Interview: The Story Of Stev0se
I had the great honor of talking to Steven "Stev0se" Rombaut during the last days. The current 28-year-old Belgian is a routinier in the scene and has made the decision to switch to CS:GO full-time at the age of 25.
We had a fun and above all interesting conversation, which you can find in full length on our YouTube channel. In this article, I will tell you Steven's story and include several quotes from the interview! I hope you are as excited as I was to learn more about the IGL of EC Brugge!

Career Start
After years of grindin' in teams while working his full-time job as a truck driver, Steven decided to take the risk of going full-time at the age of 25. An admirable step, which should change his life completely one more time, but he never regretted it.
EC Brugge
Since the beginning of 2021, Steven has been under contract with EC Brugge, which belongs to the same named soccer club FC Brugge who decided to open an Esport Division. Steven plays an essential role in the lineup of the organization as the main AWP as well as IGL and plans to continue working for Brugge after his time retirement as an active player and especially wants to help young players in the Belgian scene. When asked where he sees himself in three years, he replied:
After Steven joined the organization together with the two Belgians simix and ritchiEE, as well as the two Poles matty and n0tice at the beginning of 2021, there were unfortunately frequent changes in the lineup and as of now, the team is looking for a fixed fifth player!
The main points we look for are motivation and experience. There are many people who say that they are experienced but only played regional events and don’t have the level we´re looking for. One of the biggest challenges is to filter out the potential fitting players out of all the applications."
In their first year with Brugge, the team won some C-Tier events, such as the ESL Benelux Championship Winter 2021, and also participated in their first A-Tier tournaments. However, since the lineup joined the organization, the role of the coach has always been unoccupied. Perhaps on purpose?

The Struggle With Regional Leagues
Part of the event routine for EC Brugge are also local events and championships. It's always beautiful to compete in your own national leagues and meet familiar faces. However, along with an international lineup, there are plenty of challenges at national tournaments.
Steven "Stev0se" Rombaut
Coming to you personally, how are you feeling? How has the last year been for you in terms of individual goals? What are your long term goals as a player?
Teams outside the Tier-1 scene often have an enormous number of games within a year; Steven and his team are no exception. So far in 2021, the Belgian has participated in a total of 64 different events. But what does the everyday life of a professional player look like apart from officials?
Motivation is a big point as we have seen in our last article about the topic "Retirement Age in CS:GO". What is Steven's point of view regarding that and how does he keep himself motivated?
Valorant
Valorant is considered to be the biggest competitor CS:GO has ever faced. So far, Riot is convinced with good marketing, fast and above all well thought-out updates, and positive interactions with the community as well as the pro players. Did Steven also consider switching to Valorant after the departure of his two Belgian colleagues Nivera and Scream?
Latest Transfer News: m0NESY
Days ago the transfer of m0NESY to G2 was reported by several mediums. The young star, just 16 years old, will move from NAVI to G2 for an incredible sum of around 600,000 USD. Steven had a personal experience with the rookie and had following to say regarding the transfer news:

You can find the full interview on Youtube! Check it out here:
Youtube Link
Generally About CS:GO
The utility update initially brought a big outcry in the pro scene and opinions differed. Some players and coaches criticized the update for making the game unpredictable and having a negative impact on CS:GO, but Steven disagreed on that.
At this point, we just need to ask the one and only question: What would you change about CS:GO if you could choose one thing? Interestingly, and somewhat surprisingly, Steven wasn't thinking about himself or the pro scene, but rather the casual player who is new to CS:GO and thus forms the basis for the future of the popular strategy shooter.
Any Role-Models?
On the question "Do you have any particular role models in the field of being the IGL and AWPer of the team?" he answered "not really", yet he elaborated a bit on the question, naming one player he particularly enjoyed analyzing.
But Who´s Going To Be The Next Belgium Star?
When asked who will be the up and coming talent in the Belgian scene, Steven mentioned 17-year-old Bram "Nexius" Campana, who currently plays for LowLandLions and made his first appearances at bigger tournaments last year. The young star's birthday is in two days, Dec. 19, 2021, feel free to check out his Twitter profile!
A Question From Our Community
Twitter Community: "With enough practice and dedication, can anybody do it?"
Steven: "Not everybody but many could do it. With a lot of practice you can get a smart player. But it’s a long grind and many many hours to put in before you get anything out of it."
Five Quick Ones
EsportFire: What was the first CS:GO team you cheered for?
Steven: "In CS the VeryGames lineup with Ex6TenZ. They were one of the best teams in the world and still competing on small LANs back then. For CS:GO I was always supporting the French but never really had a favourite team."
EsportFire: Favourite and least favourite map?
Steven: "Least definetly Overpass, we never played it, it´s my perma ban for 4 years in a row. My favourite one is Veritgo."
EsportFire: M4A4 or M4A1?
Steven: "M4A1 after the update, before that A4."
EsportFire: After s1mple and ZywOo who's your number 3 of 2021?
Steven: "I think sh1ro to be honest. He had a really good year and performed great. In my opinion Gambit will be fighting again amongst the top-1 spot in the world next year."
EsportFire: Pineapples on Pizza?
Steven: "No, thanks!" [Editor's note: Pineapples on Pizza are underrated, give them a chance].
Final Words From Us
It was a great pleasure to talk to Steven about his life on and off the server, his career as it stands so far, opinions and thoughts. I wish you all the best for your upcoming endeavors and careers and would be enormously happy to feature your questions and thoughts on our articles in the future! Have a great day everyone.
Last but not least make sure to follow Steven on his Twitter and support the whole team for their upcoming matches: Twitter.com/Stev0se
