The story of asap: From football in Perth to the esports world stage

Tyson "asap" Paterson is the latest Australian expat to reach the international Counter-Strike stage following his surprise addition to BC.Game Esports in September.

It's a bold move for both BC.Game and asap. The former makes a switch into the Asia VRS ladder late in the season and aren't assured a spot in Singapore yet for the major, while it's a monstrous leap up for 23-year-old asap in what was arguably his biggest decision in his young career.

And it may never have happened if he had instead continued pursuing his original goal of becoming an Aussie football star.

SIX YEARS AGO

Every great story needs a crossroads moment, and asap had his around 2020, when he was made to choose between football or Counter-Strike.

Asap had played football (for the Aussies, soccer) through most of his junior years, and he'd gotten pretty bloody good at it. From international tournaments in Thailand, to representing his state Western Australia in under-16's, his dream of playing goalkeeper for Australia was forming.

But CS:GO was cutting in on his time on the pitch, and while the esports' growth in Australia was unstoppable in the late-2010's — thanks in part to events like IEM Sydney drawing eyes — the hours of commitment weren't lining up as planned for his then-team, madlikewizards.

“I was playing CS for madlikewizards with Chelleos at the time, [but] then he removed me because I couldn’t play with nettik," asap said to DFRAG. With the majority of the squad still in school, and spread out over 5,300km between Perth and New Zealand, nothing lined up properly for asap.

"I’d come home from school [in Perth] at 5pm, which was nettik’s bed time in New Zealand, so we’d only have, like, one hour of practice — the team wasn’t gonna work out with me.”

But then in 2020, the catalyst for asap's decision between football and Counter-Strike came in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between lockdowns and quarantine, the ability to play football all but ceased. Something had to fill the gap.

“COVID hit, and I got to join [madlikewizards] again, but with no time restrictions. We started absolutely popping off, bro. We were super young but really well-rounded, really passionate — that’s where I really found my love for CS.”

Madlikewizards quickly developed into a top squad in Oceania, and asap's mind was made up. His time playing football wasn't wasted, though — asap still channels everything he learned from his time on the pitch to better himself as a competitor in CS.

“[Playing football] helped me so much, like the things I learned about working in a team and stuff, that’s what has made the difference between me being an average player or me getting to where I am today," asap said.

“The decision to give up football was definitely really hard. I still think if I put in way more time, I definitely could have made it to playing for a living — but I just loved CS way more.”

THREE MONTHS AGO

Asap developed into one of Australia's top Counter-Strike talents of the 2020's. International opportunities were limited, but he still showed out whenever he could make it overseas — most of the time alongside his long-term IGL chelleos and his Rooster teammates.

He took a leap late in 2025, joining super-team THUNDER dOWNUNDER, and immediately making his mark. He was the team's top-rated player in 2025 and 2026 alongside OCE veteran Jay "Liazz" Tregillgas, averaging a 1.23 HLTV rating as TdU decimated all local competition on their way to several titles including back-to-back LAN winners in Brisbane last March.

These performances saw asap and TdU reach the IEM Cologne Major — asap's first CS Major — and while he acknowledged his good form at the event, he wasn't prepared for where the effort would lead him.

“It does really seem like a lot of people saw that [IEM Cologne] performance compared to other events or good maps I’ve had," he said. "That MIBR game seemed to really put me on the map in EU CS.”

TdU may have exited 1-3 in Stage 1, but asap showed out; a 1.24 rating over five maps, including a scintillating 2.04 in the shock opening win over MIBR. Throw in that sick ace with the Five-Seven on the Inferno B-site, and it was about as good as a debut you'd see from a major rookie.

Asap, though? He didn't see what the fuss was about.

“It didn’t really seem that special to me, to be honest," he laughed. "It was still just another tier-one event. I’ve had other maps like that in the past — maybe not Five-Seven aces — but I’ve had good performances. It being a major seemed to put extra meaning on it, even though I don’t see it that way.”

What followed Cologne was excruciating for asap, however. That extra taste of EU CS was one too many, and this season's return to OCE competitively was brutal to say the least.

“We've been scrimming against FlyQuest a decent bit, but if they were playing, say, Ground Zero in an official, the rest of the scrims were just a waste of time," he said.

"15 minutes of theory, then into practice against teams that can’t shoot back...I can't blame them. No one else is as good, they aren’t playing CS actively, it’s just sad."
Tyson "asap" Paterson, BC.Game Esports

“I’d never shit on the Australian region but CS in Europe is like chess played at twice the pace, while at home it’s like checkers, and sometimes, someone will just come over and flip the board and do whatever they want that is totally unpredictable.”

TWO WEEKS AGO

“I have a gym downstairs in my apartment that the internet doesn’t reach, so when I’m down there, I’m locked in and on my own."

It was a little over a fortnight ago, on a random September weekday, when asap was finishing up a gym session. His future, for the first time since giving up football, was clouded.

“I was thinking, that day actually, that I had been through so many shit periods in my career with bad teams or less-than-ideal scenarios for me, but I was thinking ‘What’s next?’," he said.

"I was hanging out for some good fortune, and then I finished gym downstairs, came up, and there’s the Twitter DM.”

A DM from BC.Game Esports, no less, who wanted asap as their new fifth. He'd be playing alongside the likes of CS superstar Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev and four-time Major champion Emil "Magisk" Reif, and coached by Polish legend Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas.

A surreal moment for asap, but it wasn't going to be a simple 'yes'. There was much to consider — as much as one from as far-flung a country as Australia can think of.

“I definitely never thought I’d get here," he said. "I wasn’t ever thinking, like, there was an avenue to get into a team like this, especially coming from Australia. It’s an insane opportunity.

"It's more than just the CS too, I’ll be living away from home. I won’t see my family, I’ll be leaving my friends behind and moving to a foreign country…but after thinking, I’m still more than ready to move over myself, mainly for that EU CS environment.

“The only time I was ever nervous about the move was in anticipation of making the decision. I was getting pretty sick about it actually, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it, like, make the commitment. But as soon as I decided I wanted to do it, it was like ‘yeah, I’m ready’.”

Asap ultimately convinced himself of the move after getting spurred on by his teammates at TdU. “[The TdU boys] couldn’t believe it," asap said.

"They thought I was joking, completely trolling them the entire time, but they were really happy for me. They knew it was a massive opportunity for experience and a possible avenue to stay [in Europe] permanently. They knew I had to take it."

Asap still believed in making it to back-to-back majors with the TdU project, even despite the departure of figurehead Alistair "aliStair" Johnston. That said, when a call such as BC.Game's comes, you really can't say no.

"I still had plenty of belief in TdU. If I was still in TdU and a spot at the Singapore Major came down to beating FlyQuest once or twice at these upcoming LANs, I had full belief we could do it," asap said.

“It never entered my brain that we could never beat FlyQuest, I didn’t think that a single time. Losing Ali was tough; it didn’t make the team worse, but it changed the vibe of the team, we were a lot more chill…it just changed.

“If the question is whether I would have joined BC.Game if Ali hadn’t have left…that’s a question for another day.”

ASAP'S FIRST STEPS WITH BC.GAME

Twenty-plus hours of travel later, asap landed in Warsaw, Poland as keen as ever to rip in with his new team. At the same time, it's not lost on him how hard he's going to need to work, and how much of a change the move is.

“TaZ talks non-stop and has already provided me with amazing insight," asap said.
"I’ve learned so much already, I’ve probably fucking doubled my game knowledge in just a week or so.”

“Positionally, I wouldn’t say it’s as massive of a change. On TdU I would say I was a hybrid rifler; here, I’m more an anchor but I have to be fluid enough to play hybrid spots to rotate.”

“The anchor positions over here, you’re afforded a lot more freedom with how you want to play them. Most of the time, you’re just by yourself and can do whatever you want, as long as you communicate well enough with your teammate next to you and they’ll play off of it.

"It’s a different type of freedom to what I had in TdU.”
Tyson "asap" Paterson, BC.Game Esports

Above all, he was so excited to hit the server for his first officials sitting next to s1mple. One of the first times he'd seen s1mple play was at IEM Cologne 2016 (you've surely all seen the clip).

“Bro, these are some all-time great players in CS. S1mple’s an absolute weapon. The things I’ve seen him do in practice already," asap said.

"Definitely the most skilled player I’ve ever played alongside. I like his mentality, he would literally kill someone to win — that’s the type of teammate I want to have.”

Asap and BC.Game Esports are a decent shot at qualifying for the PGL Singapore Major via Asia VRS, and can bolster their chances with three back-to-back-to-back LAN appearances in Europe.

His stay in Poland will be short for now; BC.Game will link up, then begin their run at ROG Journey Autumn and Stake Pulse Beat 3 in Sweden, before jetting off to DracuLAN S7 in Romania.

Good results at all three will almost certainly qualify BC.Game for the major — where an outside shot at meeting asap's old teammates at FlyQuest or TdU awaits.

Asap's got all the love in the world for his old crew, but didn't mince words on their chances against him, s1mple, and the rest of his new squad. "We'll destroy them, don't worry about that."

ROG Journey Autumn kicks off 10pm AEST Friday, Oct. 2 with BC.Game taking on Glitch.