Episode#67 Maniac+Frodo: „I'm the example of a sore loser. I hated losing when I was a kid."

Today Frodo talks to Mathieu Quiquerez aka 'Maniac'. The Swiss multi-talent speaks five languages, has studied psychology and has already mastered various tasks in the gaming industry. The former professional CS:GO player and coach is now an on-air expert and streamer. Frodo wants to know if it was all planned, what he learned in which areas, how he can apply collected experience in his next job and what direction his stream has. If you want to know what kind of mindset you need for such a career and if Mathieu is planning a comeback as a player, listen to this episode!

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Episode 67 of "Game Faces powered by Blue", the podcast about everything gaming.
Mathieu Quiquerez has experience in several areas in the gaming world. He was a professional gamer and coach, today he is content creator and analyst at the most prestigious competitions. His versatility is impressive. Today he gives us interesting insights into all these areas.

It's definitely true that with the psychology background, I had a couple of tools and I still have a couple of tools that I can use to think about Counter-Strike and how that works.”

Frodo's questions to Mathieu:

What´s your gaming story?
What was your first game?
In general, what are the differences in the Swiss CS scene compared to the German scene for example?
Do you remember your very first “big tournament” as a pro player? When was it?
You played from 2013-2018 as a professional player. At this point, what was your plan?
Then you decided to change the role as a coach and analyst, why? Why, at this point?
Then you change the side of the desk in Belo Horizonte for ESL. How did that happen?
Was it your “always” plan to be a caster and analyst?
Back from retirement, you came back as a professional team player for Sprout at gamescom. Was it really your last event?
Are there differences in perception as an analyst and as a professional player on the big stages of the world?
How would you describe your development as an analyst?
How do you stand out from other streamers online with your content?

What´s your gaming story?

I'm thirty-one years old. I'm a player of Counter-Strike, for 20 years now.
My cousin introduced me to the game. I played the game for many, many years for fun.
When I was about 16 to 17, I started trying to go to competitions.
I got the really competitive side of it that I started to love.
I played until 2018 with years on and off, then in 2018 I retired.
Now, it's been about four years that I work as an analyst for a competition.
This is now my activity, and I'm having a good time at it.

Are there differences in perception as an analyst and as a professional player on the big stages of the world?

“I think the advantage that I have and the input that I can give on the desk because I was a professional player helps me understand things that you might not see or think about from the outside. What is a player going through? What is going through their mind?” – “These are kind of intangible elements that from the outside are very hard to describe if you have never been in a competitive position like that.“ – “The other way is also true, when you are an analyst, you have to think about the big picture. You have to think about stories and narratives and development of teams and players, and you have to accept the fact that you cannot be zoomed in 500 percent on every detail of every round. That's something that I had to learn.” – “You have to simplify whatever it is that you want to convey across.” – “You have to know how to deliver your knowledge, and that is by far the most difficult aspect of it.” – “So that is completely different from playing. It has nothing to do with playing. It's the same topic it is Counter-Strike, but it's a whole new discipline and a whole new skill set you need to have.”

How would you describe your development as an analyst?

At the very beginning of my career as an analyst, I had a lot of doubts whether I would fit in that role or not.
As long as you're not at peace with it, then you generally have quite a lot of pressure going on the desk. The first element that I do much better now is handling pressure.
I've also had to learn how to simplify things. Instead of doing it in five minutes, I'll do it now in 20 seconds.
There's the whole work with the camera. Which camera is where? Having a producer talking in your ear? This is something that you learn how to deal with.
There's also the storytelling, narrative driven dramatic side of things that I completely had to learn, almost from scratch. I had to learn how to help people understand what a victory would mean for these players.

How do you stand out from other streamers online with your content?

“There are two or three missions that I absolutely want to follow when I'm streaming. First, my stream is supposed to be a place of positivity.” – “I hate losing now, but I still on stream will go through the effort of dealing with it and knowing how to not be a toxic asshole.” – “I try and really push forward these values of being respectful and polite and a good competitor.” – “The second pillar is to be educational, because I really try to put a lot of effort into explaining what I'm doing. Why did I win? Why did I lose? What can I do better?“ – “The final pillar is still to be competitive.”

My stream is not supposed to be just a funny gimmick key. I'm still trying to win because that's how I can genuinely help people.”

Dear Mathieu, thank you very much for the interview and the insight into all the different scenes and areas of gaming. We owe the great sound of Max ‚Frodo‘ to Logitech G and Blue. If you want to listen to more episodes, follow this link. If there is a particular guest you’d like to hear in the podcast, write us or Frodo on Twitter with #GameFaces and we'll do everything we can to make it happen.