Author: Nik Ranger

Special CSGO mod unveils look at Dust 2 VR in Source 2 engine ValveEver wanted to boot up some Counter-Strike in first person? Now there’s a way to play CS:GO in VR, with a new Half-Life: Alyx mod porting Dust 2 and other assets onto the Source 2 engine. CS:GO’s Source 2 port is the talk of the town. Everyone wants their hands on it, no matter what. The updated engine won’t affect players that much now, but it’ll bring the game to a whole new level in terms of modding and other things. WIth excitement at an all-time high, people are looking to other games already on Source 2 to get their fix. And if you wanted to explore Counter-Strike on the new engine, there’s a way you can do just that if you have access to a VR headset. The mod, developed by ‘Gabe Follower’, allows you to port up CS:GO maps in Source 2 Film Maker and other software, including Half-Life: Alyx. This means you can boot up a first person perspective, in visual reality, of all things Counter-Strike. The initial pack includes Dust 2, all character models, weapon models, and more. If you’re feeling rather inspired, you can import agent skins, weapon skins, and even some of the other maps to play around with. While not an official mod, it got the interest of Valve somewhat. The official CS:GO account replied to Gabe Follower’s reveal video, poking fun at the code he tried to put into the bomb (hint: it wasn’t 7355608). It’s not the first time CS:GO has been ported into VR. There’s mods for programs like SteamVR and Pavlov that have given players a chance to walk around — and even play on — CS:GO maps in VR before. However, this is the cleanest rendition yet, and the first one that is using the Source 2 engine CS:GO is expected to be ported to. With compatibility for Half-Life: Alyx, players can get an understanding of what to expect from when the same happens to CS:GO. Of course, it’s a bit different to how players would normally envision Dust 2. The perspective is different, and running a game in VR is starkly different to running it without it. However, it’s a demonstration of the capabilities of the Source 2 engine. CS:GO – Asset Pack for Half-Life: Alyx is now available for everyone! Explore ported Dust 2 in full-scale and start creating your own maps or S2FM projects with it. It’s time for community to enter correct 7355608 code…https://t.co/aZ3u1WAY4M — Gabe Follower (@gabefollower) May 24, 2020 While proper CS:GO VR is still not on the horizon, it’s still a different perspective that hardcore fans will certainly appreciate. If you want to walk around a Source 2 port of Dust 2 for yourself, you can download the assets on the Steam Community Workshop. You’ll need the appropriate software and a VR headset, but if you have those two things on hand, it’ll certainly be worth it.

Sources: YEKINDAR to consider Virtus.pro future after Antwerp CSGO Major João Ferreira/DexertoVirtus.pro CS:GO star Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis is entertaining the thought of leaving the CIS team after PGL Major Antwerp, sources have told Dexerto. The Latvian star is contemplating his future away from Virtus.pro as Russian esports organizations face a lot of uncertainty amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. BLAST and ESL were the first tournament organizers to ban Virtus.pro and Gambit from their CS:GO tournaments over ties to the Russian government. ESL still gave both teams the option to compete under a neutral name, with PGL, the organizer of the upcoming CS:GO Major in Antwerp, announcing on April 9 that it was adopting the same policy. YEKINDAR has previously admitted that his future with Virtus.pro looked “uncertain” because of the war and the sanctions imposed on Russian organizations. “At the moment I really don’t know if it will be possible,” he told Latvian media outlet sportacentrs in March when asked if he would remain with the team. Sources told Dexerto that Virtus.pro will not stand in the way of YEKINDAR if he decides to leave the team after the Major. He should have no shortage of suitors, having established himself as one of the best players in the world since joining Virtus.pro in May 2020. He was named the eighth-best player of 2021 by HLTV.org. On April 24, North American giants Cloud9 announced their return to CS:GO with the signing of Gambit’s team – a strong indicator of the struggles Russian esports organizations are experiencing to hold on to their talent amid the war. Outsiders, the name under which Virtus.pro’s team is currently competing, booked a spot at PGL Major Antwerp following a nail-biting series against SAW in the final round of the European RMR A tournament. Before the trip to Antwerp, the team will play the European closed qualifier for IEM Dallas, scheduled for May 2-4.

Sources: yay joins Lazarus CS:GO team North American Counter-Strike team Lazarus has signed rifler Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker, according to multiple sources close to the team. Dust2.us was first to report a link between yay and Lazarus and Dexerto can confirm that he has now officially joined the organization. Yay is best known for his time with Complexity Gaming, where he played from late 2017 to the end of 2018. During his time with them, their best result was reaching the playoffs of the FACEIT Major: London. Following the event, the roster struggled to maintain a similar level of play against international competition. Veteran player Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert replaced yay on the active roster as a stand-in until they recruited Hunter ‘SicK’ Mims in March. Lazarus is a Canadian Esports organization that entered Counter-Strike in April with the acquisition of their current roster, which holds a spot in ESL Pro League North America. Late last month, they announced the departure of Michael ‘dapr’ Gulino after only two months with the organization. Yay has officially replaced dapr on the roster but will not be able to compete with his new teammates in the StarLadder Berlin Major qualification process. Per StarLadder rules, yay can only attempt to qualify with his previous team, Bad News Bears, for the North American Minor Closed Qualifier. Braxton “swag” Pierce is also unable to compete in the Major qualification process due to his ban from all Valve sponsored events. His ban is a result of fixing an exhibition match as a member of the iBUYPOWER roster in 2014, when he was just seventeen years old at the time. The new Lazarus lineup following the Major qualification process looks as follows: Braxton ‘swag’ Pierce – Jordan ‘Zellsis’ Montemurro – Gage ‘Infinite’ Green – Yassine ‘Subroza’ Taoufik – Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker –

Sources: XANTARES likely to miss CS:GO event at IEM Sydney Turkish Counter-Strike player Can ‘XANTARES’ Dörtkardeş will miss Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV – Sydney due to visa issues, according to multiple sources close to the BIG organization. XANTARES joined the BIG lineup in late December, replacing Johannes ‘nex’ Maget as he stepped back due to a wrist injury. Just over a month later, nex rejoined the lineup in place of AWPer Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield who remains on the bench and under contract. At this time, it is unclear who will replace XANTARES for the event, which starts in less than four days. Since adding XANTARES, BIG have struggled to regain their form from 2018. Read More: April 25 CS:GO update patch notes – Ruby and Workout added, major changes to Vertigo, and more – They finished in the group stage at the IEM Katowice Major, failed to qualify for DreamHack Masters Dallas, and did not reach the playoffs of StarSeries Season 7. Just hours after it was confirmed by sources that XANTARES would miss out on the event, it has been additionally revealed that Nikola ‘LEGIJA’ Ninić will be filling in for him. While Owen “smooya“ Butterfield is still on BIG’s roster, he is considered ineligible to play with any team for 120 days following his stint as a stand in with Renegades for Season 9 of the ESL Pro League. What is IEM Sydney? IEM Sydney is a $250,000 prize pool tournament organized by the Electronic Sports League in Sydney, Australia. Previous winners of the tournament from 2017 and 2018 include SK Gaming (now MIBR) and FaZe Clan, respectively. This year, the event is missing key members of the world rankings of Counter-Strike: Astralis, Natus Vincere, and ENCE. Expectations are at an all-time high for home town favorites Renegades, who reached the semifinals at StarSeries Season 7. The event will open with Team Liquid facing B.O.O.T-dream[S]scape at 7pm PT / 10pm ET / 3am GMT, while BIG will play their first match against mousesports in the same time slot.

Sources: Vorborg exploring his options as EG overhaul CSGO team Stephanie Lindgren/BLASTEvil Geniuses head coach Daniel ‘Vorborg’ Vorborg is currently assessing his options as the CS:GO team is going through a rebuild, sources told Dexerto. The Danish coach has been left out of the loop of late on what is going on at EG as the North American organization prepares to overhaul the team after a disappointing season, sources said. Audric ‘JACKZ’ Jug, Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski, Aleksandr ‘zorte’ Zagodyrenko and Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov have all been linked with EG, who are taking a “broad approach when evaluating options in the off-season”, according to Dust2.us. It remains unclear who will be guiding this new version of Evil Geniuses. One of the options that are being explored is that strategic coach Damien ‘maLeK’ Marcel takes the team’s reins once again, 1pv.fr reported Guillaume ‘neL’ Rathier recently revealed. The former esports director at Copenhagen Flames, which he also co-owned, Vorborg had two coaching stints with the Danish team between 2019 and 2022. During the second one, the team notably reached the Stockholm and Antwerp CS:GO Majors. (He led the team in Stockholm as Faruk ‘pita’ Pita was still serving a ban from Majors, officially taking charge of the squad only in January 2022.) The players went their separate ways after a quarter-final run at the Antwerp Major, with Vorborg joining Evil Geniuses. He has been unable to replicate the same level of success, the brightest point of this season being a 2-1 victory over Heroic in the team’s first match of the year, at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. After IEM Dallas, the team’s final event of the season, Vorborg expressed doubt about his future in the project. “You’ll have to ask [Director of Athletics] valens that,” he told Dust2.us. I would love to stay. I’m pretty determined to stay with EG, as long as they will have me, of course, because this is beneath me and beneath EG. I want nothing more than to prove myself and prove that I can have success here in EG.” Evil Geniuses are slated to return to action in mid-July as they will compete in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups. The team will also take part in ESL Pro League Season 18 and in the $600,000 Thunderpick CS:GO World Championship.

Vitality confirm signing of CSGO star Spinx Stephanie Lindgren/ESL Gaming via ESPATVitality have completed the signing of ENCE star Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi for an undisclosed fee. The announcement follows weeks of negotiations between Vitality and ENCE, with Dexerto reporting on July 27 that there had been a breakthrough in talks and that a deal was close at hand. Spinx was Vitality’s primary target to replace Kévin ‘misutaaa’ Rabier after a disappointing season. The French player, 19, was close to joining Evil Geniuses but ended up being transferred to Falcons. Vitality made waves in the CS:GO scene with the additions of Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen, Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif, and head coach Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen. But the team has fallen short of the high expectations generated by these moves, making one deep LAN run in their first seven months together, at the BLAST Premier Spring Final, where they lost to NAVI in the final. Spinx was instrumental in ENCE’s success this year, averaging a team-high 1.17 HLTV rating on LAN. The international team reached the semi-finals of PGL Major Antwerp and the grand final of ESL Pro League Season 15 and IEM Dallas (where Janusz ‘Snax’ Pogorzelski filled in for Spinx). In June, ENCE moved up to No.2 in HLTV’s world rankings, matching the highest ranking that was achieved by the Finnish organization’s previous team, in July 2019. Spinx will make his Vitality debut in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, the first LAN event of the new season, scheduled for August 19-28. Vitality have been placed in Group A, alongside OG, NIP and Astralis. Vitality CS:GO roster Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire – Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut – Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen – Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif – Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi – Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen (coach) –

Sources: Vegi to join Virtus.pro CS:GO full-time Polish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Virtus.pro have acquired Arek ‘Vegi’ Nawojski from the PACT organization, according to multiple sources close to both teams. Vegi has been standing in for the team in recent online matches, but will be joining the lineup on a full-time basis after the successful trial period. He joined PACT in early 2018 and has remained on the lineup ever since, along with Kacper ‘darko’ Ściera and Dawid ‘lunAtic’ Cieślak. After replacing two members of their lineup in January, they won a small offline tournament at Lantrek 2019 in Finland. It is unknown how long Vegi has been an aspiring professional player, but official documentation of his play only extends part way into 2017. Virtus.pro have struggled since reacquiring Janusz ‘Snax’ Pogorzelski and Paweł ‘byali’ Bieliński at the end of last year. Thus far in 2019 they have failed to qualify for Intel Extreme Masters XIV – Sydney and DreamHack Masters Dallas. Late last month they benched newly acquired in-game leader and rifler Mateusz ‘TOAO’ Zawistowski, which opened the door for Vegi to step in. At this time, it is unclear who will in-game lead for the Polish lineup moving forward. Virtus.pro are a legendary brand in professional Counter-Strike thanks to the accomplishments of their veteran lineup that won six premier international tournaments and a CS:GO Major. The lineup featured Snax, byali, Jarosław ‘pashaBiceps’ Jarząbkowski, Filip ‘NEO’ Kubski, and Wiktor ‘TaZ’ Wojtas. Following their runner-up performance at EPICENTER 2017 they were unable to keep their form at a competitive level and would go on to split apart throughout 2018. With the reported changes, Virtus.Pro’s CS:GO roster will consist of: Janusz ‘Snax’ Pogorzelski – Paweł ‘byali’ Bieliński – Michał ‘MICHU’ Müller – Michał ‘snatchie’ Rudzki – Arek ‘Vegi’ Nawojski – Jakub ‘kuben’ Gurczyński (coach) – Mateusz ‘TOAO’ Zawistowski (inactive) –

Sources: Vega Squadron look to add seized and scoobyxie to CS:GO roster Russian Esports organization Vega Squadron are setting their sights on adding Denis ‘seized’ Kostin and Alexander ‘scoobyxie’ Marynych to their active Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster, according to sources close to the players. Both seized and scoobyxie played for the Runtime.gg organization until last week, parting ways after almost three months of service. It is expected that Vega will retain Dmitriy ‘jR’ Chervak and Igor ‘crush’ Shevchenko to play alongside seized and scoobyxie, despite announcing all their contracted players were available for transfer last month. The fifth and final player has yet to be chosen at this time while they trial different options, one source said. Vega Squadron still has Pavel ‘hutji’ Lashkov and Anton ‘tonyblack’ Kolesnikov under contract, while Leonid ‘chopper’ Vishnyakov has left the organization and joined Team Spirit. Seized is a former member of Natus Vincere, where he played for four years before departing in early 2018. During this time with the organization they won a number of tournaments, including Intel Extreme Masters X – San Jose and ESL One: New York 2016, as well as appearing in two Major finals. The 24-year-old would go on to play temporary stints in FlipSid3 Tactics and Gambit Esports before joining Runtime.gg at the start of 2019. Scoobyxie is a 21-year-old rifler from Ukraine who has very limited experience as a professional player. He made his debut with “Spray’n’pray” in early 2018 before moving on to k1ck eSports Club and then eventually Runtime.gg. In the past, Vega Squadron was often seen as a dark horse capable of upsetting top teams. However, the last outing for the former squad ended in a disappointing 20th – 22nd finish at the 2019 IEM Katowice Major.

Sources: TYLOO expected to add Freeman to CS:GO roster ViCi Gaming player Wing Hei ‘Freeman’ Cheung is in discussions with Chinese esports organization TYLOO about joining the active roster, according to multiple sources. While an official signing is not believed to be finalized at this time, it is expected that it will take place in the coming days. Sources close to the situation informed Dexerto that an agreement was made between TYLOO and Freeman before IEM Sydney that he would join their roster after the event. It is not clear at this time if that agreement was made before or after Freeman announced that the event would be his last with ViCi Gaming. Freeman has played with some form of ViCi Gaming since early 2017 and also played on the VG.FlashGaming joint lineup during mid-2018. Following the termination of that lineup, he played for Flash Gaming on loan before returning to play under the ViCi banner until now. Freeman was the highest rated player for his team at IEM Sydney 2019 where they exited the tournament in the group stage. TYLOO recently announced the departure of Ukranian coach Ivan ‘Johnta’ Shevtsov, citing a difference in approach for their future as a team. While it has not been confirmed by Dexerto, all signs point to one or both of the loaned Flash Gaming players to be replaced in the near future to make room for Freeman and another player. The loan was explained as a three-month loan that started on January 1st, but YuLun “Summer” Cai and YuanZhang ‘Attacker’ Sheng continued to play with the team well into the month of April. Their first international tournament with a new lineup is projected to be DreamHack Masters Dallas 2019 at the end of the month.

Sources: TSM exploring options in CS:GO North American esports organization Team SoloMid (TSM) is exploring the option to re-enter professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, according to multiple sources close to the organization. Members of TSM have reached out to multiple players who are currently benched on their respective rosters, said one source. TSM has not fielded a team in professional Counter-Strike since January of 2017, when they transferred their players to the Misfits organization. On that roster was Team Liquid superstar Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken and other well-known North American players like compLexity’s Shahzeeb ‘ShahZaM’ Khan. Sean ‘sgares’ Gares famously joined the TSM roster a week before the transfer to Misfits. The quick transfer was largely due to a falling out with TSM management following information that had surfaced about the Professional Esports Association (PEA). PEA was expecting players to play their online league exclusively and withdraw from ESL Pro League. Prior to a report from Slingshot Esports, almost none of the players involved were aware of this expectation. The strongest finish for TSM’s North American CS:GO team came at the ECS Season 1 Finals, where they made it to the semi-finals under the leadership of Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta. Prior to the North American roster, TSM had employed the current core of Astralis for most of 2015. The roster contained Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen, René ‘cajunb’ Borg, Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz, Andreas ‘Xyp9x’ Højsleth and Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen. During their time with the organization, the Danes won five premier international tournaments before going on to join the Astralis organization after a brief stint playing under the guise of ‘Team Questionmark’.

DeKay’s Sources: TaZ’s Aristocracy CS:GO team to receive investment from Codewise CEO Polish Counter-Strike team Aristocracy are expected to create a new esports organization with investment from Codewise CEO Robert Gryn, according to multiple sources. At this time, the name of the new organization is unknown as discussions are still ongoing. Codewise Unicorns entered CS:GO in the later part of 2017 by picking up a Polish roster with a core of players that still remain today. Despite playing together for almost two years, they have been unable to break into the international competitive scene and have very few recognizable results. With the creation of a new organization, it is unclear if Codewise Unicorns will remain under ownership of Robert Gryn’s brother, Alex. Robert Gryn is the CEO of parent company, Codewise, a European technology company. Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas is one of the most respected Counter-Strike players in Poland and has played professionally for eighteen years. He is most known for his time with Virtus.pro in CS:GO where they won a Major and numerous international tournaments over a three year period with the same five-man lineup. Since leaving Virtus.pro, he has played on a new lineup named Aristocracy that recently became free agents after leaving the devils.one organization. That move was first reported by Dexerto and came as a result of disagreement over contract terms presented to the players. Aristocracy currently hold a spot in ESL Pro League Season 10 after their 9-10th place finish in Season 9. They failed to qualify for the StarLadder Berlin Major after four attempts at open qualification. Read More: Thorin’s Take: Aleksib the Redeemer – On their final attempt, they lost to Virtus.pro only to beat them five days later in the Spring ESL Polish Championship. Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly stated that Robert Gryn was also CEO of Codewise Unicorns, rather than his brother, Alex Gryn.

Sources: TaZ and co set to part ways with devils.one CS:GO The Polish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team captained by Wiktor ‘TaZ Wojtas is expected to part ways with the devils.one organization, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. Despite being offered new contracts, the players have chosen not to re-sign and will become free-agents on May 1. Multiple sources have indicated that the two sides disagreed on many terms of the new contracts presented to them, which included reduced pay and having some players moving to Warsaw. At this time it is unclear if the roster will remain together or head their separate ways – both options will be explored before a final decision is made. Back in February of this year, Team Kinguin rebranded to devils.one and retained the lineup that had been formed around veteran and former Virtus.pro player TaZ. Mikołaj ‘mouz’ Karolewski and Karol ‘rallen’ Rodowicz had played for Team Kinguin since 2016 while Jacek ‘MINISE’ Jeziak and TaZ joined just over a year ago. Paweł ‘dycha’ Dycha is the newest member of the lineup who is on-trial and replaced Paweł ‘reatz’ Jańczak. Devils.one currently hold a spot is ESL Pro League Europe, finishing third place in their group and ahead of Ninjas in Pyjamas. They have earned their spot in Round 2 of the tournament, but it is unclear if the players or the organization will retain that spot at this time. The devils.one CS:GO roster currently consists of: TaZ – rallen – mouz – MINISE – dycha (trial) – Loord (Coach) – reatz (benched) –

Sources: syrsoN steps down from BIG CSGO roster João Ferreira/PGLBIG AWPer Florian ‘syrsoN’ Rische is no longer part of the team’s starting lineup, multiple sources have told Dexerto. The German player made the decision to bench himself after his team’s elimination from IEM Katowice, sources said. BIG finished the Polish tournament in 13th-16th place following defeats to Spirit and G2 Esports in the group stage. syrsoN will not take part in BIG’s qualifying campaign for IEM Brazil, which begins on February 8. BIG Academy AWPer Marcel ‘hyped’ Köhn will start in syrsoN’s place and is expected to be promoted to the main team on a permanent basis, in light of syrsoN’s decision. hyped is widely regarded as one of the most promising talents in the German CS scene. He has averaged a 1.16 HLTV rating in the last three months and was named the MVP in BIG Academy’s title-winning campaign in ESL Meisterschaft Autumn 2022. A longtime BIG member syrsoN joined BIG from Sprout in January 2020 and quickly established himself as a key figure for the German side. He was ranked the tenth best player of 2020 by HLTV.org after helping BIG to win a number of international tournaments and reach the top spot in the world rankings in a year when esports shifted to online-only competitions. BIG have not found the same level of success since that fabled year. International success has been hard to come by, and the team has also struggled for continuity. Due to health issues, Josef ‘faveN’ Baumann missed a number of events in 2022, including IEM Cologne and the IEM Rio Major. syrsoN himself sat out Elisa Masters Espoo 2022 after returning a positive test days before the event. The German team have had a rough start to 2023. Prior to IEM Katowice, BIG placed 7th-9th in the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, which means they will have to play in the Showdown tournament to qualify for the circuit’s Spring Finals in Washington, D.C. syrsoN’s contract with BIG runs until the end of 2023. With the season having just started, it could be a while before he lands a new home, unless a team decides to pull the trigger on a roster move before the qualifiers for the BLAST.tv Paris Major. BIG will face Monte in the opening round of the IEM Brazil closed qualifier, which has two spots at the Brazilian event up for grabs. Later this month, the team will travel to Malta to compete in ESL Pro League Season 17. Dexerto reached out to BIG, who declined to comment for this story.

Sources: suNny in discussions with ENCE as Cloud9 CS:GO talks cease Discussions between the Cloud9 and Mousesports organizations have ceased in regards to the transfer of Finnish CS:GO player Miikka ‘suNny’ Kemppi, according to multiple sources. The possible transfer was first reported by HLTV last week, but it not expected to come to fruition. Multiple sources have informed Dexerto that ENCE is now a possible landing spot for the rifler instead. SuNny played for ENCE for almost an entire year in 2016, so joining the team would make it his second stint with the organization. It is unknown at this time who he would replace on the all-Finnish lineup if the transfer were to occur between them and Mouseports. ENCE are coming off a tremendous run at the IEM Katowice 2019 Major, where they reached the Final against Astralis. That second place result was the best in the history of the team and organization at a Valve sponsored Major. It was their first Finals appearance in a large international tournament since their victory at StarSeries Season 6. SuNny has been a member of the Mousesports organization since the middle of 2017. He helped them win ESG Tour Mykonos 2017, StarSeries Season 4, and ESL One: New York 2018 during his time on the roster. It has been reported that the Mousesports roster will only retain two of their five contracted players moving forward in 2019. Former FaZe Clan in-game leader Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen has been linked with a move to the team, as have Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker and David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský. The future of Mouz’s star AWPer Tomáš ‘oskar’ Šťastný remains uncertain.

Sources: StarLadder to host 15th CS:GO Major in Berlin Valve has awarded Ukranian based company StarLadder the 15th Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major, which will take place in the Fall of 2019, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. It is expected that event will take place in Berlin, Germany with an in-house English production, one source said. StarLadder has organized a number of premier tournaments in Counter-Strike but had yet to receive a Major prior to this award. Germany will be also be a first for them, as all of their StarSeries events have previously taken place in Ukraine, Belarus, and China. With the IEM Katowice 2019 Major ending in early March, there will be approximately a six month gap between the two events. Unless a change is made, the yearly player break toward the end of August will precede the event like it did for the FACEIT Major: London. StarLadder recently hosted the ChongQing Dota 2 Major. The news about StarLadder comes just days before the New Challengers Stage of the IEM Katowice Major is due to begin. The highly anticipated event will kick off on February 13 and the first round matches were revealed by ESL on February 6. Majors are the most prestigious events in CS:GO due to the support from Valve, in-game team and player stickers, and large prize pool of $1,000,000. A percentage of all sticker purchases goes directly to the competitors. Players that make the playoff stages with their team are also awarded unique in-game medals for their accomplishments. Viewers receive extra incentive to watch the tournament by participating in the team Pick’em challenge. Fans will need to purchase the newly released IEM Katowice Viewer Pass for $9.99 in order to play the Pick’em challenge. Buying the pass will now ensure that all viewers receive souvenir cases if they watch matches during the event.

Sources: Smooya to play with Renegades CS:GO for ESL Pro League Season 9 North American esports organization Renegades are expected to use Counter-Strike AWPer Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield as a stand-in for ESL Pro League Season 9, according to multiple sources close to the league and players. Dexerto has confirmed that smooya will be steping in for fellow AWPer Sean ‘Gratisfaction’ Kaiwai, who has run into visa issues. Renegades have emerged in 2019 as a top five team in the world according to most current rankings, showing tremendous improvement since adding Gratisfaction and Jay ‘Liazz’ Tregillgas in late 2018. The new lineup found success almost immediately after a playoff appearance at the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals. They reached the quarterfinals of the IEM Katowice Major and would go on to finish in the semifinals of StarSeries Season 7 after a loss to the event winners in Natus Vincere. Smooya is still a contracted member of the BIG organization and has been benched since February 1st despite conversations with multiple teams and organizations in recent weeks. Dexerto was first to report his conversations with the Team SoloMid but at this time talks have ceased, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. If smooya plays for Renegades, he will be unable to play for another team in the league should the player he is replacing return mid-season. Season 9 of ESL Pro League will be held offline for the first time in league history, which starts later in April. 16 teams will meet in the playoffs which include teams from the Europe, North America, Oceanic, and Asian regions.

Sources: Smooya banned from FACEIT’s CS:GO Pro League Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield has been indefinitely banned from FACEIT Pro League for CS:GO, according to multiple sources. The indefinite suspension will be available for review in the coming weeks and is not permanent, sources tell Dexerto. “After recent events + many clips that resurfaced we decided to bench Smooya in FPL,” says FACEIT’s Milos ‘Mikey’ Nedeljkovic in a screenshot obtained by Dexerto. “To give him some time to clear his thoughts and adjust his behavior, which recently was out of control in the FPL. “He will reflect on everything and calm down without potentially saying any career ending words in FPL, so we are giving him some time off to clear his head. Just wanted you guys to know why you won’t see him around.” smooya’s actions in a disagreement with OpTic Gaming’s Ismail “refrezh” Ali, where he admitted to telling refrezh to “kill himself.”Smooya explained in a Twitch clip that he had provoked refrezh in an attempt to get him to try harder in the game. In a now deleted tweet, smooya stated: “Thanks for game @refrezhCS, don’t queue FPL if you’re in a bad mood or something, don’t waste my time thanks!” FACEIT Pro League is an online CS:GO matchmaking league for professional and aspiring professional players. Every month, players compete for a prize pool based on their performance in solo-queue matchmaking. To qualify for the FACEIT Pro League, players must earn a promotion through FACEIT Pro League Challenger or be a member of a professional team. Smooya, a professional CS:GO player from the UK, recently opted to step down from the majority German roster of BIG. The AWPer cited difficulties with fitting into the BIG system as his reason for the decision. Dexerto reported on February 1 that smooya would be trying out with Denial Esports‘ Counter-Strike lineup. The Brit played with the South African team on February 3 in the IEM Sydney 2019 online qualifiers but a full-time move is unlikely to materialize.

Sources: Several CS:GO teams interested in poizon Bulgarian AWPer Valentin ‘poizon’ Vasilev has received interest from a number of prominent international Counter-Strike: Global Offensive organizations in recent weeks, according to multiple sources. Of those organizations, one of the most recognizable is Team SoloMid. Despite the offers, it is expected that poizon will remain a member of his current lineup for the foreseeable future. It is unclear whether he declined every offer he has received recently or if his buyout figure kept talks from progressing further. Multiple sources have confirmed with Dexerto that the Windigo players are not currently on the best terms with their organization. On February 20, it was announced that the team had parted ways with their coach, Anton ‘ToH1o’ Georgiev. At the start of February, Windigo publicly announced that the entire lineup is available for purchase. They did not list a reason as to why they wish to move on from the Bulgarian roster. Poizon has been a part of the Windigo roster since late October 2018. The 20-year-old made his professional debut with BPro Gaming in early 2017 before making the move over to the Windigo organization. He helped Windigo finish in eighth place for Season 8 of ESL Pro League Europe, auto-qualifying them for Season 9. Cvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov, another Bulgarian AWPer, experienced a similar level of interest prior to officially joining NRG Esports in 2017. He has since become a centerpiece on the North American team. With the 2019 IEM Katowice Major set to conclude on March 3, a number of teams and organizations are expected to make changes and start building rosters in preparation for the next Major cycle. On February 7, Dexerto reported that TSM is exploring the possibility of making a return to CS:GO for the first time since January of 2017. It is currently uncertain whether the North American organization’s interest in poizon means that a roster is now in the works.

Sources: Rogue to withdraw from CS:GO, compLexity Gaming targeting vice UPDATE – March 22, 2019 (2:45pm PDT) Rogue has now confirmed that they will be dissolving their CS:GO team following the upcoming departure of both Mathias ‘MSL’ Lauridsen and Nikolaj ‘niko’ Kristensen. The organization stated that “losing MSL and Niko would mean another long rebuild after just completing our previous one” and they “could not spend another six months rebuilding the roster again” with the ESL Pro League roster lock being less than a week away. The team will play together one last time at StarLadder Season 7 from March 30-April 7. The original article is as follows: North American Esports organization Rogue is expected to exit professional Counter-Strike in the coming weeks, according to multiple sources. The move comes as a result of multiple players choosing to depart to new teams in advance of the ESL Pro League roster lock this evening. As a result, compLexity Gaming has set their sights on rifler Daniel ‘vice’ Kim to join their active roster, according to multiple sources close to the player and team. It has not been confirmed by Dexerto which player vice would replace if the two come to an agreement, but one source pointed to him replacing stand-in Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert. vice has been a member of Rogue since mid-2017. It was first reported by Dexerto that Mathias ‘MSL’ Lauridsen and Nikolaj ‘niko’ Kristensen were in discussions to join OpTic Gaming. Since that report, Dexerto has been informed that both players have already practiced with players from OpTic as they prepare for the upcoming season of ESL Pro League: Europe. Moving to OpTic would allow the two of them to return home to Denmark, instead of the United States. The move to OpTic will also leave just two players on the active roster for Rogue, Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin and Hunter ‘SicK’ Mims. Hiko, along with vice, are two of the longest standing members of Rogue roster, having been with the team since July of 2017. It is unclear at this time what will happen with the ESL Pro League spot that Rogue holds if they move forward with withdrawing Counter-Strike entirely. Season 9 is set to begin three weeks on April 12, which will feature entirely offline play for the first time in league history.

DeKay’s Sources: RFRSH and ESL at odds over CS:GO event dates Danish esports company RFRSH Entertainment and German esports company ESL are at odds over the dates of their respective Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league finals in December, according to multiple sources from both sides of the situation. One source told Dexerto that RFRSH had put in a claim for the dates first, with ESL attempting to claim the same dates afterwards. The same source indicated that discussions between the two are ongoing, but a resolution isn’t expected anytime soon. Sources close to ESL have explained that, in December 2018, RFRSH marked a weekend in December 2019 as a “backup” date. ESL had picked those same dates for the Season 10 ESL Pro League Finals and, after ESL contacted them about the clash, RFRSH agreed to use a different weekend. However, last month they contacted ESL again to explain there was now a conflict for the original dates that appeared to have been sorted. The details of Season 10 of ESL Pro League season are yet to be announced, with Season 9 still ongoing. Season 9 is the first season in the league’s history to be played entirely offline and its second stage of group stage play begins next week. Read More: DeKay Debrief: IEM Sydney 2019 key takeaways – The Season 9 Finals are set to take place in Montpellier, France at the end of June. The event features a $750,000 prize pool with the winner taking home $250,000. The BLAST Global Final is a four team event that includes the top four teams from the seven BLAST Pro Series tournaments during 2019. The tournament format has two semifinal matches followed by a final match for a total of three BO3 matches and a prize pool of $500,000. Team Liquid are currently on top of the BLAST standings with 16 points, followed by Astralis and FaZe Clan with 12 points. MiBR hold the fourth place spot with just 6 points which puts them ahead of Natus Vincere, Ninjas and Pyjamas, and Cloud9. RFRSH declined to comment upon request. ESL declined to comment upon request. Last updated on May 9 2019 at 10:40 am Eastern Time.

Sources: Outsiders’ team name unchanged for BLAST Premier World Final Michał Konkol/ESL Gaming via ESPATThe IEM Rio Major champions will compete under the name ‘Outsiders’ at the upcoming BLAST Premier World Final, Dexerto has confirmed. While contracted to Virtus.pro, the Russian CS:GO team has been forced to play under the neutral name of Outsiders, without any reference to their organization or sponsors, since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, a November 28 Instagram post from Virtus.pro created confusion as to the name under which the team would compete at the upcoming World Final event, in Abu Dhabi. Virtus.pro posted an image about the tournament that included their logo, rather than Outsiders’, on the list of the eight participating teams. Contacted by Dexerto, BLAST stated that the team will play as Outsiders — the name under which they won the IEM Rio Major earlier this month. It was thanks to that victory that Outsiders secured a spot at the BLAST Premier World Final, the event that bring the curtain down on the CS:GO season. Heroic, who won the BLAST Premier Fall Final event last weekend, NAVI, and FaZe Clan are some of the other teams attending the $1 million event, which will be held at the Etihad Arena between December 14 and 18. A difficult subject Virtus.pro’s ban by tournament organizers has been a hot topic in recent months, especially since Valve allowed the organization to be represented at TI 2022. The decision came just days after Virtus.pro announced that Armenian businessman Aram Karamanukyan had been named the organization’s new CEO. In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Mr. Karamanukyan said that he, along with a business partner, owns all of Virtus.pro’s assets, including player contracts. “Encouraged” by Valve’s decision, he said that he hoped other tournament organizers, like ESL and BLAST, would follow suit. “I would be very surprised if the decision of the tournament operators contradicted it,” he noted. However, Virtus.pro’s logo was nowhere to be seen as Outsiders went all the way at the Rio Major in stunning fashion. It would have been the organization’s second CS:GO Major crown following the ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014 title. On September 22, Dexerto revealed that ESL and BLAST were reviewing the leadership changes in Virtus.pro. Neither tournament organizer has issued a statement on the matter, but it seems that they are inclined to uphold the ban, despite Virtus.pro’s claims that they are no longer associated with ESforce — a company that allegedly has ties to the Russian government. Dexerto has reached out to Virtus.pro for comment.

Sources: OG set to sign NEOFRAG and F1KU as new CSGO players João Ferreira/PGL & Adela Sznajder/ESL Gaming via ESPATOG are closing in on the signings of Adam ‘NEOFRAG’ Zouhar and Maciej ‘F1KU’ Miklas, multiple sources have told Dexerto. The pair will come in as replacements for Valdemar ‘valde’ Bjørn Vangså and Nikolaj ‘niko’ Kristensen, who were moved to the bench as the team is undergoing a rebuild after failing to qualify for PGL Major Antwerp. In an interview with Dexerto, valde stated he began seeing his future elsewhere after learning that OG were shifting their focus to developing talent. “Our future ambitions did not line up,” he said. NEOFRAG, 21, has established himself as one of the most promising young players in Europe since joining SINNERS in January 2020. As part of an international team like OG, who have a guaranteed spot in BLAST Premier, he will be able to take the next step in his development as he has long outgrown his surroundings with the Czech squad, currently ranked 34th in the world. F1KU, 18, has been on AGO’s books since September 2019. He adds to an ever-growing list of Polish players who have decided to try their luck in international projects: in addition to OG’s own Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski, players like Olek ‘hades’ Miskiewicz, Paweł ‘dycha’ Dycha and Michał ‘MICHU’ Müller have all sought opportunities outside of their homeland. OG are expected to unveil the new players shortly, with the team scheduled to face MIBR on Friday in a showmatch that will be held in Lisbon. OG’s new CS:GO roster: Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski – Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan – Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković – Adam ‘NEOFRAG’ Zouhar – Maciej ‘F1KU’ Miklas – Casper ‘ruggah’ Due (Coach) –

Sources: NIP target Jackinho as dev1ce’s return date remains unclear Fragbite/DexertoNIP are interested in signing Jack ‘Jackinho’ Ström Mattsson to their CS:GO team on a short-term deal as star player Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz is still on medical leave, sources have told Dexerto and 1pv.fr. Dev1ce’s health status has been a hot topic in the Counter-Strike scene over the last month after he missed NIP’s IEM Winter playoff match against G2 and the entirety of BLAST World Final as he recovered from an unspecified illness. On December 20, Dexerto and 1pv.fr reported that dev1ce had expressed an interest in leaving NIP to move back to his previous team of Astralis, with whom he won numerous international titles, including four Major trophies, between 2016 and 2021. Shortly afterward, dev1ce posted a series of tweets to comment on the reports and his situation. He described the stories as “nonsense” and noted that he was taking time off to protect his mental health, which had taken “a hammering” that year. No timetable for dev1ce’s return has been provided, and sources have told Dexerto that he could be out of action for at least several more months. NIP’s first event of 2022 will be the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, where academy player Love ‘phzy’ Smidebrant will stand in for the Danish AWPer as the tournament’s roster lock is already in effect. Sources said that NIP are currently thinking about signing a player to replace dev1ce for the foreseeable future, and have identified Jackinho as a potential solution. The 22-year-old left Fnatic in November after a ten-month period with the British organization, who replaced him with Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield. Jackinho is currently playing for NIP’s academy team, Young Ninjas, in Malta Vibes Knockout Series 5 as a replacement for phzy. If the signing goes through, he could make his first appearance for NIP in IEM Katowice Play-In on February 15. Helping my friends in Young ninjas in 10 minutes vs Sangal. Will be fun to play some games after a few months 😁💫 — Jackinho (@Jackinhocs) January 20, 2022 Contacted by Dexerto, Anton Fagerhem, Head of Communications & PR at NIP, confirmed that dev1ce will miss the opening tournament of the season. “Nicolai is still recuperating and we want him to take his time to get back at full speed,” he said. “Phzy will step in for BLAST — again showing the strengths of having a good academy roster. “Jack is filling in for phzy while he’s subbing for dev1ce — meaning that he will play with Young Ninjas for Malta Vibes.”

Sources: NIP target djL as new CSGO coach Luc Bouchon/PGLFormer GamerLegion and Copenhagen Flames coach Daniel ‘djL’ Narancic is the favorite to take charge of NIP’s CS:GO team, sources have told Dexerto. DjL has been earmarked as the ideal candidate to replace Björn ‘THREAT’ Pers, who transitioned to a technical role within the NIP organization at the end of 2021. THREAT, NIP’s head coach for four years across two stints between 2016 and 2021, didn’t attend the final event of the 2021 season, the BLAST Premier World Final, where the organization’s COO, Jonas Gundersen, stood behind the players. That event also saw academy AWPer Love ‘phzy’ Smidebrant replace star player Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz, who was still recovering from an unspecified illness that had also seen him sit out the team’s last match at IEM Winter. Jonas Gundersen, NIP’s COO, has since confirmed the report on Twitter. “It’s true,” he wrote. “DjL is joining our coaching staff. Just wait for the announcement and the full picture will be given. We are all still on player break.” It’s true @djLCSGO is joining our coaching staff. Just wait for the announcement, and the full picture will be given – we are all still on player break 🤟🥷 https://t.co/BMAD7wkLYk — Jonas Gundersen (@jonasgundersen) January 8, 2022 On NIP, djL will reunite with NIP’s in-game leader, Hampus ‘hampus’ Poser, whom he coached during his time in charge of Red Reserve and GamerLegion in 2017 and 2019, respectively. The pair also briefly played together under GamerLegion’s banner. DjL, whose playing career also included spells on teams like Red Reserve, Epsilon and Chaos, coached Copenhagen Flames in 2021 before their surprise run at IEM Fall and at PGL Major Stockholm. Since July, he has been the assistant coach of Apeks, who signed Tim ‘nawwk’ Jonasson from NIP in December as part of their offseason rebuild.

Sources: NIP secure headtr1ck for BLAST Premier Spring Groups João Ferreira/PGLNAVI academy graduate Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov is part of the lineup that NIP have submitted for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, Dexerto has learned. The 18-year-old Ukrainian has been included in NIP’s seven-man lineup for the tournament in a strong sign that a deal has been agreed on by the two organizations and that an announcement is close at hand. headtr1ck is expected to fill the vacancy created by Patrick ’es3tag’ Hansen’s benching on December 21. The Danish player has been given permission to explore his options just 14 months after joining from Complexity. NIP academy duo Linus ‘nilo’ Bergman and Max ‘maxster’ Jansson are also part of the lineup submitted by the Swedish organization for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. The tournament, which will run between January 19 and 29, will mark the beginning of the 2023 season. Who is headtr1ck? headtr1ck is one of the hottest prospects to come out of the famed NAVI Academy, which has helped to produce players like Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy and Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov in recent years. He was part of the organization’s academy project for two years, initially playing for the Youth squad before making the step up to the Junior team in August 2021. Last summer, headtr1ck stepped in for Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev as the NAVI superstar missed the start of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups due to personal reasons. It was his second stand-in appearance for the main team after also briefly playing for the side in ESL Pro League Season 15 as a replacement for Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov. On September 2, NAVI announced that they were open to offers for headtr1ck as they wished to give him the opportunity to continue his development elsewhere. He went on to help NAVI Junior to a third-place finish in WePlay Academy League Season 6 with a tournament-high 1.36 HLTV rating. headtr1ck is expected to take over AWPing duties from Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner, the third player to fill the AWP role in 2022 after Love ‘phzy’ Smidebrant and es3tag. With this move, the Swedish organization hopes to solve what has been a chronic problem for the team since December 2021, when Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz stepped down from the starting lineup. (The Danish player was later sold to Astralis for an undisclosed fee.) Keep up to date with all the off-season activity in the CS:GO scene with our transfer tracker, covering the latest announcements and rumors.

Sources: NiP in dispute with CSGO players over sticker money NiPSources have informed Dexerto that the Swedish-based esports organisation Ninjas In Pyjamas are in a dispute with current and former players regarding outstanding sticker money from the canceled 2020 Rio Major that was scheduled to be run by ESL. That tournament was canceled due to safety concerns amid rising numbers of cases in the host nation. Afterwards, the in-game capsules went on sale. According to sources close to the player who requested anonymity, Tim ‘nawwk’ Jonasson, who was on the NiP roster at that time, believes they have a contractual claim to the earnings from the sticker sales. The sources indicated that he is looking to take action against the organisation in an attempt to get them to pay the money to all players. The amount theoretically owed to each player is believed to be in the region of $200,000 – $300,000 based on what other players from Legends status teams received, although this might vary slightly from team to team due to specific contractual agreements. The root of the player’s claim lies in section 5.4 of their player contracts. There it states the following: [The] Team shall receive 16.67% of the team stickers money earned by the Player. The Player shall receive the remaining 83.33% of the team stickers money divided with his teammates. The Player shall allocate 2% of the Player’s stickers money to a marketing fund dedicated to the CS:GO team. Team shall when receiving the stickers money deduct and transfer to a dedicated bank account. The funds shall be spent on initiatives approved by the CS:GO team. Minimum four (4) members of the CS:GO team have to approve how the monies are spent. The Player shall receive 100% of the individual stickers money, which is allocated to the players. However, the management at NiP do not believe that this clause obligates them to pay the players any money for this specific capsule. Rather, they believe that it was Valve’s intention for esports organisations to retain all of the proceeds from this release as a means of financial relief during the pandemic. The official CS:GO blog post announcing the release of the capsule stated that “for these stickers, 50% of the proceeds directly support the teams,” which leaves the specifics out. In an address to the players made in a group text chat the Chief Operating Officer for NiP Jonas ‘calc’ Gundersen said the following: “I understand there’s a lot of talk floating around the ‘stickers’. We’ve talked about this earlier, but it seems people have forgotten. These were ‘Capsules’ created by the teams, and Ok’d by Valve, in order to survive the pandemic and keep paying salaries without any cuts, despite the complete lack of sponsorships and exposure. Therefore it’s not stickers as it would be normally – because there was no major. This was a desperation move for many teams because elseway something like half would have pulled out of CS:GO altogether. “I know many teams treated this differently and some paid portions out to the players – we opted not to do that and keep salaries intact and the business running normal, adding more support staff around the team to make it an even better place to win majors. There’s also very different contracts on teams based on the normal sticker money, where you guys get almost 100% and either way everyone does things individually.” The sources informed Dexerto that this decision has impacted on the entire team but the three players left on the roster from that time period, Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner, Hampus ‘hampus’ Poser and Nicolas ‘Plopski’ Gonzalez Zamora, do not wish to speak out publicly. However, Jonasson believes their case is strong enough that they are looking to actively pursue it. Dexerto understands they have forwarded their concerns to the Counter-Strike Professional Players Association for review. This isn’t the first time that Ninjas In Pyjamas have been embroiled in disputes regarding sticker money. In 2015, players in the CS:GO team were owed $340,000 in backdated prize money and unpaid sticker sales, the fallout from which saw the then CEO, Per Lilliefelth, leave the organisation. Some former players were still chasing outstanding money as of 2019 as an interview with Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson revealed. The allegations resulted in WESA (World Esports Association), of which NiP were founder members, petitioning ESIC to do an investigation into the organisation’s treatment of players. However, the investigation was widely criticised due to the fact that WESA had placed a hard time limit on when the investigation had to be concluded. This matter appears less cut and dry however and could prompt Valve to make a statement about the intentions of the capsule sales itself. We contacted several team owners about how they distributed the sticker money and the ones that responded stated that they paid out either all or a sizable portion to their players. We shall update this report as we know more.

Sources: NIP CSGO star dev1ce keen on Astralis return João Ferreira/DexertoDanish superstar Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz is eager to leave NIP in the near future as he looks to return to Astralis, multiple sources have told Dexerto and 1pv.fr. Dev1ce signed for NIP in April 2021 in the hopes of building a new legacy after winning practically all there was to win during his five-year tenure with Astralis. But the Danish AWper has found success hard to come by in his new surroundings. He has won just one title this year – at IEM Fall – as NIP have failed to deliver on some of the biggest stages. He looked deflated after NIP’s elimination from the BLAST Premier Fall Final at the hands of Liquid — a ‘dead’ team set to make changes — and was at a loss for words to explain his side’s performance in that post-match interview. He admitted to being “disappointed at myself” and said that there weren’t many things — not even the recent addition of Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen — that could soften the blow. Dev1ce missed the team’s last two IEM Winter matches on recommendation from a doctor after complaining of feeling unwell. Just days later, NIP announced that the player would not attend the BLAST Premier World Final, the last event of the year, as he continued to recover from an unspecified illness. Shattered dreams In joining NIP on a three-year deal — a sign of his commitment to the project — dev1ce spoke of his desire to bring a Major title to Sweden and emulate NBA star LeBron James in winning trophies with multiple teams. But despite the lofty expectations, NIP’s run at PGL Major Stockholm came to an early end. They were eliminated by G2 Esports in the quarter-finals and even came close to not making the arena portion of the event, only booking a playoff spot following a three-map thriller with Copenhagen Flames. The pressure of achieving success with NIP has seemingly weighed heavily on dev1ce, who has looked more frustrated with each setback. He had been the one to push for the transfer to happen, after all, expressing his wish to play for a team closer to his home in Stockholm, where he was living with his then-girlfriend, Emilia Hult. Going through a rough patch lately and I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the support you are giving me so much and I will try my best to not let you and myself down anymore Tomorrow we play @TeamLiquidCS again pic.twitter.com/Fv1O5Buxwp — Nicolai Reedtz (@dev1ce) December 3, 2021 The pair have since broken up, and sources have told Dexerto that dev1ce has moved to Copenhagen, where he has bought an apartment. Fit like a glove Multiple sources have told Dexerto that dev1ce has expressed an interest in leaving NIP to return to Astralis, the organization for which he won multiple international titles including four Major crowns. Perhaps the biggest stumbling block to a potential transfer is the fact that NIP will want to recover some of the money they spent to sign dev1ce just eight months ago. The transfer fee was not disclosed by either organization at the time, but Astralis’ half-year financial report includes “other operating income” of DKK4.5 million (approximately $700,000). It is widely believed that this income is tied to dev1ce’s transfer to NIP. Dev1ce’s return would allow Astralis to solve the biggest problem in their team — the lack of a world-class AWPer. Philip ‘Lucky’ Ewald was signed in July to help fill the void left by dev1ce’s departure, but in recent tournaments, Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander has been the one responsible for AWPing duties. Despite stating that gla1ve has not taken the AWP from him, Lucky finds himself on shaky ground, and dev1ce’s sudden availability could prompt Astralis to act, especially after the team ended the year on a disappointing note, finishing IEM Winter in 9th-12th place and BLAST Premier World Final in 5th-6th place.

Sources: nicoodoz set to leave Fnatic CSGO team Michal Konkol/BLASTFnatic AWPer Nico ‘nicoodoz’ Tamjidi is currently exploring his options as a rebuild is in the works in the team, sources told Dexerto. The Danish AWPer is not part of the plans for the new season as Fnatic continue to test different options for the team as part of a summer reshuffle of their roster. nicoodoz joined Fnatic in June 2022 alongside his Copenhagen Flames teammate Fredrik ‘roeJ’ Jørgensen. He has averaged a 1.08 HLTV rating and 1.03 Impact since joining the team, which ended the season with a last-place finish at IEM Dallas. Recent rumors have credited Fnatic with an interest in two different AWPers: Aurélien ‘afro’ Drapier, formerly of LDLC, and Erkhan ‘gokushima’ Bagynanov, who plays for Russian team HOTU. More players could be on their way out of Fnatic soon, with rumors suggesting the team might be retaining as few as two players. Sources told Dexerto that, despite earlier rumors suggesting that roeJ could be leaving the team, the 29-year-old is likely to remain with Fnatic. Fnatic will begin the new season at IEM Cologne, where they will start in the Play-In Stage. The team is also slated to compete at Gamers8, the $1 million competition that will be held as part of Saudi Arabia’s gaming festival.

Sources: nexa to join OG in Aleksib swap deal with G2 João Ferreira/DexertoG2 Esports CS:GO in-game leader Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković is on the brink of joining OG as part of the deal that will see Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen move in the opposite direction, sources have told Dexerto and 1pv.fr. The two organizations have already reached an agreement for the player swap, with an announcement expected in the coming days. Nexa will take over the reins at OG, leaving behind a two-year tenure with G2 Esports that began in September 2019, when he was signed alongside his CR4ZY teammate Nemanja ’huNter-’ Kovač. During his time at the helm of G2’s squad, nexa notably led the team to runners-up finishes at three big LAN events: IEM Katowice 2020, IEM Cologne 2021, and PGL Major Stockholm. As the tournament season came to an end, G2 opted to overhaul their lineup with hopes of battling NAVI for the No.1 spot in 2022. Read more: Who is m0NESY, G2 CSGO’s new AWP prodigy? – On January 4, Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov, a 16-year-old prodigy from NAVI’s academy system, was finally unveiled as the team’s new AWPer. After weeks of negotiations between G2 and OG, Aleksib is now poised to switch teams, with Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam on the verge of being installed as the new coach. A team in turmoil Nexa will inherit an OG team eager to turn a page after a difficult year that saw them fail to qualify for PGL Major Stockholm. The international lineup, currently ranked 17th in the world according to HLTV, struggled to reach the latter stages of the big tournaments in 2021. A second-place finish in IEM Summer and a semi-final appearance in ESL Pro League Season 14 were two of the few highlights of the year. Nexa’s impending move to OG comes at a time when doubts remain about the future of Valdemar ‘valde’ Bjørn Vangså. The Danish rifler has been linked with a move to Evil Geniuses, with talks between the organizations reportedly underway.

Sources: nexa exploring options as he targets summer CSGO return João Ferreira for PGLOG benched player Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković is weighing up his options as he is looking to return to activity in the near future, Dexerto has learned. The 26-year-old has been out of action since mid-February, when he stepped back from OG’s starting lineup due to personal reasons and was replaced by benched player Nikolaj ‘niko’ Kristensen. At the time, OG did not put a timetable for nexa’s return but it said that niko would be with the team “for the rest of the Major circuit”. nexa played no part as OG qualified for the BLAST Paris Major, where it ended up finishing in 20th-22nd place after winning just one match in the Challengers Stage. In the last three months, no updates about nexa’s status have been provided, but Dexerto knows that the player is targeting a summer return. Just like his teammate Shahar ’flameZ’ Shushan, he is currently exploring his options, including remaining with OG. Sources told Dexerto that nexa doesn’t rule out continuing as an in-game leader, though he is also entertaining the possibility of moving into a different role. He joined OG from G2 Esports in January 2022, taking over the captaincy from Aleksi ’Aleksib’ Virolainen, who moved in the opposite direction. Success has been hard to come by since then, but in his first year with the team, he was able to lead it to the IEM Rio Major — ending the organization’s long quest for a Major appearance — and to a semi-final run at the BLAST Premier World Final. Since the end of the Paris Major, OG’s squad has been a fervent source of conjecture. Questions remain about the long-term future of star player Abdulkhalik ‘degster’ Gasanov, who decided to take some time off from competition after the Major. And according to a report from Blix.gg, OG are set to part ways with niko, who has been with the organization since March 2021. At the upcoming IEM Dallas event, degster will be replaced by Romanian AWPer Iulian ‘regali’ Harjău, a free agent since Copenhagen Flames shut down operations.

Sources: NAVI set to remove npl from CSGO roster Stephanie Lindgren/BLASTNAVI have decided against keeping npl on their CSGO team for the new season, sources have told Dexerto. The decision comes in the aftermath of a disappointing season in which NAVI couldn’t go beyond the semi-finals of any elite-level tournaments and that culminated in a 9th-11th place finish at the BLAST.tv Paris Major. Andrii ‘npl’ Kukharskyi was promoted from NAVI’s academy team in December 2022, initially as part of a six-man rotation with Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev, who would end up being released at the end of the year. NAVI hoped to strike gold again on the recruiting front after watching Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy, another academy graduate, become a key part of the team. However, npl’s performances have been somewhat underwhelming, raising questions about his readiness to compete at the highest level. The 17-year-old has averaged a team-low 0.92 HLTV rating and 0.83 Impact, even admitting while at IEM Katowice that he wasn’t happy with his progression. With NAVI moving on from npl, it remains unclear at this point who will be filling the vacant spot on the roster for the new tournament season. A new direction for NAVI? Sources told Dexerto that NAVI’s CS:GO team is seriously considering going international and switching to an English communication system. This would expand the pool of players that NAVI can pick from, which has been very restricted since the start of the war in Ukraine. Last year, NAVI had their sights on Kazakhstani player Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov. In the end, however, they decided against making a move as it would force them to conduct business with Russian organization Virtus.pro. In February of this year, NAVI CEO Yevhen Zolotarov already alluded to the possibility that more of the organization’s teams, including the CS:GO squad, would go down the route of their Valorant division, which has players from four different countries and uses English to communicate. “We want to be a club where the best Ukrainian players are going to play,” Zolotarov told Dexerto. “At the same time, we are building a global brand, so there is a chance that we will consider international players for all disciplines. Our academy projects may become international relatively soon.” NAVI’s first tournament of the new season, the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, is scheduled to start on July 13. Later that month, the team will attend IEM Cologne.

Sources: NAVI entertaining offers for CSGO prodigy m0NESY NAVINAVI are open to offers for Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov as interest in the 16-year-old CS:GO prodigy continues to grow, sources with knowledge of the situation have told Dexerto and 1pv.fr. m0NESY has emerged as one of the most sought-after players in the CS:GO scene after enjoying a breakout year with NAVI Junior, the Ukrainian organization’s academy team. The Russian player is averaging an impressive 1.36 HLTV rating and 1.42 Impact in 2021, with his stock having only risen further after he helped NAVI Junior to a runner-up finish at the WePlay Academy League Season 2 Finals, which were held on LAN. On November 15, NAVI star Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev said on the ‘HLTV Confirmed’ podcast that m0NESY should ask to be sent out on loan for a year to continue his development in a new setting and improve his English. NAVI open to offers for m0NESY Sources have told Dexerto that a number of organizations have already expressed an interest in signing m0NESY, who joined NAVI in January 2020 at the age of 14. While a loan move has been mooted as a possibility, sources have indicated that such an option is highly unlikely. Firstly, there are no guarantees that m0NESY will be able to play at Valve-sanctioned events for a team on loan if NAVI are also in attendance as it could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Secondly, not all suitors are open to a temporary transfer. As organizations begin to plan for the future, some are simply uninterested in building a team around a star player that is not going to be around for the long haul. Because of that, the pool of teams that are open to a loan deal is smaller and most likely made up of less appealing destinations. As we approach the end of the year, m0NESY is expected to be the protagonist in one of the biggest transfer sagas of the off-season. On November 16, he hinted that he is ready to begin a new chapter in his career as he posted an Instagram story saying, ‘the time has come’.

Sources: MSL and niko in talks with OpTic Gaming CS:GO Danish Counter-Strike players Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen and Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen are in discussions with OpTic Gaming, according to multiple sources. As the post-IEM Katowice Major roster shuffle continues, it looks as though another North American organization will be making some moves. With Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke and Jakob “JUGi” Hansen reportedly on their way to Cloud9, OpTic Gaming is now in talks with both MSL and niko to feel the vacancies in their roster. MSL and niko are part of the active roster for the Rogue, who hold a spot in ESL Pro League: North America. Losing the two players would leave Rogue with less than a week to fill their roster prior to the Season 9 roster lock, meaning they will be forced to scramble in order to round out their roster before games begin. niko only joined in late January, while MSL has been on the roster since late October of 2018. OpTic Gaming recently earned a spot is ESL Pro League: Europe with a victory over Virtus.pro during Season 8 relegation. Despite this accomplishment, they were unable to reach the IEM Katowice Major last month after a loss to Mousesports in the European Minor. OpTic Gaming and Rogue aren’t the only teams making moves, as multiple others have been reportedly in talks for a bevy of roster moves. Fellow North American Organization Cloud9 are not only in talks with OpTic Gaming for K0nfig and Jugi, but are also not expected to hold onto Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey moving forward. Meanwhile, mousesports just debuted a new roster on March 14 with Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen at the helm. They will also be trialing Allan ‘Rejin’ Petersen as their head coach, according to sources. With Season 9 of the ESL Pro League around the corner and many teams rushing to lock down their rosters, it’s likely that this won’t be the last roster move we hear about.

Sources: MOUZ close in on deal for GamerLegion IGL siuhy Michal Konkol/BLASTMOUZ are close to completing the signing of GamerLegion’s CS:GO IGL, Kamil ‘siuhy’ Szkaradek, multiple sources have confirmed to Dexerto. Talks between the two organizations are at a very advanced stage, with a deal expected to be finalized soon, sources said. The transfer will mark siuhy’s return to MOUZ, having been part of the organization’s academy team, MOUZ NXT, between June 2021 and August 2022. Last summer, he was transferred to GamerLegion, with whom he continued to build his reputation as one of Counter-Strike’s most promising in-game leaders. siuhy’s stock soared last month after guiding GamerLegion to the grand final of the BLAST Paris Major, with rumors instantly linking him with G2 Esports. However, siuhy is on his way back to MOUZ, where he will reunite with his former NXT teammates Jon ‘JDC’ de Castro, Ádám ‘torzsi’ Torzsás and Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman. The Polish in-game leader will step into Christopher ‘dexter’ Nong’s shoes, bringing an end to the Australian’s 30-month tenure with the team. Dexerto knows that dexter has a long line of suitors and that a move to an Australian team is not likely at this point. The loss of siuhy puts a spanner in GamerLegion’s plans to build on the second-place finish at the Paris Major. Julian ‘morxzas’ Miculcy had told Dexerto that he was hopeful that the organization would be able to keep the roster intact, despite interest from a number of top teams in their players. “If we want to stay in tier one, we need to keep the team together, and I feel we have a great chance of doing that,” he said. The in-game leader change comes after a disappointing season by MOUZ in which a second-place finish at IEM Dallas was the only bright spot. After reaching the semi-finals of the IEM Rio Major last year, the team went out last at the Paris Major. The team was also eliminated from IEM Katowice and IEM Rio without a single win to its name. In their final appearance of the tournament season, MOUZ placed third-fourth in the Elisa Invitational Spring 2023 after losing to Apeks in the semi-final stage.

Sources: Mousesports trialing Rejin as head CS:GO coach The new Mousesports Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster is trialing Allan ‘Rejin’ Petersen as their head coach, according to multiple sources close to the players. Rejin is a former head coach for the Tricked Esport organization but has not coached for a professional team since 2017. Rejin was also a professional player in Counter-Strike: Source and CS:GO, first surfacing in mid-2009. In 2010, the Dane played on a lineup named ‘PENTIA’ with current Astralis in-game leader Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander. Later on in 2011, Mathias ‘MSL’ Lauridsen would join the lineup alongside the other two Danes. Once he transitioned to CS:GO in 2012, Rejin played with Astralis player Andreas ‘Xyp9x’ Højsleth on a team named CPLAY. From there, Rejin bounced around as a member of a few different mixed Danish lineups, but didn’t achieve international results. It wasn’t until early 2017 that he made the transition to coach and joined the Tricked Esport organization. Announcing the new CS:GO roster for mousesports: – @chrisJcsgo – @FROZENNcs – @karriganCSGO – @ropzicle – @w0xicFull Story: https://t.co/00Mc8VpOYR pic.twitter.com/OtaLJFeNbS — mousesports (@mousesports) March 14, 2019 Mouseports announced their new active roster today – it includes three new players, with Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen, David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský, and Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker joining the team. Retained on the Mouz roster are Chris ‘chrisJ’ de Jong, who returns from a short stint on the bench, and Robin ‘ropz’ Kool. It was first reported by Dexerto that karrigan was in discussions with Mouseports last week. This will not be karrigan’s first time with the organization, though. The veteran in-game leader has previously represented Mousesports in both 1.6 and CS:GO.

Sources: More coaching bans to come as ESIC finalise ‘delayed’ investigation Valve / ESICSources have informed Dexerto that the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) are set to hand out more bans for abuse of in-game coaching bugs as two investigations are being finalized. Both investigations have been ongoing for some time as ESIC attempted to probe all instances of abuse, which number in the hundreds. The first of these two investigations could see sanctions issued to as many as 52 individuals, although potential penalties are still being discussed internally. Fresh impetus to issue the penalties has come after cooperating parties were becoming increasingly disgruntled at the prospect of coaches that could be banned from competing at the upcoming PGL Major in Antwerp this May. Several parties outside of ESIC, including members associated with the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA), have communicated a desire for the matter to be resolved ahead of the event to ensure the highest levels of integrity at the tournament. This isn’t the first time ESIC have been criticised for the slow nature of investigations. Their “Open Investigation Register” features three that have yet to be completed with no status updates since August 2021. Rumours have circulated of staffing issues and managerial shifts during this time, leaving many people to believe that the likelihood of seeing these investigations concluded was slim. While it is undoubtedly accurate to say ESIC perhaps underestimated the scale of the problems they set out to tackle, the complexities of these investigations, especially as they involve going back over five years in some instances, cannot be downplayed. According to sources familiar with the investigation, one reason for the delay was that there were multiple in-game bugs that enabled coaches to obtain an unfair vantage point in maps. While they yielded the same outcome, they functioned in slightly different ways and so when the automated process utilised to locate demos where it occurred was implemented, it was only coded in a fashion as to detect the primary bug, which led to the initial ban wave. As it was refined, it found other examples and presented more names to ESIC. The bugs vary in how much information can be acquired. One is a third-person view that follows players around, enabling a coach to move their mouse to potentially clear angles or see information that would be out of the player’s periphery. Below is a clip recorded by Dexerto from an official match in which a coach experienced the third-person view bug. Another, much rarer, glitch allows the coach to roam fully free around the map as if in NoClip mode. Dexerto revealed on February 9 that Soham ‘valens’ Chowdhury had encountered both the static and the free-roam versions of the bug during his time coaching Cloud9. Valens told Dexerto that he didn’t know how the bugs had been triggered and stressed that no information was ever shared with his players. Another problem with the investigation has been assessing the different bugs and how they were utilised in each individual case. Some footage from demos shows clear and obvious usage, with sweeping movements designed to gather information. Other examples show no movement or only happen for one round, something that could well mean the bug occurred without the coach’s knowledge. Without voice communications, making determinations about the extent of the abuse proved difficult and with a number of appeals to process from previous coaching bans and other investigations, it was essential to factor this into any potential punishments. For the previous coaching bug, the standard was set that not reporting an instance when it happened would lead to action against the coach in question, with abuse of any kind leading to much sterner punishment. That factor will be under special consideration as many of the cases investigated seem to involve either single instances of the bugs occurring or multiple instances of single rounds, often at the beginning of matches. It was worth noting that an instance of just a single round was the entirety of the offences committed by OG coach Casper ‘ruggah’ Due and this was enough to prompt a near four-month-long ban from all competitions and a ban from the PGL Stockholm Major, which OG failed to qualify for. The downside to the length of time taken has been that several coaches named on the list of prospective bans have been allowed to compete while their colleagues guilty of similar offences have faced immediate retribution for their transgressions. Many individuals who were issued with bans, or organisations that had staff banned, as a result of ESIC’s investigations may feel aggrieved that this one has taken so long to get across the line. A final date has not been set for the first announcement but our source understood that the investigations were in “the final stages” and that official communications were being prepared for the involved parties. The Major in Antwerp is set to begin on May 9, so it is reasonable to expect it at any time before that. ESIC have been approached for comment. Luís Mira contributed to this story.

Sources: CSGO coach maLeK in advanced talks with Evil Geniuses João Ferreira/DexertoFormer G2 Esports coach Damien ‘maLeK’ Marcel is in advanced talks to take charge of Evil Geniuses’ CS:GO team, Dexerto has learned. The French coach has been locked in discussions with Evil Geniuses after being released by G2 Esports just days after the conclusion of PGL Major Stockholm. Team analyst Jan ‘Swani’ Müller has taken over G2’s team on an interim basis until a replacement is found for maLeK, who had been with the organization since late 2018. Today marks the end of a great adventure. I’ve been G2’s head coach for three years and well that went fast! The decision to part ways took place a few weeks before the Major and I loved every moment of our last run with the boys ❤ pic.twitter.com/sqBtFgzOHY— Damdam (@DamienMarcel) November 16, 2021 According to a recent report from 1pv.fr, former FunPlus Phoenix player Luka ‘emi’ Vuković is one of the names G2 are considering for the vacant coaching role. maLeK in advanced talks with EG Sources with knowledge of the situation told Dexerto that negotiations between maLeK and EG are well underway and that an agreement between the two parties is close to being completed. If he takes the job, maLeK will inherit a team in turmoil and with only two active players after Evil Geniuses made the decision to clean house after PGL Major Stockholm. Peter ‘stanislaw’ Jarguz, Owen ‘oBo’ Schlatter and Michał ‘MICHU’ Müller were all given their marching orders after a disastrous run of form that culminated in the team being eliminated from the Major without a single victory following losses to FaZe, Copenhagen Flames and Vitality in the New Legends Stage. EG’s starting lineup has been depleted to just Vincent ‘Brehze’ Cayonte and Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov following these departures. It is currently unclear what will happen with team coach Damian ‘daps’ Steele if maLeK is brought on board. In a recent Twitter post, Evil Geniuses reaffirmed their commitment to supporting North American CS:GO. According to Rush B Media, EG could acquire any players that Liquid wish to off-load, and have also been scouting the ESEA Premier league for potential talent. Today we say goodbye and thank you to @peterjarguz, @obocsgo, and @michucs_go. In the new year we look forward to coming back stronger and continuing to prove our dedication to NA CS:GO. pic.twitter.com/mRTYn1tWNn — Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) November 6, 2021 Contacted by Dexerto, Evil Geniuses declined to comment.

Sources: Majority Norwegian CS:GO lineup headlined by RUBINO and cromen in the works Norwegian Counter-Strike player Ruben “RUBINO” Villarroel has created a new team, according to multiple sources. On that team at this time are Jørgen “cromen” Robertsen, Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærli, Jesper “tenzki” Plougmann, and Haakon “Radifaction” Tholo. At this time, the players are looking for an organization to represent. The last organization RUBINO played for is Heroic in early 2018, before leaving the team and failing to find a stable lineup to join. He and cromen had been in negotiations with the Tempo Storm organization for months in late 2018, but they were unable to come to an agreement. As a member of Dignitas in 2016, he won DreamHack Tours 2016 as well as EPICENTER. A quarter-final appearance at the ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017 was his last event with the majority Danish lineup. Prior to looking for team alongside RUBINO, cromen had been a stand-in for both Heroic and FaZe Clan. He would win ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018 with FaZe during that stint, but the organization decided to stick with Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer when he returned from inactivity. Tenzki is the only non-Norwegian player on this lineup and is Danish instead. He has a similar history to RUBINO, playing in the danish Dignitas lineup and other European mix teams during his time as a professional. His greatest accomplishments include victories at Copenhagen Games 2018, DreamHack Open Summer 2018 with The Imperial. Hallzerk is member of the Nordavind organization along with two other players at this time. He has yet to participate at an international tournament during his short period as a professional player. As it stands, he is the only player on this lineup who is still under any kind of contract. Radifaction most recently played with the NoChance lineup with Mikail “Maikelele” Bill but announced his departure yesterday. He played on Nordavind with Hallzerk prior to NoChance, but left the organization in September of 2018.

Sources: lmbt in discussions to re-join HellRaisers CS:GO as CEO departs Ukranian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coach Sergey ‘lmbt’ Bezhanov is in discussions to re-join the HellRaisers organization as head coach, according to multiple sources. Dexerto has been informed that the organization has also recently parted ways CEO Alexey ‘xaoc’ Kucherov. Lmbt was a manager for Hellraisers from 2014-2015 before moving to head coach until mid-2016. Later on in 2016, he joined Mousesports as coach before being removed from his duties in early February. During his time with Mousesports, the team won ESG Tour Mykonos 2017, StarSeries Season 4, and ESL One: New York 2018. Long time players Chris ‘chrisJ’ de Jong and Martin ‘STYKO’ Styk were benched along with lmbt less than a month after the roster failed to qualify for the IEM Katowice Major following their surprise 5th – 6th place finish at the Europe Minor. HellRaisers had a mixture of results during 2018, including a quarter-final appearance at the FACEIT Major: London and a finals appearance at DreamHack Open Tours 2018. Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker is reportedly expected to join the Mousesports organization, while Bence ‘DeadFox’ Böröcz has reportedly been benched. Should both of these moves come to fruition, it would leave the team with two empty roster slots to fill. If the move is confirmed, lmbt will be linking up once more with Kirill ‘ANGE1’ Karasiow. The two were founding members of the HellRaisers CS:GO team after the Astana Dragons project came to an end in 2014 and ANGE1 has been with the organization ever since. The circumstances surrounding the departure of xaoc are currently uncertain, but is believed that he chose to step down. The Ukrainian is a former Counter-Strike 1.6 pro and a regular member of StaLadder’s analyst desks. He has been the CEO of HellRaisers since the summer of 2017.

Sources: LEGIJA steps in as BIG coach ahead of BLAST Premier Fall Groups Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić has taken over as BIG’s interim head coach for their upcoming stretch of tournaments, Dexerto has learned. The 30-year-old is no stranger to the role, having guided the team between 2018 and 2019 across two spells. LEGIJA has taken over head coaching duties from Dustin ‘DuDe’ Großmann, who is taking a break from his role due to personal reasons. It’s unclear at this point how long DuDe will be out for, but it’s believed that his period on the sidelines will spill over into October, which will potentially see him miss PGL Major Stockholm if the team manage to qualify for the event. DuDe has been part of BIG’s coaching staff since October 2020, when he was hired as an assistant to Tobias ‘tow b’ Herberhold. He became the team’s head coach in January after tow b stepped down from the role due to personal reasons. Familiar with the job LEGIJA has coached many teams over the years, including BIG themselves across two spells between 2018 and 2019. He also played for the team for little over a year between 2017 and 2018, notably helping them to reach the playoffs at PGL Major Kraków. He took over as Envy coach in January 2020, but just six months later, he was forced to return to a playing role within the team due to their ongoing roster issues. LEGIJA finished out the season with Envy before the North American organization decided to disband the roster and halt their investment in Counter-Strike. He has been inactive ever since. BIG have been placed in Group B of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, alongside G2, MIBR, and NIP. They will take on the Swedish team, headlined by four-time Major winner Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz, in their first match, scheduled for September 20. The German team are well positioned to qualify for the Major as they currently sit seventh in the European RMR rankings ahead of IEM Fall, which will run between September 29 and October 10.

Sources: LEGIJA expected to fill in for XANTARES at IEM Sydney CS:GO event German CS:GO organization BIG will play Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV – Sydney with Nikola ‘LEGIJA’ Ninić in place of Can ‘XANTARES’ Dörtkardeş, according to multiple sources. XANTARES is unable to attend the event in Australia due to visa issues, which was first reported by Dexerto earlier in the day on April 26. Multiple sources have also confirmed that BIG had hoped to bring Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield to the event for XANTARES, but he has been ruled ineligible. Since he stood in for Renegades at Season 9 of ESL Pro League North America, he is considered ineligible to play ESL events with any other team for 120 days since he last played. Smooya remains under contract with BIG, as he searches for a new team to acquire him. LEGIJA has a long history in Counter-Strike extending back to before the release of CS:GO in Counter-Strike 1.6. He has played and coached for a number of organizations including Mousesports, G2 Esports, NRG Esports, and BIG. In early 2018, LEGIJA stepped back from the BIG active roster and coached the team for the rest of the year. After stepping back, he stayed with the organization and is listed as their “head of CS:GO”. When is IEM Sydney? For the third year in a row, Intel Extreme Masters will hold one of their signature events in Sydney, Australia. The event kicks off on April 30 and runs until May 5, with some of the biggest names in CS:GO slated to attend. Most eye will be centered on MIBR and FaZe Clan, who won the events in 2017 and 2018, respectively. BIG will open up the event against mousesports at 7pm PT / 10pm ET / 3am GMT, while Team Liquid will take on B.O.O.T-dream[S]scape at the same time.

Sources: Karrigan close to signing with Mousesports Danish in-game leader and CS:GO veteran Finn “karrigan” Andersen is close to signing with Mousesports, according to sources close to the player and organization. Karrigan is still officially a member of FaZe Clan, but the two sides are working towards a transfer, a source told Dexerto. Multiple organizations were interested in karrigan since his loan to the Team Envy organization during the IEM Katowice Minor stage. Team Envy were among the frontrunners, but talks did not progress as far as they have with Mousesports. Karrigan played as a member of the Mousesports organization from 2010 to early 2012 while playing Counter-Strike 1.6. He would return to Mousesports later in the year after leaving Fnatic and played another six months for the organization while playing CS:GO. Once he found his spot among the Danish scene in 2015, he became one of the best in-game leaders in the world. He has won multiple events over his career including: FACEIT Stage 1 and 2 Finals, StarSeries Season 3, ESL One: New York 2017, ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2017, IEM XIII Sydney, and EPICENTER 2018. Mousesports announced early last month they had benched Chris “chrisJ” de Jong and Martin “STYKO” Styk, while also removing their coach Sergey “lmbt” Bezhano. Should they add Karrigan, they would need to fill another roster spot or bring a player back from the bench. Multiple sources have confirmed to Dexerto that bringing a player back to the active lineup is a possibility and is still being considered at this time.

Sources: G2 set to sign jks to CSGO team Stephanie Lieske/ESLG2 Esports are on the verge of completing the signing of Complexity benched rifler Justin ‘jks’ Savage, sources have told Dexerto and 1pv.fr. The news finally ends jks’ protracted search for a new team, with the Australian player having spent the last eight months on Complexity’s bench after the North American organization decided to pull the plug on the ‘Juggernaut’ project. He will fill the void created by the imminent departure of Audric ‘JACKZ’ Jug, who has been given permission to explore his options during the summer break, according to a July 17 report by 1pv.fr. G2 are also in the market for a new in-game leader after telling Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen that he could seek a future elsewhere after just seven months with the squad. G2’s decision to revamp their lineup during the break comes after a disappointing end to the season. After failing to make the playoffs at PGL Major Antwerp, the team showed no signs of figuring things out as they finished IEM Dallas in 5th-6th place, BLAST Premier Spring Final in 3rd-4th place, and IEM Cologne 2022 in 9th-12th place. As the team’s season came to an end after the loss to NIP in Cologne, G2 owner Carlos ‘ocelote’ Rodríguez Santiago said on Twitter that he had “lots of thinking to do” about the future of the squad, which has failed to deliver on the hype generated by the high-profile transfer of Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač from FaZe in October 2020. G2 will hope that the signing of jks, a two-time HLTV.org Top 20 player of the year, can be the first step on the road toward redemption. In February, jks showed no signs of rustiness as he helped FaZe to win IEM Katowice. The 26-year-old, who stood in for Robin ‘ropz’ Kool and Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard throughout the tournament, became the first Australian to win a top-tier event in CS:GO.

Sources: G2 secure HooXi for BLAST Premier Fall João Ferreira/DexertoRasmus ‘HooXi’ Nielsen is part of the lineup submitted by G2 Esports for the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, which also includes Justin ‘jks’ Savage, sources have told Dexerto. The Danish captain has been registered as a starting player for the tournament and should take the reins from Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen, who has been given permission to explore his options after just six months with the team. According to 1pv.fr, HooXi has been signed on a permanent basis and not just as a stand-in for the BLAST tournament. Also part of the lineup is Justin ‘jks’ Savage, who is on the brink of completing a move to G2 from Complexity, as Dexerto and 1pv.fr reported on July 27. HooXi is currently without a team following the disbandment of Copenhagen Flames’ roster in the aftermath of PGL Major Antwerp. Fredrik ‘roeJ’ Jørgensen and Nico ‘nicoodoz’ Tamjidi have gone on to join Fnatic, while Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard has signed with Heroic. Earlier this month, HooXi was reported to be on Evil Geniuses’ shortlist as the North American organization searched for a new in-game leader for the team. However, Evil Geniuses have reportedly landed Sanzhar ‘neaLaN’ Iskhakov instead, leaving HooXi on the lookout for a new team to represent. G2 Esports’ new CS:GO roster: Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač – Nemanja ‘huNter’ Kovač – Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov – Justin ‘jks’ Savage – Rasmus ‘HooXi’ Nielsen – Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (coach) –

Sources: Friberg in discussions with Fnatic CSGO A major shakeup could be on the horizon for Swedish Counter-Strike team Fnatic, who are apparently be in the process of recruiting a seasoned veteran. Fnatic are in discussions with rifler Adam ‘friberg’ Friberg about joining their active roster, according to multiple sources close to the team. It is expected that Friberg will leave the Heroic organization regardless of a deal working out with Fnatic or not, according to the same sources. Friberg’s replacement on Heroic has not been confirmed by Dexerto at this time, but multiple sources indicate Heroic reached out to a number of players including René “cajunb” Borg, Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer, and Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen. Fnatic announced earlier in the week that they had benched Richard “Xizt” Landström and Simon “twist” Eliasson following their failure to qualify for the StarLadder Berlin Major. The move has left two spots open on their roster as they attempt to rebuild for their next event: DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019, which starts in just over a month. Friberg was a Major winner with the Ninjas in Pyjamas organization back in 2014 and was considered by most as one of the best players in the world at that time. In total, he spent nearly five years with NiP before moving on to the OpTic Gaming organization in 2017. Heroic is only the third organization he has played for since the release of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. During his time with Heroic, the team struggled internationally and performed best at the two most recent tournaments they played: ESL One: Cologne 2019 and IEM Chicago 2019.

fnatic bench smooya after IEM Katowice elimination DreamHackFnatic have confirmed that they have moved CS:GO AWPer Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield to the bench following the team’s elimination from IEM Katowice. The news, first reported by Dexerto, comes just days after fnatic were sent packing at IEM Katowice in 9th-12th place following defeats to FaZe and Astralis in the group stage of the tournament. Smooya has been in fnatic’s ranks since October, when he joined the team as a replacement for Jack ‘Jackinho’ Ström Mattsson, initially on a three-month trial. He made an impressive start to life with Fnatic, averaging a 1.22 HLTV rating in his first two months on the team. Since the turn of the year, however, that has dipped to 1.01, with his Impact also dropping from 1.20 to a staggering 0.92. In an interview with HLTV.org prior to the group stage of IEM Katowice, smooya admitted that he was going through a slump in form and that his confidence had taken a hit. In a statement, team director Andreas Samuelsson explained that smooya is “not the right fit for our main CS:GO roster” and that the British AWPer can now “explore his options within the game”. CS:GO Roster Update: With qualification for the Major starting this week and in order to move our CS:GO roster on to better results, we have made the decision to move @smooyacs to the inactive roster. Read about the change: — FNATIC (@FNATIC) February 21, 2022 According to sources, the decision to replace smooya was made even before the team’s elimination from IEM Katowice. Fnatic have reached out to prospective new AWPers, though they stated that academy member Lulian ‘regali’ Harjău will be playing for the main team. It’s unclear if this is a permanent solution or a band-aid until a new player is signed. Fnatic will have to take part in the open qualifiers to qualify for one of the two PGL Major Antwerp European RMRs. The qualifying process will run between February 22 and March 6, with 19 spots on the line (nine in Europe RMR A, ten in Europe RMR B). Next month, Fnatic are also slated to compete in ESL Pro League Season 15, which will be held in Malta. Fnatic CS:GO roster: Freddy ‘KRIMZ’ Johansson – Ludvig ‘Brollan’ Brolin – Alex ‘ALEX’ McMeekin – William ‘mezii’ Merriman – Iulian ‘regali’ Harjău – Jamie ‘keita’ Hall (coach) – Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield (benched) –

Sources: FaZe’s request to field k0nfig at BLAST Premier Spring Groups rejected Adela Sznajder/ESL Gaming via ESPATFaZe’s request to play with Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke in the BLAST Premier Spring Groups has been denied by the tournament organizer, Dexerto has confirmed. FaZe turned to k0nfig as a potential last-minute stand-in after learning that Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard is unable to compete at the event due to the birth of his child. This request was met with strong opposition from some of the other BLAST Premier teams, as first reported by Dust2.us and confirmed by Dexerto. k0nfig was registered as a substitute by Heroic – the team he played for at the BLAST Premier World Final in December -, while FaZe have a registered substitute in Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer, who hasn’t competed since late 2021. After much deliberation, BLAST informed the partner teams on the morning of January 19 that FaZe’s request had been denied as k0nfig is registered on another team’s roster for this event. The tournament organizer has decided to allow FaZe to register a different substitute for the event as the team currently has only four players in Denmark. olofmeister is currently playing Valorant from home on his stream. “I guess FaZe are going full tilt right now,” olofmeister told his viewers. “I would.” On Twitter, FaZe player Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken said that BLAST had previously informed the team that k0nfig would be allowed to play. “Everything changed overnight,” he added. According to the Canadian star, olofmeister informed the team that he “didn’t have time to play”, forcing the players to find an alternative. FaZe will take on Complexity on January 20 in their first match in the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. The North American organization has said that more information about rain’s replacement for the event will be announced prior to that match. Contacted by Dexerto, BLAST confirmed that FaZe’s request to field k0nfig had been denied and that the team would be granted an emergency substitute. “An update on the substitute will be made as soon as we have it,” BLAST said.

Sources: ESL and BLAST reviewing Virtus.pro leadership changes Virtus.proESL and BLAST will soon make a determination on whether Virtus.pro will be allowed back in their competitions following the leadership changes in the organization, Dexerto has learned. Virtus.pro have pushed tournament organizers to lift the ban on the organization, which recently appointed Aram Karamanukyan as its new CEO. Mr. Karamanukyan, who is an Armenian citizen, has invested in Virtus.pro and owns its trademark, according to a September 20 statement issued by Virtus.pro in which the organization also underlined that its various esports teams “can and will compete exclusively” under its tag moving forward. This came after a period in which Virtus.pro’s Dota 2 and CS:GO teams had to play under the neutral name of Outsiders because of sanctions imposed by tournament organizers in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On September 19, Outsiders’ name on the official Dota 2 Pro Circuit page had been changed to Virtus.pro, leading to suggestions that the team would be able to represent its organization at The International, the biggest event in the esport. datDota developer and analyst Ben ‘Noxville’ Steenhuisen said that it was likely an automatic website change triggered by the team via their in-game profile and that Valve probably wasn’t aware of this. However, that possibility was dismissed on September 21 as TI organizers PGL revealed the groups and schedule for the event’s last-chance qualifier. These show Virtus.pro, and not Outsiders, as one of the participating teams. Dexerto knows that the decision to display the team’s name as Virtus.pro came from Valve and not from PGL. This development will certainly put pressure on ESL and BLAST to reinstate Virtus.pro in their CS:GO tournaments. On March 2, ESL banned Virtus.pro and Gambit from their events for their alleged ties to the Russian government. However, it still gave players from both teams the opportunity to compete under a neutral name and without representing their country, organization, or sponsors. BLAST, however, went one step further, issuing an outright ban on Russia-based teams and calling off the CIS qualifier for its Spring Showdown event. These bans are believed to have played a role in the transfer of Gambit’s CS:GO team to Cloud9 in April in a deal brokered by Ulti Agency, which had acquired the players’ rights. ESL is expected to make a decision on this matter soon. In just two weeks, it will host in Malta the qualifiers for the IEM Rio Major, where Outsiders will be in attendance as they look to qualify for the event in Brazil. The team has also reached the playoff stage of ESL Pro League, with their next match scheduled for September 27. The CS:GO Majors are sponsored by Valve, but the developer has a much more hands-off approach to these events when compared to TI, which is a Valve product through and through. As such, it is unclear if ESL will be able to make a determination on Virtus.pro’s status on its own or if it has to follow some sort of guidelines from Valve. Dexerto has reached out to Valve for comment.

Sources: ESL aiming to host 2022 CSGO Fall Major in Rio de Janeiro ESLESL is working with Valve to host the second Counter-Strike Major of 2022 in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, Dexerto can reveal. Sources have told Dexerto that there are tentative plans for an ESL Major, called IEM Rio Major, to be held from October 31 through November 13. If confirmed, the event will mark ESL’s return to Major hosting duties after the previous two events of this caliber were hosted by StarLadder and PGL. In September, ESL announced that the IEM Rio Major was “under consideration with Valve for 2022”. The event was initially due to be held in May 2020 under the name of ESL One: Rio Major before being postponed and then canceled amid the global health crisis. It is still unclear which venue is on ESL’s mind to host the Champions Stage of the IEM Rio Major. In 2020, the tournament’s playoffs were to be held in front of a live audience at the Jeunesse Arena, an indoor multi-purpose arena that hosted the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational and the 2018 Rainbow Six Siege Season 8 Pro League finals. As reported by HLTV.org in May 2021, Valve is planning to hold two CS:GO Majors in 2022. The tournament operator of the first Major, scheduled for May 9-22, remains unclear. The renaming of the Rio Major from ESL One to IEM comes after the “historic” renewal of ESL’s long-standing with Intel. As part of the new deal, which began in 2022 and will run up to IEM Katowice 2025, all non-league ESL Pro Tour circuit CS:GO tournaments will be held under the IEM brand.

NIP confirm es3tag signing NIPNinjas in Pyjamas have announced the signing of Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen from Complexity, as first reported by Dexerto. The Danish player will step into the team immediately, replacing Linus ‘LNZ’ Holtäng, who has struggled to make his mark with NIP’s main team since being promoted from the academy roster, in June 2021. LNZ will rejoin Young Ninjas as a sixth player to continue his development, in a move similar to the one Erik ‘ztr’ Gustafsson made in June. Es3tag’s future had been up in the air since November 3, when it was announced that Complexity were open to offers for the Dane and for Justin ‘jks’ Savage as part of an overhaul of their CS:GO squad. The North American organization had earlier parted ways with Valentin ’poizon’ Vasilev, Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer, and Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke, with the latter two going on to sign for Astralis. Es3tag joins NIP Es3tag will be looking to find some much-needed stability with NIP after brief stints with three different organizations over the last 15 months. He was transferred to Cloud9 in November 2020 after enjoying a prolific three months with Astralis, but he couldn’t taste the same success with the ‘Colossus’ project, which was shut down by the organization in March 2021. Four months later, he joined Complexity on a free transfer as a replacement for William ‘RUSH’ Wierzba. But the team never really clicked, and he posted some of his worst tournament-rating numbers as the ‘Juggernaut’ slowly disintegrated. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be back at the absolute forefront of competitive CS:GO — to play with world-class proven individuals, with whom I can create a legacy,” es3tag told NIP’s website. “With the backing from an organization like NIP I’m confident that everything surrounding the squad is primed so we can reach the pinnacle of CS:GO. “And yes I speak Swedish.” On NIP, es3tag will reunite with compatriot and former Astralis teammate Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz, alongside whom he played some of his best Counter-Strike and won ESL Pro League Season 12 Europe — his sole Big Event title to date. The Swedish team will make their first appearance with es3tag at the BLAST Premier Fall Final, which will kick off on November 24. They will be looking to bounce back after crashing out of PGL Major Stockholm in the quarter-finals following a defeat to eventual runners-up G2 Esports. Read more: Bubzkji in talks with Astralis over future – As a result of this roster change, NIP will play all their matches at the BLAST event as the lower seed. BLAST introduced the penalty after reopening the roster registration period to give teams the opportunity to change players after the Major. NIP CS:GO roster: Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner – Nicolas ‘Plopski’ Gonzalez Zamora – Hampus ‘hampus’ Poser – Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz – Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen – Björn ‘THREAT’ Pers (coach) –

DeKay’s Sources: Envy exploring replacements for jdm North American Counter-Strike team Envy are exploring potential replacements for Josh “jdm” Marzano on the active roster, according to multiple sources close to the team and player. Envy has already begun trying out new players, including Tyson “TenZ” Ngo yesterday evening. jdm has been with Team Envy since late September last year, when the organization ventured into Counter-Strike once again after spending just over three months away after parting ways with their French roster. Joining with him, were: Noah “Nifty” Francis, Taylor “Drone” Johnson, Steven “reltuC” Cutler, and Kory “SEMPHIS” Friesen. If jdm is replaced, Nifty will be the only original member of the roster. It is expected that Nifty will take over the AWPing role while remaining in-game leader, a structure he used during a large part of his time with the Renegades organization. The former Team Liquid man joined Envy back in late 2018. Team Envy finished in last place of their group for Season 9 of ESL Pro League and will have to play the relegation stage of the tournament against INTZ Esports, Lazarus Esports, and the 2nd & 3rd place teams from Season 31 ESEA Premier Mountain Dew League. Dates for the relegation stage have yet to be announced by ESL but have been confirmed to be taking place online. The top two of the five teams will join the 1st place Season 31 ESEA Premier Mountain Dew League team in ESL Pro League Season 10 later this year. Team Envy competed at the NA Minor qualifier for IEM Katowice under Karrigan’s in-game leadership. Season 9 was the first season to exist entirely on LAN and is currently in the second stage of play prior to the playoffs next month. If jdm does depart Envy, the roster moving forward will consist of: Noah ‘Nifty’ Francis – Sam ‘s0m’ Oh – Jacob ‘FugLy’ Medina – Bradly ‘ANDROID’ Foder –

Sources: ENCE target valde to finalize CSGO lineup João Ferreira for PGLOG benched CS:GO player Valdemar ‘valde’ Bjørn Vangså has emerged as a strong candidate to join ENCE’s team ahead of the new season, multiple sources have told Dexerto. The Danish player has jumped to the front of the queue in terms of transfer targets as ENCE are in the market for a replacement for Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi, who is on the brink of completing a move to Vitality. valde is one of a number of players that ENCE have considered for the vacant role on their team, sources said. Free agent Janusz ‘Snax’ Pogorzelski, who filled in for Spinx at IEM Dallas, Sprout’s Laurențiu ‘lauNX’ Țârlea, and Endpoint’s Guy ‘Nertz’ Iluz are also among the cadre of players who have been on ENCE’s radar. If the move comes to fruition, valde will become the second player to join ENCE in the off-season. As HLTV.org reported, the Finnish organization is on the brink of unveiling Alvaro ‘SunPayus’ Garcia as its new AWPer to replace Olek ‘hades’ Miskiewicz, who has been moved to the bench. Making “the right decisions” valde burst onto the Danish CS:GO scene in 2016 and quickly rose through the ranks. He played for Heroic for nearly a year before joining North, the high-profile esports project from Danish football club F.C. Copenhagen. In late 2019, valde signed with OG just as the famous Dota 2 organization was entering CS:GO. The international team, which also featured players like Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen and Nathan ‘NBK-‘ Schmitt, came close to winning trophies but struggled to find a blueprint for sustained success. After another disappointing season that saw the team fail to qualify for PGL Major Antwerp, valde reached an agreement with OG to explore new opportunities. In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, valde, 27, highlighted the importance of choosing the right destination. “I’m at a stage where I need to make the right decisions,” he said. On ENCE, valde would reunite with Marco ‘Snappi’ Pfeiffer, his teammate on multiple squads between 2016 and 2017.

degster joins OG CSGO team Stephanie Lindgren/BLASTOG have announced the signing of Team Spirit’s benched AWPer Abdul ‘degster’ Gasanov, as reported by Dexerto on July 14. degster will replace longtime member Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski, who has been with OG since the famed Dota 2 organization entered CS:GO in December 2019. His signing comes just weeks after impressing for OG as a stand-in at the BLAST Premier Spring Final. He averaged a team-high 1.16 rating as the team reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners NAVI. “After an unforgettable performance at the BLAST Premier Spring Final, I couldn’t choose another team,” degster said in a statement. “I feel that with them I’m ready to show beautiful CS and continue to develop myself as a pro player.” A vibrant young AWPer degster burst onto the international scene in late 2020 as part of Espada alongside Robert ‘Patsi’ Isyanov, another rising Russian star. He joined Team Spirit after the turn of the year and helped them to a semi-final run in IEM Katowice 2021 in one of his first appearances for the team. Team Spirit struggled to remain relevant in the scene for almost a year, but then they shockingly reached the semi-finals at PGL Major Antwerp in one of the greatest Cinderella stories in the game in recent years. Shortly after the event, Team Spirit announced that they were parting ways with degster by mutual agreement due to a difference in views regarding the team’s future. In a statement posted on Twitter, degster explained that his departure was motivated by the team’s relocation to Serbia, expressing his wish to return to Russia. “The organization wants every player to spend at least nine months per year in Serbia,” degster wrote. “However, there are certain personal matters that prevent me from being able to meet these demands.” degster will make his first appearance as a full-fledged OG player in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, scheduled for August 19-28. The tournament will mark the return of top-tier Counter-Strike after the player break. OG’s new CS:GO roster: Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan – Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković – Adam ‘NEOFRAG’ Zouhar – Maciej ‘F1KU’ Miklas – Abdul ‘degster’ Gasanov – Casper ‘ruggah’ Due (Coach) –

MOUZ CSGO star ropz officially joins FaZe João Ferreira/DexertoFaZe have announced the signing of MOUZ CS:GO prodigy Robin ‘ropz’ Kool, confirming a December 17 report from Dexerto. The Estonian prodigy begins a new chapter in his career after four years with MOUZ, leaving the European organization as he was entering the final months of his contract. Ropz, who was also linked with G2 before they reached an agreement with NAVI for teenage sensation Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov, is expected to replace Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer in FaZe’s starting lineup. The Swedish veteran has been in and out of the team for the last three years, returning to the roster in June after publicly toying with retirement earlier in 2021. https://twitter.com/FaZeClan/status/1478048711318122499 An international sensation Ropz has developed into one of CS:GO’s top talents since he was signed by MOUZ in 2017 after bursting onto the scene as a rising star in the FACEIT Pro League, CS:GO’s most prestigious pug service. He has made the last three editions of HLTV’s top 20 player ranking, featuring in the top 10 in 2019 (10th) and 2020 (7th). He has won a handful of international tournaments with MOUZ, most notably ESL One New York 2018 and the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals. But MOUZ have struggled to challenge for titles in the last two years, which has left many wondering if ropz shouldn’t leave the team and search for success elsewhere. On FaZe, ropz reunites with Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen, the in-game leader during the most successful period of his MOUZ career. The Danish captain wasn’t able to guide FaZe back to their previous heights in 2021, with the team crashing out of multiple tournaments before the latter stages, including PGL Major Stockholm. On Twitter, karrigan spoke of his delight at being able to play alongside ropz again. “I believe he will fit in perfectly with the guys,” he wrote. “[I’m] so looking forward to the new season.” Reunited with @ropzicle and happy one of the best players choose to come to us and FaZe made it possible. I believe he will fit in perfectly with the guys, so looking forward to the new season #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/eJ1pdYmazh — karrigan (@karriganCSGO) January 3, 2022 FaZe CS:GO roster: Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard – Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants – Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken – Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen – Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer – Robin ‘ropz’ Kool – Robert ‘RobbaN’ Dahlström (coach) –

Sources: CS:GO AWPer Smooya to try out with Denial Esports British AWPer Owen “smooya” Butterfield is slated to try out with players from the Denial organization, according to multiple sources close to the player and team. It was announced today by BIG that smooya would be stepping down from their active roster, with Johannes “nex” Maget taking his spot. In a twitlonger that smooya published, he didn’t go into detail about why he chose to step down but thanked the team for the experience. At the end he explained, “My main focus would be wanting to move to America full time so I can really work on my craft and have 0 distractions outside of the game.” Smooya is still under contract with BIG, but sources tell Dexerto that BIG are motivated to move on and will let him go for a reasonable buyout price. The South African players of Denial transitioned from the Bravado organization late last week, in a move that surprised many. Prior to the move, the team started a crowd-funding campaign named “Project Destiny.” The goal of the campaign was to allow the team to continue competing in North America, where they had played for about a year. Despite having an agreement with a sponsor to fund the remaining 40% of the campaign goal, the players chose to move on anyway. With the move, they parted ways with Dimitri “Detrony” Hadjipachali who chose not to take the offer from Denial. Denial currently hold a spot in ESEA Mountain Dew League and will look to retain that spot until next season, where they will attempt to qualify for Season 10 of ESL Pro League.

Sources: CPH Flames set asking price for in-demand CSGO team João Ferreira/DexertoCopenhagen Flames are looking for a fee of at least $500,000 to part with their CS:GO team, sources with knowledge of the situation have told Dexerto. The Danish team were the surprise package of PGL Major Stockholm as they made it into the final round of the Legends Stage, beating teams like Astralis, Heroic and FaZe along the way. Their Cinderella run ended on November 2 against an experienced NIP team. The Swedish giants were, however, pushed to their limits in a three-map thriller that culminated in an overtime Ancient game. It was likely the team’s final appearance under the Copenhagen Flames banner, given the long list of suitors for the Danish team. CPH Flames set team valuation On October 21, days before the Major started, Dexerto reported that Copenhagen Flames were entertaining offers for the team amid growing interest in the players. Copenhagen Flames co-owner Daniel Vorborg commented on the story and the ensuing criticism targeted at the organization. He rejected the notion that they operate out of greed, admitting that he does not have the budget to match the salaries that other teams can offer. The reason for us not offering more salary, is not that we’re greedy. It’s simply because we are a small club, with a small budget compared to the teams we are competing against. I wish we had the budget to always keep our best players, and to be able to match the salaries 2/2 — Daniel Vorborg (@dvorborg) October 21, 2021 Sources with knowledge of the situation have now told Dexerto that Copenhagen Flames are ready to listen to offers between $500,000 and $750,000 for the team, who are currently ranked 10th in the world by HLTV.org. Copenhagen Flames are also entertaining individual offers for the players, but Dexerto knows that they prefer to stick together as they are confident of building on the encouraging showing at the Major. The Danish team will return to action on November 12, when they take on Dignitas in the Round of 16 of the REPUBLEAGUE TIPOS Season 2. They have also been placed in Group B of ESEA Premier Season 39 Europe, which gives access to ESL Pro League Conference Season 16. Contacted by Dexerto, Copenhagen Flames declined to comment on this story.

Sources: Copenhagen Flames entertaining offers for CSGO roster CPH FlamesCopenhagen Flames are listening to offers for their CS:GO players, sources close to the team have told Dexerto. Their Danish squad recently qualified for PGL Major Stockholm — an unprecedented feat in the history of the organization. Copenhagen Flames defied all expectations and booked the final berth at the Stockholm Major after finishing in seventh place at IEM Fall. They topped their group with a flawless 5-0 record, beating teams like G2, BIG, and MOUZ in best-of-one clashes, though they stumbled in the playoffs and had to win a seventh-place decider against Fiend to complete their Cinderella run. It was a remarkable achievement for the young Danish squad, who have former MAD Lions member Fredrik ‘roeJ’ Jørgensen as their headline player. Did we just win? Guys? Major? pic.twitter.com/1u56guaqrL — Copenhagen Flames (@CPHFlames) October 10, 2021 It also served as a kind of proof of concept for Copenhagen Flames’ vision — putting together successful rosters with players overlooked by other Danish teams and then turning a profit with transfers. Mounting interest Copenhagen Flames’ IEM Fall campaign has catapulted them to 14th in HLTV’s world rankings ahead of the Major. Aware that they are unable to hold on to the players much longer, the Danish organization have decided to listen to offers for the team as interest continues to build, sources have told Dexerto. Even if Copenhagen Flames part ways with their roster, they are expected to remain in the Counter-Strike scene and return with a new team, one of the sources added. Copenhagen Flames will begin their Major campaign with a match against fellow Danish side Astralis on October 26. In Stockholm, the team will be coached by Daniel Vorborg, the organization’s co-owner, as head coach Faruk ‘pita’ Pita is still barred from Valve events for his involvement in the spectator bug scandal. Contacted by Dexerto, Copenhagen Flames declined to comment on this story. Copenhagen Flames’ roster: Rasmus ‘HooXi’ Nielsen – Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard – Nico ‘nicoodoz’ Tamjidi – Fredrik ‘roeJ’ Jørgensen – Rasmus ‘Zyphon’ Nordfoss – Faruk “pita” Pita (coach) –

Sources: Complexity’s deal for CPH Flames CSGO team in jeopardy João Ferreira/DexertoComplexity’s deal to land Copenhagen Flames’ CS:GO team may not come to fruition, sources with knowledge of the situation have told Dexerto. The North American organization has been touted as the frontrunner in the race to sign Copenhagen Flames’ CS:GO team, the surprise package of PGL Major Stockholm. Dexerto revealed on October 21 that Copenhagen Flames were ready to listen to offers for the team amid growing interest in the players. The Danish organization set an asking price of $500,000 for the team, who were one map away from qualifying for the Major playoffs. On December 2, Jaxon reported that Complexity were closing in on a deal to sign the Danish team and that personal terms were already being discussed with the players. Everything pointed to a deal being close at hand, but Dexerto has learned that, over the last week, Complexity have started looking at other options, including building a roster based in North America. Read more: NIP CSGO star dev1ce keen on Astralis return – The North American organization have only just one player left in their ranks, Justin ‘jks’ Savage, after parting ways with the rest of the roster. They are expected to make a decision about the future of their CS:GO division in the next few days.

Sources: compLexity in discussions with 15-year-old CS:GO talent oBo Fifteen year-old American Counter-Strike player Owen “oBo” Schlatter is in discussions with compLexity Gaming, according to multiple sources close to the organization. Dexerto has been informed that if the two sides come to an agreement, oBo will not join the active lineup immediately. Due to the sixteen year-old age restriction of ESL Pro League, oBo is unable to compete in Season 9 next month. His birthday is June 26th, meaning the season will have finished by the time he is eligible. If he were to join the active compLexity lineup and they simultaneously retain their spot, he would then be eligible to compete in Season 10. compLexity finished in 9th place in Season 8 of ESL Pro League, which was enough to qualify them for Season 9 and avoid having to play relegation. They had a similar finish of 7th place in Season 6 of ECS North America, which also qualified them for the upcoming season. At ESL One: Katowice 2019 Major last month, they were unable match their top-eight finish from the FACEIT Major: London and exited in the New Legends Stage. oBo has little to no experience playing on a consistent five-man lineup but has made a name for himself in FACEIT Pro League: North America. Since being promoted from FACEIT Pro League Challenger in early 2018, he has won multiple weeks of the league.

Coldzera leaves FaZe Clan and joins Complexity BLASTMarcelo ‘coldzera’ David has officially parted with FaZe Clan and joined Complexity’s CSGO roster, confirming previous reports. Update: Sept 9 Complexity announced coldzera as their new stand-in for their next tournaments, starting with the BLAST Premier Fall Groups. He joins the revamped Colossus on a short-term deal that will last through the PGL Stockholm Major. Who turned down the temperature? Welcome @coldzera as our stand in for #BLASTPremier and beyond 🤩#COLdzera 🇧🇷 #WeAreCOL pic.twitter.com/V0bBk26T4Y — Complexity ✭ (@Complexity) September 9, 2021 “Marcelo has been working with us for a few days already to get up to speed ahead of time,” Graham “messioso” Pitt, Complexity’s General Manager for CSGO, wrote on Twitter. “He arrived in Europe today to begin practicing full-time. “We are now with a full roster for the coming months and fully focused trying to bring home championships.” This signals the end of Coldzera’s two-year run with FaZe Clan after being moved to the bench in June following a run of poor results. He was replaced on the team by Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer, who had been inactive since February. coldzera will make his debut for Complexity on September 24 in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups against his old team, FaZe. Original story follows below… The Brazilian star will fill the slot of injured star player Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke, who recently had to undergo surgery on a broken wrist after a freak accident at an airport. K0nfig is expected to be out of action for several more weeks, with the exact timeline for his recovery still unknown. He revealed in August that he would have to wear a cast for “four to six weeks” after undergoing surgery and then start “some training to get back on track.” Niels Christian ’NaToSaphiX’ Sillassen will play out the remainder of ESL Pro League Season 14 for Complexity as a stand-in, with the team scheduled to face Vitality in the tournament’s Round of 12. Coldzera is expected to make his Complexity debut in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups against his former team of FaZe on September 24. A new chance Coldzera, who was named the best player in the world in 2016 and 2017, will be hoping to get his career back on track after being benched by FaZe in June following a run of poor results. He told the GGCast podcast in August that he had got “carried away” by his friendship with Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač when he decided to join FaZe in September 2019. The Bosnian star quit the team a year later to sign with G2 Esports, leaving coldzera in a difficult situation and with the task of rebuilding the squad. Coldzera also said that he had received “seven or eight offers” since being benched and that he would be more careful with the choice of his next project. On Complexity, coldzera will link up with compatriot Luis ‘peacemaker’ Tadeu, who took over as the team’s coach in July. Contacted by Dexerto, Complexity declined to comment.

Sources: Cloud9 CS:GO expected to part ways with kioShiMa North American Counter-Strike team Cloud9 is not expected to retain French rifler Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey, according to multiple sources. After a disappointing end to the IEM Katowice Major, Cloud9 is undergoing a major roster overhaul and kioShiMa likely won’t be a part of the revamped roster. It is expected that the team will add two new players prior to the March 22 ESL Pro League roster lock. kioShiMa has been a member of Cloud9 since November of 2018 when he replaced Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham on the active roster. During his time with the team, Cloud9 only played with their official roster on one occasion at BLAST Pro Series: Copenhagen 2018. While in-game leader Maikil “Golden” Selim had to go inactive following the event due to an undisclosed health condition, he returned to the lineup in the days proceeding their exit from the Katowice Major. Directly following the IEM Katowice 2019 Major, Cloud9 also parted ways with Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro and Robin “flusha” Rönnquist. Zellsis was on trial due to Golden’s inactivity and flusha decided to take a leave of absence from professional play. The active lineup now only includes Golden, Will “RUSH” Wierzba, and Timothy “autimatic” Ta. While it has also been rumored that Cloud9 was in pursuit of Mousesports star ‘suNny’, those talks have since broken down. Cloud9 holds a slot in Season 9 of ESL Pro League North America, which begins in mid-April. They retained their league slot after an eighth-place finish in Season 8 but did not qualify for the LAN Finals. The next confirmed LAN tournament for the team is BLAST Pro Series: Miami 2019 on April 12th – 13th.

Sources: Cloud9 close in on NAVI duo electroNic and Perfecto João Ferreira/DexertoCloud9 are edging closer to a deal to sign NAVI’s CSGO duo of Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov and Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy, sources have told Dexerto. The North American organization is in advanced discussions with NAVI to sign the Russian duo after talks accelerated in recent days, sources said. NAVI are currently in the process of turning their CS:GO team into an international roster, with Dexerto revealing on June 17 that Andrii ‘npl’ Kukharskyi had been given his marching orders. NAVI have been heavily linked with Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen (NIP), Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius (Apeks) and Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan (GamerLegion) as part of the team’s off-season rebuild. 1pv.fr reported on June 21 that electroNic and Perfecto could still remain with the team, but it seems now that they are heading to the exit door at NAVI. They could be replacing Abay ‘HObbit’ Khassenov and Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov, who, according to Belarusian insider Harumi, are on their way out of Cloud9. electroNic has been with NAVI since November 2017, when he was signed from FlipSid3 Tactics. He has established himself as one of the best riflers in the game, making HLTV.org’s Top 20 Player of the Year ranking every year between 2018 and 2021. During that period, his lowest ranking on the list was seventh. In 2022, electroNic took up NAVI’s captaincy following the removal of Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov. Without surprise, his numbers took a slight dip, but he still managed to remain an influential player in the server, averaging a 1.10 HLTV Rating and 1.16 Impact on LAN. Perfecto joined NAVI in January 2020 after leaving Syman Gaming. Both players are currently in the top 15 of the biggest prize winners in CS:GO history thanks to NAVI’s dream 2021, when the team won a series of international titles, including PGL Major Stockholm, and Intel Grand Slam Season 3.

Sources: CeRq’s EG future in doubt as team turns to young trio for BLAST Premier Adela Sznajder/ESL Gaming via ESPATTsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov could be on his way out of Evil Geniuses, who have enlisted the services of two Blueprint prospects and one Nouns player for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, sources have told Dexerto. Evil Geniuses have registered EG White player Wesley ‘viz’ Harris and EG Black member Jerric ‘wiz’ Jiang for the BLAST Premier event, with CeRq left out of the team’s roster for the tournament. Nouns star Jeorge ‘jeorgesnorts’ Endicott, who has been scrimming with EG Black in recent weeks, is also part of the lineup. Dust2.us cites multiple sources saying that CeRq is out of the team, though the reason for this decision is unclear. The Bulgarian has been with Evil Geniuses since September 2019, when the North American organization signed NRG’s roster. It remains unclear which of the three players will replace CeRq in the BLAST Premier Groups, but all logic points to wiz, who is the AWPer for EG Black. The 21-year-old has averaged a 1.14 HLTV rating while with the team, which is part of Evil Geniuses’ Blueprint project, a development program for CS:GO that was heavily influenced by the analytics-driven approach that has proved successful for the organization’s League of Legends team. CeRq signed with NRG in 2017 after establishing himself as one of the most promising AWPers in the CS:GO scene while playing for Bulgarian side Outlaws. He was ranked the 18th best player of 2019 by HLTV.org, but he has not been able to reach the same heights since then. In 2022, he averaged a 0.99 HLTV rating and a 0.91 impact rating, facing heavy criticism from fans and pundits as EG struggled to remain competitive and missed both PGL Major Antwerp and IEM Rio Major.

Sources: Bleed Esports in talks to sign Bad News Eagles CSGO team PGLSingaporean organization Bleed Esports is locked in talks with Bad News Eagles about signing the Kosovar CS:GO team, Dexerto has confirmed. Sources said that negotiations between Bleed Esports and the team have been progressing positively and that both parties are hopeful of a positive outcome. Bad News Eagles have established themselves as one of CS:GO’s feel-good stories, at a time when opportunities for teams that are not partnered with ESL or BLAST are rare in the scene. Without the backing of an esports organization, the Kosovar team took advantage of the Majors’ open circuit in 2022 and qualified for PGL Major Antwerp and IEM Rio, reaching the Legends Stage of both events. In Rio de Janeiro, they even beat then-reigning Major champions FaZe before being knocked out by NAVI. At the start of the year, the team was linked with GODSENT before the rumor was shot down by manager James Banks, who said, however, that the players had indeed received an offer to represent the Swedish organization at the Rio Major “with an option to extend”. According to Banks, talks with GODSENT broke down and did not resume. On January 20, Bad News Eagles named Jonatan ’Devilwalk’ Lundberg as their new CS:GO coach. The Swede won two CS:GO Majors with fnatic, one as a player in 2013 and one as a coach in 2015. Who are Bleed Esports? Bleed entered their first esports title in September 2021 with the signing of Valorant team UwU, the top seed from Malaysia and Singapore in the VCT SEA Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs. Before the end of the year, the Singaporean organization obtained a $50.8 million investment from Asia Venture Capital to expand its operations. In 2022, Bleed named former BIG CS:GO player Nikola ‘LEGIJA’ Ninić as the new coach of their Valorant team, and hired Anthony ‘ImpressioN’ Lim, another ex-CS:GO player with international experience, to spearhead their esports division. The organization also expanded into Dota 2 with an Asian team headlined by Korean player Kim ‘DuBu’ Doo-young. Bleed’s interest in the CS:GO scene isn’t new, with former CEO Mervyn Goh revealing in July 2022 that the organization would be expanding into European CS:GO in 2023. In August, Dexerto reported that Bleed expressed an interest in Virtus.pro’s team, which competes under the name ‘Outsiders’. Talks quickly broke down as the two organizations were too far apart in their valuation of the team, which went on to win the IEM Rio Major.

Sources: Bleed eSports expressed interest in Virtus.pro CSGO team Adela Sznajder/ESL Gaming via ESPAT & BleedSingaporean organization Bleed eSports recently showed interest in signing Virtus.pro’s CS:GO team as it looks to enter Valve’s FPS title, Dexerto has learned. Sources told Dexerto that Bleed enquired Virtus.pro about signing the CS:GO team but talks quickly ceased as the two organizations were too far apart in their valuation of the lineup. The discussions did not include Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis, who has been playing for Team Liquid in recent weeks. The Latvian star’s contractual situation is unknown, with Liquid general manager Steve ‘jokasteve’ Perino stating on August 11 that they were working with the player “to hopefully have some good long-term news soon.” Virtus.pro’s CS:GO team has been playing under the name ‘Outsiders’ because of the sanctions placed by several tournament organizers on the Russian organization, which allegedly has ties to the Kremlin. ESL and PGL decided to let Virtus.pro’s players compete under a neutral name, while BLAST decided against inviting Russian-based teams “for the foreseeable future” and canceled the Spring season’s CIS qualifier. Currently ranked 17th in the world, according to HLTV.org, Outsiders underwent two roster changes at the end of May, replacing YEKINDAR and Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov with David ‘n0rb3r7’ Danielyan and Petr ‘fame’ Bolyshev. The team ended the season with a 13th-16th place finish at IEM Cologne 2022 after losing to Cloud9 and FURIA in the group stage. Despite the unsuccessful pursuit of Virtus.pro’s team, Bleed remain committed to entering CS:GO and have already begun contacting players, the sources added. On July 20, Bleed CEO Mervyn Goh wrote on Twitter that the organization would be expanding into CS:GO in 2023, and set his sights on a European team. Who are Bleed eSports? Based in Singapore, Bleed officially ventured into esports in September 2021 with the signing of Valorant team UwU, the top seed from Malaysia and Singapore in the VCT SEA Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs. Before the end of the year, Bleed obtained a $50.8 million investment from Asia Venture Capital to expand their operations. In a series of high-profile moves, the Singaporean organization signed Jacob ‘pyth’ Mourujärvi and Max ‘maxie’ Lönnström to their Valorant team, and appointed veteran Nikola ‘LEGIJA’ Ninić as head coach. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Bleed had offered Acend Valorant star Mehmet Yağız ‘cNed’ İpek a $1 million-a-year deal to join its team. The Turkish star ended up turning down the lucrative offer to stay with the 2021 Valorant world champions. On August 15, Bleed parted ways with their Valorant team, who failed to qualify for Valorant Champions after finishing third in the APAC Last-Chance qualifier. The Singaporean organization is believed to be in the running for a partnership spot in Riot Games’ upcoming Pacific international league in Valorant. The league will begin with 10 teams only but will expand to 14 by 2027, offering promoted sides a two-year stay at the highest level of competition.

Sources: BLAST to host 2023’s first CSGO Major in France Stephanie Lindgren/BLASTBLAST will run next year’s Spring CS:GO Major in France, sources have told Dexerto. The event will take place between May 8-21 and will mark BLAST’s first-ever CS:GO Major, almost six years after the Danish company entered the scene under the name RFRSH Entertainment. It’s unclear which city will host the Major, but sources have told Dexerto that Paris has been BLAST’s priority since day one and is the likeliest choice. This will be the first CS:GO Major to be held in France and will mark the return of the Valve-sponsored competition to Europe after the 2022 Fall Major, which will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro. BLAST has hosted events in multiple countries, earning praise for the high quality of its broadcast. But hosting an event of this scale will be without a doubt the biggest endeavor in the company’s history. The Danish company runs the BLAST Premier circuit, which features 12 partner teams and culminates in a season final with eight sides and a live crowd for the latter stages. In a recent interview with Pley.gg, BLAST Managing Director Charlotte Kenny said that BLAST will run a Major “when the time is right.” “BLAST is always interested in hosting a Major,” she said. “What’s important is that our community wants to have a Major hosted by BLAST, so that we can make sure that is the best Major that ever will be and that it fits in with our strategy.“ BLAST did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sources: NAVI in talks with GamerLegion over CSGO star iM Michal Konkol/BLASTNAVI are locked in talks with GamerLegion over the transfer of rising CSGO star Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan, sources told Dexerto and 1pv.fr. Talks over a deal are still at an early stage as the two organizations are still some way apart in their valuation of the player, sources said. Earlier on June 21, Blix.gg reported that NAVI are close to signing Lithuanian player Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius from Apeks. According to 1pv.fr, NAVI are also in talks with NIP over the transfer of benched in-game leader Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen. Dexerto revealed on June 17 that NAVI were parting ways with Andrii ‘npl’ Kukharskyi and were “seriously considering” turning their team into an international roster. Since then, rumors have been swirling about NAVI also moving on from Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov and Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy. According to 1pv.fr, however, nothing is set in stone regarding the future of the Russian duo. iM’s stock has risen considerably since GamerLegion’s second-place finish at the BLAST.tv Paris Major. The Romanian rifler was in the race for the MVP medal until the end of the tournament, where he averaged an impressive 1.25 HLTV rating and 1.35 Impact. If the deal goes through, iM will be the second player to leave GamerLegion in the summer, following in the footsteps of in-game leader Kamil ‘siuhy’ Szkaradek, who is on his way back to MOUZ.

Source 2 added to CSGO pre-release branch, teases possible release in next update ValveSource 2 has just been added to CSGO’s pre-release branch, which could potentially mean a release in the next update. The hype for CSGO 2 has been massive in recent, with many reports, from the likes of Richard Lewis, and a number of reputable leakers all pointing toward the coming release of CSGO’s next big update. Of course, CSGO 2 is a misnomer, as it’s not a sequel but a port of CSGO to the Source 2 engine. And it seems we may be seeing that version of CSGO by the game’s next update. According to Aquarius, a Full Stack developer, SteamDB, a website dedicated to tracking any changes in Steam’s database, showed files containing Source 2 were added to CSGO’s pre-release branch on March 14. This indicates that the next update could very well contain updates regarding Source 2. The file depots which were added are connected to Source 2 and Source 2 Workshops. And while the files were being added, the developed builds for CSGO were also updated. As players have pointed out, an update this big is very indicative of something large coming to CSGO. Which of course could be the Source 2 port. Another user pointed out that historically when Valve adds any new updates to CSGO, it is several hours in advance. But due to the amount of files, and likely the size of them, this update might come sometime the next day. Interestingly enough, the Chinese version of CSGO did not receive the same files, rather just small updates to its pre-release branch. This means if this update is a beta of the Source 2 port, Chinese players will not be able to experience it. For context, Chinese players play a different build of CSGO due to government restrictions on media. Although it has to be stressed this is not an official confirmation of a Source 2 update to the game. Rather this is an indication of a large update coming on the horizon. Which of course many CSGO fans hope is the Source 2 port.

Someone got Counter-Strike to work on Nintendo DS and it looks crazy Nintendo/ValveOne clever Counter-Strike fan built a fully-playable version of the classic shooter for the Nintendo DS – and yes, you can aim and shoot with the stylus. Counter-Strike, the game that would go on to spawn a multi-million dollar esports landscape, first came out more than 20 years ago in 1999, and the effect its had on gamers and developers is easy to see. Seriously, open any game that allows you to create your own maps, and there’s a good chance you’ll find some tribute to Dust 2 in there somewhere. Continuing on this trend to make Counter-Strike playable on every piece of technology known to mankind, French YouTuber Fewnity has shown off their new build of CS 1.6 on the Nintendo DS, complete with a feature letting you use the stylus to aim and fire. Sure enough, we can see the familiar backdrop of Dust 2 and a first-person view holding a firearm. Showing off levels of technological achievement that would have made people lose their minds in 2004, when the DS came out, Fewnity demonstrates how to aim and fire all with the stylus. We would have absolutely loved to walk around with the ability to play CS in our pocket back in the day, and what’s even more impressive is that Fewnity put together this Counter-Strike DS port all on their own. Read More: Ninjas in Pyjamas CSGO players reportedly receive death threats following Anonymo rematch – It definitely looks like a game from 2004, and the characters look more like Roblox people than terrorists or counter-terrorists, but for an FPS on a handheld system over a decade and a half old, it doesn’t look too shabby at all. According to the YouTuber this DS port of 1.6 is still a work in progress, but we can’t wait to see the final product once it does come out. The combo of the handheld system and one of the original versions of Counter-Strike brings back some serious nostalgia. For more updates on this project, and possibly the chance to play it when it’s finished if you still have your DS lying around, be sure to follow Fewnity on YouTube as they upload more videos of their progress.

Soccer superstar Neymar dominates CS:GO game with insane 1v5 clutch Twitter: Neymar/ValveBrazilian soccer star Neymar has once displayed his impressive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive talent with an incredible 1v5 clutch play. The Paris Saint-Germain star, who is currently sidelined with a foot injury, has shown off his passion for CS:GO in the past – showing his support for Brazilian pro teams like MIBR and Furia, linking up with those pro teams for games and also celebrating a goal at the World Cup with a ‘Flashbang dance’. He may have shown off his best clip yet as he posted a 1v5 clutch on Mirage to his Instagram page on February 21. Neymar had been playing alongside fellow soccer pros, including Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, and finished off his insane clip a cheeky knife. Although the clip started out as a 2v5, Neymar’s teammate died very quickly after the PSG star was able to strike through the defenses of the enemy squad with a kill of his own. Read More: How to watch the IEM Katowice 2019 CS:GO Major – Multi-stream, schedule, results and more – The Brazilian then managed to pick off a further three enemies after operating with the AWP in Mid. He was then able to plant the bomb at B before toying with the final enemy and capping his 1v5 ace off with a knife kill as the Counter-Terrorist player attempted a sneaky defuse. The clip has already racked up over 2.7 million views, with Brazilian CS:GO pros like MIBR’s Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo and INTZ’s Vito ‘kNgV-’ Giuseppe commenting with their support. Neymar may not want to swap the soccer pitch for the virtual battlefield of competitive CS:GO anytime soon, but his array of highlight clips show that he might just be able to.

Soccer star Neymar Jr shows off his CSGO skills with sick 1v3 clutch Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar Jr isn’t just sharp in front of goals for Paris Saint-Germain, but also on the bomb site, flaunting his Counter-Strike skills in front of thousands of adoring fans during an exhibition match. Neymar is known for being one of the cleanest strikers soccer has ever seen. With a trophy case full of individual and team awards from his decade-long professional career, he is one of the few players to score over 50 goals for club and country. However, amongst all of his fame and glory on the pitch, there’s a life to be lived off it, and he’s a Counter-Strike fiend. Neymar was invited to play in a CSGO exhibition event organized by Brazilian team Furia and showed off his skills on Mirage with not one, but two insane clutches. The first clutch was right off the bat in round two of the series. As the counter-terrorists sprayed his team down during an apartments push on Mirage, Neymar was left in a 1v3 situation to try and salvage the round. He looked calm and composed, taking down the van player first before faking the plant on site. He wrapped around B to find the two loose CTs as they lurked around the smoke, cleaning them up with two neat spray downs to secure the round. He then backed it up with another 1v3 a few rounds later. Again in a 1v3 on Mirage B site, Neymar jumped out of apartments to rush the player on site, before sitting the plant. As the final two CTs pushed through window and door in Kitchen, Neymar took them both down to once again secure his team the round. The footballer looked like he wasn’t breaking a sweat on the battlefield as his team secured the map 16-6, looking classy the whole way through. Será que o @neymarjr ta frio no clutch? Vem assistir o Mix Furioso na FURIATV! :tv: https://t.co/PaKTgwhRd2 pic.twitter.com/jviGAE2xWz — FURIA Esports (@furiagg) October 31, 2019 Neymar wasn’t the only soccer star to feature in the special event. Barcelona midfielder Arthur Melo and Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus brushed shoulders with some of Furia’s pro players and other community figures in the casual event. Most of these players grew up during Counter-Strike’s hey-day in Brazil in the early 2000s, and the skills they probably developed during their childhoods hadn’t rusted away. The amount of publicity these players can give an esports organization is huge too. Neymar shared one video on his Instagram page, garnering almost over 700,000 likes between his 128 million followers within 10 hours. It’s unlikely Neymar will give up his $350 million contract with his French club to pursue professional CSGO any time soon, but maybe a post-retirement Faceit career, or even becoming a streamer under the Furia banner, could be in the pipeline.

Smooya’s Dad Posts Touching Statement Following BIG’s Incredible Run at ESL One Cologne PixabayOwen ‘smooya’ Butterfield’s father has posted a touching message to his son on Twitter after BIG’s impressive ESL One: Cologne 2018 performance. Most parents would agree that seeing their child grow up to be happy and successful is the most important thing to them, but that won’t stop them questioning and second guessing some of the decisions we make. For an aspiring professional video game player, convincing members of the older generation that your dream of playing games in front of thousands of people is a legitimate one can often be difficult. Read More: MiBR and Cloud9’s CS:GO Teams on the Brink of Major Changes as Tarik and Coldzera Reportedly Consider New Opportunities – That doesn’t seem to be an issue for BIG Clan’s smooya, though, as his father has made it clear that he is incredibly proud and supportive of his son after his second place finish at ESL One: Cologne. so proud of you and the team m8, everyone knows BIG are no push overs now what you guys achieved will be history forever, let it fuel you to get even better.proudest dad ever 🙂 pic.twitter.com/rUKDv6wnXQ — jason butterfield (@JasonButty73) July 8, 2018 Nobody except the BIG players themselves seemed to have much confidence about the team’s chances heading into Cologne but they beat a host of high profile competition to reach the final where they eventually fell at the hands of Na’Vi. Smooya, the team’s only British player, took to Twitter following the event to say it is hard not to be thrilled with the result but it is still disappointing to lose, but his father’s response made it clear that he is proud of him and the team. The sky seems to be the limit for BIG after ESL One: Cologne but they will need to back up their performance at their next few events before they can be considered a true top five team. As for smooya, he has been singled out as the next great hope for UK Counter-Strike and the chance to finally escape the “UKCS” memes that are rampant throughout the scene!

Smooya under fire after telling OpTic CS:GO player Refrezh to “kill himself” DexertoBritish CS:GO pro Owen ‘Smooya’ Butterfield has caused a stir in the community after admitting that he told OpTic player Ismail ‘Refrezh’ Ali to “kill himself” over a FACEIT Pro League match. Update, February 6, 11:43am EST: Sources have told Dexerto that Smooya is to be banned from FaceIt Pro League indefinetly following the incident with Refrezh. Smooya, who has recently joined Denial on a temporary basis, was apparently angered after Refrezh “threw” in the FPL match, posting a series of now deleted Tweets. He claims that Refrezh was not speaking for numerous rounds, and even suggests he was deliberately allowing himself to be killed by the enemy team, running blindly through smoke grenades. Mousesports overhaul CS:GO roster following IEM Katowice disaster “You have no idea how bad this guy [refrezh] just threw, I had to call him a bitch and shit for him to start trying,” Smooya exclaims, “It went to overtime and he just stopped trying and I literally told him to fucking kill himself.” The clip was shared to Reddit and social media, where fans called smooya’s comments “unacceptable”. There were also some who believe this could impact his career negatively, but others argue it is being blown out of proportion, and an apology should be the end of the situation. Although smooya has not necessarily apologized publicly, it appears he has done so privately, deleting his previous posts and stating on Twitter that he and Refrezh have made up. Smooya is currently benched from BIG Clan’s roster and stood in for Denial at the IEM Sydney Open Qualifier, but the team failed to secure one of the two spots available at the closed qualifier.

Smooya sticking to CS:GO: “I’m here to be a household name for a long time” DreamHackOwen ‘Smooya’ Butterfield says he has rejected big-money offers in Valorant as he still wants to prove himself in Valve’s shooter. The British AWPer’s future is currently up in the air after he was moved to the bench by Movistar Riders, a move first reported by Dexerto and confirmed by the Spanish organization on August 12. His stock had been on the rise during his eight months with the team, but with results remaining undistinguished, Movistar Riders decided to use the off-season to rebuild their roster with Spanish players only. Smooya says that he holds no ill-will towards Movistar Riders following his benching, even though he admits to being frustrated by the timing of the decision, which could leave him without a team for the rest of the year. “I found out about it on the 9th of August, one day before the roster lock,” he told Dexerto. “So it wasn’t the best time to find out. “It’s a very smart business decision [on their part] because they knew I probably would not stay there when my contract ended anyway. So it makes sense for them to plan for the future. They can get a really good Spanish team, something that they haven’t had in a really long time. I would have made the same decision if I were in their shoes, it makes a lot of sense. I wish them the best and will be supporting them.” Read More: How ALEX can lead Fnatic Back to the top – Even though he is out of a team, Smooya says that he will do his best to stay in shape, stressing that he doesn’t want to lose the “world-class form” he has shown in the last six months. He will focus on streaming and playing in FPL until his future is resolved, with his contract due to expire in a few months. Smooya has often been linked with a move to Valorant, which has offered career opportunities to many disgruntled Counter-Strike players looking for a fresh start. But the 21-year-old isn’t thinking about switching anytime soon, revealing that has turned down lucrative offers from teams asking him to make the transition to Riot Games’ FPS title. “I’m here to be a household name for a long time,” he says. “That’s why I haven’t moved to Valorant. I had Valorant offers to make five, six times my salary on Movistar. But I said no because I don’t play this for the money. I mean, it’s nice to get compensated for your time, no one wants to do anything for free, but my love is Counter-Strike and not VALORANT. So that’s the reason I’m still here.” Toxic reputation Smooya is mostly known for his time with German side BIG, whom he helped to reach the grand final of ESL One Cologne 2018 and the quarter-finals of the FACEIT Major, later that year. He has excelled for the teams he has played for since leaving BIG, but he continues to find tier-one opportunities hard to come by. The British AWPer laments that his past reputation is still being held against him by some, saying that he should no longer be judged by what he did several years ago as he has matured a lot since those days. “I think that people really have to take a look in the mirror and realize that I was 18 years old and I’m turning 22 in four days,” he said. “I’m not saying that I’m Jesus Christ or anything, or that I’m the most respectable, livable innocent person ever. I would never claim to be. “But I think it’s weird to hold a kid that you’ve watched grow up online accountable for actions that took place four years ago, because the people that call me toxic don’t know me and most likely never will. Generally speaking, if you take 10 people off the street, eight of them probably would never want to speak to their 18-year-old version of themselves. You don’t want to be that person. And I also don’t want to be, but because we’re in an online world, I constantly get reminded of how I was and of what happened as if it’s me now. “People think you can have a 1.25 rating over two years of your career while sitting on your phone in practice and being a toxic teammate. That doesn’t happen. There are only three people rated higher than me in the last two years: sh1ro, ZywOo and s1mple. “I can’t think of any professional athlete in any sport who did something that wasn’t even deemed that bad at a young age and it hindered their career for this long.” Fnatic have been mooted as a possible next destination for Smooya after they revamped their roster with the signings of two other British players, Alex ‘ALEX’ McMeekin and William ‘mezii’ Merriman, and a British coach, Jamie ‘keita’ Hall. His addition would signify an upgrade in the AWP role – which has been one of Fnatic’s weaknesses in recent years -, but the 21-year-old is refusing to be drawn on such speculation. “To be honest, I’m not in a position where I can say that I’d prefer to play on any team,” he says. “I’ve kind of done everything that is within my power. I’ve played in any team that’s accepted me. And I’ve over-performed in every situation possible. Every team that I have joined has got drastically better. The only thing that I had was attitude issues. “I’m not claiming to be absolutely perfect, but for me right now, all I care about is winning at a high level. I have an ego, like every single good player, but I’m more than willing to put it aside to win. I will give no less than 110 percent, and I will make sure that once my foot is in the door of tier-one or tier-two in Counter-Strike, I won’t leave.”

Sky Sports will be broadcasting the CS:GO FACEIT Major Finals Sky Sports will broadcast the playoffs of the CS:GO FaceIt London Major on September 20-23. FaceIt has announced a partnership that will see the final matches of the London Major, the first of CS:GO’s most prestigious tournaments to be held in the UK, broadcast on Sky Sports, another first for CS:GO. In addition to the matches, Sky Sports’ coverage will include an exclusive one-hour documentary on the road to the Major. After the Major concludes, a “highlights” program looking back on some of the most exciting moments will air on Sky Two at 11pm. Sky’s coverage will be available on skysports.com, as well as the Sky Sports YouTube and Facebook channels. Georgie Faulkner, Sky Sports’ Head of Multi Sports, said: “FACEIT Major is one of the world’s biggest esports events, and we’re delighted to be able to bring the London finals to a whole new audience. We’re no stranger to world of esports, but this is the first time we have broadcast competitive CS:GO and we can’t wait to get started. With a sold-out SEE Wembley Arena, and some of the biggest names in the game, we’re sure our viewers will love it.” The FaceIt London Major kicked off on September 5 with the Challengers stage, during which FaceIt reported record viewership with over 20 million hours watched and peak viewership exceeding 500,000. The current Legends stage will run until September 16, reducing the current 16 teams down to eight through a Swiss system. The qualifying eight teams will be drawn into a single-elimination, best of three bracket which will be played on September 20-23 to determine the next Major champions.

Skadoodle retires from competitive CS:GO Cloud9 CS:GO star Tyler ‘Skadoodle’ Latham will be stepping away from competitive CS:GO after a storied career that brought North America its first Major title earlier this year. As one of the most prominent figures in North American Counter-Strike, Skadoodle will be leaving some big shoes for his successor to fill. “I am taking a break from competitive CS:GO, I would like to thank the fans and Cloud9 for their support these past years and I wish the CS:GO team the best of luck.” Fans will have some time to prepare for his retirement since he’ll continue playing with the team until Cloud9 finds a fifth member to replace him. Skadoodle has been competing in Counter-Strike since 2012 when he was just 19 years old, making him one of the pioneers of the North American CS:GO scene. Despite being one of the most tenured players in his country, though, Skadoodle’s career still had a few bumps in the road. Read More: Snax responds to Mousesports benching – He joined Cloud9 in 2015 and while the team saw bouts of immediate success, Skadoodle quickly faced criticism for his style of play as time went on. Many didn’t feel as though Skadoodle fit the team’s system and wondered whether Cloud9 could ever truly achieve true success with him in tow. Cloud9 continued putting faith in the AWPer and the team chugged along throughout the years, qualifying for a few majors but never managing to make it out of the group stage. That all changed at the ELEAGUE Major: Boston in January 2018, though, as the team not only made it to the playoffs but managed to win the entire tournament. It took a grueling three maps in the grand finals against FaZe Clan, including a thrilling 22-19 overtime session on Inferno, but Skadoodle finally led to Cloud9 to the top after so many tries. In the aftermath of the win, however, the cracks began to show and Skadoodle stepped down from the team for a couple weeks in the Spring. He eventually returned to the lineup, but the team continued to struggle at event after event. Read More: Shroud blows his own mind during CS:GO match – Most recently, Cloud9 finished 12-14th at the FACEIT Major: London 2018 in September, which seemed to have been the nail in Cloud9’s coffin. Still, Skadoodle brought North America its first Major title, an achievement that firmly solidifies his place in North American CS:GO history.

SK Gaming’s Stewie2K Spotted in Immortals Jersey at ESL One Belo Horizonte Twitter/ImmortalsThe long anticipated move of SK Gaming’s CS:GO roster to Immortals seems to be accelerating, after Immortals posted a picture of Jake “Stewie2K” Yip in one of their jersey’s at ESL One Belo Horizonte. Tensions between the SK roster and the organization seemed to be at their peak at the recent StarSeries Season 5 finals, when the entire team played without their SK jerseys. It has been reported that SK had even stopped providing the team training facilities and the opportunity to bootcamp ahead of events, as the squad’s move to Immortals edges closer. The team have since attended a number of smaller tournaments, apparently just to have the opportunity to practice as a squad together, since SK were refusing to provide for them. SK Gaming are reported to have signed another Brazilian roster as the immediate replacement, instead providing practice facilities to them. And while the deal is not yet official, it looks like Immortals have taken on responsibility for the current roster of Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, Fernando “fer” Alvarenga, Marcelo “coldzera” David, Ricardo “boltz” Prass and Stewie2K. The official Immortals Twitter page posted this image ahead of SK’s match against Space Soldiers. The team were back wearing their standard SK jersey’s for the official match, with the exception of Stewie2K, who wore the Immortals jersey while playing. Coldzera also wore a regular T-Shirt rather than his SK jersey. It is expected that this will be the last LAN event that the roster play under SK, before the move to Immortals becomes official.

SK Gaming Players Stopped Wearing Team Jerseys Due to Organization’s Refusal to Provide Practice Facilities StarLadder @borodasltvIt looks like tensions between the SK Gaming organization and its current Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team have reached fever pitch. It is common knowledge that the current SK Gaming team will be leaving the organization for a new opportunity with Immortals in July, potentially under the revived MiBR (Made in Brazil) name. Meanwhile, SK Gaming is rumored to have already reached an agreement with another Brazilian roster in the form of Não Tem Como, a team that features names like Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau and Vito ‘kNgV-’ Giuseppe. Cracks have started to show as the split between SK Gaming and Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo’s legendary roster draws ever closer, and the team drew a great deal of attention at StarSeries Season 5 Finals when they played without their jerseys. Read More: G2 Esports Announces New CS:GO Roster and Benches Two Players Ahead of ECS Season 5 Finals – According to a new report on dbltap from industry insider Jarek ‘DeKay’ Lewis, the relationship has deteriorated to the point where SK Gaming will no longer provide the players with training facilities or a place to boot camp for events 2017 was another strong year for SK Gaming but 2018 has been a different story entirely. DeKay says that multiple sources confirmed that SK has given space to the NTC players instead and that FalleN and company have been forced to negotiate boot camp locations with tournament organizers in exchange for appearing at events: “The SK players have negotiated boot camp locations on their own with tournament organizers in exchange for agreeing to play in smaller tournaments. That explains SK’s appearance at the Adrenaline Cyber League and a future appearance at a small tournament in Portugal,” It certainly looks like the relationship between the organization and the players has become irreparable and everyone involved will be counting down the days until it comes to an end. SK Gaming won the ESL One Cologne 2016 Major and numerous other international tournaments throughout 2016 and 2017 but the team has struggled in 2018, winning just one small event in the form of Adrenaline Cyber League 2018. Both SK Gaming and NTC will be in attendance on home soil at ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018 from June 13th – 17th. The $200,000 tournament in Brazil is also expected to be the last LAN event for FalleN and co. under the SK banner.

SirScoots hits out at Sadokist over BLAST Pro criticism: “Stop being a daft c***” ESL / MLGEsports veteran Scott ‘SirScoots’ Smith went back and forth with Popular CS:GO talent Matthew ‘Sadokist’ Trivett, over controversy regarding BLAST Pro Series events and the players association. The rising tournament organizer known as BLAST, part of the RFRSH Entertainment brand, has held three $250,000 events so far in 2019, with plans for more throughout the year including their Global Final at the end of the year. BLAST events feature a best-of-one round robin format until the grand final and usually take up just two days. Their tournaments are often completely invite only and concerns have been raised over 2018’s top team, Astralis, missing out on other premier events to attend BLAST Pro Series, especially given the fact that they are both under the RFRSH brand. Other teams, including the likes of Team Liquid and NiP, have also been accused of prioritizing BLAST events; many critics argue that clashes in event dates and an ever more full calendar are robbing fans of true tier one tournaments with all top teams in attendance. With BLAST Pro’s plans to continue expanding in the CS:GO scene, rivaling other tournament organizers such as ESL and FACEIT, Canadian caster Sadokist has been one of the community members to raise concerns. Trivett claimed that there were certain pro players expressing problems with the events, such as travel and scheduling, but were unable to speak up publicly about it: “At each of the previous 4 events I have attended, at least one player has told me, unsolicited, that they do not like attending Blast events.” At each of the previous 4 events I have attended, at least one player has told me, unsolicited, that they do not like attending Blast events (travel/schedule/etc). When asked why they don’t say/do something about it, their answers have been consistent: “”We can’t.”” — Matthew Trivett :wolf_face: (@Sadokist) June 1, 2019 When these comments caught the attention of SirScoots – who is also an adviser for the player’s association – he claimed that Sadokist had no issues with the tournament organizer while he was working with them: “What Matt won’t tell you is he was fine working for Blast himself until he fucked up at the last event he worked for them and they told him he was going to sit out the next one.” Get your facts straight. I kept this out of it, but they asked me to attend SP. I told them no, and then they changed their tune and tried to flex on me. This is not about me at all, but I will address this when I’m not in the middle of a final (nice timing). — Matthew Trivett :wolf_face: (@Sadokist) June 2, 2019 The pair went back and forth arguing about the facts of the story, claiming the other was spreading misinformation before the argument began to grow hostile, with SirScoots telling Sadokist to “stop being a daft cunt,” and that he needed to seek ‘professional help’. Sadokist accused Smith of “manipulating public opinion,” and suggested the accusations were based on assumption, calling the ‘attack’ “uncalled for.” You have absolutely nothing to base this on but assumption, and attacking me entirely uncalled for. I am a stern personality with unwavering opinions, that is true, but I’m not sure what bridges you speak of. — Matthew Trivett :wolf_face: (@Sadokist) June 2, 2019 Stop being a daft cunt and stop tweeting and do your fucking job for once. Then seek professional help. — Scott Smith (@SirScoots) June 2, 2019 G2 Esports CEO, Carlos ‘Ocelote’ Rodriguez pleaded with the pair to stop: “This ain’t worth it bros. You may see each other around here for decades.” Sado and Scoots this ain’t worth it bros. You may see each other around here for decades. This ain’t a hill to die on. — Carlos – ocelote (@CarlosR) June 3, 2019 Scoots stated that he would always call out those he feels deserve it, regardless of how popular they may be: “Regarding my tweets today. I always call out those who I feel deserve it, be they popular figures or not. Often the facts I base my opinions on are not public at the time. One day when more is known, some of you might think twice about labeling me the bad guy. Time will tell.” Regarding my tweets today. I always call out those who I feel deserve it, be they popular figures or not. Often the facts I base my opinions on are not public at the time. One day when more is known, some of you might think twice about labeling me the bad guy. Time will tell. — Scott Smith (@SirScoots) June 2, 2019 The pair finally stopped tweeting each other shortly after, likely to avoid taking things too far in the public space. The exchange certainly came as a shock to many CS:GO fans, seeing such respected figures in the scene trading blows. While Sadokist’s original Twitter post did not tag or directly mention SirScoots in any way, Smith claimed that the Canadian had done so in previous posts. “The tweets in question are not this one,” he clarified., “but ones earlier that he leveled at board members. He is not a man of the people as he is acting now, he is a man with a grudge who continually burns the bridges around him. Believe me or do not, it is what it is.”

Shroud & Tarik debate CSGO vs Valorant over which is harder amid Source 2 hype Riot Games/Valve/Sentinels/EGTwitch stars shroud and Tarik, once again, reignited that debate between Counter-Strike and Valorant, with them both agreeing on which one is harder of the two. The Counter-Strike series has been around for over 20 years at this point, and CS:GO in particular has had a stranglehold on the FPS genre for quite some time. While Valorant has some Overwatch-esque elements with agent abilities and CS:GO is more on the classical, hardcore FPS side of things, the two have constantly been pitted against each other since Riot Games entered the arena back in 2019. Despite the never-ending debate, and rivalry, the pair been able to co-exist and have both thrived. CS:GO has been constantly breaking its peak player count amid excitement about Source 2. So, it was only natural that shroud and Tarik – both former CS pros – brought it back to the fold when they teamed up for some games. Shroud and Tarik debate whether CS:GO or Valorant is harder The pair, who have both embraced Valorant since leaving CS behind, hopped on to CS:GO for some games during their March 15 stream, when shroud popped the question about which game is harder. “(CS is) Harder, 100%. Was that a trick question?” Tarik answered. “I think Valorant is harder strategically, but mechanically, I think this game is four times as hard,” shroud replied. “There’s a lot of s*it to account for in Valorant, like ultimates getting refreshed and shit. In this game, they’ve been doing the same A execute for like 20 years,” Tarik added, which prompted some laughs from everyone involved. “Every five years they come out with a different smoke pattern!” With the seeming impending release of Source 2, which has got the Counter-Strike community on tenterhooks, it’s a debate that is unlikely to ever die off – especially as esports pros keep swapping between them. There’s obviously space to enjoy both as a player and fan, which the streamers have been able to do. But even they know CS is king at the end of the day.

Shroud Styles on the Opposition With Ridiculous Negev 4K During Official CS:GO Match Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek might not be a professional CS:GO player anymore but that didn’t do his opponents any favors in his most recent ESEA Open match with Old Guys Club. The CS:GO community lost its mind when news broke about shroud returning to play in the ESEA Open division alongside the likes of Jordan n0thing’ Gilbert, Sean ‘seang@res’ Gares, Tomi ‘lurppis’ Kovanen and Robin ‘fifflaren’ Johansson. Although the team is only playing one or two matches a week for fun on stream, a cult following has already developed and the perfect start to the season has been streamed to more viewers than the average professional match. During their most recent match shroud and company faced off against Primal Gaming on Overpass and, predictably, won rather comfortably with a score of 16-5. Read More: S1mple Shines and Random CS:GO Fan Jumps on Stage as StarSeries Season 5 Finals Conclude – Highlights and Finals Placements – As always, the “Old Guys Club” players were clearly enjoying themselves throughout the match and shroud was in particularly fine form, picking up a handful of clutches and multi-kill rounds. One round in particular stood out, though, as shroud managed to lock down the B bombsite with the rarely used Negev – spraying down four opponents with ease: The results from Old Guys Club just go to show how big the skill gap is between the average player and former professionals, even if some of them have barely touched the game for months or years at a time. The team’s next match will be on Inferno against unLucky- on June 6th. Shroud, n0thing, and seang@res all stream the matches so don’t forget to tune in live and show Reddit’s favorite team some love.

Shroud stunned by CS:GO matchmaking rank despite dominant return L: HyperX. R: Valve.Michael ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive hasn’t gone away, as he returned to the game for the first time in months. The former professional player has been retired from competitive play for well over a year now. Yet, that hasn’t stopped dabbling in Valve’s popular title even now and again. However, as is the case for all CS:GO players, if you end up being inactive for quite some time, you’re going to find that your matchmaking rank has been significantly lowered. That unfortunate fate was realized by shroud during his May 6 stream, as he was left dumbfounded by his brand new rank. Shroud spent three years as a member of Cloud9 but couldn’t win that elusive Major title. Shroud loses his rank “I’ve never had this rank in my life chat,” shroud said, seemingly teasing a terribly low level. “I’m a double AK player now boys,” he jokingly added, after revealing he had been de-ranked all the way to Master Guardian Elite. Read More: DeKay Debrief: IEM Sydney 2019 – Despite that, his matchmaking ranking isn’t a true reflection of his skills – seeing as he was once one of the top CS:GO pros around. Yet, that ‘shame’ of being an MGE wasn’t going to stop his, albeit brief, return to the game. That ability never goes away and it was on full display as shroud bounced around a few hours of the game, playing by himself in matchmaking, and alongside former teammate Tyler ‘Skadoodle’ Latham in Faceit matches. Without even taking part in a warm-up, shroud dove right into a matchmaking game and lit up the game with some highlight clips. He ripped right through a pistol round alongside random, racking up an incredibly quick four-kill streak and showing why, even as a retired pro, he’s still a force to be reckoned with. Even when he stepped up to take on a higher level of players in Faceit games alongside Skadoodle, his ability to wreck pistol rounds was still on show for all to see. Read More: Top 20 highest earning CS:GO pro players – He may not know Vertigo – which was recently added to the Active Duty map pool – like the back of his hand just yet, but he certainly still remembers where to place his crosshair – taking down enemies by snapping on to their heads with rapid precision. His highlights were not just confined to pistol kills, though, as the popular streamer showed that he is still just as deadly with a rifle in his virtual hands as he ever was. Shroud saved a tight round for his matchmaking team by picking up back-to-back headshot kills, despite only seeing one player. He didn’t flip out or celebrate at that time, as he expertly controlled his spray to kill the last remaining enemy who was hidden in a smoke grenade. Will Shroud return to CS:GO? Fans who are desperate to see more CS:GO content from shroud probably shouldn’t get their hopes up too much. The former Cloud9 man has an on-and-off relationship with the game since quitting competitive play. Yet, there is still something magical about seeing him ruin pistol rounds with his almost aim-bot like precision – even if it only ever happens once in a blue moon.

Shroud, seang@res and Co. Have Played Their First Matches With Their New Team and the ESEA Open Division Should be Very Afraid The new ESEA Open team featuring legendary Counter-Strike players like Jordan n0thing’ Gilbert, Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek, and Tomi ‘lurppis’ Kovanen has played its first official matches. When news broke about shroud possibly making a return to competitive CS:GO, the community reaction was one of excitement and the clip of him discussing the matter quickly made it to the front page of the GlobalOffensive subreddit. It soon became apparent that his return would be a casual one as he teamed up with former Cloud9 teammates n0thing and Sean ‘seang@res’ Gares to play in the ESEA Open League. The North American stars are also joined on the team by CS 1.6 legend lurppis, former CS:GO Major Champion robin ‘fifflaren’ Johansson, and commentator/analyst Halvor ‘vENdetta’ Gulestøl. Read More: New CS:GO Update Addresses Audio Issues Reported by Community Members – May 22nd Patch Notes – Playing in ESEA Open, the star-studded lineup was predicted to run through all opposition, despite not practicing or playing regularly, and so far they’ve done just that. Their first match ended with a score of 16-1 as seang@res posted an incredible score of 33-5, and the second match saw them win 16-6 despite toying with their opponents and even winning the match with a ridiculously long distance Zeus kill. The matches have been enjoyable for all involved and shroud in particular has been pulling in impressive viewership figures. For the teams going up against them, the chance to play against some of their heros in a fun environment probably outweighs the disappointment of being so heavily outclassed. Shroud’s full stream with the team’s most recent game on Inferno can be found below. The match begins at the 07:49:30 mark. Watch BACK to #45K? NANI? | Follow @shroud from shroud on www.twitch.tv

Shroud reveals Respawn considered adding CS:GO-style economy system to Apex Legends HyperX / RespawnRespawn Entertainment were apparently considering adding an economy system in Apex Legends early one, according to Twitch superstar Michael ‘shroud‘ Grzesiek. Upon its release, Apex Legends introduced a variety of novelties to the world of battle royale, such as its Ping System and the ability for players to respawn teammates that had been fully eliminated. However, it appears that Respawn did not want to stop there, as they were thinking about adding an economy system, much like in CounterStriker: Global Offensive. This comes according to Shroud, who, of course, has been privy to a lot of insider information about the Apex Legends, starting from when he and other prominent streamers were invited by Respawn and EA to try the game prior to its release. “There’s another idea that Apex had a while back,” he said on stream. “They were thinking of ‘what about adding an economy system in pro matches, where you have ten rounds, and in those ten rounds, you buy in. It’s like you’re playing CounterStrike at the beginning, before you jump in.” How the economy system works in CS:GO The way the economy system works in CS:GO is that players get a certain amount of cash to spend on weapons and items at the start of each round. That cash total gets increased each round depending on how the player and their team perform in that round, taking into factors such as the number of eliminations, whether the round was won or lost, etc… Obviously, the more cash a player has to spend at the start of each round, the better weapons, explosives, and protective gear they can purchase for that round. How this would play out in Apex Legends While Shroud didn’t elaborate much in his description, what he said essentially would mean that players would have an amount of currency at the start of each match that would be dependent on how they did in the previous match, such as placement, eliminations totals, revives, etc… The more currency a player would have at the start of the round, the better weapons and items the would be able to gain access to during the course of the match. Read More: Apex Legends community wants an ‘Honor System’ that will reward players for good behavior – According to Shroud, this system would be designed more for “pro matches,” which means it could have been an idea Respawn had for a ranked mode rather than just casual play. Regardless, the addition of such a feature would have been a totally new concept in battle royale, and it would have been interesting to see how effectively it worked.

Shroud schools n0thing and Skadoodle in epic CSGO 2v2 Twitch star and former Counter-Strike pro player Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek showed his audience that he still has the skills in CSGO, showing off in a 2v2 tournament against some of the world’s best. Shroud has been bouncing between FPS games recently on stream, playing Modern Warfare and PUBG while still finding some time to play WoW Classic on the side. After all, he is known for his prowess in CSGO and tapping heads, so any time he gets to show off his skills is a huge positive for his audience. While he might have some critics who say that he’s washed up and out of the scene, one glimpse of brilliance in a recent match proved that, if he really wanted to, shroud could show up on stage and show the new kids of CSGO who’s boss. On an October 22 live stream, shroud was playing in the BoomTV Code Red 2v2 CSGO tournament with Justin ‘Just9n’ Ortiz, a fellow former pro turned streamer. While the two never played on a team together, they were both in the North American Counter-Strike space just as the region started to flourish and have been friends for years. They were up against shroud’s former Cloud 9 teammates Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert and Tyler ‘Skadoodle’ Latham. With the two teams trading rounds, shroud had to come up with a clutch 1v2 to tie the series back up to 4-4. Shroud missed a few shots with the AWP in his hands, but eventually composed himself to hit two sweet snipes. The first one was onto n0thing on the low ground, who looked to be sneaking up on shroud, before he flicked up and wallbanged Skadoodle on the high ground. He let them know about it with a huge jeer after landing the nice double kill and netting the round. Shroud, who used to rifle for Cloud 9 while Skadoodle AWPed, even posed a cheeky question to his former teammate wielding the green stick. “Tyler, why didn’t I AWP for C9,” he asked, but he was left hanging. While shroud and Just9n had a solid first half, they were handily defeated 13-9, with Skadoodle showing why he did indeed AWP for C9 with a nice comeback in the second half. It wasn’t all losses for the duo though. They ended up taking down duos like Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel and ‘m0xyy’, but ended up losing to Erik ‘fl0m’ Flom and Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin in their final game before getting knocked out. They can hold their heads high though knowing that Skadoodle and n0thing went on to win the entire thing and pocket $3,000 between the two of them. Everything aside though, Shroud still looks like he has the skills to jump right back into pro play if he so chose. For now though, he’s content with streaming for his legion of fans, and having fun while doing so.

Shroud Instantly Regrets Making $1000 bet Against Former Cloud9 Teammate n0thing Two former professional CS:GO players and Cloud9 teammates Michael “shroud” Grzesiek and Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert were playing in their ESEA Open division match when shroud made a wager he instantly regretted. The pair have been teaming up with other former players including Sean “seang@res” Gares, Tomi “Lurppis” Kovanen and Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson in a throwback roster to compete in the ESEA Open Division, purely for entertainment purposes. Shroud has grown his stream following considerably since his retirement from full-time professional competition and is perhaps best known now as primarily a PUBG player. But he still has his touch for CS:GO and has shown that on a number of occasions while playing with the “Old Man Club” squad, such as this insane reaction time kill. When playing on June 26th, shroud foolishly doubted his teammate n0thing’s ability to clutch a round using only his Glock pistol. n0thing himself may have retired from professional competition formally, but has been playing at the top level recently, filling in for mousesports recently at ESL One Belo Horizonte, helping guide the team to a grand final. So, when shroud put the challenge to him, saying “I’ll give you a thousand dollars if you win with your Glock”, n0thing nonchalantly accepted. Although n0thing didn’t manage to take out the last two enemies, he wasted enough time to prevent the defuse and winning the round, much to shroud’s disappointment. There’s no telling if n0thing will actually demand the $1000, but we’re sure shroud can manage to afford it thanks to his impressive estimated streaming income. The team continues to perform well in the ESEA Open Division too, currently sitting with a 10-1 record in 6th place overall.

Shroud Had the Opportunity to Play for FaZe Clan’s CS:GO Team Former Cloud9 star and professional CS:GO player Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek has revealed that he had the opportunity to stand in for FaZe Clan at ESL One: Belo Horizonte. Shroud stepped down from Cloud9 in August of 2017 and officially retired from professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in April of 2018. He now dedicates his time to streaming full time and is one of the most popular streamers on the Amazon owned Twitch platform. His game of choice is PUBG but he can still be found playing Fortnite and CS:GO on occasion. The Canadian star has also been playing in a fun ESEA Open team with some of his former Cloud9 teammates, Sean ‘seang@res’ Gares and Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert, as well as some legends of the European scene in the form of Tomi ‘lurppis’ Kovanen and Robin ‘fifflaren’ Johansson. It sounds like he also had the opportunity to play for one of the very best teams on Earth, though, as he revealed during a recent Twitch stream that he had been asked to play for FaZe Clan as a stand-in. Shroud says that he was asked to play for them at the event that they are currently playing in, ESL One: Belo Horizonte. Presumably this was soon after they received the news that Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer would not be in attendance. FaZe Clan eventually ended up attending Brazilian event with Jørgen ‘cromen’ Robertsen, the same Norwegian player that helped them secure a top four finish at the ECS Season 5 Finals in London. However, shroud fans will certainly be disappointed to hear that there was a possibility of seeing their favorite player in a FaZe jersey at a tournament where they are one of the favorite teams to take the title. Interestingly, shroud’s teammate on the “Old Guys Club” ESEA roster, n0thing, is playing at the $200,000 event as a stand-in for Mousesports and helped the European side secure a 2-0 victory over Não Tem Como in their opening match.

Shroud gets extremely lucky with CS:GO case openings Popular CS:GO Prisma Case. In one of his first streams back from his scooter accident on March 10, shroud couldn’t believe his luck when opening the new Prisma case, just released in the latest CS:GO update. The former professional player returned to his roots for a case opening to kick off his stream, and although many fans were hoping he would stay on the game to play some competitive matchmaking, he stuck to gambling. Following the injury to his elbow during the recent scooter incident, he decided it would best to leave CS:GO for a while and chose the alternative, playing the newly released Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. In the Prisma cases Shroud was unboxing, the ‘Rare Special Item’ that could be opened included the fan-favorite Chroma Case paint finishes on the new knives added to the game over recent months. Shroud was lucky enough to start the stream off by unboxing one of the better knives in the case, the Talon Knife: Doppler – Factory New, to which he got excited yelling “who got a knife? I DID, ME!” while pointing at himself on stream. It was not long after this clip that shroud’s luck once again had a delivered another knife during the case opening. However, he was not prepared to see the exact same knife he had just unboxed, the Talon Knife Doppler showed up once again leaving shroud shocked saying, “are you fucking kidding me? the same thing!” Many fans are wondering if shroud will make a return to playing CS:GO now that he has some new knives to show off in-game. They will likely have to wait until shroud’s scooter incident injury has healed fully and he is free to play whatever he chooses.

Shroud explains why Valorant makes him fear for the future of CSGO Valve/ShroudMichael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek has explained why the emergence of Valorant has caused him to fear for the future of CSGO. Ever since Valorant was released, the same question has been asked repeatedly: will this be the game that will take down CS:GO as the king of FPS esports? While CS Esports is still riding high, there have been some interesting developments. Several high-profile CS pros, as well as some who aren’t so well-known, have decided to jump ship to Valorant in a bid to progress their careers. As one of the most famous Counter-Strike pro players of all-time, and the third-biggest streamer on Twitch, Shroud’s opinion carries a lot of weight. On his Twitch stream, he warned that if CS devs at Valve don’t freshen the game up, it could end up being left to die. Shroud: “I worry for CS” While discussing the KennyS to Valorant saga (which was ignited when the legendary AWPer tweeted a GIF of Valorant Agent Jett), shroud explained why he is worried for the future of Counter-Strike with the emergence of Valorant as a viable competitor. Shroud is concerned over the lack of new content in CS, compared to its Riot Games counterpart, and suggested on his Twitch stream that developer Valve may let the game die out naturally. Read More: TenZ not ruling out pro Valorant return – “What is CS gonna do? I worry for CS if they don’t do something new and nice,” he said. “I would not be surprised if they let CS die, but I would doubt it.” Topic starts at 0:16 While most of the big-name CS-to-Valorant transfers have so far been largely confined to North America, Shroud expects big-name European pros like KennyS – who was recently dropped from G2 Esports’ roster – to make the move to Valorant. He added: “They will make the switch for sure, but maybe not yet.” Read More: T1 signs former OWL champ ANS – Shroud stated before that Valorant will truly take off as an esport as soon as LAN tournaments enter the scene, and explained how CS:GO’s massive problems with cheaters makes Valorant increasingly appealing to FPS players. With the first major Valorant LAN – VCT Masters 2 – scheduled to happen in May, you can keep an eye on which teams will be rumbling in Reykjavik on our dedicated hub.

Shroud says CSGO developers are “lost” after Shattered Web update Counter-Strike: Global Offensive just got its latest patch ‘Operation Shattered Web’ on November 18, but Mixer star Michael ‘shroud‘ Grzesiek explained why the game needs to be “fixed”, suggesting Valve “don’t know what do”. Former CSGO pro shroud has become one of the most popular streamers in the world due to his god-like skills in FPS that have earned him the nickname ‘human-aimbot.’ However, the streamer didn’t seem too thrilled about the latest patch for CS:GO when a fan asked him what his thoughts were on the latest patch Operation Shattered Web. The Mixer star argued that while the patch was a step in the right direction, it had “zero significance” until Valve “fixes” the popular FPS, and explained how they could do it. Shroud explains how to “fix” CSGO During his November broadcast, a fan asked him what he thought about the latest CS:GO Operations, and the Mixer star replied “Counter-Strike’s lost, they don’t know what to do.” The streamer then followed up his criticism by saying, “But at least they are doing something though,” before he explained to his audience what the developer needs to “fix” about the FPS. “It’s pretty easy to fix, and it starts with kind of what they are doing right now. But their focus should be on cleaning up their matchmaking,” he stated. The Mixer star then hilariously compared the game’s matchmaking to the hit horror film The Purge. “Their matchmaking, they just let it run free. It’s like Purge. F*cking Purge day. That’s matchmaking!” he said. “Just have fun guys, f*cking do whatever you want. No rules, no laws. Just cheat away!” shroud exclaimed, as he argued the game’s matchmaking has become less regulated. The former CSGO pro then claimed that it’s become “miserable” for players as a result of the Wild West-like nature. “Or don’t cheat, be miserable. It’s f*cking weird.” The criticisms didn’t stop there, as the streamer then exclaimed, “Once they fix this, this update that they’ve done would have worked. But it’s pretty much a free-for-all in the world of Counter-Strike.” He also argued that the game’s current state doesn’t appeal to anyone, including both the pro scene, and casual players. “The update has zero significance to anyone. To pros to casuals,” he stated. Shroud finished his rant by saying that he wished the game’s developers would fix the issues. “It’s lame. It really is, because Counter-Strike is a fantastic game. But the devs just don’t know what to do,” he said. Shroud turned the streaming world on its head, when he announced in October that he was leaving Twitch for Mixer, following in the footsteps of Tyler ‘Ninja‘ Blevins who had done the same in August. Despite abandoning his previously popular channel, his move has seemed to pay off, as he currently has 840,000 followers on his new channel, proving that his audience will watch him on any platform regardless to watch his gaming skills.

Shroud explains why CSGO is a “joke” compared to Valorant ahead of pro debut Valve/Sentinels/Riot GamesSentinels’ newest star, Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek, believes that Valorant is a much harder game than tactical shooter rival CS:GO. Shroud shocked the world on July 8 when he revealed he would be making his debut as a member of Sentinels in the Valorant Masters North American Last Chance Qualifier in August. The former CS:GO star has been hard at work grinding the game and playing with his new teammates in preparation for the tournament, and it seems like it’s proving to be a fun challenge. During a recent Twitch stream, Grzesiek compared Counter-Strike to Valorant and why he believes Riot’s FPS is much more challenging than Valve’s. Shroud says Valorant is “harder” than CSGO In the early rounds of a match that saw shroud competing alongside Sentinels teammate Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo, the Twitch star commented on some differences between the two games he went pro in. “This game’s hard. CS:GO looks like a joke compared to this game, I’m telling you,” the Polish-Canadian remarked while his teammate goes down trying to plant the spike. “There’s no sugarcoating it or anything. It’s just hard.” Shroud went on to hypothesize why Valorant is a more difficult game than CS:GO and considered how skilled players are in both titles. “I wonder if it’s hard because everyone is so good and if everyone is so good because the game is arguably easier,” he pondered. “It keeps the competition high.” It’s certainly an interesting paradox, given the history Counter-Strike and its legacy as an esport, but if there was ever anyone who could make such a statement, it’s shroud. So far, shroud has shown he’s still one of the best with a recent viral highlight reel triple wall bang play, but there’s no telling how he will perform at the LCQ. Be sure to keep it locked to Dexerto as we wait to see if shroud can help Sentinels punch their ticket to the Valorant Champions in Istanbul.

Shroud demands CSGO step up to compete with Valorant in 2022: “Game is dated as hell” Valve/Twitch/shroudPopular Twitch streamer Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek is encouraging Valve to step up with CSGO content in 2022 to compete with Riot and Valorant. Since its release, Valorant has taken the tactical FPS world by storm. With CSGO’s aim mechanics and unique agent abilities from games such as Overwatch and Apex Legends, Riot has managed to captivate audiences. Now, with the release of Neon, shroud is hoping that this can be a wake-up call for CSGO and push Valve to start updating the game. However, it might take quite a bit for the classic FPS to truly impress the former C9 superstar. Shroud says Valorant is “walking all over” CSGO After watching a video for the newest Valorant agent, Neon, shroud immediately wondered what Counter-Strike was doing before answering his rhetorical question. Read More: Shroud roasts Mizkif over potential DMCA ban – “Nothing. F**king hell. CS, step your game up!” he blasted. “Valve is pissing me off. They’re letting Riot and Valorant walk all over them. They don’t care!” Hey, if Valve is into being walked all over, we’re not ones to kink shame, but for Grzesiek, he believes the game is in dire need of some big updates. “[CSGO] is far from perfect. The game is f**king dated as hell. I mean, they just gotta work on it, you know?” he said before suggesting some ideas. “Either they can do the DOTA 2 attempt and try to update it engine-wise. Or just make a whole new f**king game and get innovative.” For shroud, the latter would be nice because it would mean players wouldn’t be forced into the same maps all-day in endless repetition. Whether or not Valve listens or has something in the works remains to be seen, but as 2022 rolls on, it will be fun to see how the two tactical FPS heavyweights compete and if CSGO can step up like shroud hopes.

Shroud claims CSGO will stay top esport over Valorant despite swinging popularity Twitter: Shroud / ValveMichael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek explained why he believes CSGO will stay on top of Valorant in terms of being an esports spectacle, claiming its simplicity makes it easier for viewers to follow. CSGO’s viewership is on the rise. The PGL Major Stockholm 2021 smashed the existing viewership record. More than 2.5 million viewers tuned in to watch Navi dominate G2 in the grand final to win the event. Not only has it quashed age-old claims that CSGO is dying, but it also sparked a conversation about how it compares to its biggest competitor, Valorant. It’s something that shroud has spoken about in the past, too. This time, though, he approached it from a different angle. He compared them strictly in terms of what it’s like to watch as a spectator and concluded that CSGO’s simplicity makes it a better experience for viewers. “Valorant [requires] a little bit more understanding,” he said. “That’s the tricky part. Like, if you watch CSGO, you can understand [that] smoke is being thrown, or a Molotov, or a grenade. It’s simple, right? Click some heads.” He explained that Valorant follows the “same concept” as CSGO but has an “extra layer of complexity” – referring to the unique agent abilities. For that reason, he believes spectators “can’t really appreciate it until they play.” “Meanwhile, I’ve had my grandma watch Counter-Strike and understand it. It’s super simple to understand from a watching perspective for the first time,” he added – implying it will reign supreme as an esports title. Shroud has been playing Valorant more than CSGO. He’s streamed it for almost 800 hours in 2021 alone. It’s his most-streamed game for the year with more than double the hours of New World, which is second on the list. But despite that, he’s more optimistic about CSGO’s future as an esports title than ever before, and it seems like the community is, too.

Shroud explains why CSGO players are “the best gamers of all time” Twitter: Shroud / ValveMichael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek believes CSGO players who grew up playing Counter-Strike 1.6 and 1.5 are “the best games of all time” and explained why, although some might say he’s biased. Shroud’s insane aim and decorated career as a professional CSGO player are the reason why so many people consider him to be a god-tier gamer. And it’s one of the main reasons why thousands of Twitch viewers tune in to watch him own. However, it’s easy to forget that he developed those skills as a kid playing Counter-Strike 1.5 and 1.6, and he believes other CSGO players who played those games growing up are “the best gamers of all time.” However, it’s not for the reason you might expect. “I personally think people who played Counter-Strike 1.6 and 1.5 growing up… are the f**king best gamers,” he said. “Those are the best gamers of all time in any game.” He “doesn’t know” what it is about the game that makes its players “so good at everything,” but he swears it “just happens.” “I don’t think it has too much to do with the mechanics of the game itself,” he added. Instead, his best guess is that when people played those games, “there were so many different games and genres coming out [and] they were playing it all.” So, rather than having anything to do with the game’s mechanics, Shroud believes it’s more about the time at which CSGO players played those games. But that doesn’t mean he thinks they should stick with it forever. After having some initial qualms about Valorant, he’s changed his tune and admitted it’s so good that it makes him fear for CSGO’s future. He’s even urged players to make the switch in the past. So, while he thinks CSGO’s predecessors produced the world’s best gamers, it seems like he no longer thinks it’s the best game.

Shroud clarifies comments about CS:GO “dying” Twitch: Shroud/ValveTwitch star Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek has clarified his thoughts on whether or not CS:GO is dying, explaining that competitive CSGO in North America is in a bit of a rough spot right now. [jwplayer 6XbfP9ah] As new first-person shooters have tried to make inroads into the competitive scene, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has still remained the king. Players are still flocking to play CS too, while viewers are still watching tournaments in their thousands. However, like many esports, the game has hit a bit of a rough patch. No LAN action and a focus on tournaments in Europe has put North American teams in a pickle – with organizations like 100 Thieves pulling out and other boot camping across the globe. Previously, Shroud had stated that CS:GO was “undeniably dying,” but he’s now clarified those claims, relating it to the state of NA CS:GO. During his November 1 stream, the former CS:GO star had been warming up for a few games of Valorant when some of his chat asked if he’d play CS instead, while others asked for his opinion on the current state of the iconic FPS – specifically, if it was dying as he’d previously said. “Do you think CS is dying? No no no, I don’t think CS is dying, I think NA CS at a competitive level has died a little bit and that’s just fact,” shroud said before expanding on his previous comment. “I don’t think CS is dying by no means, I think CS is very popular still, hundred percent it is. But that’s cool, throw some words in my mouth why don’t ya. Or, maybe you didn’t throw words in my mouth, maybe I misinterpreted what I said because it is very clear the NA CS is hurting. Might not be dead, but NA CS is definitely hurting, which makes me sad, we were doing so well.” Given that North American teams are pulling out of CS, and some pros are looking elsewhere to make their mark, shroud’s take is pretty reasonable. He’s been critical of his former game in the past, specifically about how NA pros practice and their approach to CS, so maybe they’ll heed his advice and reinvent the wheel a little bit moving forward.

Shroud explains why he’s “done” with CSGO: “I’m not playing that sh*t” Valve / Twitch: ShroudMichael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek had a lousy time playing CSGO after encountering a series of problems and explained why he’s “done” with it and how it “makes him sad” to see it being run into the ground. Shroud has had a love-hate relationship with CSGO ever since he stopped playing professionally. Despite having some initial concerns about Valorant, it’s won him over to the point where he thinks it will take over CSGO and has even urged professional players to make the switch. At the same time, he thinks CSGO players are “the best gamers of all time” and likes seeing aspects of the game, including strategies and map designs, make their way into its alleged successor. But when it comes to playing it, it looks like he’s done. Shroud decided to give CSGO a whirl in a recent stream. But the moment he launched the game and tried to stream it, he immediately encountered some problems, starting with a bug that temporarily muted his microphone. Then, he realized that if you want to stream the game, you need to enter a launch option command ‘-untrusted,’ which inadvertently puts you into lobbies with cheaters. And he wasn’t particularly thrilled about it. “CSGO is definitely not winning over any new players with this mess,” he said. Shroud went on to compare it to Valorant, which — in his opinion — handles it much better. “For real, though that’s a big problem with CSGO. It’s very messy, and it’s so hard to play. Its accessibility is f**king awful.” Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. Things got worse as time went on. It took him a while to find a game, and once he did, it didn’t last long. Not only did a cheater ruin the experience, but the server also lagged into oblivion. And that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. “All right, I’m done,” he said. You thought Rainbow Six Siege was bad? Get a load of this game called CSGO. I’m not playing that sh*t. I’m not doing it. What did they do to this game, man? What have they done to our boy?” He explained that it “hurts” and “makes him so sad” to see “such a good game get sh*t on by the company behind it.” And he believes the only way Valve will care enough about making it better is if “everyone stops playing CSGO.” So, if his latest comments are anything to go by, it seems like Shroud’s love-hate relationship with the game he grew up playing is dead and buried – at least for the time being. Of course, that can easily change, especially if Valve decides to fix some of CSGO’s glaring problems — many of which have plagued the game for years now — and make it a more streamlined and accessible experience. Veteran players like Shroud, however, won’t be holding their breath.

Shroud claims CSGO is “undeniably dying” after 100 Thieves pull out Twitch: shroud / ESLMichael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek’s CS:GO days might be long behind him, but the once-star of the Cloud9 roster has a grim outlook for the game’s future. He claims it’s “undeniably dying” as more teams like 100 Thieves pull out, especially in North America. Shroud was once one of the Kings of North American Counter-Strike. That’s really where the 26-year-old got his start, playing professionally from 2013 to 2017. He spent most of his career on Cloud9, where he dominated the American scene. He made seven majors, won countless regional titles, and even took home some big global events like ESL Pro League Season 4 way back in 2016. However, since shroud moved on, so has the CS:GO scene. For the latter though, it’s moving towards a slow demise. CS:GO, in North America especially, is on its final legs according to many, shroud included. Shroud has claimed the FPS title is dying — not because of any external competition, although that could play a part — but rather through teams pulling out like 100 Thieves. As the competition thins, the room for improvement slims. “There are [few] NA teams now. NA as a whole is not popular at all. You have EG, you have Liquid — and that’s it. The rest of [the competition] is European,” he said. “NA just died in CS:GO, hard. In my opinion, that’s a very big L to the community, to lose NA. [The region] brought so much hype, so much excitement into the game and scene, so for that to be lost kind of sucks.” “It sucks for NA because you benefit off of each other. If NA as a whole is kind of sh*tty, then they won’t advance as quickly [compared to] if they were all really good.” Shroud questioned the amount of money being pumped into the CS:GO scene. He claimed that there are still players in North America on over $40,000 a month, and he wonders whether that investment is worth it at all. “CS is undeniably dying, but players are still getting paid like $40,000 a month. I don’t understand where this money is coming from and how it’s still pumping.” He also criticized NA’s practice culture as a big reason for their lack of international success. The region has only won one Major: Cloud9 at the Boston Major in 2018 without shroud. There was lots of potential, but NA teams didn’t have the right mentality. “The amount of sh*tty scrims we used to get — oh my God. Half of our practice was a waste of time. Whether that’s our fault or the other team’s fault, it was so lame. All NA wants to do is win, even in practice, and winning in practice does nothing for you.”

Shroud and CSGO tease summit1g with hilarious post-game molotov award One of the new post-match awards in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was awarded to Jaryd “Summit1g” Lazar after he and his team won their competitive game. Unfortunately for him, it poked fun at his iconic blunder, and Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek let him hear about it. We thought the curse was dead. We thought it was broken. But it’s legacy lives on, and shroud suspects it helped influence one of the new post-match awards that were introduced in the latest CSGO operation. After their match concluded, both players received their accolades, and the whole squad had a good laugh with summit when he received his. He had earned the title of Fire Starter, for either taking or dishing out the most burn damage on his team during the match. Shroud suggested the idea that summit was the inspiration for that “honor.” “They probably made that MVP just for summit, too,” the former Cloud 9 CSGO pro and now Mixer star remarked. If they did, it would certainly be an interesting way to honor the Twitch star with a “fiery” professional CSGO past. Summit1g is a former CSGO pro himself, having played on various competitive teams throughout the decade. On more than one occasion, he’s willingly stood in during pro events when teams needed a substitute. During one of these stand-in occasions, unfortunately, he committed one of the most unbelievable blunders in the history of CSGO. While subbing in for Splyce in a game against Counter Logic Gaming, summ1t won a 1v1 duel against FugLy with his team up 15-11. All he had to do was walk past the fire from a molotov, defuse the bomb with plenty of time, and his team would win. As you can see, he had a little trouble with that. Splyce and the fans were already celebrating when summ1t unwillingly got too close to the flames and burnt to death, handing the round to CLG. With life behind them, the team would force overtime and eventually take the map, eliminating Splyce from the event. The moment instantly became part of CS:GO lore. Twitch chats at pro tournaments would light up with the fiery 1g emote anytime a molotov whittled an opponent’s health all the way down. Summit himself was unable to shake its legacy, even in other titles like Call of Duty, until just months ago when he made a miraculous defuse amongst the flames on the same map as the infamous incident. With the curse broken, its legacy will at least live on, if not in the lit 1g smote, then at least in the MVP “award” of Fire Starter.

“Invisible” CSGO Shattered Web player skins issue discovered in more maps The problems with new custom player skins from the Shattered Web CSGO operation continue to pile up, as players are falling victim to all kinds of camouflaged kills they claim have “broken” the game. While Counter-Strike fans are thrilled to have new content aplenty in the newest operation – the first in over two years -the latest additions haven’t had the smoothest integrations into the beloved tactical shooter. Despite the outpouring of adoration for the new weapon skins and missions, the introductions of custom player skins, known as Agents, have been causing headaches for numerous competitive and pro players. A plethora of professionals in the CSGO scene have criticized the unfair advantage that some of the new Agent skins are responsible for – most notably, some of the CT skins that allow the defending side to hold certain positions that make them appear nearly invisible. Most of the complaints stemmed from certain CT skins being utilized on the newly re-done map of Cache, which prompted the map creator himself, FMPONE, to call out Valve for the “game-breaking” new feature. Custom player models in CSGO is, unfortunately, game breaking. The only way this idea works is an option to disable it. Sorry. I know this isn’t what Valve wants to hear. The idea is bad for gameplay. Mappers pick certain skins (.kv file) because they want clear contrast https://t.co/zwf7Aia5dE — FMPONE (@FMPONE) November 21, 2019 Many of the new CT agents are dressed mostly in green, which gives them a massive advantage on Cache after its massive green visual overhaul. But now, players are experiencing the frustrations of camouflage on other maps, too, as some are using one of the more cliche hiding spots in existence: the bushes. CSGO player and Twitch streamer “Laski” was in the middle of a competitive match on Overpass,when he got caught completely off guard by a lurking CT player hiding in the bushes next to Bathroom. Laski lamented that “they [Valve] need to fix this game,” and promised after the round that he would tag CSGO on Twitter with the clip. Laski’s clip wasn’t the only one that made its way around Counter-Strike Twitter: Popular CSGO streamer “DonHaci” posted a clip of almost the exact same situation happening, perfectly syncing the theme song of wrestler John Cena when he gets caught by a player hiding in the bushes. A closer look at the spot in question reveals that it is not an actual bush, but an overgrowth of ivy – but the result is the same, regardless. Not only is the player nearly impossible to spot, but the second clip shows the hider’s perspective as well, proving that the hiding player can view all three entry points (fountain steps, birthday party, and connector) while camouflaged. Numerous pros and players alike have suggested ideas to counter the issue. Some want an option for the skins to be turned off, while others would prefer maps to have only a certain set of skins available. Maps with plenty of greenery wouldn’t have the green CT skins available. Unlike new Cache, Overpass is in the active-duty competitive map pool, and frequently played on at pro tournaments. Organizations like FACEIT have already decided that players will use default models for the upcoming ECS Season 8 finals. It will be interesting to see what kind of long term solution Valve implements in the near future.

Shattered Web CSGO skins already selling for insane prices Valve have added a brand new CSGO operation called Shattered Web to the game along with a bunch of new skins – which are already selling for truly insane prices. Operation Shattered Web brought in a huge amount of changes to the first-person shooter, including five new multiplayer maps, a new Danger Zone map and an assortment of weapon nerfs and buffs. The new update introduced a number of new skins for fans to get excited about, with the CSGO marketplace always a hotbed for making some money if you’re lucky enough to get a rare skin from a case. Though, some of the prices people are paying for the Shattered Web skins seem a little excessive – reaching in excess of $1000 depending on the weapon the skin is attributed to. Of the new skins, the most expensive so far is the AWP’s Gungnir skin, which has sold nine times thus far, the highest price being £1006, or just over $1300 dollars. The Containment Breach AWP skin is also up for sale for up to $993.34, and The Prince AWP skin for up to $1,136.80. Evidently, AWP skins are the most expensive, but the Wild Lotus AK-47 skin is at an asking price of $1,051 and the Stalker Mac-10 is also up for in excess of $200. In the past, some skins have sold for tens of thousands of dollars, so $1000 doesn’t seem all too bad in comparison. Whether or not this new collection of cosmetics reach those heights remains to be seen. The most expensive CSGO skin in history, though, was a Souvenir AWP with the Dragon Lore skin, complete with stickers marking some of the most prestigious teams, players and tournaments in Counter-Strike history. This includes Cloud9, G2, PGL and Skadoodle’s Boston Major 2018 MVP skin. That AWP sold for $61,000 dollars, which is enough for a classy AMG Mercedes-Benz, a year’s rent in Manhattan or a beachfront lot in Belize. So while the Shattered Web skins aren’t quite reaching $61,000 (yet), CSGO players will no doubt be opening cases over the next few days, desperately hoping to pick up a Gungnir AWP skin or a Wild Lotus skin for their AK-47. If buying and selling skins isn’t really your thing, you can take a look at full patch notes for Operation Web Shattered and hope that the Krieg has finally seen the nerf it’s been waiting for.