The group stage in CS:GO of A1 Adria League is just around the corner. We will be able to enjoy the best eight teams in the region competing for the title and the prize. But before the start of the league, we talked with a CS:GO caster Bakistuta about his expectations of the upcoming CS:GO competition, new season, qualified teams, and many others.

The qualifiers of A1AL S9 are completed. Which teams that qualified for the league were the biggest surprise?

I didn’t see many surprises in the qualifiers, we have seen all of these teams many times in recent years, but if I have to single out one team it would be ghoulsW with one of my favorite players desire and FURIA. They had many obstacles in the qualifiers, and after their victory over ELITE they completely deserved the spot in the league. I would also like to mention another surprise, this time negative because I don’t see Marten Rising between the qualified teams. I know they have the quality to be alongside the best teams, and when a team has Muffy and Ruda, I only have the highest expectations.

What is your opinion on the power ratio between the two invited teams BLUEJAYS and 4glory and the qualified ones?

The fact that these two teams are the invited ones speaks for itself about their form and reputation. We have great teams who managed to qualify, but my head and my heart tell me that BLUEJAYS and 4glory are one step above the others. 4glory at the moment has one of the best Serbian rosters ever, and when your manager is Dejan “BAX” Atanackovic only the sky is the limit. I don’t want to waste many words on the Macedonian squad BLUEJAYS, their results speak for themselves. Great guys, fantastic skill. Aside from this league, I predict them even bigger success than what they have achieved so far.

What do you think about who will we see in the finals this year?

If the bracket allows it, I expect 4glory and BLUEJAYS in the finals. Both teams strive to become the champions, so anything less than a final for them would be a serious fiasco.

This season we are witnessing a lot of great individuals, who would you single out as ones that are worth paying attention to?

Everyone from 4glory and BLUEJAYS fit this category, it’s pointless naming them all. Besides them, there are old school players like Neno, pure class, to the young talents such as Depreshn and Katalic. I have to admit I recently have been watching a lot of Maki from Strive in chaos. When you take down a team like Fnatic, that speaks a lot about your game. And another man I have to mention, who isn’t a player but the coach, heart, and brain of the team Zero Tenacity, Untouched. Under his leadership, experience, and directive you can win against everyone.

How strong is this season’s competition compared to the previous one?

Every year the stage is improving more and more, new players are showing up, and blowing us away with their moves. Alongside the new players, the ones who have been there for years are becoming even more experienced and better throughout the practice and time. So every new season is better than the previous one.

Only the decider matches in the SWISS phase will be Bo3, unlike before when all the matches were in this format. Do you think that the change in format will have an impact on the final score?

I’m glad you asked this because often it happens that these kinds of changes go unnoticed. It’s a huge difference when you play Bo1 and Bo3 matches. Anyone who follows any kind of competitive game will agree that it’s much easier to upset and win against a favorite on one map rather than three. For sure this will bring a chance for us to see many surprises.

What are you looking forward to the most this season? 

I am looking forward to good broadcasts, many fantastic plays from our Balkanian maestros, and the enormous amount of quality content, as well as in CS:GO as in other games.