves, and I have no problems in saying that we’re far ahead in certain areas, and we’re also behind in others. In general, we are incredibly skilled at what we do.

What did it feel like after you left the pro scene? What did you do immediately after that?

I was on Team Liquid, and I asked them to replace me. I had kind of lost it when I was in NA. Big surprise…

I got to a point where I didn’t want to play competitive Counter-Strike any more. So, I asked Liquid to replace me, and I waited a month still on the team until they signed Twistzz, because they wanted to sign a proper replacement.

As soon as they signed Twistzz, I got on a plane back home. I was still under contract with Liquid, so I was still getting paid. Not to play, obviously. I started to work at my local football stadium, where I sold hot dogs, popcorn, and whatnot in half-time breaks. I just wanted to do some ‘honest work’, you know? I was still getting paid by Team Liquid, but I didn’t do anything for the money, and I felt bad about it. So I worked at the local football stadium until I started doing analysis work.

How do you keep yourself focused on your own game, not the team, if your team is trolling?

It’s tough to do, but at the end of the day you have to realise that you cannot control what your teammates are doing. If they’re not focusing, not listening, not taking it seriously, having a secondary goal in the game is always a good idea. “Okay, I can’t work with these guys; we’re probably not going to win this game. Maybe now the focus for me is to get entry frags by myself and be a great solo player”, or something like that. 

“How do I find the most impact in this game without even communicating with these bots who are not even trying to communicate with me?” At the end of the day, you can try to encourage them to listen, you can try to encourage them to be good teammates, but you can’t force them to. If they don’t want to, there’s only so much you can do. 

At that point, the best thing you can do is switch over to your secondary goal. That may not be winning the game, and that’s annoying, but it might be that you’re going to be an entry fragger now, and work on that. Or try to do a play or a grenade combination you’ve seen on YouTube. Try to challenge yourself differently. 

If you’re queueing up a game with BOT Stefan, though, you’ve already lost before it even starts. So at that point, you just have to accept it.

Since karrigan is five years older than you, should he also step down from playing professional Counter-Strike?

[Jacob laughs] That’s tough. I know Finn pretty well. He is a very driven, very motivated guy. I can tell you this much: he will step down when he thinks he can’t win anymore. If karrigan still plays Counter-Strike, that’s because he believes he can still win. Now, is he playing good enough right now to do that? I would probably say no. I think he should do better, as much as I…

[Jacob sighs] This is why I get so much hate, I guess. I always try to distance myself from the players and be brutally honest…

I don’t think karrigan is performing right now to the level that you’d expect. I understand why he’s getting a bit of criticism, as well. But I think, to answer your question, no, I don’t think he should retire. He still believes he can win, and as long as he believes that, I think he should continue to find a way to play.

Last question. We have a Refrag community event coming up, and I think BOT Stefan will be there as well. Will you join, or are you too washed?

[Jacob laughs] Well, well, well. Two things on that. Yes, I am washed. And no, I won’t be able to join, unfortunately. Not this time around.

And here’s some advice for you…try to make sure you’re on the other team from BOT Stefan. You’ll have a better experience that way.