Jon “JDC” de Castro has been a fixture in the German CS:GO scene for quite a while now. But he is a relative newcomer to the international stage. We talked to him prior to the playoffs of the WePlay Academy League about his start in CS:GO, his expectations for the tournament and his future.
Start at a young age in Counter-Strike
Like many others in the scene JDC’s journey into CS:GO started out at an early age. When he was around 8 years old, his then best friend showed him the game through an old 1.5 Demo, which allowed you to play against bots. Like many others he got instantly hooked on the game and got into Counter-Strike Source in 2010.
His first competitive experience in CS:GO would come in 2017, when he started participating in German domestic tournaments with his first team BLUEJAYS. Climbing through the tiers JDC steadily made a name for himself on teams PANTHERS Gaming, expert esports and Unicorns of Love, before being picked up by mousesports’ academy team NXT this year.
mouz.NXT dominating the WePlay Academy League so far
mouz.NXT is a very fresh and new team that only completed its lineup in June, but they have already shown some promising results. The WePlay Academy League is only their second tournament together, but they have already taken first place during the group stage only dropping three games to the opposition.
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According to JDC the team’s chemistry is a key factor for their performance:
I think the chemistry is indescribable. Energy is always high, and the dedication is unmatched. Can’t wait to see where it will take us.
In order to continue their rise the team trains for six to eight hours a day and JDC himself puts in around two to three hours a day of individual practice as well. This personal training is just as important for the 21-year old as he himself says that his playstyle relies on his crisp aim and movement, that allows him to dominate maps like his favorite, Mirage.
Video – The competitive history of Mirage
Competitions like the WePlay Academy are rare in the current CS:GO tournament circuit but for JDC they are really important: “Official experience and especially LAN experience are extremely valuable. We take every match serious in order to improve the fastest.”
While mouz.NXT had looked very strong throughout the tournament so far, they will face fierce competition to crown themselves champions. But for JDC all their rivals are on the same level, with maybe NiP Academy having a slight edge. In the end it does not matter to him too much as “every opponent has to be beaten to win the title.”
Advice for other players wanting to go pro
Right now JDC is on the cusp of breaking through to the upper tier of CS:GO. But it took many years of effort and hard work on his end, for young esport hopefuls right now de Castro offers some tips to keep in mind. Consistency is the absolute must-have for players aspiring to go pro:
If you truly believe that you can reach the top and give it your all, while playing everyday and trying your best consistently, you are further than most players.
This approach has served the German-Portuguese well so far but for the future he has ambitious plans for his team and himself:
“I don’t like to speculate that far into the future. But I think we are on our best way to break into the top 30 in the upcoming months. I see myself breaking into the top 20 HLTV players in two years. Even though it’s not a priority (being in one of the best teams is) it’s still one of my set goals.”
While JDC has still a lot of work ahead of him to reach these goals, a win with mouz.NXT at the WePlay Academy League this weekend, would bring him one step closer.
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