For the DevOps consulting firm Polar Squad, CS:GO is part of everyday life to such an extent that the decision to sponsor Kanaliiga's CS:GO games has been natural. Polar Squad is playing its ninth season in Kanaliiga, and almost half of the company follows matches and CS:GO news.
According to Mikko 'meppi' Piuhola, Polar Squad's CS:GO team captain, playing has always been a part of doing things together, and CS:GO has been at the center of it: "We have some really enthusiastic guys who have built a great collaboration out of this for us. There are 9 people in the gang this year, and the activities are visible, e.g., in the company's Slack, in weekly meetings and until Christmas."
What happens around CS:GO is weekly – team members play and train together several days a week, and the matches provide excitement. "The matches have a strong atmosphere, because Janne "Veli-V" Väisänen, who has been involved in the e-sports scene for a long time, streams several matches. He is a gifted narrator and the short-sleeved pineapple jacket that has been seen in the narration booth for a long time is an institution", says the meppi.
Live events are also organized - this year the third LANs will be organized, where non-members of the CS:GO team can also try out gaming and play other games: "The LANs serve as a nice unifying event, where non-gang members can also get to play. At the same time, the event has always been a fun after-work event, where part of the group is meeting friends from the Dune, listening to Janne's streaming performance from the place with his seaside narrations, and feeling the good atmosphere," says meppi.
Especially during the corona period, CS:GO has given people a way to spend time together, when the company's other activities – futiss, fatbiking, downhill cycling, climbing, etc. – have been on hiatus. "You don't always have time to spend as much time together as you would like, and CS:GO is a great support for that. This is where you get to know your down friends: games are played with good humor and appropriate acknowledgment of game performance. Before you know it, you know a surprising amount about the other person's way of thinking," Meppi says.
The ambition of playing CS:GO is high: "Every year we go out to win. As the season progresses, the game starts to have more and more effort and the whole team gets fired up. We also spend some time, for example, scouting the opponents, which brings a new dimension to the game," says meppi.
Playing with Polar Squad is not limited to doing CS:GO - other esports teams are also being formed, and the team is constantly looking for talented DevOps-savvy gamers.
