TjP on Valve's Sashi ruling: "[It] was a fix that needed to happen, we just provoked it"

Tynan “TjP” Purtell — for a few weeks of October at least — became one of the most famous names in Counter-Strike esports.

He and Jordan “Hatz” Bajic were signed to the Danish organisation Sashi in a desperate bid to make the PGL Singapore Major. Fast-forward three weeks, and with Sashi out of contention, both players have been relieved of their duties.

In his return, TjP chose to reunite with his team from yesteryear, Rooster, and brief Sashi teammate Michael “Chelleos” Hawkins who joined him for all of two days.

DFRAG spoke to TjP at media day for the DFRAG Invitational about the Sashi adventure in retrospect, and what he wants from CS going forward.

Run me through the Sashi journey, from your perspective. You became one of the most famous names in CS for a few weeks there.

“Yeah, so I was out on the piss drinking during a weekend away. I got a message from [Jordan “Hatz” Bajic] about the potential project. I spoke with the Sashi CEO and then I was on a flight the next day, it was pretty rushed.

“When I got there, it was all well and good, but then a few things happened — Valve came out and told us to get fucked, basically. Nah, but honestly [it] was a fix that needed to happen, we just provoked it.

“Then it just kind of all went downhill from there. The passion for the game within the team and the will to push further as a team fell, and it kind of [went from feeling] on top of the world to now, we're at the bottom — there was no point.”

What did you get out of the Sashi excursion?

“Playing in Europe is probably the main thing. You’re just versing these better teams in practice for however many days we played.

"It ups the team’s quality a little bit, but in terms of what I got out of it personally, probably not as much as I would have expected or hoped.”

Do you think there's a difference between what BCG are doing and what Sashi did?

“In the bigger picture, probably not, but in the way that they've done it and the way that they've approached it there's a big difference. Sashi's way, they kind of came out and they've made a last minute business decision.

"Anlelele is full Vietnamese, I just wanted to make that clear, he actually doesn’t have a Danish passport, citizenship or anything like that, so for him to be Danish only on HLTV is a little bit interesting, but not his fault by any means.

“For BCGame, they had the two Mongolians before because they were quality players. They opened up the idea that if things did go wrong, that they could bring in another Asian player.

“But just the way they went about it was a little bit more drawn out and easier to twist and hide a little bit. In their defence, it was probably a better move in a sense that it improved the team as well.”

Talk me through the chelleos addition, then removal in the space of a few days, from your point of view.

“It obviously came very quickly, him flying over was within an hour and a half of Valve's decision. We sat down with the assistant coach Alex and the CEO, Claus. I sat down with him and we spoke about our options and what we could do. Chelleos was thrown in there, he booked the next flight out the next day. That was that.

“Then in terms of him getting removed, it was very much from the CEO and coach standpoint. It also happened really quickly. It was after a day of prac, something internally happened, then yeah, they basically just said, it's time for you to go.”

Do you think Valve’s region-switching rule is an adequate solution to the problem, or do you think there’s more that should be done?

“I actually didn't look into the rules too much, but something had to happen. I think if a bigger fish apart from Sashi had stepped in and tried to do the same thing at the same time, like maybe a tier-one org that was also close to missing out, whether the rule would have come in is a little bit debatable.

"Knowing the CEO’s and HUNDEN’s comments and everyone's stance on it, it might have played a part. It was necessary, I think. It was just unfortunate that we were the scapegoats for it, and so we copped the brunt.”

Much has been said about the short contract lengths, the speed at which the roster moves happened, and the reaction from the org and the wider community. Was this whole Sashi saga in good faith from the organisation’s point of view, or just all business?

"Making the major was the goal, obviously. I spoke with the CEO on a personal level, I got to know him a little bit, and it’s a pure passion project for him, so obviously getting a sticker in the game is the grand goal.

"At the end of the day, when he’s been around for four or five years, when it gets to the pointy end and he’s thinking about how much longer he can keep doing this, anyone in the same position would be thinking about the business decisions.

"But at the same time, he was acting on his passion for the game and the team, so you can understand it a little bit, but the way it happened was probably not the best.”

What do you do outside of esports, and how much time can you commit to CS?

“I have a business actually, taken over from dad, it’s a family business. I work from 4am until around 12pm to 1pm in the afternoon, then come home and practice CS — that’s pretty much my day.

"[As for] time? Not as much as some other people. It’s definitely affecting me now, it’s mainly why I went to Denmark with Sashi. It was to find the passion for CS again and just seeing and engaging, knowing how much I really want this.

"Obviously, everything went wrong, so it didn’t really help. But yeah, I can’t put in as much time as I used to.”

Did the time in Europe scratch that itch, at least?

“A little bit. There were glimpses of it, you know, where I thought ‘Oh, hold on, this is the pinnacle, I really want to keep doing this.’

"But at the same time, we put more and more hours in for less of a result, and now I come back… am I going to do the same thing on repeat for however long?”

TjP and Rooster ultimately bowed out of DFRAG Invitational following a group-stage lower bracket loss to Abyssal 2-0 (16-12, 13-7).

It remains to be seen whether TjP ends up sticking by old IGL chelleos and with Rooster into next season, but right now, he's back home and here to stay for the moment.

The DFRAG Invitational playoffs kick off later today, Oct. 30. For more Oceanic CS news, stay in touch at DFRAG.gg.