Get to Know: Justin “JKS” Savage

IEM Cologne invited Esports Illustrated to speak with G2 CS:GO’s Justin “JKS” Savage

IEM Cologne is nearing the end with the tournament finals starting on Friday. As possibly the final ever Counter Strike: Global Offensive game, this is a big one. Even if this isn't the last tournament we see on CS:GO, it’s definitely the last time we see it played in Cologne, one of the most historic events on the Counter Strike calendar.

We got the opportunity to sit down with G2’s Justin “JKS” Savage ahead of the IEM Cologne finals, to learn a little more about him and his team. “Exciting” was the word JKS used to describe IEM Cologne so far. The past few weeks have been rough for G2, with performances not living up to expectations. However, IEM Cologne has been different. G2 have won all three of their matches so far, taking down Astralis 2-1, beating FaZe Clan 2-0 and a 2-1 victory over Vitality that saw them advance to finals.

The IEM Cologne schedule is packed, with the first game of the day starting at 12:30 CET, and the last kicking off around 7:30. Staying fresh is important, and JKS’ average matchday looks as such.

“I'll just try and wake up as late as I can, before 12, but around 11:30 or something like that. I'll just chill out, maybe get some food, maybe get a coffee, walk around, maybe play a bit of CS, relax again, and then we do prep. Normally it's about three, three and a half hours before we play, or even maybe four hours before we play, we're already doing stuff, so half the day is already gone by then.”

As one of the biggest tournaments in the CS:GO calendar, the winning team is written into the history books. “I think I'll just relax a bit. Honestly, I'm not too much of a partier, I don't really have any plans or anything like that, so I'll probably just chill out and relax for a bit.” JKS said when asked what his plans are if G2 wins IEM Cologne.

Finally, we asked the big question, CS:GO cases have been dominating social media recently, with streamers such as OhnePixel leading the charge. “I’ve only gotten two knives” JKS said, “one was a Gut Knife Scorched, worth about $60, and the other was a Karambit Masked, that was about $200-$300”. While he may not have the best luck with cases, JKS is one of the top players in professional Counter Strike.

IEM Cologne resumes on Friday, August 4th with Vitality vs Cloud9, and Heroic vs Astralis. The winners of these two matches will go on to face ENCE and G2 in the Semi-Finals, before the Champion is crowned from 10am ET on Sunday.