With a bit of a delay, the second installment of our 2021 Howl is here and this time we talked to Niklas “sIKK.” Welk from our Wolves Esports CSGO team!
We’ve talked about the current situation with the team, Counterstrike and a little bit about CS competitor Valorant as well as non-gaming related questions!
Here we go:
Q: Hello Niklas! While we certainly know you, would you please tell the readers a bit about yourself and your role within the team?
Niklas: My name is Niklas, I am 24 years old from Hesse, Germany. Talking about Counterstrike, I’ve made a small name for myself in the German community where I’m known as “sIKK.”
Within the team I’m the IGL (Ingame Leader) and act as the head of the team so to say. Although this might chance in the near future.
Q: Unfortunately, we just experienced some changes regarding the roster of the team and parted ways with three players at once. Would you mind to explain why this happened and how things will continue for #WolvesCSGO?
The problem was not that we didn’t get along well enough on a personal level but rather differences in the way of thinking and how we wanted to play. We knew that we all are individually strong players but in the end it just didn’t work out and we mutually agreed to part ways. It’s sad of course, but it’s a good indicator that things need to change once you have the feeling that you turn up to practice because you have to and not because you want to. That’s the point where you have to ask yourself if you want to continue like this or if you split up.
After we decided to split up, we quickly found some “new” players to play with going forward. Marc “aerax-” Wilkening and Marcel “FleX” Fischer are two players I have previously played with here at Wolves. You could say this is a bit of a reunion.
As our fifth, we added Tobias “viciouswolf” U.
Q: What were the most important qualities you looked out for in the limited amount of time that was available to assemble a new roster?
A motivated mindset and great harmony between players on and off the server. It’s important to define your goals clearly and work as a team on achieving them. To make that possible, all players need to have a similiar philosophy when it comes to playing Counterstrike.
Q: Now that we have the heavy stuff behind us, let’s talk about you and Counterstrike. When did you start and why are you still playing the game?
I started playing Counterstrike in 2011. Back then I played Counterstrike: Source on jail and mini-game servers with my friends. Once Global Offensive released I was intrigued by the competitive aspect and that developed more and more over time. Why do I still play this game? That’s what I ask myself from time to time *laughs*.
Even when you are playing default most of the time and you are locked into a certain pattern, it’s fascinating how different individual rounds can be. You also can’t really “finish” the game and find new things again and again. All of these aspects captivate me and even if you don’t always get the success you want, it’s incredibly fun to play this game as a team.
Q: Which moments or experiences you had as a player have been stuck with you ever since? Anything particular you enjoyed?
We’ve had good and bad experience with this team and these stuck with me. We were able to beat very good teams, which made me happy. It also showed me that we could have achieved so much. I also have games in mind in which we’ve been slaughtered and I wasn’t able to change anything about it. I’ve been extremely frustrated after these games but in the end losses like this are part of the game and experience as a team.
A special moment for me personally was when I attended the ESL Meisterschaft 2018 in Düsseldorf, watching “faveN” demolish ALTERNATE aTTaX and DIVIZON. I was extremely happy for him as he was still a very young player at the time. It’s not my dream anymore to play on that level but I still think it would be an awesome experience.
Q: If you could change one thing about CSGO, what would it be?
The anti cheat!
Q: If there would be no Counterstrike, what game would you most likely play?
Most likely VALORANT once it released. If a game like this would not be around, I would have stayed loyal to my World of Warcraft Mage.
Q: What is your opinion on VALORANT as a CS competitor?
VALORANT is something different compared to Counterstrike. I really like the approach with the different skills as they are pretty diverse. It’s competition for CSGO but I don’t think it will de-throne Counterstrike anytime soon. At least not without a fight.
Q: What game would you like to see here at Wolves Esports?
A Yu-Gi-Oh team would be a cool idea! Maybe even something like Mario Kart would be possible?
Q: Do you have a special routine before official matches?
I start on aim_botz with a routine of ~800 kills, followed by 30-40 minutes of deathmatch. After that, I take a 30 minute break and watch a series, like “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. This happens to be the best routine I’ve had so far.
Q: Apart from Counterstrike, do you play anything else at the moment?
Currently, I enjoy playing Dead by Daylight or Raft with my girlfriend. I need a more relaxed game to chill with next to Counterstrike. Something to take my mind of competitive matches and a game where I don’t need to watch out for timings and don’t need to have on-point reflexes.
Q: Marvel or DC?
None of them! I actually had a small fight with my girlfriend because of that. If I had to choose, I’d pick DC. Mainly because Joker is a DC character *laughs*.
Q: Whats your favorite movie?
That’s difficult to say, I have may favorites. I’d say Fast and the Furious. Although the new Joker movie is extremely good, too!
Q: After the pandemic: What is the first thing you do?
I already whine about not being able to go swimming or go to the thermal bath. I love swimming and relaxing in the water. So definitely one of these. Also, I want to go play billiards again and go out with my friends.
Q: That’s it! We are done. Any last words to conclude this Howl?
Thank you to those who have taken the time to read through all of this. Let’s hope the new team works out better than the old one!
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Stay tuned for the upcoming Howls as well as more information about our Counterstrike team going forward!
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