Author: Nik Ranger

Neymar and Brazil stars are actually juggling World Cup fixtures with CSGO Wikimedia: Antoine DellenbachMembers of Brazil’s soccer team including star Neymar are blowing off steam with some CSGO between matches at the Qatar World Cup 2022. Athletes turning to video games in their downtime to unwind and relax is not uncommon, but usually the games are less intense than Counter-Strike. CSGO is a much more tense, calculated game than your standard Warzone or Fortnite matches, making it a curious option for players to veg out between games. However, on the largest stage in the world, at one of the biggest sporting events, that appears to be exactly the ticket for the Brazil team. Neymar turns Brazil teammates onto CSGO during World Cup According to Middle East CSGO owner Abdallah Al Ghifari, he received some interesting subscriptions from familiar faces on the Brazilian national soccer team. Forwards Neymar and Gabriel Jesus, along with midfielders Casemiro, Lucas Paqueta, and Everton Ribeiro all signed up to play Counter-Strike on November 21, 2022. With Brazil’s first match of the World Cup not set to kick off until November 24, it seems that the players had some time on their hands and wanted to enjoy a bit of gaming. Though it might seem weird for soccer players to be playing CSGO, Neymar has actually been an avid player and fan for quite a while. His love for gaming isn’t just limited to CSGO, though, as he’s also lent his likeness to Call of Duty to be made into an operator in Modern Warfare 2. While CSGO fans will undoubtedly be keeping an eye on the players’ match history, Brazil soccer fans will likely just be worried whether the game will be a distraction to the World Cup.

Neymar clutches 1v4 on route to beating Gabriel Jesus in CS:GO showmatch Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. has once again displayed his clearly impressive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skills, with an incredible 1v4 clutch play. Neymar’s history with CS:GO The Paris Saint-Germain superstar has made no secret about his love for CS:GO – using the ‘flashbang dance’ to celebrate one of his World Cup goal’s while also getting Brazilian teams MIBR and Furia on social media. Neymar has linked up with players from both teams in the past and held his own in-games but, on April 15, he had been bidding to take on Furia after seeing off fellow soccer stars like Gabriel Jesus, Artur, and Nene. Neymar clutches up on Mirage He has already shown off his impressive clutch ability on Mirage with a 1v5 ace back in February, but with more pressure on the line, Neymar dropped a 1v4 clutch in almost identical fashion. After planting the bomb on the B bombsite, Neymar quickly repositioned himself into Market, showing patience to let all four players burst past him. Yet they walked right into his trap as he sprayed down two counter-terrorists who had been attempting a defuse. For his third kill, the forward wiped out Brazilian teammate Gabriel Jesus, and immediately tried to, once again, secure a cheeky knife kill to finish off his clutch. While he did secure a thirteenth round for his team, the forward was unable to bag the knife – instead, settling for one hit and a bomb explosion to end the round. Thanks to that clutch, Neymar’s team went on to secure the game and progress on to play Furia in a one-map match on Inferno. However, despite his skills, the PSG superstar was no match for Furia as the professional team waltzed their way to a clean 16-0 win in the finals – with Yuri ‘yuurih’ Santos securing their own knife kill on him in the first-half. OLHA ESSE OTAKU ABUSADO O @yuurihfps passou a lambida no @neymarjr!https://t.co/PaKTgwhRd2 pic.twitter.com/qtiUZOT9QT— FURIA Esports (@furiagg) April 15, 2019 MIBR Neymar incoming? Even if there is a Brazilian roster shuffle anytime soon, Neymar can probably count himself out of the running for a roster spot now after getting waxed by Furia. He may not have been considering swapping the soccer pitch for the virtual battlefield of CS:GO anytime soon, but any dreams he may have had of winning a Major can safely be consigned to the trash.

Next CSGO operation maps and missions leaked from game files ValveDataminers have discovered in-game files for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that may well hint at the arrival of a new operation – with the addition of new missions, maps, and even a new co-op mode. While CS:GO remains one of the most popular multiplayer shooters around, fans have been left questioning when they will receive new content to give the game a shake-up. The biggest changes have traditionally come in the form of operations. However, despite regular updates and changes to the game’s maps, fans haven’t seen a new operation for nearly three years – after Operation Hydra released in May of 2017. Yet, that could be about to change thanks to the handiwork of some dataminers and leakers. In a video from the Valve News Network YouTube, host Tyler McVicker explained that following the 7/31 update, dataminers discovered new a keyword in the form of ‘coopmission’ and hidden buttons that would, supposedly, allow players to select missions they want to play – just like the game’s previous operations. The YouTuber also noted that the game has had files for ten new missions since April of 2019 and that they aren’t holdovers from the previous Hydra operation as they have been rewritten to match the game’s new Panorama layout. Evidence for a major update was also gathered from the resume of a contract artist who worked on the maps Blackgold, Junction, and Studio. On top of these three maps, all of which are already in-game, there are two unreleased backdrops that are a part of an ‘untitled upcoming DLC.’ These two maps are called Import and Grind – both of which are bomb defusal maps, being set in Japan and Namibia, respectively. Despite the supposed evidence, it still remains to be seen if Valve will indeed ship a brand new operation DLC anytime soon. The developers and publishers of CSGO usually remain hush on things, and it’s no different this time around as the focus on the StarLadder Berlin Major for the time being.

nexa on OG CSGO’s overhaul: “We needed to add some grinders” João Ferreira for PGLNemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković spoke to Dexerto about the recent rebuild of OG’s CS:GO team after a disappointing start to the year. nexa knew that changes were necessary when he joined OG’s CS:GO team, in January. Signed in a trade deal between OG and G2 Esports that saw Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen move in the other direction, nexa was tasked with revitalizing a roster that had shown flashes of being capable of making noise in the scene but that had ultimately become stale under the Finnish tactician. nexa’s arrival provided the energy the team had been craving as they qualified for the BLAST Premier Spring Final by beating Astralis (twice), MIBR and NIP. But the euphoria quickly fizzled out: After bowing out of IEM Katowice in 13th-16th place, OG failed to qualify for PGL Major Antwerp as they lost to NAVI, forZe and Eternal Fire in the RMR tournament in Bucharest. It was a disappointing (although not entirely unexpected) outcome as it meant that OG’s wait for a Major appearance continued. But at the same time, it gave nexa the opportunity to clean house and start over. “I wouldn’t say the lineup was doomed from the start, but I think that when Aleksib left, there were other players who also wanted to leave but didn’t have the chance,” nexa told Dexerto. “When I came into the team, I thought that we would need to change more players, but the coaching staff and the organization convinced me to give the roster a try and sold me on the players. So I was like, ‘Okay, I will give it a shot.’” nexa believes he could have made it work with the lineup he was given before motivation issues took their toll on the team. Weeks after the RMR event, OG announced that Valdemar ‘valde’ Bjørn Vangså and Nikolaj ‘niko’ Kristensen had been given permission to explore their options. Their replacements, Maciej ’F1KU’ Miklas and Adam ‘NEOFRAG’ Zouhar, should give OG’s team a jolt. The pair, aged 19 and 21 respectively, are eager to showcase their talent in a big environment after shining in Europe’s tier-two for AGO and SINNERS. “We just needed to add some grinders, people who play CS 24/7 and live the game,” he explained. “People who want to prove themselves and show they are the best in CS, who are willing to put in more work and basically just want to win. “I’m really happy to have them because when you bring in younger players they can motivate everyone around them. You see how much effort they’re putting in and how they’re bringing new ideas and perspectives.” Different visions The arrival of two new faces signals the start of a new chapter for OG’s CS:GO team, which now has in Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski the only remaining player of the original lineup when the famed Dota 2 organization entered the game in December 2019. Over time, OG have gone from being a team made up mostly of tried-and-tested players to one that offers a platform for young talent to prove their mettle. In a May 11 interview with Dexerto, valde said that he did not agree with this change in direction and that OG’s ambitions had stopped matching his own. Such comments present quite a contrast to the optimism that nexa exudes about the new lineup. But even though he outlined the need to bring in hungry players, nexa stressed that he has no criticism for the departing duo. “It’s definitely not something directed at them,” nexa said of valde and niko. “I just think the motivation in general was really low. It really didn’t feel like we wanted to win. It just felt like we were there along for the ride.” There was a sense of disappointment in the CS:GO scene when OG announced F1KU and NEOFRAG as their new players. Days earlier, rumors had been swirling about the team’s alleged interest in Virtus.pro’s Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis and Complexity’s Justin ‘jks’ Savage — two far more experienced players and with much stronger pedigree. “If we could bring YEKINDAR, we would have done it,” nexa said. “There would be no reason not to do it. But it was not on the cards. It was not really an option. “We did consider jks, but it really didn’t feel like he was that much into joining us. I think he was waiting for better offers, so it didn’t work out with him.” Facing criticism This interview took place during the esports convention hosted by Teleperformance in Lisbon on May 27 to celebrate the launch of the company’s €1.2 million esports arena. OG attended the event to take part in a showmatch with MIBR that had over $50,000 on the line. Fifty Shades of Manager 😄 ⠀ and our first victory with the updated roster in sunny Lisbon 😎 pic.twitter.com/iLGAGz9zFD— Vladyslava 💃🏻 (@Vladyslava_Z) June 1, 2022 There could hardly be a stranger setting for nexa, who not too long ago was a regular in the biggest tournaments in the world. Six months earlier, he was part of the G2 Esports team that played the grand final of PGL Major Stockholm in front of a rapturous crowd (and for over 2.5 million viewers online). Now, he was playing a showmatch with barely any spectators on site (or at home), trying to work his way back to the top alongside four players who have never even been to a Major. “I don’t really think too much about it,” nexa said. “I feel like I’m way more relaxed and with less pressure. When I was with G2 playing all these events, it felt like I didn’t see my apartment for three or four months at a time. “It was just playing tournament after tournament. I could not get my head straight. Something was happening all the time. I could not remember how many days we had been on the road, how many practice days we had had. Everything was a blur. “With OG, I have been able to find a breather and recollect my thoughts. This is where my journey has led me and this is what I have to work with. I’ll do my best to make it work.” For nexa, leading a young, hungry team represents a golden opportunity to bring his stock back to its old positioning and prove his critics wrong. A May 1 article from HLTV.org titled “What is wrong with OG?” assigned much of the blame for the team’s poor results to nexa’s “loose, simplistic style”, which, it argued, wasn’t setting some players, like niko and Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan, up for success. valde appeared to suggest as much himself when he said that, after the team went past the honeymoon period, “it didn’t work”. nexa is implementing some role changes to better fit the skills of his players, with NEOFRAG set to become the focal point of the team while flameZ takes a backseat. However, he stressed that he will stay true to his convictions and his philosophy as an in-game leader. “It is my style, my identity as a caller,” he said. “It really relies on my players performing. If they’re not putting in numbers, no matter what style you play, you’re going to lose. “I will stick to doing what I know. I will not try to change myself or play a style that doesn’t suit me or make me comfortable. I will keep doing things the way I’ve been doing them. Hopefully it will work out. The coaching staff and OG believe in me.” After defeating MIBR 2-0 in their first match with hardly any preparation time, OG will now turn their attention to the BLAST Premier Spring Final, which will also be held in Lisbon. The team will have little over two weeks to form chemistry, but they have proven in the past that they can defy the odds during honeymoon periods. “Maybe it will take us some time to be competitive, maybe we will be competitive instantly,” nexa said. No matter how things turn out, nexa says he will have no regrets about pulling the trigger on these changes. Now begins a new cycle for OG, one that he hopes will lead to a maiden appearance at a Major after the Stockholm and Antwerp heartbreaks. “I guess for OG third time will be the charm, right?” he said. “Let’s hope so. “On paper, it looked like our previous lineup was stronger, but I feel that we have a better chance of getting to a Major with this lineup.”

nexa confident OG can “make damage” in lead up to Rio Major despite slump Joao Ferreira for ESLOG have had a rocky few months. Between missing the Antwerp Major and roster changes, there’s been some glimpses of brilliance — and some howlers. Despite the ups and downs, captain Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isakovic is confident they can make the Rio Major, and even cause some damage. DreamHack Melbourne was a tournament to forget for OG. Coming in as hot favorites, the European squad couldn’t get anything going down under as they fell victim to Entropiq before being upset by Chinese minnows Wings Up Gaming in the Group A Decider. They failed to make the playoffs, leaving the stage — and the country — dejected. Not one to make excuses, nexa said the team took on full responsibility instead of pointing to the factors of jet lag or stage nerves. However, he did say one thing, and that was the team’s jam-packed schedule, even over the player break, left them exhausted. “We ran out of energy,” he simply put to Dexerto. “It wasn’t just the travel. We had a bootcamp right as the season started then we played the RMR qualifier then we played BLAST. We were on the road for 32 days straight up to here, so it took a toll on us. “It’s not to make excuses — we played terribly this whole tournament. You may think there’s some worrisome signs off the back of this tournament but we know why we played badly, what the issues were, and how to fix them for next time.” It’s that positive outlook, finding something out of nothing, OG is leveraging as they push towards the Major. The squad has had mixed results out of the player break. They clawed their way into the second European RMR for the Rio Major through the first Open Qualifier, and then found an uptick of form at BLAST Premier Fall Groups. Having those results bookended by a blow-up at Roobet Cup before the roster changes, and DreamHack Melbourne after, isn’t the greatest look. It also comes after missing the Antwerp Major by one game with a loss to Eternal Fire. The team is adjusting to a new dynamic with 60% of the roster changed in just weeks, and there’s something exciting about the new blood. “With the change of Degster for mantuu, the team dynamic is way different,” nexa explained. “The one thing we gain with Degster is he has a lot more energy when playing. He’s animated, hyping up everything. There are some things we lost though and we’re trying to make up for it and implement new systems. “F1KU and Neofrag are also very green so there’s been a lot of team bonding and getting to know each other, getting to know their playstyles and what they like to do and using them in the best way I see fit. “I can also see areas where I can improve myself and help them improve and draw out more of their own potential because there are some maps where everyone is comfortable but there are others where everyone is sketchy. There’s work to do, but the good thing is the vibes are good. Everyone is eager to play and learn and that’s a really positive thing.” It’s all part of the OG project nexa was put at the helm of at the start of 2022. The former G2 Esports IGL gave the existing roster six months to make it work with the old foundation. It was evident it wasn’t going to, and he shifted the team into a different direction to find a more synergistic fit — even if the players didn’t hold the same name value. “We had some more stable, experienced players and a foundation was set. I was coming into that and trying to do what I could with the team I had and seeing if that roster could work. What I told OG when I joined was I can work with this team for six months and reevaluate and see if we can keep going or not. “The change came from me wanting to play with younger, hungrier players that will speak to me more, that want to play the game more — they’re passionate about it and want to prove themselves. “Now with my role as the most experienced guy on the team, everyone is looking at me and is comfortable with coming to me and speaking to me about what they want. I feel comfortable in that role, comfortable knowing I’m an open person and they can always come to me and ask whatever is troubling them, even outside of the game like a big brother figure.” It’s the sea change nexa needed at this point of his career too. Being a young IGL on a veteran roster clashed with the hierarchy. Now he’s the veteran IGL on a young roster, and there’s a better flow in the server. The 25-year-old needed to gain some control and steer a team in a direction, and now he’s finally realizing that dream with this second reckoning of OG. “It’s helped me gain confidence in myself, my calling, and as a player as well. They come to me for advice and I know whatever I tell them they take it as the truth and try to do it that way. “Previously in G2 or in the previous iteration of OG, I was the young guy — especially in G2. As the IGL it’s not always easy to gain respect with older players than yourself, so right now I have this power and confidence that whatever I say, these guys have my back no matter what and they’ll follow through.” The question for OG from here though is do they have enough time before Rio to shore up everything? With the Major approaching in a couple of months and the RMRs kicking off, OG has a sprint ahead of them to reach the biggest stage in CS:GO. Given they were out of energy at DreamHack Melbourne, there’s not much time to recoup. They have shown glimpses of brilliance too. OG’s runs at BLAST are a testament to that — both before and after the roster swaps. According to nexa, the team plays better on the bigger stages, “with a lot more energy and confidence”, compared to the lower-stakes events. “We showed it at BLAST how animated everyone was — we were fist-bumping and screaming even though it was a studio event, giving it everything we got. In contrast to [DreamHack Melbourne], we’re playing on stage in front of a crowd and we’re just dead inside.” It’s just about finding the click to really kick things off: “I know we can challenge any team in the world right now. We have the firepower, we are tactically sound. We know how to beat every team and it’s just about this one thing that clicks for us. “Once it clicks and everyone is on fire with a lot of energy and we just start speaking to each other — it’s not dead in the comms — we actually play some really good CS. If that clicks and we play at the same level we did at BLAST, I could see us making some real damage at the Major.”

Nexa assures G2’s LAN buff “is real” as team reach PGL Major semifinals João Ferreira/DexertoWith G2 Esports through to PGL Major Stockholm’s semi-finals, Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković confirmed that his team are a completely different beast on LAN. G2 advanced to the semi-final stage of the Stockholm Major with a convincing 2-0 victory against hometown favorites NIP. The win was decorated by an imperious display from Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač, who posted a series-high 1.44 rating. It has been a stunning run from G2 in Stockholm, where they have yet to drop a map after four matches. Such results come in sharp contrast to their poor online form, adding more fuel to the notion that the team is benefitting from a LAN buff. Teams play differently on LAN (Timestamp starts at 4:45 for mobile viewers) When explaining G2’s spike in form at the Major, nexa alluded to the fact that opponents are taking fewer risks on LAN, while his team also benefit from being in the same location. “The LAN buff is real,” he told Dexerto. “We had disastrous results online, but when we come to LAN it’s just different. I feel like all of our players are made to play on LAN, we feed off this energy and the fact that we can fist-bump each other, push each other and cheer each other on. “We just make things way simpler. It’s easier to play on LAN. People are not making the same plays and are not being overly aggressive. They always give you space and there are opportunities for you to win 3v5s, which we have won multiple times. “They have to respect you on LAN because it’s way different. Online, you have the help of the coach, he can speak whenever he wants. It’s a completely different game.” Embracing the villain role As G2 won the first map against NIP, Nemanja ‘huNter’- Kovač triumphantly cupped his hand to his ear and was greeted with boos from the Avicii Arena crowd, who were heavily in the Ninjas’ favor. It was a move that caught everyone by surprise, including nexa himself. “It was funny that he reacted like that,” nexa said. “I’ve been playing with him for many years, and it was the first time I’ve seen him show this kind of emotion. “I knew after that round that Mirage was going to be another comfortable win because the Kovač cousins were on, and it’s very hard for us to lose when that happens.” Nexa also admitted that fighting against the crowd gave his team an extra boost of motivation. “I think we prefer it like this,” he said when asked about being the villains on stage. “I think there’s a special kind of pressure when you’re playing in front of the home crowd and everyone is cheering for you and expecting you to win. “It may have put additional pressure on the guys from NIP. Even though I think we played pretty well, I think they didn’t play up to their usual standard. “It could be nerves, it could be pressure. I think them being the favorites and playing in front of their own crowd kind of added to it, so I’m glad we were in this position where the crowd was against us, it felt like another opponent for us to fight and we were glad to shut them up.” DJ Esports odds: G2 are backed at 1.640 to beat Heroic in the semi-finals Odds correct at the time of writing.

Newly added CSGO Source 2 code has players hopeful for major update soon ValveCS:GO players — it’s time to get your hopes up again. New strings of Source 2 code have been found in a recent Artifact update, and it’s got everyone hopeful that a major update is just around the corner. Source 2 is coming to CS:GO. Or is it? At this point, the project has been greenlit, then reportedly canceled, then put back on so many times it’s hard to keep track. CS:GO’s port to the newer Source 2 engine seemed dead in the water in July, even after speculation earlier in 2020 that it was just around the corner. Now it’s been given a new timeframe of the end of 2021. However, for the first time in almost six months, there’s physical evidence that Valve are still kicking along with the project. New code found in one of Valve’s other titles has given players hope for Source 2 — and potentially a major update in the coming weeks. The CS:GO Source 2 code string was found in the latest Artifact update. Valve data miner ‘GabeFollower’ shared the details on October 22. It was just a one-liner to do with shadows, but to CS:GO players, it’s something. new @csgo source 2 string in latest artifact updatehttps://t.co/VrjSqNXSoD pic.twitter.com/KstxKG6bFt — Gabe Follower (@gabefollower) October 22, 2020 Given there hasn’t been any major changes to CS:GO since 2019’s Operation Shattered Web, any news is good news. However, it’s unlikely one string of Source 2 code is going to spell out a major in-game event. It also doesn’t give players a better understanding of exactly what Source 2 will do for CS:GO. According to Tyler McVickers of Valve News Network, Source 2 isn’t going to impact players too much. In fact, he stated that the game would be “95%” the same after the port. Read more: Source 2 could release by the end of 2021 – “Source 2 still retains that backwards compatibility to Source 1, meaning even if a lot of the core mechanics change, ever so slightly, and upset the competitive side, the casual side — expecting ‘CSGO remade’ — will be disappointed as well,” he told players back in July. However, there will be some changes to how maps and models are created, as well as some bug fixes that come with fixing the old engine. Dota 2 is already on Source 2, while elements of CS:GO like the Panorama UI use the newer engine. We will update you on everything Source 2 as new information arises.

CSGO 2 rumors sparked by NVIDIA update as sequel speculation runs rampant again ValveA new NVIDIA update containing an executable app called ‘CSGO 2’ has suddenly sparked new speculation for a potential Counter-Strike: Global Offensive sequel once again. CSGO reached its 10-year mark last year, and with its age, many players have been claiming the game is in need of a graphical update. Throughout 2022, we saw plenty of speculation of the hit FPS being ported onto Source 2, however, it went cold as no official updates on a potential port were given. Though after a period of silence, it now seems the speculation has picked up once again as new information on a potential port to the new Source engine has surfaced once again. This time, stemming from a new NVIDIA driver update. Did CSGO 2 leak through a new NVIDIA update? Reddit user, u/DAOWAce, discovered in NVIDIA’s latest driver update on March 1 that new game profiles under the name of “csgos2.exe” and cs2.exe” had been added. It was found by just digging through the code of the new driver. Following on, Source modder, Gabe Follower, decided to do some additional digging. The option for “csgos2” now appears in every other NVIDIA driver. And looking back at previous updates, he found the option first appeared sometime in February. Of course, an option in an NVIDIA driver is not solid proof that a sequel or port is coming out in the near future. But it might herald some sort of new update for Valve’s decade-old game. A commenter did point out that rumors of Titanfall 3 and Crysis 4 were also spread through NVIDIA/GeForce driver updates, though neither has since come true. However, Gabe Follower was quick to retort that a whole host of actual games were indeed leaked in the same way. Are there any other games ported into Source 2? Currently, the only Valve legacy title that has been ported onto Source 2 is Dota 2, which was the very first game to be released with Source 2. But a spiritual successor to Garry’s Mod, Sandbox, is being developed with the Source 2 engine for release in the future. Gabe Follower has mostly been leading the charge of porting Valve’s games into Source 2. They infamously worked on an unofficial port of CSGO in Source 2, but were ordered by Valve to stop the development of the project. There are other projects which aim to port other Valve titles, such as Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, and Half-Life 2 into Source 2 in lieu of Valve’s silence. But as of now, there are no official Source 2 ports other than Dota 2.

New NA CSGO league reportedly forming: Astralis, C9 among 12 rumored teams Counter-Strike heavyweights Astralis, Cloud9, and MIBR could all be involved in a circuit-wide defection to a rumored new 12-team North American league set to begin in March next year, according to new reports. According to reports from DBLTap, MIBR owners Immortals and Cloud9 are leading the charge for the foundation of the new NA-based league, which would see three tournaments and a LAN final played out between the dozen teams each season. Each season would run for a month, before breaking into a points-based top eight playoff system. The first final will reportedly be taking place in Europe, and all subsequent seasons are expected to alternate between NA and EU locations. It is expected the B Site league will host two seasons per calendar year, with a total yearly prize pool of $2 million spread across both seasons. The franchise league would have a $2 million cost at the door for ten orgs, which would net teams a place in the league—working title “B Site”—as well as part ownership of the league moving into the future, and for as long as they retain their league slot. Two further teams will be added through qualifying rounds ahead of each season, bringing the total competitors up to a dozen per campaign. According to sources, the two promoted teams would not be involved in revenue-sharing deals. Reports also suggest the B Site league will veer away from ESL and BLAST’s recent revenue-share agreements, which is based on earning fractions. Instead, the league will directly compensate players with a share of just over $1 million. While many Counter-Strike fans have expressed doubts over franchise systems which lock the best global teams away from the rest of the circuit, sources have confirmed there will be no exclusivity locks for the B Site tournaments. Considering the dates are expected to be planned to avoid major circuit events, as well as calendar highlights like Valve’s Majors, there is some expectation from league founders B Site Inc that there will be clashes with the ESL Pro League. Alongside reported league founders C9 and MIBR, reports have also suggested Astralis could be headling B Site’s first season, which correlates with the fact the Danish superteam recently declined to attend ESL’s next Pro League campaign. The current world number ones are far from set in stone for the potential league, however, with Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander rubbishing rumors the team had locked in their 2020 plans as yet, and left the door open for both ESL and B Site. “The Astralis team hasn’t decided anything yet about what league they will participate in,” gla1ve said in response to initial reports, all but confirming the B Site league’s impending foundation. “Could be ESL, could be B Site… it could be true for us, but right now, a decision hasn’t been made from us.” This isnt true at all btw. The Astralis team hasnt decided anything yet about what league they will participate in. Could be ESL, could be B-site. NOTHING is decided for us. https://t.co/AQOW5NYcqn — Łukasz Rossander (@gla1ve_csgo) December 16, 2019 There’s also a small hitch for Cloud9 as they push for the new league — as of publication of these reports, the North American organization has yet to acquire a new roster after their old lineup core’s departure to Gen.G on December 7. There are rumors the championship org is in the process of acquiring ATK’s American roster, including Johnny ‘JT’ Theodosiou, Ricky ‘floppy’ Kemery, and Aran ‘Sonic’ Groesbeek, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet. News Astralis and MIBR may be joining the new Site B league also comes just days after the same two teams confirmed their place among 12 superstar teams for BLAST’s new $4,250,000 Premier League, which is expected to begin in early 2020. They will be joined by global heavy-hitters like Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses, as well as top-tier regulars like FaZe, Team Vitality, Na’Vi, 100 Thieves, and G2, all of whom could potentially join B Site Inc’s new tournaments system as well.

New CS:GO Update Addresses the FACEIT London Major Footstep Bug Valve have released a new update for CS:GO that is small in size but should mean that the ongoing FACEIT London Major is improved massively. One of the biggest stories to come out of the Major’s first week of competition was that numerous players were falling foul of an audio bug that prevented footsteps from being heard. A number of teams and players complained about the issue, both privately and on social media, and the general consensus was that the problem was not being caused on FACEIT’s end, but was instead a glitch in the build of CS:GO being used at the event. “Added a server setting “mp_footsteps_serverside” which is enabled by default and switches footsteps near the player from using a mix of client-simulated and server-authoritative to purely server-authoritative.” Other than the server side footsteps fix, there are no further patch notes for the new update. However, it does look like the Pick’Em game has been updated ahead of the New Legends Stage of the Major. While the fix comes too late for some teams that were eliminated in week one, it will still be a welcome addition when the action begins again on September 12. The New Legends Stage will be the first time that the reigning Major champions, Cloud9, and the seven other returning Legend teams will take to the stage. The first match will see the French side of G2 take on HellRaisers.

New CS:GO Update Addresses Audio Issues Reported by Community Members – May 22nd Patch Notes Another Counter-Strike: Global Offensive update has been released, this time featuring minor bug fixes and audio changes. A major CS:GO update was released on May 21st which introduced a number of significant updates to bomb logic and hitboxes as well as major changes to Nuke. Just 24 hours later, on May 22nd, another update was released. This time, the changes aren’t as spectacular but they’re still important. The main focus of the patch is to address some audio issues discovered by SlothSquadron, a popular community member that regularly gives detailed feedback on and analysis on weapon balance issues and various other in-game issues. Read More: Professional CS:GO Players Tested for Performance-Enhancing Drugs at ESL Pro League Finals – SlothSquadron recently released a video, at the request of Valve, which detailed an audio deadzone bug that affected the M4A1-S and USP-S. Valve were quick to act and they have already fixed the issue by removing the distant firing sound for both weapons completely, meaning they cannot be heard from more than 800 units away (a buff, of sorts). The update also brings a number of other audio changes and minor bug fixes. The full patch notes can be found below. Release Notes for 5/22/2018 MISC – Fixed end of round panel sometimes incorrectly showing defuse with 0.000 seconds remaining for players or bots who joined the server mid-round, even if they didn’t defuse the bomb. – Fixed some broken materials on the Leet Crew character models. SOUND (Thanks to /u/slothSquadron and CSGO community for repro movies and feedback.) – Lowered volume of select ambient sounds in Nuke. – Fixed bug where USP-S and M4A1-S were playing distant versions beyond their max audible distance. – Lowered volume of helicopter sounds. – Lowered DSP effects on Glock and AK47. – Added missing snd_lvl to M4A1 so it can receive DSP effects. – Removed lapping water sound from fountain in Overpass. – Fixed bug where jump landing sounds became silent before their maximum audible distance. – Fixed bug where Cache outdoor reverb sounded like it was indoors. SDK – Fixed vbsp and hlmv tools to correctly handle paths that contain spaces.

New CS:GO skins pay tribute to olofmeister, Stewie2k, n0thing, more CS:GO have announced a new weapon skin case for the 20th anniversary of the popular FPS title and it even includes tributes to some of the game’s top pro players. As the 20th anniversary of counter-strike is approaching, Valve has decided to celebrate the occasion with a new weapon skin case for players to enjoy. Counter-Strike is one of the longest standing esports and the new CS20 case pays tribute to some of the most iconic moments and players that have competed in the game’s two decades of history. The CS20 case offers players the chance to acquire 17 different skins as well as a rare special item, which saw the return of the nostalgic Classic Knife for the anniversary case. Valve also decided to nod towards some of the best plays that were made by pro players in recent years and even based some skins on Jake ‘Stewie2k’ Yip, Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert, and Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer. The Stewie2k-inspired p250 skin, Inferno, highlighted his incredible clutch to bring his team to overtime against FaZe Clan during Cloud9’s win at the Boston Major. The description reads, “But look at the time,” referring to commentator James Bardolph’s words during the intense play. Veteran pro player olofmeister also managed to get a skin of his own in the CS20 collection, which was inspired by his iconic defuse in the flames of a Molotov during ESL One Cologne 2014. The pattern on the weapon mirrors the in-game graffiti which has already made its appearance on Overpass, next to the B bombsite. Former Cloud9 star Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert’s skin was surprisingly not based off one of his many highlights but rather on his skills out-of-game, noting his efforts in creating the hilarious Flashbang dance. The Flash Out Tec-9 skin was based on the aesthetic of the current flashbang, with the description reading, “Regarding dance lessons with Jordan (n0thing).” Many other skins in the collection also have tributes to other aspects of CS:GO and its culture with references to the classic “Rush B” command in the description on the Classic Crate skin. One Reddit user has explained the meaning behind all of the new skins. Other Counter-Strike maps such as Aztec and Assault have also inspired some of the skins in the CS20 collection. The latest update has also seen the newly remade map Cache introduced to servers after much demand from fans.

New CSGO skins accused of stealing art for AWP and M4A4 in Revolution case Steam WorkshopThe newest case of skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has sparked controversy, after it was alleged that at least two of the skins have used stolen artwork for their designs, including one from a very popular YouTuber, Vexx. CS:GO weapon skins are most often created by talented and creative community members, who submit their designs to the Steam workshop. Those that gain particular popularity within the community and/or catch the eye of Valve, will then be selected to feature in a new case or operation. Such was the case with the latest case, the Revolution case added on February 10, which features striking and colorful designs for the game’s most popular weapons, including the AWP, the M4A4, and the AK-47. AWP Doodle Lore and M4 Temukau accused of stolen artwork It is the former of these skins that have sparked drama in the CSGO skins community. All designs submitted to the Steam workshop must be the sole creation of whoever uploads it, as well as any named collaborators. The skins in question are the AWP Doodle Lore and the M4A4 Temukau (see images above). Both feature vibrant designs, with the anime art on the M4 a particular favorite. However, the creators of these skins have been accused of either copying the art, or at least taking a little too much inspiration from existing art. In the case of the AWP, it was discovered that popular YouTuber and artist Vexx had created a very similar dragon design to what is seen on the weapon skin. Vexx himself has responded, and is filing a DMCA claim. “Welp… my art got stolen for a brand new skin on CSGO,” he tweeted. The case of the M4A4 Temukau is a little more complicated. The disagreement is over the female figure that appears on the weapon, as well as other skins that the creator has uploaded to the Steam workshop – although these are not officially in the game. Fellow skins creator Danidem made the claim public on Twitter, accusing the M4 creator, f0rnez, of “cheating his way into the CSGO Steam workshop.” However, f0rnez has responded, confirming that while he did take direct inspiration from existing anime artworks, the final product on the weapon is his own work. He spoke at length on a stream with CSGO Twitch streamer OhnePixel, showing his original illustrator files with the layers. This was challenged again when a ‘hair tutorial’ image was found with almost identical hair to that of the character on the weapon skin. While some argue this is too close to other artworks, some have taken the skin creator’s side, arguing that anime art is often very similar in its features, and that it is a very commonly used pose for characters. Will the skins be removed from CSGO? No – skins are not removed from CSGO as players have spent money on them. What happens next, depends on two parties: Valve, and the artists behind the original work. In the case of the AWP Doodle Lore, it appears Vexx is already in the process of filing a DMCA claim to Valve. This would likely force their hand into redesigning the skin, or making it contraband – although this is unlikely. In the past, skin designs with stolen artwork have made it into the game, such as the infamous M4A4 Howl. Valve banned the creator, had to change the design, and made the skin ‘contraband’. This limited its supply, and made it one of the most expensive skins in the game as a result. When this happened again, this time on the M4A4 Griffin, Valve simply redesigned the skin instead, and did not make it contraband. This could be for a number of reasons, but probably because the skin was already in high supply, and they wanted to avoid a repeat of the Howl situation. If Valve makes skins contraband again, it could even encourage users to upload stolen art, hope it is accepted, and then stock up on the skin before it is made contraband, profiting in the process. For context, the cheapest M4A4 Howl is at least $2,000 today. As of now, the Doodle Lore has been replace by the AWP Duality. All traces of the Doodle Lore has been removed from the game, and all existing Doodle Lores has been replaced with the new skin.

New CS:GO Skill Groups sticker capsule includes awesome secret features – November 14 patch notes Valve have released a brand new Sticker Capsule as part of the November 14 patch for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, including some stickers that hide awesome secrets. The sticker pack is called the ‘Skill Groups’ capsule, and features nine designs. All nine will be available in the paper version of the sticker, and all but Silver and Global Elite will have a Holo decal variant. These two will be released as a Foil edition. The Skill Groups capsule stickers highlight the various different skill levels players can be ranked at when playing the game’s matchmaking mode, such as Silver for low ranked players, and Global Elite for the game’s top players. The stickers have been designed by a community artist named Daniel ‘daniDem’ Lucanu, who took to Twitter to reveal a cool surprise hidden in the stickers. While collectors will be clamouring to get their hands on these new items, Lucanu shared that if players use the in-game ‘scrape’ feature on the new stickers, most of them have a secret layer underneath, essentially giving you a second version of the same sticker. DaniDem used the Master Guardian Elite sticker as an example of this, showcasing the different stages of the process, as the helmet featured turns into a gasmask, and the AK-47s on either side change into M4A1 rifles. Most of the stickers have a new “”secret”” when you scrape them – I’ve updated them from the ones you can find Workshop. I’m not going to post more, I’ll let the content creators do their thing for this! — Daniel D. Lucanu (@TheDanidem) November 15, 2018 Sticker collecting has become a major part of Counter-Strike Global Offensive since the ability to place them on your weapons was introduced during an update in February 2014. Since then, players have been able to acquire various different designs based on different aspects of the game, along with special team and tournament stickers made available to support players and organizations who are competing in CS:GO Major events. The Skill Groups Sticker Capsule is available to purchase right now from the Steam Marketplace and from the in-game store on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Release Notes for 11/14/2018 Skill Groups Sticker Capsule – Introducing Skill Groups Sticker Capsule featuring 9 designs from community artist daniDem. Misc. – Ammo panel hides burst and bullet icons in “simplified” mode. – Game icons hud (bomb / hostage icons) respects cl_drawhud and cl_draw_only_deathnotices. – Human players now go through the death sequence when they disconnect, dropping their items instead of taking them with them into the ether. Server operators can disable this feature with the convar mp_disconnect_kills_players 0. If you find a way to abuse this feature to get extra items / money in Competitive, please send an email to CSGOTeamFeedback@valvesoftware.com with the subject “Player disconnect exploit”. Maps – Added loading screen credits for Biome and Subzero. SUBZERO: – Stability fix for client precipitation rendering – Simplified B Upper – Made floor in Vent flat – Made pit brighter – Mid entrance for T’s narrowed – Widened Mid – Improved clipping – General optimizations

New CSGO Operation Shattered Web goes live 910 days after Hydra A new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive operation almost three years in the making has been released today, titled Operation Shattered Web, bringing new skins, maps, missions, and major balance changes to the game. Operation Shattered Web has come out of nowhere on November 18 to stun Counter-Strike fans across the globe, bringing new playable content to CS:GO for the first time in almost three years. Operation Shattered Web will feature weekly missions, which can be completed in any of the game’s matchmaking game modes, which allows players to earn in-game rewards tied into the new set. Introducing CS:GO’s ninth Operation, available now: Operation Shattered Webhttps://t.co/jEtiqv30Nz — CS2 (@CounterStrike) November 18, 2019 Five maps are being added for Operation Shattered Web. Norse, St. Marc, and Canals will be joining the lineup during the event, each coming with their own collection of skins. Danger Zone map Jungle, and low-gravity map Lunacy will also be getting added. An operation case will also be getting released, which contains completely new knife designs. The Operation Shattered Web case has a chance of dropping the new Paracord Knife, Survival Knife, Nomad Knife, or Skeleton Knife. Alongside the new maps and weapon skins, a whole new skin type will be coming to the game. Players will now be able to unlock Shattered Web Agent skins, giving the Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists a new look on the battlefield. While they still stick to the battle-hardened dress theme, it adds a bit more personality and flare to the characters who have served Counter-Strike players for over 20 years. On top of the new content, old content is being updated with the new patch. The SG 553 – also known as the Krieg – is receiving a long awaited nerf, with its price being increased back to $3000. On the other hand, the FAMAS and Galil AR will be neglected no more. Both rifles are the weakest weapon of that type on both CT and T-sides respectively, but they will find a new place in the meta with their price being reduced by $200 each. This means the FAMAS will now cost $2050, and the Galil will only set back Terrorists $1800. The operation is expected to run for at least 16 weeks, giving players plenty of time to play around with the new content and collect as much as they can from the new skin collections. The Operation Shattered Web pass will set players back $14.99 USD, but will include access to all missions and exclusive content over the 16 weeks, making it a worthwhile investment if you are expecting to play CS:GO while it’s live.

New CSGO Operation Broken Fang revealed: Skins, maps, rewards, more ValveA full year after the launch of Shattered Web, a new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Operation has been deployed. Broken Fang brings new maps, Agents, rewards, and plenty more. Here’s everything you need to know. In typical Valve fashion, the biggest reveal for CSGO in quite some time has dropped out of nowhere. There was no teasing this one as the developers made the shocking announcement with a brief video and a blog post on December 3. Similar to Operation Shattered Web, which dropped over a year ago, there’s a ton to sink your teeth into here. From weekly missions to a variety of new cosmetics, and even a stat-tracking tool. There’s plenty to entice newcomers along with some intricate features to satisfy veteran players. One of the biggest Operations in the game’s history, Broken Fang comes with a whopping seven maps as well. Here’s a full breakdown of everything you need to know. CSGO Operation Broken Fang maps Headlining the surprise announcement was the unveiling of seven new maps. Previous updates have provided a few new areas to explore, but this is the largest addition since 2017’s Operation Hydra. The primary map on display is ‘Ancient.’ This grimy looking map appears to feature a mix of wide-open areas along with some tight corridors for close-quarters action. It’s set in the middle of a jungle with half-broken buildings covered in moss, implying this site has been abandoned for quite some time. Outside of this core map designed for competitive play, there are five community maps included in the Broken Fang update. These can be played across a number of unique modes. Some will take you to the snowy alps while others will drop you inside museums. Below is a look at each of the new community maps. CSGO Operation Broken Fang rewards It wouldn’t be a new Operation without a ton of fresh cosmetic items to unlock. Thanks to returning weekly missions, you’ll be able to choose the items that you acquire first. Whether you prefer new weapon skins, stickers, or even unique Agents, it’s up to you what order you decide on. There appear to be 20 new Agent skins on offer in this update. Some look fully equipped for battle with protective armor, while others are a little more casual in their approach, dropping in with clown masks and suits instead. Moreover, there are many new weapon skins to comb through as well. Almost everyone weapon has a new look to try out in Operation Broken Fang, and of course, you can further customize everything with an assortment of new stickers. CSGO Operation Broken Fang stats One of the biggest new additions with the Broken Fang update is the ability to track your statistics in-game. Everything is now automatically tracked for the Operation, meaning you can dissect individual weapon stats, performances across the new maps, and everything in between. Read more: CSGO Player Ditches ENCE for Military – Rather than having to rely on a third-party site, this is now all possible in the game itself. You’ll be able to break things down in all-new ways to truly analyze your playstyle and improve along the way. Operation Broken Fang is available to download in CSGO right now.

New CSGO map Anubis could be joining Active Duty Pool in coming weeks ValveJust two weeks after being added into the game, Anubis could be finding itself in CS:GO’s competitive map rotation, replacing either Mirage or Vertigo. Anubis was added into CS:GO at the end of March, however, it could soon be making its way to the big stage. Rumors are circulating that Anubis could replace one of the pre-existing competitive maps — Inferno, Train, Mirage, Nuke, Overpass, Dust II, and Vertigo — and that it’s coming soon. According to former Ukrainian CS:GO pro Arsenij ‘ceh9’ Trynozhenko, Anubis could be making its way to the Active Duty Map pool in a matter of weeks. It comes after Anubis was moved into the ranked map pool after just a week of being live on official servers, and two weeks since being added into the game. Chlorine, which was added at the same time, remains available in Scrimmage mode only. Valve has pushed a number of updates to Anubis in recent patches. The community-made map had some lighting and texture issues, although these have slowly been ironed out as time goes on. The video below is in Russian. Anubis’ addition into the active duty pool — which is used at all Valve-sponsored Major tournaments — will come at the cost of one pre-existing map. It’s believed one of either Mirage or Vertigo will have to make space for the new map. Mirage is the only map in CS:GO history to have 24/7 up-time in the Active Duty pool. Since 2012, Mirage has been available in every tournament, from grassroots level to Majors. Vertigo is the polar opposite. It joined the Active Duty pool just 12 months ago, and has only seen play at one Major — StarLadder Berlin 2019. Vertigo has undergone some big changes in recent patches though, and Valve might be looking at tinkering with it further. Anubis moving into Active Duty is all speculation, for now. Until Valve comes out saying the map pool will be updated, nothing can be expected to change. With six months between now and the Rio Major, making changes now would be optimal so teams can adapt to the new maps. We can only wait and see.

New CSGO game mode reportedly coming after June 10 update ValveCSGO data-miners have reported that a new official gamemode could be on its way, after hidden files found in the June 10 update pointed towards official retake servers going live. CS:GO hasn’t received a new game mode since Danger Zone, the Valve tactical shooter’s spin on a battle royale, came out in 2018. While the game is constantly updated with new maps and skins, there’s not much in the way of entirely new playable content. However, that could change in an upcoming update. Hidden files found in the June 10 patch point towards a new game mode joining the roster, although it might come as a surprise to players. According to Reddit user ‘Forest_Technicality’, official retake servers could be joining the official matchmaking list down the line. The Redditor spotted files on both Mirage and Inferno — both of which were updated in the June 10 patch — that seemingly confirm it. Firstly, a set of “togglable barriers” named “retake.asite” and “retake.bsite” were shipped onto both maps. These barriers are similar to the ones used to convert regular 5v5 maps into Wingman 2v2 arenas. “Currently these barriers are disabled by default and there is nothing in the map that can enable them, likewise there are no associated spawn entities to go with these clip brushes,” they said. It’s likely more functionality to automate the process will be added in the future. “A retake gamemode would require its own script file, but there is not one present in the map or in the script folder of the CS:GO directory,” Forest added. Community retake and execute servers are a popular way to warm up before jumping into official matchmaking. It’s also a fun little way to jam in a few rounds without many time constraints. Having official servers will also improve the quality of games, from a server perspective at least. “Finally a retake server that isn’t hosted on garbage servers that I can just queue into and not wait for the full servers to be open,” said one Reddit user. Forest also found a new arena on Mirage by no clipping off on A site to outside the bounds of the map. It’s unclear whether this will be used for Wingman or 1v1 warmups, or something else. The June 10 update shipped a host of changes to CS:GO’s most popular maps to help improve player visibility. A new “boost player contrast” setting was also added to help make character models easier to detect at range.

New Cloud9 CSGO team stun caster with impossible round Cloud9’s newly acquired Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster is wasting little time trying to make a statement to the rest of the North American scene, rendering the caster unable to believe what he saw during a DreamHack qualifier match. Some of the best moments in CSGO require no explanation, but sometimes, that’s only because it’s impossible to provide any explanation at all. The sudden rise of the new roster for Cloud9 is hard to explain as well, as the former mystery men of ATK have catapulted themselves into contention for the next great North American roster. On January 12, Cloud 9 positioned themselves for another all-day qualification run, staring down an eight-team single-elimination tournament with a single spot at DreamHack Leipzig on the line. Awaiting them if they triumph are the new rosters of Virtus.Pro, Renegades and MAD Lions, the newly rebranded North, and others. C9 started their qualifying run against Triumph, a relatively unproven US team that had to fight through the open qualifiers to make the closed qualifier tournament. Unfortunately for them, they struggled to triumph against the opponent, even with superior equipment. Ian ‘motm’ Hardy came flying out of double doors, laying out an unprepared player with a vicious Deagle headshot. That kill looked like it would only be a consolation prize for a lost round, but Josh ‘oSee’ Ohm doubled up with two more Deagle deaths. “What in the world was that? Holy s**t that was incredible,” the caster remarked, before motm got his hands on an AK and hit a nutty shot through the smoke to clutch the round. The performance of the two C9 twenty-year-olds caused the caster’s pitch to skyrocket as the NA squad won. The momentum of that round carried C9 into a strong first half lead, eventually taking the first map on Dust2 by a score of 16-10, and pushing themselves closer to yet another tournament qualification by taking the series 2-0 over Triumph. With a 16-10 on Dust 2 & 16-11 on Overpass, #C9CSGO take the #C9WIN vs @TriumphGamingGG and advance to play vs @Complexity in ~1 hour! #GGWP pic.twitter.com/MBazxQUnKs — Cloud9 (@Cloud9) January 12, 2020 After they signed their contracts, they went right to work proving themselves in the IEM Katowice NA qualifier, earning a spot at the IEM Championships without dropping a single series, and picking up wins over the new “NA juggernaut” in Complexity, and the established Brazilian veterans in MIBR. They will meet Complexity again in the semifinals of the DreamHack Leipzig NA qualifier. With a victory over them, C9 would be one more series away from qualifying for their second major tournament in less than a week.

New Astralis coach ave to guide team at BLAST Premier Fall Final AstralisAlexander ‘ave’ Holdt, Astralis’ newly appointed CS:GO coach, will make his first appearance with the team at the BLAST Premier Fall Final, Dexerto has confirmed. The 33-year-old was installed as Astralis’ new CS:GO coach on November 4 as a replacement for Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen, who is leaving the organization at the end of the year. In the announcement, Astralis said that ave would join the team “soonest possible”, raising doubts as to whether the new coach would be with the team at the BLAST Premier Fall Final. Contacted by Dexerto, the Danish organization confirmed that ave will be part of Astralis’ squad for the event, where Benjamin ’blameF’ Bremer and Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke will also make their first appearance with the team. Ave returns to coaching This is ave’s first coaching stint since April 2019, when he left North after two years with the organization. Initially hired as an analyst and academy team coach, he took charge of North’s main team in early 2018, guiding them to victory at the DreamHack Open events in Tours and Valencia, and at DreamHack Masters Stockholm. The 33-year-old was widely regarded as one of the finest in-game leaders in CS 1.6. He played alongside zonic on the iconic mTw lineup that dominated the scene in 2008, when it won KODE5, ESWC Masters of Paris, World eSports Masters, and World Cyber Games. Read more: Bubzkji in talks with Astralis over future – Astralis will take on NIP in their opening match at the BLAST Premier Fall Final, on November 24. There will be debutants on both sides as NIP will be playing their first match with Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen, who was signed from Complexity after the Swedish team crashed out of PGL Major Stockholm in the quarter-finals.

FMPONE shows off new artwork from CSGO Cache rework ValveThe creator of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Cache map, FMPONE, has shared another teaser on their rework that shows a small bit of the new map. The Active Duty CS:GO map Cache was removed from the Competitive pool on March 29 and replaced by Vertigo. It may have been a long time coming for the old version of Cache, considering its use in competitive play had seen quite the decline. The Cache rework has been hinted at by its creator FMPONE for quite some time, with an update on May 21 that showed some sweeping changes still needed to be made, and now they’ve thrown out another teaser for the reworked map. What’s the newest leak? FMPONE changed their Twitter header on September 9 to an image that appears to be from the reworked Cache map currently in development. But the designer didn’t share an update on the map’s progress, so we don’t know any more about how far along the rework is other than what has previously been shared, like in the June 24 update. The latest screenshot from FMPONE shows some graffitti next to a tree, neither of which were present in the original map. It’s unknown if this is a preview of what the rest of the map could look like, but it is a significant change from the old, industrial Cache we all know and love. It could be the map is being updated to show how time has affected Cache in the years since it’s release in 2012, but until the map actually drops we won’t know for sure. When will the new Cache be released? In previous updates to the game, maps like Inferno and Mirage were reworked quite a bit to allow for things like new grenade spots, as well as better takes and holds on bombsites. Read More: The newly reworked Cache will probably get a similar treatment, but so far we don’t have enough information about what changes are coming or even when the new map will be released. Even though there’s no confirmed time frame for when fans and pro players can expect to jump back into Cache, it’s likely we’ll have to wait until the end of this current Major cycle, which wraps up on September 8, before Valve changes the map pool again.

Neon Rider V M4A4 skin revealed for CSGO: How much will it be worth? Puffin (Steam) / CS.MONEY To commemorate the five-year anniversary of the iconic Neon Rider skin, artist Puffin has released the Neon Rider V skin for the M4A4. Together with CS.MONEY, we take a first look at the design, and how much it might be worth. CS:GO’s virtual trading market revolves around community input for the vast majority of cosmetics. With a chance to showcase your artistic talents in-game on offer, there is plenty of competition for community-made skins. Should a skin be accepted, Valve offer creators a sizable chunk of change to subsidize them for their efforts — although the Counter-Strike developers have remained tight-lipped about the exact figure. Perhaps one of the most iconic skins to come from the community is the Neon Rider, created by Puffin. First introduced for the MAC-10 as part of the Chroma 2 Collection, the Neon Rider’s bold appearance is now a staple in most player’s inventories. Puffin released an AK-47 variant of the skin as part of the Horizon Collection in 2018, which has been seen in the hands of big names like Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev and Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz. In honor of the skin’s five-year tenure as one of the most iconic cosmetics in Counter-Strike history, Puffin has released an M4A4 edition of the skin. How much will M4A4 Neon Rider V be worth? First and foremost, the skin is yet to be confirmed to appear in-game. So as usual, if you like the look of Puffin and Sir’s handiwork, you can cast your vote on the Steam Workshop. It is likely that the skin’s rarity will match both the MAC-10 and AK-47 variants, therefore placing it as a Covert skin — which will automatically render it as one of the more expensive items in the case. While there are a number of variables to consider when determining the price of a skin, an M4A4 skin of this stature will likely come in at a similar price point to the AK version to begin with. Today, the T-side variant of the Neon Rider will set you back around $90 (USD) for a Factory New version and around $320 for a Factory New: StatTrak™ iteration, per CS.MONEY. Although, with a little more backstory and lore tied to this skin for the fifth year anniversary, it is unlikely that there will be such a steep depreciation in value following release for the M4A4. Speaking on the Global Offensive subreddit, Puffin delved into how the skin came to be.“We released the first Neon Rider in 2015 and it was our first item to get accepted, allowing us to become part of the CS:GO workshop community. “So five years later, it seemed fitting to release the next chapter. This was a [collaboration] with Sir, another workshopper who also worked on the Neon Rider IV.” With that mind, the Neon Rider V: Vengeance would be the perfect addition to Rifle cosmetics — given that highly coveted M4A4 skins are few and far between, compared with its M4A1-S counterpart!

NBK takes shots at Team Vitality teammates after getting benched DreamHack / StarLadder / Twitter: @kiocsgooThe French CSGO veteran Nathan ‘NBK’ Schmitt is not happy about being benched by Team Vitality after the StarLadder Berlin major, and he’s making that clear on his Discord channel. Team Vitality entered CS:GO almost exactly a year ago, and have had plenty of success in that time. The French squad had an excellent summer, with championships at cs_summit and the ECS finals, and high finishes at ESL Cologne and IEM Chicago. They arrived to the StarLadder Berlin major as championship contenders, but after a less-than-stellar start and finish to the major, Vitality made the decision to move NBK to the bench. And he doesn’t appear to be happy there, as indicated by messages on his Discord channel. “I don’t wish them bad things, but I don’t wish them good things either,” he wrote. “They’re dead to me already.” NBK revealed he wasn’t really on good terms with the Vitality guys, but pointed out that Alex ‘ALEX’ McMeekin, Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire, and coach Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam specifically were the ones making decisions, and that Mathieu “ZywOo’ Herbaut and Cédric ‘RpK; Guipouy “are just following what’s happening.” NBK is clearly unhappy on the bench, as he’s found himself in an all too familiar situation. He spent months on the bench of G2 Esports before finally getting released and signing with Team Vitality in 2018. It’s evident he’s not looking to spend too much time on the bench, as he’s added “get me out” to his Twitter bio. NBK offered a preview for what happens next in his career, saying “I’ll land on my feet and beat the French teams per usual.” This could be an indication that he signs with an international roster, or he’s just expressing frustration towards the current French scene. He offered a more complete promise on Twitter: “I heard the news few hours ago, so I have not much to say tonight. But I’m far from done. I’m gonna have to flex tomorrow, find an international team and remind why I am in this position, and then we’ll get back at fighting for the top positions! See you tomorrow“ I heard the news few hours ago, so I have not much to say tonight. But I’m far from done. I’m gonna have to flex tomorrow, find an international team and remind why I am in this position, and then we’ll get back at fighting for the top positions! See you tomorrow :victory::skin-tone-2:— Nathan Schmitt (@NBK) September 7, 2019 For Team Vitality, they will need to find either a permanent or temporary fifth player very soon, as they will be participating at BLAST Pro Series Moscow in just a few days. In their roster change announcement, the team did say they will reveal further details about their future in the coming days.

NBK reveals bizarre mustache as forfeit for hitting charity goal nbk_csgo/hulkhogan (Instagram)OG CS:GO pro, Nathan ‘NBK’ Schmitt, has stuck to his guns by fashioning his facial hair into a ‘horseshoe’ mustache after hitting his charity donation goal while live on Twitch. NBK is one of the most decorated French Counter-Strike players of all time. Having represented the likes of Team Envy, G2 Esports and now OG Esports, the popular pro has showcased his talents on numerous rosters. However, the 25-year-old CS:GO star has taken his talents out of the server and poured them into his Twitch stream. He completed a charity stream from January 17-18 in collaboration with WildlifeWarriors, as part of a campaign to raise money following the devastating Australian bushfires. While completing his two-day stint on his Twitch channel, Schmitt has kept his promises as he has reached each milestone — even smashing the Aussie tradition of a ‘shoey’ out of the park on his way. NBK’s audience didn’t stop there. Having soared past €2,000, he soon hit €2,500, meaning that his Twitch chat could fashion his mustache into a shape of their choosing. Of course, the French pro stuck to his word. During the reveal, he gradually removed the towel from his face until he unveiled what the internet had created — a tash shaped into the iconic ‘horseshoe’ beard akin to WWE superstar, Hulk Hogan. Since he has completely clean-shaven the remainder of his face, the French pro went full throttle to fulfil his promise to his fans. Alongside setting some bizarre forfeits for achieving his donation goals, NBK has also pledged to give away a bunch of OG merchandise, including one of their team jerseys. Schmitt is well on his way to achieving his €20,000 target, having surpassed €7,400 (placing him at almost 40% of his goal) at the time of writing. Since the stream will run through until January 18, be sure to head over to NBK’s Twitch channel to show your support for a great cause.

NBK responds to criticism of Vitality’s ‘disrespectful’ ESEA CS:GO Global Challenge performances CS:GO player Nathan ‘NBK’ Schmitt has explained his squad’s actions at Sunday, July 14’s ESEA Season 31: Global Challenge, explaining that they originally wanted to forfeit their spot in the tournament but weren’t allowed. Team Vitality are recognized as one of the best CS:GO teams on the planet, and currently sit above teams like Astralis, ENCE, and NRG Esports in the world rankings. Despite coming into the match as favorites, they fell to a defeat at the hands of FURIA on July 14 at the ESEA Season 31: Global Challenge, and appeared to be messing around with strange weapon choices and unusual map picks throughout the tournament. During their match with FURIA, star AWPer Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut swapped his trusted sniper rifle for a wide array of weapons, including the Zeus x27, opting to instead let Cédric ‘RpK’ Guipouy use the sniper instead. The Zeus x27 is a stun gun, and while it can kill enemies in one shot as Nicholas ‘guerri’ Nogueira found out, it’s extremely rare to ever see it used in a game. ZywOo’s odd purchasing habits didn’t end there, with the Frenchman buying a PP Bizon SMG when Vitality had enough money for a full buy, instead opting to use one of the game’s weaker weapons during their contest with the Brazillian squad. Michael ‘dapr’ Gulino used the opportunity to compare ZyWOo’s decision with the opinion of Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, tweeting: “S1mple saying to be consistent you have to play 100 percent every single game, then you have ZywOo running around with the bizon on full buys on lan. Which god do I listen to?” s1mple saying to be consistent you have to play 100 percent every single game then you have zywoo running around with the bizon on full buys on lan which god do I listen too — dapr☆ (@daprcs) July 13, 2019 As to why they behaved in the way they did, NBK explained that Vitality didn’t want to compete in the tournament in the first place, and wanted to forfeit it, but were not permitted to do so. “We weren’t allowed to forfeit this tournament otherwise we would lose the EPL slot too,” wrote the Frenchman on Twitter. “Sad situation but now we are fully focused on Chicago and will give it our all there.” We weren’t allowed to forfeit this tournament otherwise we would lose the EPL slot too. Sad situation but now we are fully focused on Chicago and will give it our all there, fully focused and ready to play our best CS Out of the tournament 3/4th, cya Thursday :punch::skin-tone-2: — Nathan Schmitt (@NBK) July 14, 2019 While some may have found their antics funny, many fans were not happy with Vitality’s performance across the weekend, with many claiming that they planned to report Team Vitality for match-fixing or throwing, and describing Vitality’s attitude as “unprofessional.” Others leapt to Vitality’s defence though, with journalist and Reddit user /u/neLendireckt explaining that because Vitality have played lots of events between qualifiers, Summit ECS and ESL One Cologne, and then had to fly to America to compete at this tournament against their will. On top of that, Vitality have been forced to qualify for almost every competition they’ve entered this year, meaning they’ve played more games than almost any other team in the competitive scene, leaving them with little to no time-to-rest and recover. NeL finished with: “If preparing for Chicago means playing casual so you can relax and have fun before starting to travel and (compete) again, at an event you are forced to play in, is it that bad? You can say what they did was clumsy, maybe a bit dumb, but saying they are not professional is just not knowing the obligations they have all year long. Whether Team Vitality will face any repercussions from ESEA or Valve for their actions remains to be seen, but it seems unlikely given that they were still able to beat teams like Party Astronauts and Team Spirit using the same methods earlier in the competition. The French squad will be back in action later this week, when they take part in the IEM Chicago 2019 tournament, which kicks off on July 18.

NBK reveals why he’s leaving the French CSGO scene to play international DreamhackNathan ‘NBK’ Schmitt, wildcard of the #OMENChallenge and current CSGO free agent, spoke to Frankie Ward and Dexerto in London about the unique competition and his future plans. For ten years, the Natural Born Killer has operated solely in the French CSGO scene. Since the inception of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, NBK has played for every prominent French team that has entered the scene: Titan, LDLC, VeryGames, EnVyUs (before they became Team Envy), G2 Esports, and lastly Vitality. But after an extensive run in the French scene that netted him two major titles, the 25 year old is moving on to international waters, and is very excited by the prospect, as he told Frankie and Dexerto. “I’ve been in the French scene for 10 years..dealing with all of that. I’m going international, I want to try something new.” NBK was part of the original Vitality lineup that was announced when the organization formed in 2018. He is the first player of theirs to move on, after he was benched at the conclusion of the StarLadder Berlin major. NBK did not respond positively to the roster change. He hinted on his Discord channel that there was friction between him and certain players. He promised he would “beat the French teams” no matter where he goes next. And on his Twitter biography, it reads “Benchwarmer for @TeamVitality (get me out I wanna play).” NBK revealed that he’s had his eyes set on an international move in the past, but remained in the French scene: “I was ready to go international last year before Vitality happened, and now I’m very excited to go in that direction and make something happen.” Featured: Check out Dexerto’s coverage of the OMEN Challenge “I don’t want his advice, I’ll play worse” :joyful:@FaZeNiko tells @getfrank that he doesn’t want @Ynk’s help with 1 v 1 practice at the #OMENChallenge w/@OMENbyHP pic.twitter.com/948LAdnUDi — DEXERTO.COM (@Dexerto) September 20, 2019 NBK was unable to offer any breaking news or updates on either who his new teammates could be or what organization he’ll play under, but did mention that he has “good plans.” NBK’s next move comes during a highly anticipated post-major roster shuffle. Not only are highly valued free agents like coldzera and aleksib available, but teams like Dignitas, 100 Thieves, and compLexity are looking to go all in with brand new rosters.

NBK fires shots at G2 Esports after Team Vitality’s cs_summit 4 victory – Tournament final placements DreamhackFrench CS:GO pro player Nathan ‘NBK’ Schmitt took aim at former team G2 Esports following Team Vitality’s victory at cs_summit 4 on Sunday, May 26. The tournament, held in Los Angeles, California, saw six of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams in the world battle it out for a share of the $150,000 prize pool, with the French squad coming out on top. For NBK, victory at cs_summit 4 was a sweet moment, following a 2018 which saw him spend much of the year sitting on the bench for G2 Esports. NBK played a significant part as his Team Vitality squad took down some major international talent on their way to the cs_summit 4 trophy. NBK takes aim at G2 Esports Following their victory, the entire Team Vitality squad sat down with hosts Henry ‘HenryG’ Greer and Jason ‘OnFireMoses’ O’Toole to discuss their win, when HenryG asked NBK what the victory meant to them. NBK’s response was a simple but clear dig at former team G2 Esports, replying: “First off, it means don’t fucking bench us.” The Frenchman was almost certainly referencing the decision made by G2 to bench NBK and Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire from the team in favor of Richard ‘shox’ Papillon and his vision for the future of G2 CS:GO. While G2 owner Carlos ‘ocelote’ Rodriguez states that he has “no regrets” regarding the decision, Team Vitality – led by the men he benched – have outplaced G2 at the IEM Katowice Major, and now secured a tournament victory on international soil. Team Liquid come up short again While Team Vitality clinched victory at cs_summit 4, it was another heartbreaking runners up medal for Team Liquid – their third of 2019. Team Liquid were viewed as heavy favorites heading into the grand final, but were swept by the French squad 2-0. ENCE, who were also viewed as contenders to secure the cs_summit 4 crown, finished in 3rd-4th position with NRG Esports. Ghost Gaming and Renegades were eliminated in the group stages, with the Australian organization failing to secure a single victory in the five-match group stage. You can view the full final placings from the six-team invitational tournament below.

NBK announces CSGO return with MOUZ: “Success is coming” MOUZTwo-time CS:GO Major champion Nathan ‘NBK’ Schmitt is making a return to competition with MOUZ after a brief Valorant stint. The 27-year-old has joined MOUZ on a free transfer following the end of his contract with OG, whom he had signed for in December 2019. After struggling to find a new team following his benching by OG, NBK announced in June 2021 that he was pursuing a career in Valorant, stating that it was “time for a change.” He began grinding Valorant and even took part in the BLAST Spike Nations #2 for Team France alongside his former CS:GO teammate Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub, but as time went on, he started to have second thoughts about his decision. “There were opportunities in Valorant, I practiced a lot in Valorant with teams,” he said. “But there was always some element missing to really be where I want to be. “At this point in my career, I really want to be in a place where I believe in everyone and in winning trophies more than anything.” Joining MOUZ NBK brings with him a wealth of experience, having played for some of the best French CS:Source and CS:GO teams of the last decade. He has won multiple international titles throughout his career, including two CS:GO Major championships, DreamHack Winter 2014 with LDLC and DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 with Envy, also making HLTV’s top 20 player ranking every year between 2013 and 2015. On MOUZ, NBK will find a team in need of a fillip following the departure of star player Robin ‘ropz’ Kool to FaZe earlier in January. He is the second addition to the squad in the off-season after Hungarian AWPer Ádám ‘torzsi’ Torzsás was promoted from the academy roster to replace Frederik ‘acoR’ Gyldstrand. 2021 was a rough year for MOUZ, with a first place in Flashpoint 3 one of the few bright spots. They crashed out of PGL Major Stockholm in 12th-14th place and ended the year with a last-place finish at IEM Winter. Read more: ChrisJ leaves MOUZ CSGO after eight years – The arrival of a player who has been inactive since May will certainly be viewed with suspicion by some fans. But NBK noted that his track record speaks for itself. “Every single one of my teams has been successful,” he said. “The worst was probably reaching No.6 in the world. “Success is coming. It’s just a matter of when it will come. I have no doubt that this is going to work.” MOUZ CS:GO roster: Christopher ‘dexter’ Nong – David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský – Aurimas ‘Bymas’ Pipiras – Ádám ‘torzsi’ Torzsás – Nathan ‘NBK’ Schmitt – Dennis ‘sycrone’ Nielsen (coach) – Frederik ‘acoR’ Gyldstrand (benched) –

Nawwk addresses consistency issues: “I really believe in myself to fix them” Patrick Strack/NIPIn an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Tim ‘nawwk’ Jonasson opens up about the time he has spent on Ninjas in Pyjamas’ bench and his mental health struggles last year. When NIP told him that Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz was being signed, nawwk took the news in stride, even though it meant that he was about to tread on unsafe ground. Options are very limited in the Counter-Strike scene at the moment. The barriers to entry for new organizations are considerable, and many of the teams that are involved in the game are still counting the costs of a global health crisis. Player transfers are becoming increasingly rare, so the road back to the top for a player who has been benched – even for a marquee name like Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub – can sometimes be arduous and long. It has now been almost five months since nawwk played his last official match — a 2-0 defeat to Gambit in ESL Pro League Season 13 —, and he still doesn’t know when he will hit the stage again. Last week, NIP announced that they will entertain loan offers for the AWPer in an attempt to encourage interest in the player. “When I got benched, I kind of expected that it could be difficult to find a new team quickly due to multiple reasons,” nawwk told Dexerto. “The biggest reason is that COVID is still around, and buyouts are difficult in this era.” nawwk joined NIP in January 2020 at the tail end of a transition period for the Swedish team, who were parting ways with Counter-Strike legend Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg, the last remaining member of the Ninjas’ iconic 87-0 lineup, which dominated CS:GO during the game’s infancy. We’ve allowed @nawwkcs to explore loan options for the rest of the season. Contact me directly or @GLHF_Agency if you’re interested in getting some motivated firepower on board! — Jonas Gundersen (@jonasgundersen) August 18, 2021 A rising talent who had shown promise during his time with GamerLegion, nawwk had bursts of greatness but also sudden collapses while with NIP. His erratic form often came under criticism as the meta dictated that the vast majority of top teams had to play around a reliable star AWPer. Looking back, nawwk wishes he paid closer attention to his body. Last year, he was out for almost a month after showing signs of exhaustion — which he describes as the “worst moment” of his time on the team. “It led to a medical leave and to some incredibly poor performances.” “I still feel like one of the main reasons for not being that consistent has been my health overall,” he added. “Before, I could sit inside for days without going outside for some fresh air. I’d just play all the time and magically think that I would get better by just playing aimlessly. After a while, you just hit a wall. “In my opinion, you have to be happy in real life to have the best performance in CS. Some people are probably not going to agree with me, but that is fine. It’s different for every person. “But I’m not going to sit here and just blame it all on my health and say that I’m a perfect player, because I’m not. Not even close. There are things that I can definitely improve in the game. “I’d say that I need to take more initiative and have more impact during games. There are some games that I have rewatched and just thought: ‘What was I doing?’” nawwk has spent the last four months playing FPL games — which he oftentimes streams — to stay in shape while he waits for his next chance to prove his worth. He has a new routine now and claims to be better equipped to cope with the challenges that come with competing at the highest level. “My biggest strength would probably be my individual skill,” he said. “Even though my biggest problem has been consistency, I still really believe in myself to fix that. One hell of a 1v5 ACE from @nawwkcs That 4th kill though😳 pic.twitter.com/r6HCDC7hxK — FACEIT CS2 (@FACEITcs) May 24, 2021 “Something that I noticed in my last event with NIP was that watching that extra demo really helped instead of just playing Deathmatch or pugs. “Even though you have to play a lot to keep that individual skill up, sometimes it’s better to just enjoy a demo before bed.” Still hungry nawwk’s hopes of landing a new team took a hit last month when fnatic announced the end of their long history of all-Swedish CS:GO rosters with the signings of British duo Alex ‘ALEX’ McMeekin and William ‘mezii’ Merriman. Transfer deals between NIP and fnatic were not an uncommon event in the past, but that door appears to be slammed shut now. Asked if fnatic’s decision has made it harder for him to find a new home, nawwk replied: “Of course.” He added: “But you also have to see it from their perspective because there aren’t that many talents to keep a Swedish roster at the moment. So I respect their decision.” As the months roll on, the uncertainty surrounding nawwk’s situation only increases. Many players in a similar predicament have transitioned to VALORANT or, at the very least, entertained the thought of kick-starting their career in Riot Games’ first-person shooter, but his resolve seems unshaken. He still wants to prove that he can be a success in Counter-Strike. “I haven’t really set a timetable for finding a new team,” he said.” CS is still the game I’m dedicated to and passionate about. “At the moment, VALORANT is not interesting for me. Maybe in the future, but I doubt it.”

Na’Vi’s Zeus announces surprising news about his CS:GO future DreamhackNatus Vincere’s Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko has revealed to HLTV that he doesn’t have much time left in his professional gaming career. The former Major winner has come under plenty of criticism in the past year for Na’Vi’s struggles at tournaments, despite the team winning four events in 2018. Even though the team is third in the HLTV world rankings and finished second at the FACEIT London Major, Na’Vi’s shortcomings at events has been regularly highlighted by critics. They recently crashed out of IEM Chicago with a 13-16th placing and finished 5-6th at the ESL Pro League finals. In a wide-ranging interview, the Na’Vi in-game leader spoke to the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive stats website about a number of topics, including a reflection on the past year for the team whilst also speaking about his own future and the future of star player Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev. “As it stands, in 2019 I plan to end my career as a player,” Zeus told HLTV. “More likely towards the end of the year, maybe the middle, I’m not sure yet.” Zeus’ exit from Na’Vi may also be the point at which s1mple departs, too. The Counter-Strike prodigy has been of interest to many teams over the past year as he continues his dominance as one of, if the not the best, players in the world. There had been rumours of him joining MiBR when the Brazillian roster lined-up changes to their team but they instead went after Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip. Once the upcoming IEM Katowice Major comes and goes, a period of Counter-Strike rostermania is sure to set in. With FaZe Clan looking to replace recently-benched Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen, s1mple could join up with former teammate Ladislav ‘Guardian’ Kovacs. “It’s always a possibility because he’s one of the best players in the world, maybe even the best,” said Zeus. We will see come the end of the year. It will be his decision to make. There’s a chance [that he leaves], yes.”

NAVI’s s1mple to miss start of BLAST Premier Fall Groups João Ferreira/DexertoThe Ukrainian organization has announced that Oleksandr’s1mple’ Kostyliev will miss the start of NAVI’s campaign in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups due to personal reasons. NAVI will be playing the first stage of the tournament with academy member Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov, who traveled to the team’s bootcamp location ahead of the event after s1mple’s availability had become uncertain. On August 13, NAVI’s fans went into panic mode after s1mple posted an Instagram story that contained the following message: “Big announcement soon”. That raised fears that s1mple could take a break from the game – something he had hinted at prior to the off-season. In that same interview, however, s1mple noted that “the most important” thing was to stop FaZe from winning the Intel Grand Slam. NAVI have seemingly allayed such fears by stating that s1mple could return in time for the knockout stages, which begin on August 25. The Ukrainian organization will continue monitoring the player’s situation and will provide an update in due course. Who is headtr1ck? headtr1ck is perhaps the most exciting prospect in NAVI’s youth set-up at the moment. The Ukrainian player, 18, has been with NAVI Junior since August 2021 after being promoted from the youth lineup. In April, he played three matches for NAVI’s main team at ESL Pro League Season 15 after Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov returned a positive test ahead of the event. He averaged a 0.97 HLTV rating as NAVI beat AGO, Evil Geniuses and Complexity in the group stage of the tournament. NAVI will play their first match in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups on August 20 against Complexity in the first round of Group B, which also includes G2 and Team Liquid. None of the 12 teams in attendance will be eliminated in the first stage, with their group results determining their position in one of the three single-elimination gauntlet brackets.

NAVI’s BLAST Premier victory was about much more than a trophy João Ferreira/DexertoNAVI won their first title of 2022 last weekend at the BLAST Premier Spring Final. It was a crucial title for the Ukrainian team, which has endured a turbulent first half of the year. When NAVI’s first match at the Tejo Hall in Altice Arena came to an end, disappointment was etched on the faces of each and every player. The team had just lost to OG and now stared elimination in the face on the opening day of the BLAST Premier Spring Final. The outlook was grim. Even if NAVI moved past BIG the following day, a third-place finish in the group meant that they would have to meet either FaZe — the reigning Major champions and world No.1 — or G2 Esports in the quarter-finals of the event. s1mple had had a quiet game by his lofty standards, putting in a 1.03 HLTV rating across the best-of-three series after struggling on Mirage and Ancient. The day before, he had said that he hoped the team’s preparation for the event would see them reach the playoffs. At the same time, he had hinted at taking a break from the game, having been worn down by the nomadic life he has been forced into since the beginning of the war in his home country of Ukraine. That caused panic among NAVI’s fans, not least because it was followed by a disappointing performance from the Ukrainian star. Was this an omen of things to come? And then, like many times before, s1mple flipped the switch and returned to being the dominant player he’s known to be with a range of highlights that went from the absurd to the near impossible. There were KQLY-esque jumping headshots. There were ScreaM-like AK-47 one-taps. There were crazy Desert Eagle frags, AWP double kills and pistol clutches. It was a classic s1mple tournament in its purest form as the Ukrainian delivered performance after performance, turning opponents into rag dolls and elevating his teammates with him in the process. As NAVI dispatched FaZe in the quarter-finals, everyone began predicting the ending — with the Ukrainian team stepping onto the stage as BLAST Premier champions again to the sound of roaring fans. The grand final, after NAVI had exacted revenge on OG the previous day, ended up being a one-sided affair where NAVI outdid Vitality in every possible department. “It means a lot,” coach Andrey ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskiy told Dexerto after the event. “We didn’t expect it to be so easy to win this event.” They deserve it all 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆@s1mpleO @electronicCSGO @b1tcs @somedieyoungCS @perfectocsgo @Navi_B1ad3 @natusvincere #BLASTPremier Spring Final WINNERS pic.twitter.com/nzc3jtbdx2 — BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) June 19, 2022 Instrumental to the team’s success, s1mple made history as he took his MVP medal tally to 20, eclipsing NIP’s Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz and widening the distance between himself and Vitality’s Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut, who has 12 medals to his name. The French AWPer, s1mple’s biggest rival for the past three years, has not been able to hit the same heights in 2022 as Vitality have struggled to make their international roster click. Picking up the pieces In the Altice Arena stands, there was a collective feeling of relief among NAVI personnel as they watched the final play out. They knew how important the match, and the tournament, was for the team after a nightmare few months that had upended their lives and shattered their hopes of establishing an era. “When the war started we were mentally destroyed,” s1mple said, adding that the team “lost to ourselves” in the ensuing weeks and months, with the Russian players allowed to return home, while the Ukrainians hopped from place to place. Then the Boombl4 case unfolded. Merely weeks after PGL Major Antwerp, NAVI announced that the Russian player and in-game leader was being removed from the team, citing “high reputational risks for the club”. The decision was tied to his wife’s apparent support for the war, which had landed Boombl4, and consequently NAVI, in hot water. The organization saw no choice but to remove the player, the team’s caller since late 2019. The BLAST Premier Spring Finals was an opportunity to test B1ad3’s belief that NAVI’s system is bigger than any one IGL and that Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov could be plugged into the role fairly seamlessly. There were fears that the Russian player’s impact would suffer as a result, but he quashed that narrative with an impressive 1.25 HLTV rating in Lisbon, the second-highest on the team. It’s still early to make a judgment on whether electroNic’s IGL potential is indeed higher than Boombl4’s, but the first signs are incredibly positive – which also speaks to B1ad3’s coaching prowess. His robust system is bearing fruits with another man at the wheel (the third after Zeus and Boombl4), and there is nothing to suggest that, under his wing, electroNic cannot become one of the finest callers in the game. More important than his performances, Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev’s presence in Lisbon restored some sense of calm to the team after the turmoil of recent events. This was the first tier-one tournament victory of his career, and the team wanted him to appreciate the moment in its fullness as they allowed him to be the first to lift the trophy on stage. The Ukrainian player certainly did enough to warrant another shot at IEM Cologne, though questions remain about his fragging ability as NAVI look to reclaim the throne that they occupied at the start of the year. Dreams come true. pic.twitter.com/odeXRPcwqe — 🇺🇦 Viktor Orudzhev 🇺🇦 (@somedieyoungCS) June 19, 2022 For that to happen, NAVI will need a motivated and inspired s1mple, and the team’s victory in Lisbon will go a long way to reigniting a fire in him that had started to flicker out. The Ukrainian has his eyes set on knocking FaZe off their perch and preventing them from winning the Intel Grand Slam prize. “We were thinking about this, how if we won this event he would definitely play in Cologne,” B1ad3 told Dexerto. “He has also said that he wants to be in Cologne, to not give confidence to FaZe.” The race for the IEM Cologne title has been blown wide open by the latest LAN tournaments. FaZe are looking a far cry from the team that dominated the circuit in the first months of the year, while NAVI and Cloud9 have suddenly emerged as genuine title contenders, boosted by their recent victories. Read more: xQc blown away by s1mple’s BLAST dominance – Belief is a very powerful energy, a vital intangible ingredient that can tear down barriers and lead to great things. Time will tell if NAVI will go on to achieve lasting success. But for a team that appeared to be on its last legs and on the verge of losing its star player, what it accomplished last week was everything it needed to stay the course. And that is far more valuable than a trophy or a cheque. “I think we are fired up,” B1ad3 said. “When you’re winning like this you feel additional power.”

NAVI’s biggest flaw exposed again | Richard Lewis reacts at IEM Katowice Despite a resurgence for the CIS region, Natus Vincere missed their opportunity to capitalize at IEM Katowice 2021. Losing to their opposition, Gambit Esports, in a match-up that left many fans questioning if s1mple & co. will ever live up to their potential, Richard Lewis breaks down the team’s biggest flaw: a lack of tactics. While he believes many will see this as a huge shock, he thinks that it’s obvious CIS has had a lack in player talent for about two years. With new, younger talent coming into the scene, teams are able to plug the holes in what was lacking within their plays. Teams like Virtus.pro, Team Spirit, and Gambit are all stepping up to the mark. Evidently, this is the case, as Gambit shone, and Lewis thinks they will continue to carry on proving themselves. Ultimately, though, Na’Vi fell flat. For Richard, a revisit to the tactical drawing board is very much overdue, with so much top-tier talent on the team going to waste. For all CSGO news, stay tuned over at our dedicated main page.

NAVI to play with sdy at BLAST Premier Spring Finals PGLNAVI have announced that they will attend the upcoming BLAST Premier Spring Finals event with Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev as a stand-in. The former Team Spirit and MAD Lions player will fill in for Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov, who was removed from the starting lineup on May 28 due to what the organization described as “high reputational risks for the club”. This is understood to be a reference to controversial social media posts made by Boombl4’s wife in which she appeared to show support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We’re ready for the #BLASTPremier Spring Finals 2022 and here is info about our line-up. 📰: https://t.co/K7VUcypIFV#navination #CSGO pic.twitter.com/IqXcSpZi7I — NAVI (@natusvincere) June 3, 2022 Dexerto revealed on May 31 that NAVI have been monitoring the situation of Virtus.pro benched player Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov. For a move to come to fruition, however, the Kazakhstani player will have to be released from his contract as NAVI refuse to conduct business with Virtus.pro, a Russian organization with alleged Kremlin ties. In response to the article, Virtus.pro issued a statement in which they rejected the possibility of letting any of their players leave “unless a proper fee is paid”. Who is sdy? sdy, also known as somedieyoung, is a Ukrainian player who burst onto the international scene in 2018 as part of Team Spirit. He attended a number of international events with that team, including the CS:GO Majors in London (2018), Katowice (2019) and Stockholm (2021). In November 2021, he found himself on Spirit’s bench as the team underwent a rebuilding process after a series of mixed results. Two months later, he was transferred to MAD Lions, but his time there was short-lived: in April, OverActive Media shut down the CSGO team – a decision that came amid the release of the company’s financial results for 2021, which included a net loss of $15.4m, compared to $5m for 2020. sdy will make his NAVI debut on June 15, against the new-look OG side in the opening round of the BLAST Premier Spring Finals’ Group B, which also includes BIG and ENCE. According to NAVI, sdy could remain with the team beyond the event in Lisbon depending “on his performance in the upcoming tournament.” It remains unclear who will be leading the team after Boombl4’s removal, but NAVI COO Alexey ‘xaoc’ Kucherov told Dexerto that there is a strong possibility that Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov will be the new in-game leader. NAVI’s BLAST Premier Spring Finals roster: Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev – Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov – Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy – Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy – Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev –

NAVI to debut new CSGO team in special showmatch against Vitality BLASTNAVI’s new CS:GO team will make its first appearance in a showmatch against Vitality with special rules in place. The showmatch, dubbed ‘Match of LeGGends’ by betting company GG.BET, will be played on July 8 at 6 pm CET (10 am PT). Both teams will be debuting their new rosters, though they will be also exchanging players to mix things up, adding another layer of excitement and unpredictability to the match. Vitality made one change to their Major-winning lineup, replacing veteran Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen with Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan. The Israeli rifler was one of the most sought-after players on the market after announcing last month that he was exploring his options. NAVI have not yet announced their lineup for the new season, though the Ukrainian organization has registered Aleksi ’Aleksib’ Virolainen, Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan and Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius for the BLAST Premier Fall Groups, confirming the changes that have been reported in the media. The incoming trio will replace Andrii ‘npl’ Kukharskyi, Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov, Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy. The latter two have been linked with Cloud9 in one of this off-season’s biggest moves. The showmatch will be broadcast in English on NAVI’s Twitch channel and in Ukrainian by Maincast. According to GG.BET, there will be “giveaways and surprises” for CS:GO fans.

NAVI star s1mple gives IEM Cologne medal to fan Helena Kristiansson/ESL Gaming via ESPATNAVI prodigy Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev has given away his IEM Cologne runner-up medal — to a fan in the crowd. NAVI finished runners-up to FaZe in the ‘Cathedral of Counter-Strike’ after a five-map thriller that had a peak viewership of almost 1.25 million people, according to statistics website Esports Charts. s1mple received his second-place medal from George Woo, Esports Marketing Manager at Intel, after the game. He quickly removed it and glanced at it. Shortly afterward, he tossed it to a fan standing in front of the stage. In an interview with HLTV.org, s1mple denied that the gesture was born out of frustration. “I’m just traveling all the time with my bag, and I don’t have a place for the big DHL MVP,” he said. “ And this medal is… too many medals inside this bag, you know, I need to save them for home.” With the loss in the grand final, s1mple’s hopes of stopping FaZe from winning the Intel Grand Slam were dealt a significant blow. FaZe are now one tournament victory away from scooping the $1 million prize, and could become the fourth team to claim the prize — after Astralis, Team Liquid and NAVI — in early October, at ESL Pro League Season 16. NAVI’s players will now enjoy what is set to be a short break before the new campaign begins on August 19 with the BLAST Premier Fall Groups. In the coming weeks, the Ukrainian organization is expected to make a decision on the future of stand-in Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev, who has replaced Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov in the starting lineup.

NaVi SHOCKINGLY Bad | Richard Lewis Reacts @ ESL Pro League DexertoNatus Vincere surprised a lot of people with their early exit from the 2021 ESL Pro League, and according to Richard Lewis it’s partly because the Ukrainian esports org is “all out of ideas.” ESL Season 13 is moving to the playoff stage, with play-in matches set to fill the remaining brackets starting on April 8. Facing S1mple and Na’Vi won’t be a worry for the other teams though, as they were unceremoniously eliminated 2-0 by Complexity in the first round of the bracket. With S1mple, who Lewis and quite a few others consider the best CS:GO player in the world right now, all Na’Vi needs to succeed is a good framework to let him go to work. The problem is, they just don’t have one, and head coach Andrii ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskyi could be partly to blame. “It’s not even there’s not enough talent on the roster,” Lewis explained. “But, for whatever reason, there’s this taboo in the CIS region about saying Blade is a bad coach. Well I’m going to underline it again today, because they’ve limped out of the tournament, and they nearly didn’t make it this far.” Na’Vi should be doing “infinitely better” based on the talent they have available as well. But with the team showing no real improvement or progression, something will have to change if S1mple and the gang want to get back on top.

CSGO: Na’Vi’s s1mple hints at big decision after BLAST Moscow StarLadderAfter a last place finish at BLAST Pro Series Moscow, the Natus Vincere superstar Oleksandr ‘s1mple‘ Kostyliev hinted on Twitter that a big decision is looming. Prior to the grand finals of BLAST Moscow, the tournament participants and crowd came together to deliver a fond goodbye to the retiring Na’Vi in-game leader Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko. While his in-game career unfortunately ended on the wrong side of a knife via NiP’s Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund, Zeus got to deliver a beautiful goodbye speech in his native language to close out the BLAST showmatch on September 14. “All I can say – chase your goal, your dream. And never give up. I love you, thank you so much,” he tweeted. It was a thorny path, rich on different emotions during these 20 years, but u always were near, keep supporting and love me. And i’m eternally grateful, my friends. All i can say – chase your goal, your dream. And never give up. I love you, thank you so much#navination @ZeusCSGO pic.twitter.com/d5HdBD9Tcd — Natus Vincere (@natusvincere) September 14, 2019 For Zeus, the 31-year-old heads off to green pastures. But Na’Vi now has to answer some big questions, and the pressure is on to make the right decisions, as indicated by their star player s1mple on Twitter. “Time to rethink everything and make the right decision,” he said. This BLAST event in Moscow was not the beautiful ride off into the sunset that the team expected for Zeus. After a rough start on day one with a loss to MiBR and a tie against ENCE, they followed up a bad day with an abysmal one, losing all three maps on the second day to AVANGAR, forZe, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. They lost the showmatch to NiP as well. Na’Vi have been going slightly downhill since the FACEIT London Major. They lost in the grand final in London, lost in the semis in Katowice, then lost in the quarterfinals in Berlin. Their record at BLAST events has gotten worse too: In 2018 they got 1st at Copenhagen and 2nd in Lisbon. This year they finished 5th in Madrid, 4th in Miami, and now dead last in Moscow. While local fans were disapoointed not to see Na’Vi in the grand finals, they got a more-than-acceptable consolation prize in an all-CIS final, as both forZe and AVANGAR each picked up three wins to make it to the final. These teams were originally slated to face each other in a Play-In just to make it to this event, but Team Vitality pulling out allowed both squad to attend the event in Moscow. Read more: BLAST announce $4,250,000 BLAST Premier 2020 – To a world class player such as s1mple, it has to be frustrating to see your team get worse and worse results. It hasn’t been all bad; they won StarSeries Season 7 in April, and they still have their Legends spot at the next major. But it’s possible that Na’Vi has to attend that next major without their star player, if he’s unhappy with the direction of the team. Right now the competitive CS:GO scene is standing on the edge of a diving board, waiting to dive into one of the largest available player pools that’s ever been seen after a major. Some teams are looking to make a couple swaps, some teams are starting over fresh, but the two weeks between the end of BLAST Moscow and the start of ESL One NY are guaranteed to have some massive changes.

NAVI reveals new CSGO roster ahead of switch to CS2 NAVINAVI has revealed its new CS:GO lineup full of European talent as the Counter-Strike scene prepares to switch to CS2 this year. NAVI revealed its new CS:GO roster after a flurry of offseason moves hit the esport during the player break. The squad is now a mix of European talent supporting their core of Ukrainian players in superstar Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev and youngster Valerii ‘b1t’ Vakhovskyi. As Dexerto has previously reported, NAVI has moved on from Andrii ‘npl’ Kukharskyi, Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov and Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy. Perfecto and electroNic were a part of NAVI for about three and six years respectively. Both players were a part of the team’s PGL Major Stockholm 2021 championship run. The two are now linked to join Cloud9. npl, however, was a relative newcomer to the main NAVI roster as he was called up from NAVI Junior in late 2022. The organization has decided to field a mixed roster with Finnish IGL Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen, Romanian rifler Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan and Lithuanian rising star Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius. NAVI showcases new CSGO lineup Aleksib is a veteran in-game leader who has bounced around multiple top-tier European squads since making a name for himself with ENCE. He was last with Ninjas in Pyjamas after a short stint with G2 Esports. Despite his relative success with ENCE, he has failed to live up to the high expectations his reputation provides, and will be aiming to find that success again with NAVI. iM and jL are newer tier-one players, with both making their name thanks to stellar performances at the BLAST Paris Major. iM placed second with GamerLegion at the event and was one of the top players at the tournament where he put up a 1.35 HLTV rating. jL competed with Apeks at the same tournament and helped the squad to a top-four finish. The new NAVI roster comes as teams are looking to bolster their squads for the second half of the 2023 season and the switch to CS2 on the horizon. There has been no word from Valve on when the switch to the new game will happen exactly. Players and fans still do not know if the next Major, IEM Sydney 2023, will be played on CS2 or CS:GO. Fans will be able to see how this new NAVI roster will operate as the squad is set to debut at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023. NAVI’s roster is now the following: s1mple – b1t – Aleksib – jL – iM – Andrij ‘B1ad3’ Ghorodensjkyj (coach) –

NAVI release s1mple documentary about the CSGO legend’s rise to greatness Natus Vincere have released a documentary charting the incredible journey of CS:GO phenom Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, who has been with the team for five years. Everyone has a different view of s1mple. No matter what he does in the game, the Ukrainian prodigy has been a divisive figure throughout his career. His maniacal obsession with winning and being the best has only grown more vigorous with time, and the demands he puts on his teammates have led to tension in every team he has been a part of. The different views about s1mple set up the premise of “s1mple formula” – a nearly two-hour-long documentary that focuses on the player’s rise to stardom, from his early beginnings as an emerging talent winning 1v1 competitions in Kyiv to his current status as one of the all-time greats fighting for top honors with NAVI, his team since 2016. Interviews with insiders Sentinels’ Valorant player Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin, who affectionately calls s1mple his “little brother”, NIP’s Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz, renowned esports analyst Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields, and many others offer valuable insight into the life and career of the Ukrainian prodigy in the documentary, which has an English version dubbed by Tres ‘stunna’ Saranthus. NAVI have announced that they will host a Twitch watch party for the documentary on September 8 at 11am CT (5pm BST) together with help of LA-based NFT trading startup DMarket. Registered viewers will be able to win both virtual and physical items, including a NAVI jersey autographed by s1mple himself.

NAVI release flamie after six-year association ESLNatus Vincere have announced that they have allowed Egor ‘flamie’ Vasilyev to explore his options as a free agent. The 24-year-old Russian had been on the organization’s books since May 2015. flamie will still play for the organization’s academy team, NAVI Junior, in the second season of the WePlay Academy League. He will use this opportunity to pass on his knowledge to the team’s young players and to get back into shape while he searches for a new home. The news marks the end of flamie’s six-year association with NAVI, having joined the famed organization in April 2015 after a successful trial period. He lost his spot in the team’s starting lineup to Valeriy ‘B1T’ Vakhovskiy in April after a period in which the pair were rotated as part of a six-man lineup. Since then, NAVI have won three big international events (DreamHack Masters Spring, IEM Cologne, and ESL Pro League Season 14), establishing themselves as the undisputed No.1 team in the world ahead of the 2021 Major. In a statement, NAVI COO Aleksey ‘xaoc’ Kucherov explained that the squad’s new-found success and the penalties imposed by Valve on teams that substitute out players in the Major circuit convinced the management to release the player from his contract. “Taking these factors into consideration, as well as Egor’s contribution to the development of the team and the club in general, we decided to give flamie the status of a free agent so he doesn’t come across possible restrictions for his further development,” xaoc explained. “Despite the fact that Egor is a NAVI veteran, he is young, motivated, experienced, and has fantastic aim. These characteristics are definitely demanded in ambitious teams.” Rise and fall During his time with NAVI, flamie won several international tournaments and picked up two MVP medals (ESL Pro League Season 2 Finals and Dreamhack Open Leipzig 2016). He also made HLTV’s Top 20 player-of-the-year ranking twice, in 2015 (No.14) and 2016 (No.12). While he started strongly with NAVI, his influence faded as the years went on and he became the target of constant criticism. Andrey ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskiy, NAVI’s head coach, revealed in an April interview that pressure had gotten to flamie and that the efforts to make him comfortable in the game again had proved fruitless. “Additional work and involving a psychologist haven’t been of much help because there’s still the pressure factor,” B1ad3 explained back then (timestamp 6:50). “I think that, in order to make progress, flamie needs to take some time off, work on himself, reflect on some things and come back with renewed vigor.”

NAVI recruiting to find next CS stars ahead of Counter-Strike 2 release Michal Konkol/BLASTUkrainian esports organization NAVI has invited CS:GO players to apply for spots in its academy teams as it looks to revamp its youth ranks for Counter-Strike 2. NAVI have set up a dedicated page called ‘ROAD TO NAVI’ outlining the requirements that candidates must satisfy in order to be part of the organization’s academy project. The Ukrainian organization is looking for players aged between 16 and 19, with a minimum 4000 FACEIT ELO of 4000 and no ties to any other organization. Additionally, interested players must submit a 30- to 60-second video explaining what makes them the perfect candidate to join NAVI. NAVI added that it will prioritize applications from candidates with a player profile on HLTV.org and with a social media presence and a fanbase on platforms like Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube. NAVI rebuilds Counter-Strike academy For the first time in NAVI’s history, the academy’s doors will be open to players from outside of Eastern Europe. Previously, all players who came through the academy were from either Ukraine or Russia. Last month, NAVI hired David ‘Kairi’ de Miguel, a former Counter-Strike pro with almost two decades of experience, to guide NAVI Junior. NAVI Youth, the organization’s tertiary squad, currently features only Ukrainian players, who could be promoted to the Junior squad in the future. The overhaul of NAVI’s academy project is part of the organization’s restructuring of its Counter-Strike division. In July, NAVI’s main CS:GO team also became international following the signings of Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen, Mihai ‘iM’ Ivan, and Justinas ‘jL’ Lekavicius. NAVI CEO Yevhen Zolotarov told Dexerto in February that shifting away from its Ukrainian roots and building international teams will be vital for the organization’s expansion plans. “We will always be a Ukrainian club,” Zolotarov said. “But at the same time, we want to be a global brand.” NAVI’s academy project is one of the most successful ones in the CS:GO scene, developing players like Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy, Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov, and Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov. The first is part of NAVI’s main team, while the latter two were sold to G2 Esports and NIP, respectively.

NAVI open to offers for CSGO academy star headtr1ck NAVINAVI have announced that they have decided to listen to offers for academy prospect Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov. The Ukrainian organization is open to exploring all options, including the possibility of a loan or permanent departure for the 18-year-old, who has been with the organization since 2020. headtr1ck is regarded as the best player in NAVI’s youth set-up at the moment. He has stepped in for the main team twice, the first time when Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov missed three ESL Pro League Season 15 group stage matches after returning a positive test. Last month, he filled in for Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, who missed the first stage of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups due to personal issues. According to NAVI Head of Esports Amiran ‘ami’ Rekhviashvili, headtr1ck is ready to take the next step in his development and play against tier-one opposition on a regular basis. “Over more than two years at NAVI, he has shown himself to be a true professional and master of his craft,” ami said in a statement. “Along with his personal qualities, Daniil’s gaming skills make him a perfect candidate for any top team. “headtr1ck is the breakout star of the academy League. He played as part of the main roster and delivered excellent performances in recent tournaments. Daniil has long outgrown the academy, and we would love to give him a chance to showcase himself at a higher level.” The 18-year-old looks set to be the latest NAVI academy graduate destined for greatness after Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy and Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov. ami, who worked closely with the three players, praised headtr1ck’s potential: “I have no doubt that very soon Daniil will be on a par with our best graduates.”

NAVI reveal rejected Major sticker for ‘advertising’ Bitcoin ValveNAVI revealed a logo design that was rejected as a PGL Stockholm Major signature sticker that looked a bit too similar to a popular cryptocurrency. Now that the star-studded CIS team has qualified for the Stockholm Major quarterfinals, everyone on the starting roster has submitted their signatures to Valve to make in-game stickers. Among NAVI’s lineup is 18-year-old Valerii ‘b1t’ Vakhovskyi who submitted an entry that made a play on his in-game ID with the popular crypto, Bitcoin. Instead of a signature from the player, the mockup had Bitcoin’s logo to spell out his name. But the CSGO developers didn’t like the creative spin and promptly shut down the idea. NAVI PGL Major sticker change “It was B1tcoin before they didn’t let it through because it was deemed an advertisement,” NAVI Creative Director Alexey Kostylev said. “It’s a good one,” another person in the video can be heard saying. “That would be a brilliant sticker but it wasn’t meant to be.” Kostylev can be seen drawing up mockups to replace the rejected design before the cut-off at the time. While the club’s original idea for b1t’s was turned down, he’ll still be able to have a signature sticker in time for the PGL Stockholm Major player capsules. CSGO Major stickers update For the first Major event in two years, Valve has changed up who gets to get a sticker for the tournament. Only players that have qualified for the playoffs will get a signature sticker. That’s a stark contrast from simply having to qualify for the Major — and it was met with backlash from the CSGO community. Half of the revenue those stickers generate goes to Valve and the other goes back to the team. B1t and the rest of the PGL Stockholm playoff contenders should get their in-game content soon as the quarterfinals stage is set to kick off on November 4.

NAVI hope for another CSGO gem as they turn to academy once more Stephanie Lindgren/ESL Gaming via ESPATNAVI have announced that academy player Andrii ‘nipl’ Kukharskyi has been promoted to the main squad as part of a six-man setup. The 17-year-old Ukrainian has already joined up with the rest of the squad and could even make his debut at the BLAST Premier Fall Final if the team plays Vertigo against an opponent like FaZe, according to head coach Andrey ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskiy. NAVI’s plan is that, at least until the end of the season, nipl will be part of a rotation with Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev. The decision comes after a run of mixed results from the Ukrainian team, who have picked up just one title in 2022, at the BLAST Premier Spring Final in Lisbon, back in June. That was, curiously, sdy’s first tournament with the team, following the removal of in-game leader Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov, whose captaincy duties were taken by Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov. sdy’s long-term future has been the subject of debate since the end of the IEM Rio Major, where NAVI were sent packing in the quarter-finals after a defeat to FURIA. NAVI had announced that sdy would remain with the team at least until the end of that Major cycle, with a decision to be made after the Brazilian event. A former member of Team Spirit and MAD Lions, sdy was always viewed by many as a temporary solution. NAVI initially wanted Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov but were deterred by his contract with Russian organization Virtus.pro (which allegedly had ties to the Kremlin) amid the war in Ukraine. sdy has averaged a 0.98 HLTV rating and 0.86 Impact since joining NAVI. He became the target of criticism as the team failed to take advantage of FaZe’s post-summer break slump, which turned ESL Pro League Season 16 and the IEM Rio Major into open races. “We want to experiment with what we can do with a six-man roster,” B1ad3 said. “I think it’s a good idea because all tournaments, except the Majors, allow substitutes during a best-of-three match. It’s not allowed at Majors, which is why we turned the idea down initially. “However, when the Major ends, you have three months to experiment, right? And we want to use this opportunity. It makes sense to determine the lineup that will be preparing for the Major.” Who is nipl? nipl is the latest talent off the famed NAVI academy conveyor belt, following in the footsteps of players like Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy, Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov (sold to G2 in a reported $600,000 deal) and Danyyl ‘headtr1ck’ Valytov. The 17-year-old joined NAVI Youth — the organization’s development project — in October 2021 before transitioning to the academy team, called NAVI Junior, just two months later. nipl struggled at first but he gradually established himself as a key member of NAVI Junior. He averaged a 1.26 HLTV rating in the recent WePlay Academy League Season 6 as the team finished in third place. B1ad3 said that nipl will be eased into the lineup and that he won’t pass judgment on the player before the end of the year. Until recently, his only LAN event of note was a school tournament set up by the Ukrainian Professional Esports Association (UPEA). “He could play in the playoffs, like semifinals or finals, [in Abu Dhabi], compared to one Vertigo game against FaZe here,” B1ad3 said. “He hasn’t practiced the map with us and even if he does play, it won’t mean anything. “He will definitely play three of the seven maps in Abu Dhabi, while sdy will play the other four. We’ll be able to assess whether he’s ready for the big stage after Abu Dhabi.” It’s a slow process that NAVI are already familiar with, and that paid dividends in 2021, when b1t, fresh off being promoted to the main squad, helped the team win the Major in Stockholm. He ended up being named the ninth-best player in the world that year.

NAVI CEO says org made “seven figures” from RMR CSGO stickers PGL/ValveDespite the ESL One Rio CS:GO Major being canceled due to the global health situation, some of the would-be competing teams made a lot of money through in-game stickers. NAVI, for example, raked in over $1m during the three-month sale, according to CEO Yevhen Zolotarov. Esports as a whole took a hit when live events were forced to be canceled in 2020 and 2021, potentially losing money from prize winnings, on-site merchandise sales, and revenue share from event-based initiatives. One of CS:GO’s biggest drivers of revenue for organizations are Major stickers — limited edition in-game items that commemorate the teams’ attendance at these flagship Valve-sponsored events. Despite the qualification process taking place online, the ESL One Rio Major ended up being canceled altogether. Teams such as NAVI, however, seem to have recouped a lot of lost revenue from sticker sales for the event. In the org’s annual recap video, CEO Yevhen Zolotarov said that NAVI made seven figures in revenue from the three-month sale of their own sticker. Dexerto has confirmed that the figure is in dollars, meaning that NAVI earned at least $1m from their RMR sticker. Read More: shox starts new chapter with Team Liquid – “Our league share is pretty high this year, and we hit big numbers in prize money as well as sticker earnings,” NAVI’s leader said. “Since there were no Majors for two years, Valve released the Rio stickers that were on sale for about three months — instead of one like always — and it’s a substantial amount. “Yes, clubs share most of it with their players but it’s still seven figures, which is a big income for both.” Valve’s announcement for the 2021 RMR stickers states that 50% of the money generated from players buying the stickers goes to the teams, though Zolotarov made it clear NAVI share most of their cut with the players. While the ESL One Rio Major never went ahead, earlier this year PGL hosted the first Major in two years in Stockholm, Sweden. NAVI would go on to win the event without dropping a single map throughout the entire tournament. The team’s success didn’t stop there, winning the next prominent event in the BLAST Premier CSGO World Final and breaking Astralis’ record for earning the most prize money in a single year.

NaVi drop flamie from starting CSGO roster for RMR and DreamHack tournaments EPICENTERNatus Vincere have announced that Egor ‘flamie’ Vasilev will be left out of their roster for the upcoming RMR (regional major ranking) tournaments and DreamHack Masters Spring 2021, with Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy handed the permanent spot. flamie and b1t had been rotating as part of a 6-man roster – Valve rules made 6-man rosters a “hurdle” – flamie remains a member of the team – NaVi pick b1t over flamie Due to Valve rules stipulating penalties for using substitute players, NaVi’s rotating six-player roster was put in contention. In response, NaVi has said “Valve made it clear that they do not intend to change the rules. NaVi needs as many points as possible to qualify for the Major. In this regard, the team had to coordinate the final roster for the next tournament to avoid penalty points.” The five-man roster of NAVI CS:GO for the first RMR tournament is settled: get all the details. 📰: https://t.co/tJ8NicC2hM#csgo #navination pic.twitter.com/Vfq4oPtMPj — NAVI (@natusvincere) April 11, 2021 The decision to opt for b1t over flamie was not explained in detail, but the team’s coach, Andrii ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskyi will be providing clarification in a YouTube video to be posted “next week.” NaVi disappointed at ESL Pro League Season 13, finishing 9-12th after losses to Complexity, Gambit and Furia. NaVi roster for DreamHack Spring Oleksandr ‘s1mple‘ Kostyliev – Denis ‘electronic‘ Sharipov – Ilya ‘Perfecto‘ Zalutskiy – Kirill ‘BoombI4‘ Mikhailov – Valeriy ‘b1t‘ Vakhovskiy – Andrii ‘B1ad3‘ Gorodenskyi (coach) –

Na’Vi dominate G2 to win IEM Katowice: Results and Final Placements ESLDespite the lack of a crowd, the Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV CS:GO World Championship delivered plenty of excitement, as two teams clashed in the best-of-five grand finals for $250,000 and their first win in this year’s Intel Grand Slam. Here are the final results and placements. Sixteen teams from invites, qualifiers, and victories at other IEM events arrived in Katowice with the expectations of advancing through the group stage and playing in front of the rabid crowd in the Spodek Arena. Unfortunately for those players, that didn’t happen as the Katowice regional government announced just before the start of playoffs that they were retracting their decision to host a large mass of people inside the arena, citing “global health concerns” in the wake of the Coronavirus scare. But despite the missing crowd, the show went on, and the competing teams put on an exciting display of professional Counter-Strike action. Recap There was a definite lack of upsets early in the group stage, as most of the higher-ranked teams breezed through the stage into playoff contention. Astralis made quick 2-0 work of Cloud9, Vitality, and Fnatic to earn a semifinals berth. Both Na’Vi and G2 Esports continued their momentum from their first-place finishes at BLAST Premier Spring. 100 Thieves were the biggest surprise of the group stage; after getting bodied 2-0 by G2 in their first series, they won three straight series to advance to playoffs, including two reverse-sweeps against Evil Geniuses and mousesports. In playoffs, the two most consistent looking teams found their way to the grand finals. Na’Vi’s star Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev catapulted his team into the grand finals with a win over Team Liquid and a stomping of Astralis unlike we’d ever seen happen to the Danes. G2 advanced over Fnatic in a hard-fought series. In the grand finals, Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov went insane on G2’s pick of Nuke in map one, dropping 28 kills in just one half. He finished with 32 total as Na’Vi rolled over the French side 16-4. Both teams traded clutches in a back-and-forth map two on Dust 2, but again Na’Vi prevailed to take a 2-0 series lead. Na’Vi dominated G2 on another of their map picks, Mirage, with a 16-2 scoreline to sweep the grand finals and claim the trophy. Brackets Playoffs Group A Group B Final Placements To see all match results in full, plus interviews with players, coaches and staff from the event, check out our IEM Katowice event hub.

Na’Vi CS:GO make major roster change following disappointing results [UPDATED] DexertoNa’Vi have officially announced the addition of Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov to their CS:GO squad in place of Ioann ‘Edward’ Sukhariev. The move was originally reported on May 28, and has now been officially confirmed on May 29. In addition to Na’Vi’s signing of Boombl4, it’s been announced that Edward will transfer in the opposite direction, joining the Winstrike squad. The two teams’ official rosters are now as follows. Na’Vi: Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko – Egor ‘flamie’ Vasilyev – Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev – Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov – Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov – Winstrike: Aurimas ‘Kvik‘ Kvakšys – David ‘n0rb3r7‘ Danielyan – Vladyslav ‘bondik‘ Nechyporchuk – Aleksey ‘El1an‘ Gusev – Ioann ‘Edward‘ Sukhariev – Original article: Reports suggest that Na’Vi are set to make a change to their CS:GO roster, replacing Ioann ‘Edward’ Sukhariev with Winstrike’s Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov. The move has been reported by 1pv.fr and HLTV.org, and Boombl4 himself seems to have hinted at the transfer by tweeting the Na’Vi motto, which translates to “I see the goal – I see no obstacles.” Edward is a veteran of Counter-Strike going back to 1.6, and has played in Na’Vi’s CS:GO squad since December 2013, making him the longest-standing member of the line-up considering Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko’s departure to Gambit between 2016 and 2017. His prospective replacement, Boombl4, who is best-known for competing on the Quantum Bellator Fire squad that came out of nowhere to a top-eight finish at the ELeague Boston Major in January 2018. Na’Vi’s current roster formed in November 2017 with the addition of Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov. In the time since they’ve had some stand-out results, most notably a run of victories at StarSeries Season 5, the CS:GO Asia Championships, and ESL One Cologne in mid-2018 Despite the luxury of playing with the world’s current best player, however – Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, who many contend may be the greatest player to ever play CS:GO – Na’Vi have since struggled to find consistent success commensurate with their status as a top-three team. The reported change comes in the wake of one of their weakest results to date, failing to reach the playoffs of the ESL Pro League Season 9 despite opportunities in two rounds of the group stage in which they should, by ranking at least, have been favored to top their group. Read more: Top 20 highest earning CS:GO pro players – Having missed out on the EPL finals, Na’Vi’s next offline event will be ESL One Cologne on July 2-7, giving them over a month in which to integrate the new signing should it come to fruition. If the change goes through, Na’Vi’s roster would be as follows: Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko – Egor ‘flamie’ Vasilyev – Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev – Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov – Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov – Last updated: May 29, 2019 – 9:15 AM EST

NAVI coach B1ad3 hails electroNic’s IGL potential: “Much higher than Boombl4’s” João Ferreira/DexertoNAVI coach Andrey ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskiy has played down concerns about Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov’s ability to lead the team moving forward. electroNic has taken over in-game leadership duties in the team following the removal of Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov due to what the NAVI organization described as “high reputational risks for the club”. The decision has raised concerns about NAVI’s chances to return to the top, with electroNic having little experience in the role. Boombl4 had soaked up plenty of knowledge from his brief time playing alongside Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko and from the years he spent competing under B1ad3’s tutelage. Still, it was only in 2021 that Boombl4 overcame some of his initial struggles and became a capable in-game leader in high-pressure situations, helping NAVI to dominate the CS:GO circuit before the war in Ukraine broke out and disrupted the team. B1ad3 said that it’s still early to pass judgment on electroNic as an in-game leader, but he backed the Russian player to succeed in the role. “We didn’t have a lot of time to practice [for BLAST], and we’ll need to see the mistakes that will be made during high-stress situations in games,” he told Dexerto. “But electroNic’s potential as an IGL is much higher than Boombl4’s. He has a better vision of the game and more experience. It depends on how much effort he puts into this.” B1ad3’s comments echo those of star player Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, who said that electroNic “has more ideas” and a better understanding of the game than Boombl4. It has only been a couple of weeks since electroNic took up the role, but leading is not something entirely new to him. In ESL Pro League Season 13 at the beginning of 2021, he was the team’s caller on Mirage and Overpass in their early matches after some promising scrims. The experience did not last, though, and Boombl4 returned to being the main caller on all maps following back-to-back losses to FURIA and Gambit. But now it’s different. There is no fall-back plan, no one to hold his hand or step in if things go wrong. And because of this, B1ad3 said, electroNic is fully committed to making it work. “At the time, he was not serious enough as an IGL,” B1ad3 explained. “It was something like, ‘Let’s give it a try’. You know that if it doesn’t work we will go back [to how it was]. You don’t give 100 percent of yourself because of this. “Now it’s a different situation, there’s a more serious approach. Now he must work more on his role. It was his desire, his ambition, to try to lead. He said that he had a vision and that he knows how to lead. “We didn’t ask him to do it, like, ‘Please, you must do it for the team, you must sacrifice yourself’, because if you do this, the lineup will not have a good future. But if he wants to do it, it’s worth trying. I think that he just needs some time.” Doing it like Astralis Every championship team needs a player who can share the load with the star, and for NAVI, that player has often been electroNic. Signed in November 2017 from FlipSid3 Tactics, he has been a valuable sidekick to s1mple, even taking over when the Ukrainian is having one of his rare off days. Proof of that is his four consecutive appearances in HLTV Top 20 lists, twice entering the top five and never ranking below No.7. A common theme in the CS:GO scene is how high-fragging players see their numbers plummet when they become in-game leaders because of all the micro-managing that comes with the role. But B1ad3 doesn’t think that has to be the case, pointing to Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander’s performances during Astralis’ era as an example of a high-impact in-game leader. Still, he noted, there will be other players ready to put in extra work, including NAVI’s still-to-be-determined new fifth man. “I’m not worried,” he said about missing firepower with electroNic’s new role. “It can come from the new fifth player, from b1t, or from Perfecto. As soon as we know the lineup we will have, we will start to build in that direction. “But electroNic can be some kind of gla1ve. You cannot say that he was in anyone’s shadow during prime Astralis. I think he had a huge impact in terms of firepower. I think electroNic can easily be that kind of IGL. Not like karrigan, not like Boombl4. He can be like apEX.” B1ad3 also used Astralis to explain why he felt it was important to hand the reins to someone who was already familiar with NAVI’s system rather than bring in an outside IGL with his own method and way of thinking. “I think when Magisk was leading it showed that others players also have this knowledge [of the system] because you evolve as a team together and their strength was that they were analyzing their situations and building collective knowledge of the team,” B1ad3 explained. “We’re trying to do the same. The IGL should be someone from our system. It’s much easier to control our players with somebody from the system. If we took someone from the outside it would be difficult, we would need to explain the system to that person or he would bring his own system. It is doable, but Plan A is to have one of our players lead.” The early signs are encouraging: NAVI are through to the quarter-finals of the BLAST Premier Spring Final, where electroNic is averaging a 1.07 HLTV rating and a team-high 1.25 Impact. But the first real test will come today against FaZe — a match that will offer a better gauge of how the Russian can handle himself in the saddle. B1ad3 is not too worried about the outcome of this match — or of the tournament for that matter —, even though he thinks the team still has a chance to win the trophy, based on their individual talent and the fact that they’re sticking to a system that has proven so successful. For NAVI, electroNic’s growth as a leader will be worth more than the results they achieve here. This is merely the first stage of a transformational process that requires him to open his eyes to a new way of feeling the game. “He must always remember that his first priority should be to control the team,” B1ad3 said. “He has played for so long as a star player that I can see that sometimes he’s still thinking like a player and doing some things automatically. It’s like a habit. “It’s a matter of adapting. I think he needs to set the goal to become a great IGL and that’s it. He has everything.”

NAVI chief shuts down YEKINDAR rumors João Ferreira/DexertoNAVI COO Oleksii ‘xaoc’ Kucherov has guaranteed that his organization has not opened talks with Virtus.pro with a view to signing CS:GO star Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis. The Latvian star is one of the most sought-after players in the CS:GO scene, with NAVI among the teams he has been heavily linked with since being moved to Virtus.pro’s bench in the aftermath of PGL Major Antwerp. The rumour mill has gone into overdrive in recent days after NAVI removed Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov from their active lineup. The Ukrainian organization justified the decision with “high reputational risks for the club” amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. On Twitter, xaoc has dismissed the rumors linking NAVI with the player, saying: “I deny that we are in talks for YEKINDAR.” Приходите завтра на подкаст к @Olsior в 17:30, а пока что опровергаю, что мы ведем переговоры по Екиндару. https://t.co/WUliLzUil7 — Oleksii Kucherov (@xaocCSGO) May 30, 2022 Boombl4’s removal has freed up a slot on NAVI’s roster, but YEKINDAR is a completely different player than the Russian, who took the team’s reins in late 2019 following Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko’s retirement. A move for YEKINDAR would also require NAVI to engage in talks with Virtus.pro, whose parent company, ESforce Holding, came under fierce criticism from the Ukrainian organization on March 1 over the war in Ukraine. “While NAVI employees and players spend their days in bomb shelters, ESFORCE Holding publicly denies the horror that is now happening in Ukraine,” NAVI wrote at the time, adding that it was cutting ties with the Russian holding company and all of its subsidiaries. In the most recent episode of Dexerto’s Pop Flash, Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields stated that NAVI should not conduct business with Virtus.pro. “It cannot happen,” he said. “It’s an utter violation of everything they stand for.” NAVI are in a race against time to find a new player before their next event, the BLAST Premier Spring Final, which will take place between June 15-19 in Lisbon.

NAVI captain Boombl4 to miss start of ESL Pro League group stage João Ferreira/DexertoNatus Vincere have announced that CS:GO captain Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov will not take part in the first group stage gmes of ESL Pro League Season 15. The Russian in-game leader returned a positive test ahead of the trip to Düsseldorf and will miss the team’s first games. Replacing him will be academy player Daniil ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov, who has been spotted practising with the team ahead of their March 30 match against AGO. Boombl4’s absence will come as a blow to NAVI, who have been placed in a tricky ESL Pro League group that also includes Heroic, Astralis, Complexity, Evil Geniuses, and AGO. NAVI are looking to use this tournament as a show of unity amid the war between Ukraine and Russia. After IEM Katowice, the team’s members went in different directions, with the Ukrainians remaining in Poland, while the Russians went back home. In a March 28 interview with the Washington Post, NAVI CEO Yevhen Zolotarov made it clear that the organization will not work “with people who live in Russia and who pay taxes to the Russian Federation.” NAVI #CSGO line-up will play #ESLProLeague Season 15 with a replacement. Find out the details in the article. 📰: https://t.co/NU5IGVLOUS#navination #CSGO pic.twitter.com/Wj2hTMnrGp — NAVI (@natusvincere) March 29, 2022 Boombl4 and Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov, NAVI CS:GO’s Russian players, have not announced whether they plan to relocate to another country. In NAVI’s latest VLOG, posted on March 29, Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev said that he remains hopeful the war will not lead to roster changes. “I don’t know, it’s a difficult situation,” he said. “But I think there won’t be. I guess it’ll be okay. I hope so.”

NAVI break Astralis’ prize money record with most successful year in CSGO ever Michal Konkol/BLASTNAVI have broken Astralis’ record for most prize money won in a calendar year in CS:GO, further cementing their status as one of the best teams in the history of the game. The CIS giants took their prize winnings from 2021 to $3,775,500 after winning the BLAST Premier Fall Final on November 28. They have already eclipsed the record set by Astralis in 2018, when the Danish team racked up $3,651,650, according to Esports Earnings. 2021 has been a dream year for NAVI, who have been the dominant force in the CS:GO scene after giving rookie Valeriy ‘B1T’ Vakhovskiy a permanent spot in their starting lineup. But despite NAVI’s impressive track record in 2021, star player Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev believes his team are still some way off the 2018 Astralis team, who held the record for the longest reign at No. 1 in HLTV.org’s world rankings with 406 days. Major boost It’s worth noting that NAVI earned $1 million for winning the PGL Major, an event that had a record prize pool of $2 million. By comparison, Astralis received $500,000 for winning the FACEIT Major London 2018, which featured a prize pool of $1 million. NAVI will be looking to improve on their record in December when they compete in the final event of the season, the BLAST Premier World Final, where the winner will take home $500,000. The tournament will take place between December 14 and 19, with a location still to be announced by BLAST.

NAVI remove Boombl4 from active CSGO roster João Ferreira/DexertoNatus Vincere announced that its CS:GO captain Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov has been removed from the team’s active roster. 2021 Major winners, NAVI, revealed Boombl4 would be immediately removed from the team for reasons outside of the game. The news came on May 28, a week after the PGL Major Antwerp where NAVI lost to FaZe in the grand finals in a 2-0 sweep. In the announcement, NAVI said of removing Boombl4: “The decision is related to high reputational risks for the club, and it is not the result of his game.” Natus Vincere teammates Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev confirmed the news and shared a farewell to his now former teammate. “This is how this world works. I want to thank you Boombl4 for everything you have done, without you, not a single player on our team has achieved all the achievements that we experienced together in joy and sorrow. Good luck and maybe one day we will play together again.” This is how this world works, i want to thank you @Boombl4CS for everything you have done, without you, not a single player of our team has achieved all the achievements that we experienced together in joy and sorrow, good luck and maybe one day we will play together again — Sasha (@s1mpleO) May 28, 2022 NAVI also said that the club would reveal its roster for the BLAST Premiere Spring Finals at a later date.

How Boombl4 schooled gla1ve at BLAST Global Finals It’s typically tough to be a NAVI fan, as so often the team is carried by headliner s1mple in what seems to be a one-sided deathmatch for the player. Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov had a tough time with NAVI at the start of BLAST Global Finals, and after dropping into the Lower Bracket on the first day, all looked lost for the IGL and his teammates. However, things took a turn when five more games were played and they found themselves up against favorites Astralis in the Grand Final. While the spotlight of the BLAST Final continues to shine on MVP Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, Boombl4 turned into the frag-crazy IGL he was always poised to be, beating Astralis with undiminishing ease. Hitting three headshots with lightning-fast precision, the player stopped discussion of his lack of tactical skill dead in its tracks. Sweeping in during the match and taking the opposition by surprise, it became clear that NAVI had done its research on how Astralis performed against Vitality in the Upper Bracket Final. NAVI grabbing the event win surprised many, with the clock beating them on 9 T-rounds, but it just goes to show that one single match can still turn the tide of an event when it’s least expected. For all CSGO news and events, stay tuned by heading over to our dedicated hub.

NAVI b1t makes history as CS:GO’s youngest-ever millionaire João Ferreira/DexertoNAVI’s Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy has become the youngest-ever CS:GO player to surpass $1 million in career earnings. The 19-year-old took his career earnings past the $1 million mark earlier this month after NAVI reached the quarter-finals of the IEM Rio Major, according to Esports Earnings. b1t is the youngest-ever player to achieve this feat, joining 20 other players, including teammates Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov, Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy, in CS:GO’s millionaires’ club. The most impressive aspect is that b1t reached this milestone in less than two years of pro play. A graduate of NAVI’s renowned academy system, he was promoted to the main team at the end of 2020, splitting playing time with Egor ’flamie’ Vasilyev before locking down a starting spot in April 2021. The decision proved a success as b1t helped NAVI to win a series of titles that year, including their first-ever Major crown at PGL Major Stockholm. NAVI also won the third edition of the Intel Grand Slam, pocketing $1 million. Success has been hard to come by in 2022 following the departure of Kirill ‘Boombl4′ Mikhailov (who himself is a member of CS:GO’s millionaires’ club). NAVI, who have won only one title all year long, hope to strike gold again with Andrii ‘nipl’ Kukharskyi, who is trying out for the main team. The 17-year-old will make his debut for NAVI next month, at the BLAST Premier World Final.

Na’Vi and Fnatic Lock Horns in Intense Quarter-Final Match at ESL One: Cologne – Match Report and Highlights StarLadderNatus Vincere has knocked Fnatic out of ESL One: Cologne 2018 following a match that saw the team’s incredible firepower make all the difference. Na’Vi and Fnatic met in the first quarter-final of the $300,000 ESL One: Cologne event for the somewhat questionable reward of facing the dominant Astralis in semi-finals on July 7th. Fnatic actually opened up with an emphatic pistol round victory but Na’Vi bounced back immediately and quickly started to race away to a commanding lead. Read More: Everything You Need to Know About the ESL One: Cologne CS:GO Knockout Stage – Stream, Schedule, Results and More – The Ukrainian side rarely broke stride throughout the remainder of the first half and held an impressive 12-3 lead before switching to the T side of the map with Egor ‘flamie’ Vasilyev topping the scoreboard. Fnatic once again took the pistol round as the second half got underway but it quickly became a case of déjà vu when Na’Vi nounced right back with a devastating force buy in the second round to regain control. Who even needs a fullbuy!? Not @natusvincere, that’s for damn sure! #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/wOiyxPYbtj — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 6, 2018 The rest of the map should have been a mere formality but the Fnatic players seemed to suddenly find their form and started to grind out rounds. Unfortunately for the Swedes it was too little, too late, and Na’Vi eventually secured a 16-12 win to a take the 1-0 lead in the best of three series. The comeback was looking very real, but @natusvincere take down @FNATIC 16-12 on Overpass, and take a 1-0 lead in the series! Train is up next! #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/sZiLjpxRYi — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 6, 2018 Next up was Fnatic’s map choice, Train. Despite the first map loss, the Swedish team’s ability to mount something of a comeback on Overpass should have left them feeling like they were still in the game. However, a stunning CT pistol round from Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev saw Na’Vi get right back into the driving seat and begin to build a lead. The Fnatic players did manage to put up more of a fight on the T side of Train than they did on Overpass but the firepower of Na’Vi was still too much to handle as the Ukrainian side secured an 11-4 lead by halftime. S1MPLE ARE YOU OK!? @s1mpleO #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/cFW4OF2aK7 — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 6, 2018 Fnatic looked like they were going to keep their hopes alive with a pistol round win after switching to the CT side but Na’Vi once again embarrassed them on their anti-eco. This time around Fnatic was able to rally before Na’Vi reached match point but it was still not enough as seemingly every clutch round went in favor of s1mple and company. Eventually Na’Vi secured the map win with a score of 16-10. They will now move on to face Astralis in the first semi-final match on July 7th. It was a back-and-forth, but @natusvincere take down @FNATIC 16-10 on Train, and take the series 2-0! #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/iUft7i3PpR — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 6, 2018

Navi 2010 vs Navi 2020 showmatch: Date, schedule, and more Natus Vincere[jwplayer o9fRcL4b]Members of Natus Vincere’s 2010 roster will be taking on players from their current lineup in a special show match spanning both CSGO and CS 1.6. Here’s what you need to know. In any discipline, the past versus the present is always a hotly debated topic as fans put forward their case for their favorite team, fighter, athlete, or player. Though, it’s not something we see all that often given that there’s usually a huge age difference. However, when it comes to esports, the past versus the present can actually do battle – as is the case with Natus Vincere. Members of Navi’s classic 2010 roster, which was headed up by Zeus and Edward, will be taking on the S1mple led 2020 team in a special one-off series of show matches that will see them battle on both CS 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The match, which has quite comically been given the tag of Boomers vs Zoomers, was announced on July 22 but won’t actually be happening until August 1. When the action does get underway, the players compete on across three maps from CS 1.6 – Train, Inferno, and Tuscan – and a set of three maps from CS:GO including the updated versions of Train and Inferno as well as Dust 2. Navi August 1 show match schedule As already noted, the special event will only happen on August 1, but if you want to watch the full show, you’re in for quite the marathon of a day. Na’Vi have already announced that it will get underway at 15:45 pm EEST with a pre-show before the 1.6 action starts fifteen minutes later. It remains to be seen if there will be English or alternative language streams but we have contacted the org about the possibility. So, that’s what you need to know about the one-off event between the two iconic lineups. Wheter the past or the present will come out on top remains to be seen, so be sure to check back on August 1.

Natus Vincere Upset Astralis in ESL One Cologne Semi-Final in Close Match Tournament favorites Astralis took on European rivals Natus Vincere in a close semi-final at ESL One Cologne, in a very closely contested match. Na’Vi were coming in hot after their quarter final match against Fnatic, which they took in dominant fashion thanks to their star player Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev taking over. The two teams were neck and neck for after the first twenty rounds, but s1mple backed up by Denis “electronic” Sharipov remained sharp and closed it out 16-13. More: Everything You Need to Know About the ESL One: Cologne CS:GO Knockout Stage – Stream, Schedule, Results and More – On map two Nuke though, Astralis seemed unfazed by the tight map one defeat, immediately opening up a massive 10-1 lead on their T side. Na’Vi regained some composure at the half way point, but Astralis’ quality and team play on Nuke was ultimately the difference as they took it 16-6 and forcing map three, Inferno. Map three was suitably more close, as the the pressure was on for both of these teams as the spot in the grand final was in touching distance. Na’Vi were sharp still despite their setback on map two, and it wasn’t just down the stars like s1mple, as Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko providing an unusual amount of fragging in the first half. Things were looking very slow for Astralis, but in true champions style they bounced back after the half bringing it to trail by only a single round at 10-11. But Na’Vi fought off a spirited fight from Astralis to close it out 16-13 and book their spot in the grand final, where they would face FaZe Clan or BIG.

Natus Vincere Defeat a Spirited BIG in The ESL One Cologne Grand Final – Highlights After a surprising set of semi-finals, BIG and Natus Vincere emerged to face off in the ESL One Cologne Grand Final, with an unpredictable match up the cards. No one would have predicted the (mostly) German roster of BIG to be anywhere near a grand final, but after a series of remarkable upsets they somehow found themselves in the biggest match of their careers. https://glhf.rivalry.gg/get-started-csgo/?utm_source=dexerto&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=dexerto&utm_content=dexerto-csgo-esl-one-article Perhaps with England’s surprise success in the FIFA World Cup, having Englishman Owen “Smooya” Butterfield on the squad was maybe the lucky charm that BIG needed. On the other side of the impressive ESL stage was a determined and confident Na’Vi side, who had caused an upset of their own in the semi’s by eliminating tournament favorites Astralis. More: Everything You Need to Know About the ESL One: Cologne CS:GO Knockout Stage – Stream, Schedule, Results and More – And Na’Vi did look generally the better of the two teams in map one, but just as fans have come to expect from BIG, they never seemed fazed and kept the map close. And while Na’Vi weren’t flawless and made errors, they eventually strung a few rounds together to take map one 16-10. There were signs of encouragement for BIG though, and once again they kept it very tight in map two on Dust II, their pick, even edging out a slender lead. Just as they began to search for victory, electronic pulled off an insane 1v4 to halt them temporarily, but BIG remained composed to take it and tie the series 1-1. Map three took the match to Train, which BIG already proved they were more than capable on with their 16-13 win over FaZe in the semi-final. But after the first twenty rounds were traded back and forth, Na’Vi came to life and BIG looked out of ideas, letting Na’Vi take it 16-10. Map four took it to Inferno, the map Na’Vi edged out Astralis on for their spot in the grand final. But Zeus was needed to have an uncharacteristically good game to manage it, and BIG had also won Inferno vs FaZe in their semi-final. But despite taking a one round lead into the second half, BIG couldn’t keep their momentum up as s1mple, electronic and flamie lit up, steamrolling their way to a 16-8 win to secure the championship.

NaToSaphiX still looking for CSGO team after strong stand-in performance After finding himself let go from from the Heroic CSGO roster in August, Danish in-game leader Niels Christian ‘NaToSaphiX’ Sillassen is still looking for a team to call home in 2020, even after an impressive performance standing with mousesports at the recent cs_summit 5. Despite mousesports’ recent victory at the ESL Pro League finals, they still didn’t arrive at the BeyondTheSummit house in Los Angeles as favorites. For the cs_summit 5 event, mous would be competing with a stand-in, as their young star AWPer in Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker was unable to attend due to visa issues. For his replacement, they brought in NaToSaphiX, who is typically an in-game leader but also a very capable AWPer. The tremendously talented Danish player had been waiting in free agency despite being made available in August. Just realized I was playing actively in a team for 4 months of this whole year And motivation still stays high Hope 2020 is an employed one 😆 — NaToSaphiX (@NaToSaphiX) December 26, 2019 Despite a lack of preparation, NaTo came out firing alongside mousesports, as the team finished second after the three days of round-robin play. Their only stumbles came in the form of back-to-back landslide losses to G2 Esports on the second day. In the semifinals against OG, NaToSaphiX came alive in the three map series, especially on the third and final map on Dust2. He picked up 21 kills against only 11 deaths, and was vital to mous spoiling the OG debut. In the grand finals, mous faced an even greater challenge against a G2 team that had already thrashed them, with coach Allan ‘Rejin’ Petersenforced to step in and replace leader Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen who had to leave for the airport. “”It’s time to shine for @RejinCS.”” With the unfortunate departure of @karriganCSGO the @mousesports coach Rejin steps up as their 5th!#cs_summit 📺: https://t.co/Y3v6zx2irq pic.twitter.com/ipw97qKEnZ — BTS CS:GO (@BTScsgo) December 16, 2019 Mous had narrowly won the first game, while G2 rolled them over on Vertigo to force a deciding, pivotal third map on train. Despite trailing 12-6, NaTo took over the leadership reigns and helped propel mousesports to win 10 of the next 12 rounds, and stun G2 to win the trophy. The stand-in leader got to lift his first big event trophy ever. CHAMPIONS OF CS_SUMMIT 5 mousesports gave me a unique opportunity to help them out in LA for CS_Summit 5 Our IGL (tactician) had to catch a plane after the first map, so for 2/3rds of the match we were playing with… https://t.co/FRSwbupPBE — NaToSaphiX (@NaToSaphiX) December 16, 2019 However, as we move into 2020, NaToSaphiX still remains without a team. He expressed on Twitter that he still has high motivation and expectations for the coming year, even if he only spent most of 2019 without a team. And he doesn’t lack in confidence either. Felt I played pretty good at cs_summit all things considered I am convinced that any team who is willing to take a chance on me won’t regret it Give me some time to find my footing in team CS again and I’ll show how far my talent really stretches 💪 — NaToSaphiX (@NaToSaphiX) December 17, 2019 For many, the reasons why NaTo remains teamless are still shrouded in mystery because there hasn’t been much LAN experience to judge him on. And the experience that is there is a mixed bag; individually he was good at IEM Chicago and the ESL Pro League S9 finals, but struggled at ESL One Cologne. And Heroic didn’t even reach the semifinals in any of those. But regardless of all that, there’s too much talent to be wasted sitting on the sidelines, even if there isn’t a place for NaTo on a tier-one team. Any in-game leader who is capable of using the AWP and can help a team win a top tier event with virtually no preparation might be worth taking a flyer on.

NAF thanks CSGO devs for Vertigo map update after his fail StarLadder/ValveTeam Liquid CS:GO player Keith “NAFFLY” Markovic has thanked CSGO devs for an update to the map Vertigo, after he fell victim to an embarrassing fail during the StarLadder Major. Vertigo was re-added to the Counter-Strike map-pool in January 2019, alongside Zoo and Abbey. It’s based on a skyscraper that was under construction, with players playing hundreds of feet in the air. Then, in March 2019, after some minor updates and tweaks, Vertigo was added to the competitive map pool for professional play, replacing the recently-reworked Cache. The map featured in the match-up between Team Liquid and Astralis at the StarLadder Berlin Major. It was a quarterfinal and NAF’s squad held a close 4-3 lead over Astralis before a huge mistake from the former OpTic player flipped the eighth round on its head. In a 3v3 situation, NAF was trying to get an angle on enemy players through smoke before backing up just a bit too far – and flying off the side of the map. It was naturally the source for plenty memes in the community, with the Canadian joining in himself. GGsWp @astralisgg Me falling off the map on Vertigo: pic.twitter.com/4nvzYkbNji — Keith Markovic (@NAFFLY) September 6, 2019 In the most recent game update, NAF was presumably doing the usual rounds of seeing what’s new on each map, finding new spots, predicting how the maps might be played differently when he found something on Vertigo that delighted him. Right along the side where NAF plunged to his death was a metal bar – not a big one, but enough to stop a careless player from falling off the edge of the building. NAF immediately posted a screenshot to Twitter, simply saying “Thank you @CSGO.” Though the change seems relatively small, it’s likely that this will change the game for many players. With a small wall to fall back on and not worry about risking your life, this corner could become much easier – and safer – to play. Though Vertigo has been NAF’s main interest, most are keen to see how the new Cache plays out since its addition back into the map pool.

NAF on why Evil Geniuses move fell through: “Some of the worst management I’ve talked to” João Ferreira/PGLTeam Liquid CS:GO star Keith ‘NAF’ Markovich has revealed how he passed up the opportunity to join Evil Geniuses before the 2022 season. The Canadian player engaged in talks with Evil Geniuses at the end of the 2021 season as he weighed up his options after a disappointing year with Team Liquid. In the end, he re-signed with Team Liquid, but for a period of time, he entertained the possibility of a change of scenery. By then, he had been with Liquid for three years, and the team had hit a lull after the dominant run in 2019 that saw them complete the Intel Grand Slam run inside 63 days. Talking about his decision to stay with Liquid on the latest episode of ‘The Mauisnake Show’, NAF explained that the lineup he wanted to build for EG wasn’t possible because Ethan ‘Ethan’ Arnold had no desire to come back from Valorant due to CS:GO’s hectic tournament calendar. At the same time, another reason why NAF decided against switching orgs was that he came away unimpressed from his discussions with Evil Geniuses’ management. (Timestamp starts at 02:07:26 for mobile viewers) “That was probably some of the worst management I think I have ever talked to in my life,” he said. “Not to be too blunt about it. EG surely knows that as well. They’re clearly not handling their team properly at all. “Me talking to them for about an hour changed my mind. I was like, ‘Liquid is light-years ahead of this organization and I’d be an idiot to go and join this team’. EG is a phenomenal org, they have plenty of history but I think the management and the way they run things are not the way [to do it]. “I talked to them for an hour and I was like, ‘I’m not joining this disaster’. I came back to Liquid and I was like, ‘I’m down to make things work, let’s talk about it, and let’s get things going.’” Evil Geniuses have come under intense scrutiny for their handling of the CS:GO team, which has been outside the top 20 in the world rankings since July 2021 (save for one week in November 2022). They have not won a trophy since ESL One Cologne 2020 North America, a tournament that was held online because of the global health crisis. Last week, CS:GO analyst Aleksandar ‘kassad’ Trifunović offered $1,000 to the team that eliminated Evil Geniuses from the RMR qualifier. LOS + oNe claimed the bounty after beating EG 2-0, meaning that the North American side will miss the upcoming IEM Rio Major.

Nadeshot on why 100 Thieves got back into CSGO During the official announcement video for the CS:GO roster, 100T founder and owner Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag expressed why he was so set on returning to the Counter-Strike scene, and why his organization went with the Australian roster. When one door closes, another opens, as the saying goes. For 100 Thieves, they went a step further, and forced open a door that shut in their face two years ago. On October 31st, 100 Thieves acquired the Renegades CSGO roster. Jared ‘DeKay’ Lewis was the first to report last month that the Renegades players’ contracts were near expiration, and broke the news today that 100T had recently purchased the mostly Australian lineup. Renegades announced later on that their roster was leaving, followed by an announcement video from Nadeshot and 100T VP of Esports Jacob ‘Maelk’ Toft-Andersen breaking down the acquisition. A message to the CS:GO community: https://t.co/y52ksTyjH8 pic.twitter.com/y4A3IjrHAC — 100 Thieves (@100Thieves) October 31, 2019 In the video, the two go through each of the players they just acquired, and Nadeshot also explains why 100T pursued this roster, and why he specifically wanted to get back into CS:GO. According to Nadeshot and Maelk, they considered a number of options for creating a team, including compiling a roster of free agents, luring away other big stars with big contract offers, and purchasing an entire roster. After the Berlin major, they were rumored to be in talks with both NBK and aleksib. They opted to go with acquiring the Renegades roster because the players expressed a lot of interest in playing for 100T, and were more than willing to move to the new 100T headquarters in Los Angeles. The players even expressed disappointment that the organization didn’t go with them back in 2017. This is in reference to the short-lived 2017 CS:GO campaign for 100 Thieves, when the organization acquired the Brazilian ex-Immortals lineup, but weren’t able to keep the roster due to visa issues and having to remove Vito ‘kNgV-‘ Giuseppe due to offensive language he used online. As for his goals, Nadeshot laid them out clearly in the video: get back into CS:GO and win championships. The CEO said that CS:GO has the most passionate esports fanbase, due to being one of the longest-lasting games in esports. According to him, CS:GO has been part of the plan since 100 Thieves’ inception three years ago. “There’s just so much history, so many storylines, so many players and organizations that have been here before us,” Nadeshot says in the video. “And I’m so damn excited to able to participate in it again.” After recently announcing that 100 Thieves will be stepping back from Call of Duty and not participating in the franchised league, we can expect 100T and Nadeshot to go all-in on their new CS:GO division.

Nadeshot says he wishes 100 Thieves still competed in CSGO 100 Thieves100 Thieves founder and CEO Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag has revealed that, if it were up to him, the organization would still be competing in CS:GO. The Los Angeles-based organization pulled out of the CS:GO scene in October 2020 during a dark period for the game because of the global health crisis, which halted in-person events and saw tournaments shift to an online-only format. At the time, Nadeshot cited the “ambiguity, vagueness and uncertainty” in the CS:GO scene as reasons for 100 Thieves to walk away from the game despite being a partner in ESL Pro League and BLAST Premier. In an August 29 stream, Nadeshot said that, while he is “pretty happy” with the roster of games in which 100 Thieves currently compete, he would “love” to see the organization’s banner still fly in CS:GO competitions. “It’s a really hard game to manage and build a winning team,” he told viewers. “If I had it my way, we would have a CS:GO team today. I love the game, the community, the rivalry, [and] the history of the game. I think it’s incredible to watch, even if you don’t play it. “But it’s very expensive, it’s really hard to build a winning team, it takes a lot of time, it takes the right combination of players. There are a lot of hurdles there. That’s why I have a ton of respect for other organizations that have made it work. It’s not easy.” A mixed record 100 Thieves entered the CS:GO scene in December 2017 with the signing of a Brazilian roster featuring the core of the Immortals team that had reached the grand final at PGL Major Krakow earlier that year. The team ended up missing ELEAGUE Major Boston due to immigration issues, with Vito ‘kNgV-’ Giuseppe and then the rest of the squad being released without making a single appearance for 100 Thieves. It took over a year for 100 Thieves to make another move in the space. It returned to the game only in October 2019, when it signed Renegades’ Australian lineup, which was fresh off a semi-final run at StarLadder Major Berlin. Under the new organization, the team reached its first-ever tier-one LAN final at IEM Beijing and broke into the top 5 in the world rankings, only to lose steam when tournaments moved to an online format and teams could only compete within their region. Justin ‘jks’ Savage, the team’s star player, was sold to Complexity Gaming, while Joakim ‘jkaem’ Myrbostad was transferred to Apeks before reuniting with Aaron ‘AZR’ Ward, Sean ‘Gratisfaction’ Kaiwai, and Jay ‘Liazz’ Tregillgas under the banner of Russian organization EXTREMUM.

Nadeshot moving ahead on plans to return 100 Thieves to CSGO Twitter: @nadeshot / StarLadderJust a day removed from pulling the 100 Thieves organization out of the upcoming franchised Call of Duty league, founder Matt ‘Nadeshot’ Haag has announced that he’s travelling to Berlin in an attempt to sign a “championship caliber roster” in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. When a door is closed, a window is opened. And Nadeshot is jumping through the window onto a plane to Berlin, as he announced on Twitter that 100 Thieves will be at the Champions stage of the StarLadder Berlin CS:GO major. 100T are seeking to sign a “championship caliber roster..to build a winning legacy.” I am so damn excited to enter CS:GO and assemble a Championship caliber roster. We are flying to Berlin next week for the conclusion of the Major with a goal of signing players that are hungry to build a winning legacy here with @100Thieves. Let’s get to work! — 100T Nadeshot (@Nadeshot) August 30, 2019 Nadeshot hinted back in July, during a vlog, when he walked into a “secret” meeting and told the camera point blank that 100 Thieves were getting a CS:GO team. “We’re gonna be in CS:GO,” he said. “100 Thieves is coming, full force.” This is not the first time 100 Thieves have attempted to break into the CS:GO scene, but they might be interested in forgetting what happened the first time. 100T signed the Brazilian Immortals roster, but due to visa issues, and after having to release Vito “kNgV-” Giuseppe due to his behavior on Twitter, 100 Thieves withdrew from CS:GO just a month after signing their roster. Our future in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pic.twitter.com/yRJsig6XDu — 100 Thieves (@100Thieves) January 31, 2018 For 100 Thieves, this will be a big next step forward for the organization after they announced earlier in the week that they would not be participating in the next season of the Call of Duty league. Citing franchising costs, loss of brand power, and an unpreparedness to join the league, Nadeshot announced on Twitter that 100T wouldn’t be joining the franchised league. The 100 Thieves brand has grown incredibly. But following the departure from Call of Duty, and their less than stellar 2019 in the North American LCS, 100 Thieves are looking to get back on track in the competitive scene, and are looking to do so by making a big splash in CS:GO. And they’re not waiting for the major to end to get started.

Nadeshot hilariously fails “shoey” to celebrate 100 Thieves CSGO win Founder and CEO of 100 Thieves, Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag, vowed to complete the Aussie tradition known as a “shoey” following the success of his recently acquired Australian CS:GO team at IEM Beijing — and the former Call of Duty pro did not disappoint after an initial struggle. After Nadeshot and co. ventured back into the Counter-Strike scene by acquiring the services of the former Renegades roster, little did Haag know the immediate success that the squad would bring to his organization. Following a flurry of triumphant results at IEM Beijing, 100 Thieves found themselves up against a recently revitalized French roster in Team Vitality. Keeping up with the Australian roster’s tradition, Haag promised to complete a “shoey” – in the same fashion as Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill’s notoriously frolic commemoration – should his side reach the Grand Final. After losing the first map, 100T clawed back the series to claim the first spot in the IEM Beijing Grand Final — a clear statement of their intentions moving forward. Of course, the Australian roster saw out the French team in style, with Justin ‘jks’ Savage leading the charge with 73 kills and a colossal 105.8 average damage per round (ADR) across the three maps. Not one to back down from a promise, Nadeshot provided his own spin on the shoey by mixing vodka and soda (instead of the customary drink of choice, beer). Haag’s first attempt didn’t quite go to plan, with the 100T CEO initially stating: “I’m not Australian, but I hope to be one day and the boys just crushed it. I’m about to ruin this f**king shoe; there’s a lot of alcohol in this – it’s a lot of chugging – f**k!” This was my first attempt. I’m coming to Australia and the boys gotta show me how to do a proper shoey. #YTB pic.twitter.com/hBp8V9OlLn — 100T Nadeshot (@Nadeshot) November 9, 2019 Before successfully completing his shoey from a boot with a “healthy pour” of a “man’s drink”: Given Nade’s recognition of his CS:GO roster’s feat to reach the Grand Final, we’re only left to wonder what his reaction will be should his side take top honors in Beijing. 100 Thieves are poised to face Astralis, after they wiped-out FaZe Clan (only dropping 2 rounds in the entire best-of-three series). Stay tuned on our dedicated event hub as the Danish squad look to reclaim the number one spot, while the Australian side seek their first win under the 100T banner.

Nadeshot frustrated as ESL shut down his restream of CSGO finals Valve / 100 ThievesAhead of 100 Thieves’ announced departure from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Mathew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag came under a bit of fire for disinterest in his org’s finals match at IEM New York and, subsequently, admonished by ESL for streaming the event. [jwplayer 3EyfiByz] Nadeshot came home to Los Angeles after 12 hours of travel and was excited to stream some of the Black Ops Cold War open beta for the first time, but, as the stream started, he also mentioned that he wouldn’t be responding to chat as much as usual because 100T was facing Furia in the IEM New York Grand Finals. Unfortunately, some found it disappointing that the organization’s founder would multitask and play another game during his team’s final CS:GO match ever, with former pro Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill even calling him out. Shame the owner of the team is playing the new COD instead of watching his teams final match in CS which is also a Grand Final — Chad Burchill (@SPUNJ) October 18, 2020 With people like SPUNJ discrediting Nade’s loyalty to his team and Black Ops Cold War coincidentally crashing, the 100T CEO attempted to switch over to the big match. But, in another string of disappointments, that idea wasn’t meant to be either. After trying to watch the Grand Finals with about 13,000 viewers, Nade received word that this re-stream was against ESL guidelines and that he was not allowed to do so. Frustratedly, he returned to his initial Black Ops Cold War plans and expressed some understanding, as well as disappointment with the tournament organizers’ decision. “At the end of the day, I get it from a business perspective on ESL’s standpoint,” Nadeshot said. “I mean, they pay for broadcast rights and they’re putting on this tournament and all these things. But, from my perspective, I have all of their sponsors and broadcast assets on my stream … I’m essentially just on a soapbox right now, blasting the stream but with just 12-13,000 more viewers.” Read more: Nadeshot explains 100 Thieves exit from CSGO – As he explained on stream, by putting the stream on full screen without any of his brandings, he felt that he was just giving the official broadcast more exposure. But, ultimately, he understands why the decision was made. In a later clip, following his return to streaming BOCW, the 100T head honcho added further clarification. While affirming that he fully understands why he wasn’t allowed to re-stream the event and that he respects ESL’s business decisions, he felt that this situation was unique and could have been handled differently: “Well, I got your logos up here, I’ve got none of my sponsors up here. Can’t we just make an exception?” First criticized for not giving his team’s play enough attention and then reprimanded for giving it too much attention, this wasn’t one of Nadeshot’s more fortunate streams. Still, he understands why ESL came down on him and, perhaps more importantly, he did eventually get to play BOCW without his PC crashing.

Nadeshot drops hint about 100 Thieves’ future in CS:GO Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag has dropped a hint about a potential future in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for his 100 Thieves brand. 100 Thieves have already stepped into the CS:GO space before when they picked up an all-Brazilian roster that included stars like Henrique ‘HEN1’ Teles, Lucas ‘LUCAS1’ Teles and Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau. However, visa issues and roster complications meant that the team never actually represented Nadeshot’s brand at the ELEAGUE Boston Major that they had been signed up for. That roster ended up departing 100 Thieves on January 31 2018. Yet, that hasn’t stopped Nade from continuing his interest in the scene and dropping hints about a potential future roster. During an Ask Me Anything on the official 100 Thieves subreddit, Nade responded to a question about a potential future in CS:GO. He replied: “CS:GO is probably the most exciting opportunity for me personally at 100 Thieves. I think we have a strong fan base around FPS in general from my time in Call of Duty and so CS:GO just feels like a layup in my mind when rallying love and support from our community behind the game and potential team.” “I’m not going to promise anything right now, but CS:GO is definitely on my list of expansion titles in the near future.” With the IEM Katowice Major around the corner, the conclusion of the event is sure to lead to roster changes. If Nadeshot wants to get into CS, he may be worth biding his time until the end of this current major cycle. However, Nade and his team will surely have a better idea on how to enter the scene this time around following all the complications with the ex-Immortals squad.

Nadeshot reveals plans for 100 Thieves CS:GO return L: Nadeshot100 Thieves CEO Matt ‘Nadeshot’ Haag has confirmed that the organization is looking to make a return to CS:GO. Fans of the organization had speculated that a return to CS:GO could be on the cards after Nadeshot announced their intentions to expand into new titles after raising $35 million in Series B funding. With 100 Thieves already having a strong presence in League of Legends’ LCS and Call of Duty’s CWL, as well as housing numerous players in popular battle royale titles Fortnite and Apex Legends, CS:GO would seem the most obvious game for the organization to expand into. In a vlog released on July 18, Nadeshot has now confirmed that 100 Thieves will in fact be looking to move into Valve’s legendary FPS. After walking into a meeting on the organization’s esports expansions, Nadeshot announced: “This is why I can’t vlog, because nothing we do in here I can ever talk about”, before almost immediately turning to the camera and stating “we’re getting a CS:GO team.” During a series of clips from the meeting, Rocket League was also mentioned, although it’s less clear whether this is a game the organization has plans to move into or is simply keeping an eye on. (clip starts at 3:55 for mobile viewers) No further details of 100 Thieves’ expansion were revealed, but fans of the organization will undoubtedly be pleased to hear that they intend to move into one of the world’s biggest esports titles. 100 Thieves’ first ill-fated foray into CS:GO came in December 2017, when they signed the Brazillian squad that previously represented Immortals. The project was short-lived, however, as 100 Thieves were ultimately unable to secure visas in time for the ELeague Boston Major that they were due to appear at, and the team departed the organization without ever having played an offline match for them. While it’s unclear at this time how close 100 Thieves might be to actually signing and announcing a CS:GO team or who they might be targeting, one potential candidate could be the current OpTic Gaming line-up that Immortals Gaming Club, who recently acquired OpTic parent company Infinite Esports & Entertainment, are looking to sell. With Immortals needing to part ways with the team due to the conflict with the Immortals-owned MIBR, the timing would seemingly make sense, especially with star player Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke recently hinting on Twitter that he at least, and perhaps the rest of the team, have signed new contracts. 100 Thieves recently hired Jacob ‘Maelk’ Toft-Andersen as VP of Esports, who played a part in building the Danish OpTic line-up in his time as SVP of Operations at Infinite Esports & Entertainment. When asked in an AMA about the possibility of bringing the OpTic CS team over to 100 Thieves, Maelk stated: “It’s not impossible.” Given Nadeshot’s relationship with OpTic Gaming and the fact that 100 Thieves have worked with Immortals on a CS:GO team transfer in the past, it certainly seems plausible that this could be 100 Thieves’ avenue back into the game.

Nadeshot confirms 100 Thieves could return to CS: “I want to be in Counter-Strike again” YouTube: 100 Thieves Cast100 Thieves founder and CEO Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag has admitted that he would like to see his organization compete in Counter-Strike again. 100 Thieves walked away from CS:GO in October 2020 during a period of great turmoil in the scene amid the global health crisis, which saw many esports tournaments move to an online-only format. Nadeshot justified the decision with the “ambiguity, vagueness and uncertainty” in the CS:GO scene, adding that the majority of the big online tournaments would be taking place in Europe, far away from 100 Thieves’ base in Los Angeles. The landscape has changed dramatically since then, with offline events becoming the norm again. At the same time, there seems to be a renewed surge of interest from esports organizations in the scene amid the upcoming release of Counter-Strike 2. Questioned about the possibility of 100 Thieves returning to Counter-Strike on the latest episode of ‘Nadeshot Knows’, the organization’s founder said: “There’s a world where it happens. It has got to be the right time and the right opportunity. “I’m not trying to string anybody along. I want to be in Counter-Strike one day again.” (Topic starts at 45:10 in the video) This is not the first time that Nadeshot has kept the door open for a return to Counter-Strike. In August 2022, he publicly praised the game, as well as its history and community. “If I had it my way, we would have a CS:GO team today,” he said. Nadeshot talks 100 Thieves’ potential return to Counter-Strike Nadeshot added that organizations have to be cost-conscious during this period of economic uncertainty, citing the painful experience of the two rounds of layoffs that 100 Thieves recently had to go through. Investing in esports, he added, is “a long-term play”, and that means knowing when to take a more calculated approach to the business — even if that comes with the risk of not being as competitive as other organizations. “We can’t go all-in every single year like we have been,” he said. “We definitely have some tough decisions to make around how much to spend, how realistic, if we were to even reach the top of the totem pole of spending in whatever game we play in, are there rosters that are already set in stone that we can compete with, even with that spending?” In April 2023, Nadeshot said that the economics around CS:GO made it hard to justify returning to the scene. He also described Counter-Strike as “logistically the hardest game” to be in because of the amount of travel that it involves. 100 Thieves entered the CS:GO scene in December 2017 with a Brazilian roster that included the core of the Immortals squad that had reached the grand final at PGL Major Krakow earlier that year. The team ended up not playing a single match for 100 Thieves. The players were released just two months later after missing ELEAGUE Major Boston due to immigration issues. 100 Thieves re-entered the space in October 2019 with the signing of Renegades’ Australian lineup, which had reached the semi-finals of StarLadder Major Berlin. The organization also secured spots in CS:GO’s partner leagues, ESL Pro League and BLAST Premier. While with 100 Thieves, the team notably reached its first-ever tier-one LAN final at IEM Beijing and broke into the top 5 in the world rankings. However, the team lost some of its luster after tournaments moved to an online-only format and became regional competitions. While 100 Thieves remain on the fence about entering Counter-Strike at this point, other North American organizations seem to be dead-set on entering the space. M80 have vowed to build a “world-class” CS2 roster, while TSM are reportedly in the early stage of building a team and are looking at players like Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen, Florian ‘syrsoN’ Rische and Audric ‘JACKZ’ Jug.

Nadeshot addresses rumors of 100 Thieves’ potential return to Counter-Strike YouTube: 100 Thieves Cast100 Thieves founder and CEO Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag has addressed rumors of a potential return to Counter-Strike for the organization, as anticipation for Counter-Strike 2 ramps up. 100 Thieves do not have a storied history in CS:GO, but they have had teams in the past and many within the organization are clearly fans of the esport, including Nadeshot himself. 100T first entered CS by acquiring the former Immortals lineup in December 2017, a team featuring the likes of Henrique ‘HEN1’ Teles and Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau, before pulling out of the esport entirely just a month later. Then, in October 2019, they picked up the Aussies of Renegades, but once again exited the space a year later, and have not been involved since. With those experiences in mind, Nadeshot has explained that while he loves Counter-Strike, getting back in might not be a feasible possibility any time soon. “I would love to be in Counter-Strike,” he said. “Right now, the state of esports, everything’s so expensive. There’s been rightsizing when it comes to player salaries and the expectation that agents and managers have of what we’re actually willing to pay. So, unless something changes drastically around the economics of what the expectation is from the organizations, I can’t make any guarantees. “Counter-Strike is logistically the hardest game to field a roster in because they travel so much. There are tournaments in Europe and they’ve got to go bootcamp out there, and they’ve got to live out there, and one of the biggest hurdles that we had is that North American CS, a couple of years ago when we got out for the second time, was just in shambles.” Timestamp 25:55 He went on to say that it’s not impossible to see 100T in CS again, if there’s “more flexibility in the future,” and went on to compare CS:GO to some of the other games in which the organization competes, saying that they made more money from sticker sales than they did in years over a few different leagues that they play in. While Nadeshot was quick to explain that he would never write off the possibility of getting back into the esport, the timing and financials would have to be right to make a move.

NadeKing reveals top CSGO pro tricks to help you win more matches via NadeKing YouTube[jwplayer 3EyfiByz]Strats in CS:GO are constantly evolving at the pro level, and popular YouTuber ‘NadeKing’ showed off a few new tricks that some of the best players are starting to implement in their games. While you might not be able to counter-strafe one-tap ace the opposition like some pros can in matchmaking, there are easy gameplay tips that you can learn that are incredibly effective in their given situation. Simple methods in CS can impact everything from denying weapons, finishing off a kill, clearing strange angles, and more. The more you get familiar with them, the more tools you’ll have that can impact your overall performance. To that end, using the game’s features to your advantage is a great way to trick other people. NadeKing highlighted when Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen won a round by simply making noise the other player could hear. Using the verticality of Nuke as a map, Aleksib stopped the plant with 0:03 remaining by making Valentin ‘poizon’ Vasilev believe there was someone near him trying to rush in for the kill. A bit of mind tricks won’t help set up a site on Vertigo like Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic did with a single lineup that not only smokes a big sightline, but also perfectly flashes for your team. Spawning in T, there’s a corner off the ledge of the map that you can look up and line up with the crane high above the map. From here you line up (as seen below) and use a jump+throw to smoke off Ivy, then normal throw to pop flash A site. An impressive, albeit situational, tactic to deny CT players from potential exit frags, is to simply die with the bomb. Now the high level play comes in the fact that if you’re up 10-2, like Heroic was on ENCE, and you have better guns as well as more money than your opponents. Read more: The stats that make Nexa so vital to G2 CSGO – Doing so forces the poor team to use their subpar weaponry in your next buy-round, essentially replaying that round. These are just helpful concepts that some people can make use of in their CSGO matches, but NadeKing’s whole video is packed with different approaches that can help developing players.

NadeKing breaks down the newest CSGO tricks pros are using NadeKing YouTubeCounter-Strike: Global Offensive YouTuber ‘NadeKing’ revealed the cutting-edge techniques that the pros have been using in their games, and explained how casual players can start utilizing similar strats into their own playbook. The basic formula of Counter-Strike has been largely untouched since the original title launched at the turn of the millennia. A major reason that has made Valve’s 5v5 tactical shooter feel fresh all these years has to do with the unorthodox or inventive ways that emerging talent and hardened veterans remix tried-and-true tactics to create something entirely new. A longtime name in CS, NadeKing has been around to see pros pick up new habits and experimental peeks that the rest of the player base can replicate in their competitive games. For example, there’s a useful flashbang for T’s to use at the B site of Dust II. Coming outs of Tunnels into the site, T’s typically want a quick flash that blinds as many angles as it can without stopping the rush. Aiming your crosshair above the black window before exiting the tunnel will make the flash hit the second edge into a small divot in the wall. This makes the flash pop in mid-air covering a huge area while protecting the T’s line of site. Heading to the A side of Dust II, if CTs playing at spawn get smoked out, there’s a two man boost that will give a one-way sight line into the cross up to the site. Astralis showed how effective boosting close to the wall can be against opponents who think they have a clear route to the site. Though it’ll be a hard shot to make, it’s a great way to set up a possible retake scenario. On Inferno, for teams looking to barrel into the site there’s a handy run-boost in case the team occupying B throws a smoke to block off Banana. Simply go to the smoke’s edge, and take your time to coordinate a proper run-boost. You’ll be blocked off from anyone’s view and this is a much more effective option to clear the smoke, instead of walking in one by one. There’s a wealth of information in NadeKing’s video, so the whole thing is worth a watch for CSGO players looking to implement pro techniques into their matches.

NA CS:GO player linked with Cloud9 move accused of racist remarks ELeagueAmerican Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player Ronnie ‘ryx’ Bylicki has alleged that rumored Cloud9 signee Gage ‘Infinite’ Green previously used racist language against one of his teammates. First reported by Dust2, rumors suggest that Green will join Cloud9 on a three month trial to replace Maikil ‘Golden’ Selim, who missed the ECS Season 6 Finals and the BLAST Pro Series event in Lisbon, Portugal due to health issues. When the news linking Infinite to Cloud9 broke, CS:GO fans on the /r/GlobalOffensive subreddit immediately began to discuss remarks made by the player at the Americas Minor Championship ahead of the FACEIT London Major. Bylicki went on to confirm those rumors, stating that Green had aimed a racist slur at one of his teammates at the event, and said that while he had played with racist players in the past, Green “tops the list.” To clear up the reddit comments about infinite: At the minor infinite indeed shouted “stfu you dumb N***ER” to one of my teammates during a disagreement. Played with a few racist players but he tops the list — ryx (@ryxCSGO) December 27, 2018 Infinite, who was placed on Spacestation’s inactive roster list in November, has issued an apology for his actions, releasing a statement that said “it just slipped out” in a heated moment, and he understood no words could make people forgive him. “I’m not a racist, and I never intended to use that word in that manner,” wrote the American. “It was immature and awful for me to use that word in any manner and I regret saying it. I want to apologize to everyone I have affected by this, and especially to everyone at Cloud9.” While Green made a point to apologize to Cloud9, the organizations CEO Jack Etienne tweeted that while there has been a lot of speculation about could replace Golden were he unable to play at the Major, they have yet to sign anyone officially and have spoken to a number of players about the situation. There has been a lot of speculation about who we might sign up as a backup for Golden in case he can’t play at the Major. I want to clear the air that although we’ve talked with several players, we have not signed anyone at this point in time. — Jack Etienne (@JackEtienne) December 27, 2018 Were Cloud9 to sign Infinite to replace Golden, it would see the organization return to a predominately North American roster ahead of the Katowice Major which kicks off in November. Cloud9 are expected to start the event at the New Challengers Stage should Golden be able to compete in the tournament, however the loss of their in-game leader could see them lose their spot in that stage, as they would no longer have the core squad which competed at the FACEIT London Major. Current Cloud9 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. Timothy ‘autimatic’ Ta – William ‘RUSH’ Wierzba – Robin ‘flusha’ Ronnquist – Fabien ‘kioShiMa’ Fiey – Maikil ‘Golden’ Selim (inactive) –

n0thing teases old school Cloud9 CS:GO reunion with shroud, freakazoid, more DreamHackCounter-Strike: Global Offensive veteran Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert teased a comeback of the legendary Cloud9 squad that led the way for North America in the early days of CS:GO. Gilbert is one of the most experienced Counter-Strike players in the world, having played the game competitively since 2007. In 2014 he joined Cloud9’s CS:GO squad, and was part of the team that would go on to be the best representative of North America in 2015. This team, featuring Sean ‘seang@res’ Gares, Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek, Ryan ‘freakazoid’ Abadir, Tyler ‘Skadoodle’ Latham, and n0thing himself, became legendary as they were the only American team that was capable of battling it out with the best in the world at the time – despite falling short when it mattered most. On August 19, the CS veteran teased a return of this iconic squad during his Twitch stream. “Okay, so we have a WhatsApp group with me, Skadoodle, shroud, Sean, and freakazoid in it and we’re waiting for another online event to happen. We’re gonna play in it if our schedule permits,” he stated during a game. He also added that they are not sure what event or when, but the group is made and everyone wants to play, so it’s just a matter of time until there is an event that they are all available to play. The community instantly fell in love with the idea. One Reddit user said: “Holy shit, regardless of how well they do that’s going to be so fun to watch. I really liked the OGC roster +fiffy when they just stomped through open, laughing and having fun. I hope we get to see them have fun like that again.” “[Everyone liked that]” added another user, representing the community’s excitement at the prospect of the fan-favorite lineup reuniting. It’s difficult to tell when this original Cloud9 reunion will happen as all five players will need to sync their schedule but at least the interest is there. However, online tournaments happen quite often, and any tournament organizer would no doubt be happy to see the iconic squad play in their event.

n0thing slams “ridiculous” lack of 128-tick servers in CSGO matchmaking CSGO veteran Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert has weighed in on how “ridiculous” it is that Valve’s flagship FPS title still doesn’t have 128-tick servers for matchmaking, especially considering the dedicated lobbies the pros play on. In a game that comes down to the smallest margins, it’s fair to say Counter-Strike players are always looking for the tiny advantages to make sure they can pull off that lethal 1v3 clutch, or rush B to the absolute best of their ability. It’s no wonder then, that pro stars like n0thing think it’s “ridiculous” to see a significant disparity between what they’re experiencing on stage—and what new viewing fans are seeing—and what the average player experiences at home. While Valve has said in the past they’re not looking to change the servers to 128-tick due to the game’s “inability to run higher than 100FPS,” meaning the higher tick rate would change little, many still want to see it implemented. Most recently, professional observer David ‘prius’ Kuntz re-ignited the discussion on CSGO’s tick rate, and the differences between what star players experience at events like a Valve Major or the Blast Pro finals, and new players will experience. “I know I’m beating a dead horse, but it’s crazy to me that CSGO matchmaking still isn’t 128 tick rate yet,” prius said on Twitter on December 30. “If a new player was watching a Valve Major and they watched their favorite player line up a smoke and throw it, and then they go try it themselves in matchmaking, it wouldn’t land correctly. It’s just unacceptable.” “There are zero other games on the market, let alone FPS games, where to get a better server experience, you have to pay a premium or download a third-party client,” he added. “Among many other things, such as spray and movement being completely different.” I know I’m beating a dead horse but it’s crazy to me that @CSGO MM still isn’t 128 tick rate yet. If a new player was watching a Valve Major and they watched their favorite player line up a smoke and throw it and then they go try it themselves in MM, it wouldn’t land correctly — DJ (@priusOBS) December 30, 2019 Kuntz’s comments brought n0thing back into the fray, and the former C9 star said he thinks Valve not only have the power to change the refresh rate for the game but should pull the trigger on improved server realms “as soon as possible.” “Yeah, it’s really ridiculous,” the former star replied, and revealed cost estimations “could cost them around $2 million,” which he didn’t think was that unreasonable to spend. “Relatively speaking, that seems like not that much.” Yeah, really ridiculous. I’ve heard at one point it’d cost them ~2m, which relatively speaking, seems like not that much — Jordan Gilbert (@n0thing) December 30, 2019 While it does make sense for pro stars, and for hardcore Counter-Strike gamers who have built their PCs and want to get the most out of their gaming experiences, to ask for the increased tick rates and other servers boosts, there are other factors that Valve is likely considering, including the ‘P2W’ element. As pointed out by CSGO fans on Reddit as the discussion returned to the fore, many “disadvantaged” players from regions like Russia, Turkey, Brazil, and India all makeup ample swathes of the title’s core player base. Because of the differing levels of connections between players across Asia and Eastern Europe, compared to the primary western audience, a ‘player to win’ factor would be introduced to the game for those that could afford PC upgrades. Some fans suggested Russia, and other regions like India and Turkey, could be given their servers, so the 64–tick and 128–tick players are artificially separated, but others added that this would create other problems, like player base splintering. There is also the fact pay-to-enter servers like ESEA, FACEIT, and CEVO, the last of which has locations in New York, London, France, Sydney, and more, all run on 128-tick environments, but with the added catch of being paid services. While prius and n0thing weighing in on the topic have brought it back into the public eye, at least for now, it’s likely not many changes from Valve’s perspective. The CSGO developers have been tightlipped about refresh rates, and other server improvements, so it’s not likely they’ll be changing their mind any time soon.

Mythic Get Forfeited For Streaming Their ESL One Cologne 2018 Qualifiers vs eUnited There has been a major scandal in the CS:GO esports scene as a team has been disqualified for streaming their qualifier match without permission. Mythic were playing eUnited in the semifinals of the ESL One Cologne 2018 North American open qualifiers when they were forced to forfeit for allegedly violated ESL One rules regarding streaming. This all began after Mythic defeated eUnited in Map 1 of their best of 3 semifinal series. ESL admins told the Mythic players that if they did not stop streaming the remained of the match, they would have to be forfeited for violating Rule 2.5 of the ESL One rulebook. 2.5.1 RightsAll broadcasting rights of ESL One are owned by the Turtle Entertainment GmbH. This includes but is not limited to: IRC bots, shoutcast streams, video streams, GOTV, replays, demos or TV broadcasts. 2.5.2 Waiving These RightsTurtle Entertainment GmbH has the right to award broadcasting rights for one or multiple matches to a third party or the participants themselves. In such cases the broadcasts must have been arranged with a head admin before the start of the match. For the necessary contact details please look at point 1.8.1 and make sure any additional broadcast has been approved before the match in question starts. (https://play.eslgaming.com/broadcast) 2.5.3 Player ResponsibilityPlayers cannot refuse to have their matches broadcast by ESL-authorized broadcasts (https://play.eslgaming.com/broadcast), nor can they choose in what manner the match will be broadcast. The broadcast can only be rejected by an admin. The player agrees to make sufficient accommodation so that broadcasting of matches can take place. The Mythic players did not turn off their streams and thus their team was disqualified as a result, which gave eUnited a spot in the North American closed qualifiers. Many are of the opinion that this stingy approach to the situation by ESL was actually over a matter of viewership disparity, since the official ESL One stream on Facebook was barely pulling almost no viewers while the Mythic players’ streams had close to 8,000 viewers combined. This decision from ESL led to heightened tensions, as players from both Mythic and eUnited started throwing jabs at each other on Twitter. *Some of the tweets have been deleted since, so we are bringing them to in image form. The situation also garnered some negative backlash from the community, with British veteran esports journalist Richard Lewis not holding back on Twitter. Even Daniel ‘clerkie’ Clerke, the General Manager of eUnited whose team benefited from the decision, was quite shocked by Mythic’s disqualification. Cant believe ESL wouldnt allow @fl0mtv and co to stream… Thats bonkers ….— eU dangerboy (@clerkie) May 3, 2018

Multiple top CSGO teams face deadline to resolve conflicts of interest Dignitas / ESLValve has given Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams, including Ninjas in Pyjamas, Dignitas, Evil Geniuses, MiBR, FaZe Clan, and more, a deadline to resolve conflicts of interests, according to an email acquired by HLTV. The information outlined three separate instances of players or coaches having some form of stake in a competing organization. The CSGO developer is cracking down on those that skirt party lines, giving them until the next Major in November to absolve the issues. One of the most reaching cases involves the Brazilian org ‘YeaH Gaming.’ The ownership comprises Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia and Epitacio ‘TACO’ de Melo, both of whom are under MiBR. Former MiBR pillar Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David, who is now a part of FaZe Clan, is also a part of Yeah’s ownership collective. Meanwhile, coach Wilton ‘zews’ Prado of Evil Geniuses is one of YeaH’s former CS: Source players and a founding member of the club. In 2018, zews, dead, coldzera, TACO, Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo (MiBR), and Alessandro ‘Apoka’ Marcucci (BOOM Esports) revamped YeaH. In September of that year, Fallen told GC Media’s Lucas Spricigo that he was no longer associated with YeaH Esports. Those still involved with YeaH are no longer decision-makers of the org. But there is an agreement between them and MiBR’s parent company, Immortals Gaming Club (IGC), according to HLTV. IGC reportedly has a fixed annual fee they give to YeaH in exchange for the ability to outright buy two of their players per calendar year at a set price. There’s also apparently an issue with Dignitas’s Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund having a stake in NiP, the world’s 12th ranked team. Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Development at IGC, Tomi ‘lurppis’ Kovanen, has a minority share in ENCE which Valve wants to be resolved before their next premier tourney. The company has been targeting, at least in theory, conflicts of interest in its competitive landscape for years. Valve is now taking active steps in reinforcing these guidelines to combat partnerships they see as “a threat to the integrity of the Majors.” The next Major will be on November 9 when the ESL One: Rio Major 2020 officially begins. Valve wants to see these conflicts ironed out if the teams want to participate in the $2 million event.

Movistar Riders to bench Smooya and move to all Spanish CSGO roster DexertoAccording to sources familiar with the organization, Movistar Riders will make an announcement that their UK AWPer Owen ‘Smooya’ Butterfield will be moved to the bench as they rebuild their roster with all Spanish players. The move will come as something of a shock as many regard Butterfield as the star player on the roster, something validated by his statistics during his time on the team. Butterfield himself seemed to hint at the decision in a recent live stream when he said “soon you will see five Spanish flags” in Spanish. The roster was already down to three starting players after they ended the contract of Kristjan ‘Shokz’ Jakobson and benched their Brazilian in-game leader Lucas ‘steel’ Lopes at the end of July this year. The organization said these moves were made based on a “bad streak” of results. The team had finished just 11th-12th in ESEA Premier but had qualified for BLAST Premier Showdown through the Iberian regional qualifier. Butterfield had been a stand-out player since joining the roster at the start of February but even his performances hadn’t been able to push the team up in the European rankings. His six-month spell was a period of relative stability for what has been a turbulent and unfortunate career since leaving the German-based team BIG in 2019. His time with the US-based organization Chaos was cut short due to visa and travel issues at the start of the global pandemic. After a six-month period without a club, he joined the European team c0ntact, but that iteration of the roster was a makeshift one while the organization was winding down its operations. In the past, Butterfield has stated that if he doesn’t receive any offers worth pursuing he would make the transition to Riot Games FPS title Valorant, however, he has made no secret of his preference to remain in Counter-Strike. While the player is still under contract and will be on the bench at the organization, our sources informed Dexerto that the org will listen to all offers and that any buyout would be a nominal fee. In regards to Movistar Riders, the three players purported to be joining to fill out the roster will be David ‘Dav1g’ Granado Bermudo, Raúl ‘DeathZz’ Jordán Nieto, and Alvaro ‘SunPayus’ Garcia who all join from the Iberian Family roster. That team had actually beaten Movistar Riders in the group stages of the Iberian BLAST Premier Qualifier but were not able to qualify. We approached Butterfield who declined to make an official comment.

Stuchiu’s Standpoint: Mouz’s 2019 Gamble: The Team of Tomorrow Starladder/Igor BezborodovMouz made the boldest and most ambitious roster among all of the CS:GO teams in 2019. Valiance eliminated mouz at the EU Minor Championships for the Katowice 2019 Major. In the wake of that upset, mousesports decided that it was time to reset the entire project. They realized that they could not win the present, so they decided to gamble on the future. The IEM Katowice Major 2019 Shuffle To understand why the move was so bold, we have to rewind the clock a bit. From the end of 2017 through 2018, mouz was always on the verge of title contention status. Their international squad of: Chris “chrisJ” de Jong, Tomas “oskar” Stastny, Robin “ropz” Kool, Miikka “suNny” Kemppi, and Martin “STYKO” Styk consistently finished in the top four and finals of big tournaments. Prior to losing at the EU Minor Championships, The Europeans attended three tournaments towards the end of 2018. They got top 4 at ESL Proleague Season 8 Finals, 5-6th at ECS Season 6 Finals, and 5-6th IEM Chicago. In all three tournaments mouz lost to the finalists and eventual winner of each tournament. Astralis and Liquid beat mouz at IEM Chicago. MIBR and Astralis eliminated mousesports at ECS Season 6 Finals. Astralis then went for the hat track as they defeated mouz at EPL Season 8 Finals. So while the placements weren’t the highest, losing to the eventual winner was acceptable. This was especially true as late 2018 was firmly in the Astralis Era. So when they dropped out of the group stages of the EU Minor Championship, it was possible that the org could have continued with the same line-up or made a slight modification to it. Fnatic for instance, had an almost equally disastrous result at the IEM Katowice Major and decided to stick with the same five. Read More: PashaBiceps calls out AGO after unsuccessful tryouts Instead mousesports went for the bold move. The current lineup and style of team had reached its maximum potential. it was unlikely that making a single change could boost mouz above the likes of Astralis, Na`Vi, or Liquid. Instead the team decided to bet on the future. They initially benched ChrisJ and STYKO and looked to build around oskar, suNny, and ropz. That plan fell through and mousesports instead went for Karrigan. Karrigan described the situation in a HLTV interview, “I knew they needed two players after benching chrisJ and STYKO, but they never reached out to me so I never expected them to be interested in me. Something happened between oskar, ropz, and suNny, and suddenly mouz came to me asking if I wanted to build a team with two more new players.” Gambling on the Future Mouz finalized their lineup on March 14th, 2019. Their squad included: ChrisJ, karrigan, ropz, Ozgur “woxic” Eker, and David “frozen” Cernansky. While the lineups potential ceiling looked great, it also come with incredible risk. From the outside looking in, mousesports had to win out on multiple gambles for this lineup to work. The three biggest risks revolved around their trio of young stars: Ropz, woxic, and frozen. Ropz was great in his rookie year from 2017 to early 2018. However by the latter half of 2018 he hit a sophomore slump as other teams and players learned his playing style. While still a good player, it looked like it could take another year or two before he could break through to the next level. That level was fine for the previous lineup as he was the third star behind oskar and suNny. In the new team though, he needed to become the primary carry of the team. Woxic was the star player of HellRaisers from late 2017 to early 2019. HellRaisers was an international mix that had some moderate success in the latter half of 2018. On HellRaisers, woxic got the most resources as they built their strategy, tactics, and economy around woxic’s AWPing prowess. In mouz, woxic had to move from the primary star position to a secondary star position. There would also be more pressure as HellRaisers was a smaller team with no aspirations to become a title contender. While this mousesports lineup was new, their goal from the outset was to become a top five team in the world and eventually win titles. Woxic had never played with that level of pressure and scrutiny before. Read More: BLAST announce $4,250,000 BLAST Premier 2020 – The third wager was the biggest. Frozen was a 17-year old player with no notable LAN experience in his career. He had incredible aim, but was an unknown in every other aspect. No one knew how he was as a teammate, his level of game sense, what his strengths or weaknesses were, or how he’d perform on LAN. There have been hundreds of players in CS history who had the potential, but it took them years to realize it on LAN. Mouz’s general management sent a clear signal saying that they were betting their competitive success on future potential. Potential is a dangerous thing to gamble on as the passing rate of potential greatness to realized greatness is dismally low in any competitive field. With all three players so young in their career, there was no guarantee that all three could get to the next stage of competition. Luckily for the team, they had one of the all-time greatest leaders at the helm of the project. Betting it all on Karrigan While Ropz, woxic, and frozen were the biggest gambles, they weren’t the only ones. Mouz needed three other wagers to go right. All three wagers revolved around Karrigan’s leadership. First, Karrigan needed to construct a coherent team structure and strategy. Second, Karrigan had to guide and nurture young players into realizing their potential. Throughout Karrigan’s career as a leader, he has consistently reinvigorated the form of players on his team and taken them to the next level. The critical difference between Karrigan’s past squads and mouz though was that the old squads had rosters with experienced veterans, whereas the star trio only had two years of LAN experience spread between them. Finally, Karrigan needed to build a map pool and get the team competent in at least six of the seven maps if they wanted a shot at cracking the top five. Karrigan aced all of the tests. Strategically, Karrigan understood how he needed to setup the team right away. He explained his thoughts to HLTV, “chrisJ is going to be a hybrid, the secondary AWPer, secondary caller, and he can play any role I need in a round. He is experienced and has been playing at a high level for some time now. ropz, the FPL God, is going to be an important piece in this lineup, he’ll lock down the small sites as CT and play a lurking role on T. woxic, the crazy Turk, is going to be the guy with a happy mood and will be the main AWPer. I’ve had my eyes on him for a long time, so I was happy we were able to get him on board. frozen is going to be our entry, he has really solid mechanics and is able to do some crazy stuff.” If you look across the six month span the team has been together, all three stars have become far better players than they were before. Ropz has found his place as a passive superstar player that specializes in lurking and closing out rounds. Karrigan’s system has the other four players making aggressive moves and buying him the space he needs to excel. Woxic has become a better and more consistent AWPer. His trajectory is such that, he could be a top five AWPer in the world by early 2020. Frozen has paired well with karrigan and ChrisJ as part of the entry pack. Beyond being a great aimer, he’s also shown a level of versatility, poise, and game sense that is uncommon for his age. He reminds me of when Jonathan “EliGE” Jablownowski broke into the scene in 2015 as an entry-fragger. He has the potential to become a reliable star in the future. ChrisJ and Karrigan filled out the remaining roles perfectly. ChrisJ is like a Swiss army knife. He can entry, AWP, lurk, and call. Outside of the game, he has proven to be a reliable soldier and this has been a stable foundation for Karrigan. Karrigan plays the sacrificial role well in enabling his teammates, but can also have really impactful individual games or series. The Six Month Run From March 14th to now, mousesports have continued to grind their way up the rankings. At IEM Sydney they got top six beating BOOT-dreanScape, Renegades, and BIG. MIBR then eliminated them in the quarterfinals. Karrigan established a solid foothold on Train, Mirage, and Inferno. Mouz then went on to win DreamHack Tours against smaller teams. The team then went to ESL Proleague Season 9 Finals where they placed top four by beating MIBR, HellRaisers, and FaZe, before losing to Liquid in semifinals.. In those two events, the team added nuke to their pool. At ESL One Cologne, they failed to make it out of the group stages as they played against Na`Vi twice. Both times it was a close affair. Na`Vi won the intial bo1 16-14 on Inferno and in the rematch Na`Vi won the series 2-1. The first map of that series was a close game that went to double overtime with Na`Vi winning the map 22-19. Among all of the different games that mouz played during this time, the inferno loss to Na`Vi exemplified the dangers of having a mostly young team. The squad had outplayed Na`Vi for most of the map and were up 15-11. However their inexperience and nerves got to them and they failed to close out the map when they had the chance. Karrigan described the loss to HLTV, “There were two afterplants we shouldn’t have lost, especially the last one, 15-14, 4v2, miscommunication and missed shots cost us of going into overtime there. A few rounds before, 14-11, we had somehow lost a 5v3 afterplant. So that game was the first one I have had in mouz that was really disappointing, we didn’t hit our shots, the communication was off and we couldn’t finish the game.” While Karrigan had done a brilliant job leading mouz to where they were, the final steps of their progress depended on the growth of the young players. The young stars had great aim, but needed more time to develop their overall game. To learn karrigan’s system, to comm correctly, increase their individual playbooks, better their teamplay, and most importantly to stay calm in high-pressure situations. The ability to stay calm under fire was tested directly at the StarLadder Berlin Major. The EU Minor Run Once again mousesports started in the EU Minor Championships stage. While they had a completely different squad, they were once again favorites to qualify for the Challengers stage. NoChance broke any hopes of an easy run into the Major as they upset mouz in the first game. The team then played the elimination bo3 where Sprout won the first game on Train. Sprout then went up 12-3 in the second half. The European squad then had a heroic T-side as they won 12 rounds in a row to take the second to close out the game. After the close brushes with death, mouz refocused, found their form and make it through the rest of the qualifier easily. They beat NoChance in the rematch 2-1. Once they got into the playoffs, they smashed Fnatic and North 2-0 each. The most interesting difference between mouz’s form in the group stage and their form in the playoffs was their CT-side. When they lost to Sprout on Train, they had 3 rounds on the CT-side. The same thing happened on Dust2. Mouz’s CT-side had lost all synergy. The CT-side is more based on individual skill rather than tactics or teamplay. Mousesports had brilliant individual players, but the fact that their CT-side was falling apart now seemed to indicate that the nerves of the moment was starting to get to the players. They weren’t hitting their shots, their rotations were off, and they looked hesitant on what to do as the round time ticked down. In the playoffs though, the team was able to fix this by being more proactive with their aggression. Going for early duels and dictating the pace seemed to calm the nerves of the team as they started to comm, rotate, teamplay, and aim far better than what they had in the group stages. While it didn’t have much impact on their overall run, their weakness on the CT-side did pop up a few times in their later run at the Major itself. The StarLadder Berlin Major Mouz used the downtime between the Minor and the Challengers stage to improve their Dust2 and add Vertigo to their map pool. This made them one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament as they could now play six of the seven maps at a good level and this allowed them to play mind games on the map veto. In the Challengers Stage, the team went 3-0 beating ForZe, AVANGAR, and G2 2-1. The Legends Stage was where the Europeans struggled. They lost their first map to FaZe 8-16. The first half was fine as they went 6-9, but FaZe reset them on their CT-side and they couldn’t get back into the game. From there, it was a battle to the end. Mouz beat North 16-13 and Na`Vi 19-17 to go 2-1. Vitality then smashed them 2-0 in the fourth match. Mouz’s final match was against Liquid, the best team in the world in the midst of their era. It was an epic battle as mouz lost both maps in overtime. Liquid won 19-17 on Mirage and 22-20 on Dust2. It was a battle to the end with Karrigan putting on a monster performance on both maps. While they lost the series, it may become one of the most important losses in this lineup’s life. The biggest weakness of this mousesports squad has been playing to their best in high pressure moments. Mouz lost to MIBR in the playoffs of IEM Sydney. Lost to Liquid at the semifinals of EPL 9. Lost to Na`Vi in the group stages of ESL One Cologne. Nearly died to Sprout in the group stages of the EU Minor. In this match, mousesports were playing against the best team in the world with their tournament lives on the line. While they made some mistakes, they went head-to-head against Liquid and played fantastic Counter-Strike. While they didn’t make it to the Legends Stage, the level they showed in that final game was of that pedigree. The Team of Tomorrow It has been six months since the lineup has come together. In that time, karrigan has answered all of the questions. Could he build a team from the ground up? Could he lead new players into the highest levels of competition and make them better than they were before? Could he build a comprehensive map pool? Karrigan has checked all of the questions and proven once again why he is one of the greatest leaders in the CS:GO world. He’s helped improve the form of all three young stars, created a cohesive system, and mouz can now play six of the seven maps. Karrigan has been brilliant, but the final push for this squad to go from a good team into a contending team must come from its trio of young stars. Mouz’s competitive success relies on Ropz, Woxic, and frozen taking the next step to become superstars. Their progression reminds me of Liquid’s current trio: EliGE, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, and Keith “NAF” Markovic. From 2016-2017, all three players had to grind up the ladder, gain experience, and use that to improve themselves as players and teammates. That experience eventually helped them grow into the superstars they are today. Now it is Ropz, Woxic, and frozen’s turn. They are the players of potential and mouz has become the team of tomorrow. A team filled with incredible potential that could one day be one of the best in the world.

MOUZ turn to another CSGO academy graduate WePlayMOUZ have announced that Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman has been promoted from their highly successful CS:GO academy team. The Israeli player will step into Aurimas ‘Bymas’ Pipiras’ shoes in MOUZ’s starting lineup after the German organization decided to shake things up just a few weeks into the season. xertioN, 18, is the latest player to come through MOUZ’s academy pipeline, following in the footsteps of Ádám ‘torzsi’ Torzsás and Jon ’JDC’ de Castro, both of whom were promoted earlier this year. During the trio’s time together, MOUZ NXT won the first two editions of the WePlay Academy League. xertioN, who went on to win two more WePlay Academy League titles (one of which alongside JDC), was expected to be the next in line to earn a step up to the main squad. Bymas caught off-guard The announcement came as a surprise to many as MOUZ seemed to be on the upswing. The team ended the previous tournament season with a second place at Global Esports Tour Dubai 2022 and a playoff run at IEM Cologne. After coming back from the player break, they qualified for the IEM Road to Rio Europe RMR on their first attempt. On Twitter, Bymas revealed that he did not see the change coming. “It was very unexpected and saddening to hear the news a few days ago,” Bymas said. “I joined TeamSpeak for a practice day and was told I was getting replaced. “It was very unexpected because I thought things had been going well for us lately after reaching the Cologne playoffs and qualifying for the RMR. But the team decided to make changes and I fully respect their decision and wish them nothing but luck.” xertioN will make his first appearance for MOUZ at ESL Pro League Season 16, which kicks off on August 31. MOUZ have been placed in Group C alongside ENCE, Heroic, Astralis, Complexity and HEET. MOUZ CS:GO roster: David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský – Christopher ‘dexter’ Nong – Jon ‘JDC’ de Castro – Ádám ‘torzsi’ Torzsás – Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman – Dennis ‘sycrone’ Nielsen (coach) –

“MOUZ are done! Ropz needs to escape!” | Richard Lewis Reacts Dexerto After an early exit at IEM Winter 2021 — including a “battering” against the new-look Astralis — MOUZ need “go back to the drawing board” ahead of 2022, according to Richard Lewis. Ropz and Frozen are doing the heavy lifting, but it’s not enough, he says. While MOUZ made some big moves to start 2021, including signing former Renegades IGL Chris ‘dexter’ Nong in a surprise shift, it hasn’t landed too well for the European squad. Now rueing an early exit from IEM Winter 2021 at the hands of Vitality and Astralis, it’s clear more needs to change in 2022 after a year with this roster. Richard Lewis has broken down the downfall of MOUZ, why Ropz and Frozen need help, and what the team can do heading into next year to save their reputation. Discover More: Astralis: “It’s time to stop messing about!” Richard Lewis Reacts

MOUZ CSGO star answers critics with 50-bomb at IEM Cologne ESLMOUZ CSGO AWPer torzsi answered critics of his fragging output by dropping 50 frags in his team’s first game at IEM Cologne 2023. The Hungarian AWPer led the charge in MOUZ’s 22-19 victory over TheMongolz in the first round of the IEM Cologne Play-In as he put in a 1.67 HLTV rating in part thanks to his 50 frags, 34 of which came with the AWP. Ádám ‘torzsi’ Torzsás, who had 23 frags more than his closest teammate, Dorian ‘xertioN’ Berman, delivered the perfect response to those who had called for his removal during the team’s off-season reshuffling. MOUZ re-signed Kamil ’siuhy’ Szkaradek from GamerLegion and promoted academy star Jimi ‘Jimpphat’ Salo over the player break. siuhy had played alongside torzsi in MOUZ’s academy, creating a system that allowed the Hungarian player to shine before they went their separate ways. torzsi struggled to perform at times under Australian in-game leader Christopher ‘dexter’ Nong, who left for Fnatic during the summer break. Now that he is reunited with siuhy, the Hungarian seems ready to show his best form again. “There were a lot of talks about me and it was pretty hard for me at the end of the season,” he said after the match. “I just pushed through. We have to deal with it, right? “When we played in NXT, he [siuhy] brought out the best in me. I think we can do it again. I think it’s a good start. I think we are on a good path” Later on Wednesday, MOUZ will take on NIP in a best-of-three series, with the winner advancing to the group stage of IEM Cologne. There is a $1 million prize pool on the line at the German event, which will culminate in a best-of-five grand final on August 6 at the LANXESS arena.

Mousesports overhaul CS:GO roster following IEM Katowice disaster ESL/Damian GątkiewiczMousesports have parted ways with two of their most popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star players after a failed IEM Katowice Major run. The underdog roster had risen to the upper echelons of CS following championship wins at StarLadder Season 4 and ESL One: New York in 2018. However, things didn’t go as planned in Poland – where they had been expected to battle through a difficult European Minor but ultimately qualify. Prior to the Minor, in-game leader Chris ‘chrisJ’ de Jong admitted that Mouz hadn’t practiced much before the event as they took a holiday break in December. The team was eventually knocked out by Valiance after going 1-2 at the Minor. Now, they’ve made changes to shake things up. The German organization has announced that long-time star chrisJ and support player Martin ‘STYKO’ Styk will be placed on the bench while new options are considered. Coach Sergey ‘lmbt’ Bezhanov will also be stepping away from the team moving forward. “After the most successful season of our history, we already saw some issues within the team towards the end of the year and unfortunately we couldn’t turn it around in Katowice,” Mousesport CEO Stefan Wendt said in the team’s statement. “To secure competitive success in 2019 we feel it is necessary that the team gets a fresh start.” When @STYKOcsgo joined the team back in 2017, he ignited immediate success, with championship campaigns in Mykonos, Budapest and Kiev. When the team needed him the most, he stepped up and carried the weight on his shoulders, which we couldn’t be more thankful for. pic.twitter.com/khurgPU1N8 — mousesports (@mousesports) February 4, 2019 Finnish star Miikka ‘suNny’ Kemppi also stated: “Parting ways after one and a half years and 19 offline tournaments is not easy but sometimes a few steps back can be multiple steps forward. There are no hard feelings or any bad blood inside the team, we just drove ourselves into a situation we couldn’t get out of and something had to change.” suNny added: “It was the most successful run for all of us and I hope that this will change the careers of all of us for the better. Looking forward to a new and fresh chapter now, where we can be consistent contenders for titles again.” Announcing changes to our Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division. Read more: https://t.co/z65USQgxA7 pic.twitter.com/BwHV1zid9Y — mousesports (@mousesports) February 4, 2019 The move leaves Mouz with two roster spots to fill as only Tomas ‘oskar’ Stastny, Robin ‘ropz’ Kool and Miikka ‘suNny’ Kemppi remain on the active roster – as of writing. It’s unknown as of now who will replace the benched pair but keep your eyes to Dexerto all the breaking CS:GO news and updates.

Mousesports identify two new CS:GO players to join Karrigan in rebuilt team StarLadderMousesports’ were both benched. Since then, it has been reported that star fragger Miikka ‘suNny’ Kemppi looks set to leave the team and join Cloud9, leaving the German-based organization having to shake things up with only two active players, Robin ‘Ropz’ Kool and Tomas ‘oskar’ Stastny, on the roster if suNny does indeed depart. According to reports from HLTV, and French insider neLdirekt, on March 4, mousesports are lining up moves for Hellraisers’ Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker and rising star David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský from NoChance. The team is also expected to add benched FaZe Clan member Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen to the roster, as was reported earlier by Dexerto’s Jarek ‘DeKay’ Lewis. The reports also suggest that woxic would take over the primary AWP role from oskar, who does not appear to be included in the roster. With Karrigan set to assume the in-game leader role, ChrisJ would presumably take up a position as a rifler. Adding 16-year-old talent frozen would be a proto-typical mousesports move – adding and developing players before that eventually become a star is not unheard of for the organization. If all the reports turn out to be true, Mousesports’ roster would consist of: Robin ‘Ropz’ Kool – Chris ‘ChrisJ’ De Jong – Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker – David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský – Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen –

DeKay on CS:GO: Why Mousesports’ failure was a blessing in disguise While Mousesports missing out on the IEM Katowice CS:GO Major could have been seen as a disappointment for the legendary organization, it turned out to be one of the best things to happen to them. The post-IEM Katowice roster shuffle was very timid in comparison to those of the past. No blockbuster moves happened and many of the world’s best didn’t even make changes. Despite the constant unsubstantiated rumblings of this shuffle being one for the history books, nothing of the sort materialized. With most teams standing their ground, this limited the number of available players for many teams actually searching. One of those teams was Mousesports, who had just failed to qualify for the Major for the first time since IEM Katowice 2015. Luckily for them, one of the best in-game leaders in the world was there for the taking. The unfortunate luxury of failing to qualify for the Major is being able to replace more than two players, which is exactly what Mousesports did. While no rule exists against changing three or more players, most teams prefer to retain their Major invite rather than re-qualifying. Their original plan wasn’t their current lineup though, as evidenced by their benching of Chris ‘chrisJ’ de Jong only to bring him back to the active lineup a month later. At first, it was expected that they would recruit two additional pieces of raw talent and scrimmage their way through 2019. That was until they were able to court Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen, who had been jettisoned from FaZe Clan in late 2018. Many expected Karrigan to return to a Danish lineup, but that was never going to happen. If he joined OpTic Gaming or North, it would only be a matter of time before the existing talent on his lineup would be ripped from his grasp. Astralis is at the top of the world today, but what happens when they eventually fall off? They’ll look to those aforementioned teams and take a player of their choosing with ease. Instead, Karrigan was determined to repeat what he had done once before: take a mixed nationality team from the bottom to the top. Karrigan brings a unique style of in-game leading that bodes well for a team with a bunch of skilled individual players. He has a knack for putting his players in places they feel most comfortable and then calling around their playmaking ability. Players buy-in to this approach because they feel empowered by it, as opposed to feeling limited by a rigid tactical system. Not only do players enjoy his style, but it works. Prior to joining FaZe, the team had hardly sniffed a deep playoff run and by the end of his tenure, they had won seven premier international tournaments. His buyout from Astralis is one of the best investments any team has ever made in Counter-Strike history. Mousesports getting Karrigan on board meant serious firepower was necessary if they wanted him to work his magic. Even with chrisJ coming back to the lineup, Robin ‘ropz’ Kool wasn’t going to drop the hammer on the opposition by himself, so they went searching. Fortunately for them, Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker was ready for a new adventure and was retrievable from HellRaisers. For the fifth and final spot, they turned to youngster David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský who was destined to join a top team from the moment he set foot into the professional landscape. In their first event as a team, Mousesports swept the competition to lock-in a playoff appearance at the Season 9 ESL Pro League Finals. Even with the small sample size, the new lineup passes the eye-test and it looks like Karrigan is once again cooking up something special. They will undoubtedly have their growing pains, but their path to the top is clear and almost inevitable if the other players follow his lead. The previous roster failing to reach the Top 14 of IEM Katowice was a blessing for fans of Counter-Strike, even if it didn’t look that way at the time.

Mousesports dominate ENCE to win CSGO Asia Championships 2019 – Final Placements Mousesports came back from near elimination against homecrowd favorite ENCE to eventually win the CSGO Asia Championships tournament, along with the $250,000 prize. This is mousesports’ first major championship in over a year, and the first since completely overhauling their lineup back in March. Mous is definitely in the house. The international mousesports lineup finished the long road through the playoffs in deciding fashion, with a dominant 2-0 grand finals win against ENCE. CHAMPIONS! 🏆#ReadyWillingAble #CAC2019 #PlayFaster #TeamRazer pic.twitter.com/boTRH1usWE — MOUZ (@mousesports) November 24, 2019 This victory came from the jaws of defeat, as mousesports found themselves down one game to homecrowd favorites TYLOO in the semifinals, and trailing the second game 15-8 on Inferno. Mousesports responded with seven impressive rounds in a row, with clutches coming from all members of the squad. That momentum carried them into their third map, another close affair, which they narrowly won 16-14 to advance to the grand finals. Both ENCE and Mouz were looking to etch their first win with the new rosters. ENCE especially were looking to finally end the discussion about the departed Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen; a subject which came up again this tournament during a tremendously awkward interview segment. Despite the grand finals loss, ENCE still had an impressive tournament, as did TyLoo, who defeated G2 Esports and MIBR, and were just a round away from beating mousesports and going to the grand finals. WE DID IT! 🔥 Insane 2-1 series comeback against @tyloogaming in the #CAC2019 semifinals. We’ll take on ENCE for the championship in a few minutes!#ReadyWillingAble pic.twitter.com/hkwb8Q2lh8 — MOUZ (@mousesports) November 24, 2019 For Evil Geniuses, MIBR, and AVANGAR, they will have top hop on planes and fly all the way back to Arlington, Texas in the United States, as they all compete in the ECS Season 8 finals. The tournament was organized and hosted by Perfect World CSGO and PGL.

Mousesports defeat Na’Vi to win CSGO ICE Challenge – full results Twitch: csgomaincastMousesports took home the first notable trophy of the 2020 CS:GO year, winning a hard-fought series against Natus Vincere in the grand finals of ICE Challenge, after a grueling six days of action. The ICE Challenge took place from February 1-6, and offered fans a chance to see several top teams in action for the first time in the new year, competing for a share of the $250,000 prize pool. Among those making their 2020 debut were Na’Vi, who in January made the move to cut Ladislav ‘GuardiaN’ Kovács. Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev was back on the AWP, with young rifler Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy as the fifth man. Let us introduce to you @perfectocsgo, the new player of our main CS:GO roster. Watch the interview! 📽️: https://t.co/TtrNoC4Dk3#navination #csgo pic.twitter.com/usVchY135Z — NAVI (@natusvincere) February 3, 2020 The new team’s first outing was largely a success, not dropping a map on their way to the grand final where they faced Mousesports. Mouz themselves were making their first appearance of 2020 after closing out the previous year with an impressive run of three championships and one runner-up finish. Mousesports drew first blood in the best-of-five final with a close-fought 16-14 win on Dust 2, and followed up with a more convincing 16-8 victory on Inferno. Na’Vi were able to stay alive in the series with a 16-11 Train win, in spite of an epic 1v5 by Chris ‘ChrisJ’ de Jong that many are already calling the play of the year (and the decade so far). Mousesports capitalized on numerous Na’Vi mistakes on the fourth map, Nuke, to close our the series 3-1 and take home the trophy. Meanwhile, Virtus.Pro’s new squad, which previously represented AVANGAR, were looking for their first big result under the new banner, having previously picked up underwhelming top-eight finishes at EPICENTER and DreamHack Leipzig. Unfortunately, they were once again unable to make a deep run, falling out in the quarterfinals to GODSENT for a top-six placing. It was also another disappointing outing for ENCE, who were eliminated in last place. The Finnish team have struggled to find their footing since replacing in-game leader ‘Aleksib’, whose new OG squad beat them in their first match of the tournament. OG ultimately only went one step further than ENCE, though, reaching the quarterfinals before being eliminated by MAD Lions. ICE Challenge 2020 Final Placements Additional reporting provided by Scott Robertson.

Snax responds to Mousesports benching As was previously reported, Mousesports has officially benched Janusz ‘Snax’ Pogorzelski to bring back Martin ‘STYKO’ Styk after acquiring Snax just three months ago. The move came as a surprise to many because adding Snax was a costly roster decision. Last June, Mousesports bought out Snax from his previous contract with Virtus.Pro for $290,000 according to a report by DBLTAP. Snax lasted just over three months with Mousesports, and on September 30th the team won ESL One New York, but even that win wasn’t enough to keep the current roster intact. Snax took to Facebook to talk about why he felt he needed to move on from the roster. “I was beginning to feel [a bit depressed] because my potential wasn’t used in the right way,” Snax wrote which has been translated from Polish. “The positions would not change because they are very used to them and they need someone who will play only under them or someone who would turn into these weakest roles. I don’t think they’re experienced yet (they knew exactly what change they were doing) to put together a team in an equal way and make everyone happy.” Replacing Snax is STYKO, the player who was originally benched and sent on loan to make room for Snax over the summer. After a brief stint with Cloud9, STYKO has rejoined the team and the roster that appeared to be a top-five team in Spring of 2018 is back together. STYKO returned to the team from loan on September 22nd and has proven chemistry with the rest of the roster. Still, the concerns that made Mouz feel the need to invest heavily in a new player are still there. STYKO is not the dominant player he once was but still fills a necessary role as team leader and communicator, something Mouz appeared to be missing with Snax in the lineup.

Mousesports announce new IGL amid Karrigan to FaZe rumors Mousesports / ESLMousesports announced the signing of new CSGO in-game leader (IGL) Christopher ‘dexter’ Nong amid speculation of Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen’s return to FaZe Clan. Mousesports sign former Renegades IGL Dexter. – Dexter to lead mouz for upcoming IEM Katowice. – FaZe Clan linked to re-sign Karrigan. – Mouz sign Renegades IGL Mouz have signed the former Renegade leader who had a stellar 2020 with Renegades in the Oceanic circuit. Dexter is expected to fill the IGL role for his new team as soon as the IEM Katowice. Dexter already arrived to mouz HQ in Hamburg, Germany practicing with the squad. The rest of the team remain intact with stars Robin ‘ropz’ Kool and David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský in the lineup. Welcome @dextersjourney The 26-year-old Australian has moved his life to Hamburg, Germany to practice and compete from the mouz HQ. After dominating the Oceanic scene with @Renegades, he will lead our team for the first time during #IEM Katowice.#ReadyWillingAble #TeamRazer pic.twitter.com/pwEQbI88VF — MOUZ (@mousesports) February 10, 2021 Karrigan to FaZe confirmed? Karrigan’s contract with FaZe Clan is reportedly up in March. Even before today’s announcement, the 30-year-old IGL has been linked to a FaZe Clan return. FaZe have been in the market for a proper IGL even before the departure of Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovac, and are said to be interested in reuniting with karrigan. With Dexter’s new signing, mouz already have a replacement for the Danish-German veteran should he choose to make the switch back to FaZe.

Mousesports announce new CS:GO roster with Karrigan at the helm DreamHackGerman esports organization Mousesports have unveiled their new look CS:GO lineup, which now features former FaZe Clan IGL Finn ‘karrigan‘ Andersen, and new additions in Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker and David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský. After failing to qualify for the IEM Katowice Major, changes seemed inevitable at mouz, and making way for the new additions meant releasing Tomas ‘oskar’ Stastny after over two years with the organization. Miikka ‘suNny’ Kemppi is remaining with the organization, but will move to the bench. Sources have told Dexerto that suNny has been in talks with ENCE. In their announcement post, Mousesports explained that the two departing players “didn’t share our vision for the new team”, as CEO Stefan Wendt clarified “We want to go back to a team that is highly motivated and eager to play for this organization.” Sources have informed Dexerto that mouz are also trialing Rejin has the team’s new coach. Karrigan comes in to the lineup after a middling time with Envy, who also missed out on the Katowice Major narrowly, but his experience will be invaluable to an otherwise young roster. The Dane is returning to the organization he represented back in early 2013, and will now face the task of “leading a group of talented young stars.” 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 Turkish woxic is one of these exciting young talents, who has impressed as a versatile player and a talented AWPer during his time with Hellraisers. More: March 13 CS:GO update finally nerfs AUG and makes major changes to round loss bonuses – Patch Notes – Slovakian-born frozen may be lesser known to fans, and joins from ‘NoChance’ – a team originally started by teamless stars including Adil ‘ScreaM’ Benrlitom. The new mousesports roster doesn’t have long to adapt to the karrigan’s leadership and become accustomed to each other, as they continue the ECS Season 7 matches on Monday, March 18, with the ESL Pro League Season 8 starting a month later.

mousesports sweep Fnatic to win ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals – Final Placements 16 top Counter-Strike teams made their way to Odense, Denmark and the Odense Congress Center, with the top six playing in front of a rabid crowd ay the Jyske Bank Arena for the lion’s share of $600,000 and a crucial victory in season 3 of the Intel Grand Slam. For fans of Counter-Strike, the calendar year may be coming to a close, but the IEM Grand Slam season rolls on. Supporters tuned in and turned out for the ESL Pro League finals in the heart of Denmark for one of the final premier CSGO events of the year. After a month of round-robin group stage play, the ESL Pro League regular season sent eight European teams, six North American teams, one from Oceania, and one from Asia to duke it for the brand new ESL Pro League trophy. Introducing the all new #ESLProLeague trophy to celebrate the 10th season 🏆https://t.co/nuNzLGaGvO pic.twitter.com/COlDvW3eeE — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) December 8, 2019 For a handful of teams that consider themselves top-tier, Odense was a rough outing. North’s chances of playing in front of a home crowd were squandered early, after a round 1 loss to Team Liquid and then a lower bracket loss to ATK. G2 Esports, MIBR, and FaZe Clan all found themselves gone early too, getting bounced in the second lower bracket round. G2 and North were both sent home by ATK, a relatively unknown American/South African hybrid roster whose impressive play was a pleasant surprise to fans watching, until they met a buzzsaw in the surging mousesports. Mousesports’ were red hot in Odense, as Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen sought to lead his team to a title in front of his countrymen. After a group stage loss to Liquid, mous responded with four straight series wins to get to the grand finals. This included capping off a quarterfinals with a 16-0 rout against Evil Geniuses, and a semifinals victory over Astralis and the Danish crowd. 16-0 over EG. Semifinals. Tomorrow. Astralis.#ReadyWillingAble #ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/NDWURGUvZc— MOUZ (@mousesports) December 6, 2019 They met Fnatic, who were on their own hot streak as well. After a round 1 bludgeoning at the hands of EG, Fnatic won five straight series to make the final. mous and Fnatic traded rounds throughout Inferno, before mousesports finally pulled away in the final rounds to take the first game 16-11. Mousesports carried their momentum into Train, as they only allowed Fnatic to pick up one T-side round and took a two map lead 16-10. They wasted no time in putting the clamps on Fnatic and eliminating the notion of a comeback, taking Mirage 16-11 to claim the title. YOUR #ESLPROLEAGUE SEASON 10 CHAMPIONS ARE @MOUSESPORTS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hYQrB6SglF — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) December 8, 2019

Moses: Why Valve is failing CSGO community with Jamppi’s ban ELEAGUE / DreamHack Speaking exclusively to Dexerto, Counter-Strike caster, Jason ‘Moses’ O’Toole, has weighed in on Elias ‘Jamppi’ Olkkonen’s ban from Valve officiated events ahead of ENCE’s Semifinal appearance in BLAST Premier. [jwplayer c30d8Kdj-scyvyYe0] After an account he previously owned received a Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) ban, Jamppi filed a lawsuit against the Counter-Strike developers for damages that reportedly prevented the Finnish star from joining OG Esports due to being prohibited from competing at Major tournaments. As part of the lawsuit, Jamppi claimed for €266,092 in compensation and the removal of his permanent ban. Moses on Jamppi’s impact for ENCE In light of Valve’s response to Jamppi, Moses has given his two cents on the 18-year-old’s ban, as the ENCE squad are reaching new heights in BLAST Premier with the youngster on their starting lineup. In terms of what Jamppi brings to Finnish roster, O’Toole contested that it’s his raw mechanical ability that is his most redeeming quality. “Just in a most basic sense, what he brings to ENCE is an incredible amount of firepower — an incredible amount of talent and skill into this roster…” Moses then touched on exactly why Jamppi could bring more consistency to ENCE’s lineup, comparing his raw ability to teammate, Jere “sergej” Salo. “If you look at it a little bit deeper… It feels like he’s the superstar in ENCE that sergej was supposed to be.” Reflecting on sergej’s relatively inconsistent performances, Moses added that Jamppi could be the player that “provides the star power on a consistent basis.” Moses on Jamppi’s VAC ban Touching on Jamppi’s ongoing lawsuit against Valve, Moses explained why he believes Valve should consider lifting Jamppi’s permanent ban from Valve’s Major tournaments. “I think this is maybe one of the final areas where Valve is really failing this community,” the commentator argued. “Even if the account is banned or it did actually happen, still like 14 at the time, this is a player who could bring so much to the Counter-Strike scene — this is a player who can contribute so much to the professional scene. Moses then looked forward to how Jamppi’s permanent ban could impact the starting lineup as well as ENCE as an organization, delving into how the ban doesn’t simply start and end at the player and that there is a much more global impact. “I think we deserve to have a player of Jamppi’s caliber, that we can see already, being able to make his mark on the history of Counter-Strike in the biggest events — in our world championships that Valve runs.” After making his stance clear, Moses simply added that he hopes the issue gets resolved and that the hotshot is eventually allowed to compete at Majors, now that he is of age to do so.

Moses explains which CSGO team is the best in the world today Popular Counter-Strike analyst and commentator Jason ‘Moses’ O’Toole, has given his two cents as to which CSGO team is leading the pack in 2019. Hot off the heels of an electric 2019 StarLadder Berlin Major, which saw juggernauts Astralis take home the gold after a flawless playoff run, Moses has chimed in on who he believes to be the best CSGO team in the world. In a September 11 AMA on the Global Offensive subreddit, Moses obliged in varying discussions about the esport as a whole, but most notably, the analyst elaborated on which team is at the very top today. Reddit user ‘ItsBrusky’ asked Moses to share his thoughts of Team Liquid and Astralis “after this major? Are Astralis back? Was this a slight falter for TL or are they starting to be figured out?” Read More: FaZe Clan make first roster change following Berlin Major The analyst responded in stating that “Astralis is definitely back. I mentioned before the Major began that I thought they would prove to everyone they were the #2 team in the world by the end of the event. They’ve done that.” The recent victory in Berlin marked the third consecutive success at a Major for Astralis. Having previously won the FACEIT: Major 2018 and the Intel Extreme Masters XIII – Katowice Major 2019. Moses continued on, arguing that “if they continue to play at the level they were at in the top8 they’re probably the #1 team in the world.” On Team Liquid however, a team that had looked dominant throughout much of 2019, Moses believes their performance at the Berlin Major “was just a slight falter. Certainly they would start to get figured out at some point, and maybe they over-adjusted their gameplay during the bootcamp.” Read More: Team Vitality could withdraw from BLAST Moscow While Astralis now sits at four Major victories, the most of any Counterstrike organization, Team Liquid has yet to find success on such a scale, falling 0-2 against Astralis in the Quarterfinals of the Berlin Major. “Whatever it was, they never seemed confident in their individual levels throughout the major,” Moses explained. “And the worst part was that it also seemed they lost some faith/trust in their teammates.” It was a truly dominant showing for Astralis at the most recent event, refusing to drop even a single map throughout their historic playoff run. Will either of these iconic organizations make changes to their lineups? You can keep up to date with all the latest using our Post-Berlin Major roster tracker.

Caster Moses explains why CSGO doesn’t have its own International Counter-Strike: Global Offensive caster Jason ‘Moses’ O’Toole has explained why CS:GO doesn’t have its own International-style event like Dota 2, citing differences in developer and player opinions. Dota 2’s The International is one of the biggest esports events of the year. Every August, regardless of what games people play, millions of people turn their attention towards the crown of Dota 2 and its mega prize purse. On the other hand, CS:GO trots along, with decently-sized prize pools every few weeks, but nothing major like The International. While some consider this a blessing, there could have been a world where CS:GO had its own Invitational, according to caster Moses. On the Tasteless podcast with Starcraft 2 caster Nick ‘Tasteless’ Plott, Moses explained that CS:GO players had the choice between the International, or a bevy of majors and smaller tournaments held across the year. “I know we’ve had a couple of conversations with them, especially earlier on in Counter-Strike, about whether we wanted an International, and pretty much unanimously the pros and the people involved in CS esports said no,” he said. “Who knows, that could have been a mistake.” CS:GO’s tournament format is split between multiple tournament organizers and regions, who try to not step on each other’s toes. With a bulky calendar throughout the year, teams are playing in events, big and small, from January to December. Can’t view the video? Follow this link and skip to 25:23. Not only that, but the developers in Valve have different takes on how they want to run their games, and their esports scenes. “One of the philosophies [the pro community] has always been told [is that] devs between Dota and Counter-Strike want to take different approaches and see what does better,” he said. “They do things pretty different [between Dota 2 and CS:GO]. Dota has way more devs, like three to four times the developers that Counter-Strike has, and that fluctuates as well.” While the Dota 2 system of esports revolves around one major event, thereby giving players more time off, the CS:GO system spreads the load across the year, and doesn’t punish teams as badly for failing to make the International. At the end of the day though, both esports scenes want to be successful, and both have seemingly done that. “So, we have different ecosystems, different people working on the games, and different philosophies on how to achieve a similar goal,” he said. Whether CS:GO esports would thrive under a Dota 2-esque model no one will really know, but the scene would look vastly different to how it does today. There’s a chance that Valve might look at changing the model in years down the line, but for now, most are content with the way Dota 2 and CS:GO run their respective esports, and things looked locked in place.

Moses column: How online CS:GO can be a painful blessing in disguise ESL[jwplayer o9fRcL4b] The reality is Counter-Strike has always had a very odd relationship with online gameplay, but we’re kind of just stuck with it for a little bit. But, as a positive, this is a chance for the entire Counter-Strike ecosystem to re-evaluate how we dedicate our time and resources. We’ve spent two years doing everything on LAN and been an esport for so long that all of our greatest performances have been at LAN. There’s just a feeling of less intensity and focus when you play online, so this has probably been a particularly rough transition for many. Additionally, the transition from online to LAN had, in a way, been the best form of anti-cheat that we’ve ever had. It just offers a bit more reliability and a lot fewer question marks surrounding results, whether it’s from an individual player or an entire team. Read more: CS:GO players ranked by prize winnings – Still, we can use this mandated period to be open and reassess the direction we’ve been taking CS in for the past five years—whether that be in terms of schedule, content, or attention to the semi-pro scene. The grind One thing that seems frustrating about online play is a lot of these tournaments, since everyone’s playing from home, have extended and flushed out more days than they would normally play. Ridiculous, this online season has had some of the most insane scheduling I’ve seen in a long time, especially with all the formats changing to double elim brackets and a ton of group stage games… Things have to be different after the player break if we still can’t go to LAN https://t.co/UBpfEgnL4D — Janko Paunovic (@YNk) June 24, 2020 It’s actually been the eternal problem in Counter-Strike, not even specifically related to online play: our schedule in the professional scene for the past three, four years has been a clusterfuck. For all talent, players, and teams, we just have way too many tournaments and are stretching ourselves way too thin. We haven’t been able to get this schedule under control and that limits the health of our scene. We are very top-heavy and there’s not a whole lot else in Counter-Strike getting any love, including development of our non-tournament content and semi-pro scene. And that’s just a result of the sheer number of events on our schedule, how long they are, and how intensive their formats are. If we can address that combination of factors, we should be able to make this esport a little healthier for everyone involved. Catering to the online viewer As an esport, we do a terrible job of creating content. Whether that’s player, team, or community-based – anything that doesn’t have to do with a live game of Counter-Strike. So exploring ways to reconnect with that core Counter-Strike audience is important, especially in how we interact with them while events are going on. For the viewer, we’ve transitioned online but it still feels like we’re trying to keep up LAN competition’s tone and intensity, probably leaving viewers with some level of fatigue. Essentially what we’ve done is taken the formula for casting big arena championships and brought them online. But with adapting everything else that we have in a broadcast, we’ve missed the opportunity to reconnect by adapting the style of our show to fit the circumstances. I look over at the LEC and admire the way they use their talent to build content that keeps fans engaged and entertained. Tournament formats have been elongated to provide the most consistent results, but that chews up time and resources that could be spent on getting players more involved in the show or getting something unique like player profiles or deep tactical analyses of gameplay thrown into the broadcast. It could be good to find a way to let the seriousness drop a little bit and have a little bit more fun, similar to the way that Beyond the Summits are run. We’ve gotten so accustomed to centering around tournament gameplay that we’ve kind of lost some of the fun ways to interact with our community and we can use this time to reconnect. Semi-Pro Scene The biggest problem I’ve seen in esports is a lack of attention to the semi-pro scene. It is the one area of Counter-Strike that doesn’t get enough attention at all, despite probably gaining a little over the past year. Right now, we just have the professional scene and it is all-consuming in Counter-Strike. That’s natural, everyone wants to see the best, but the top level of esports can’t survive longer than its one-decade generation of gamers if there’s no new blood that can consistently rise up and compete with the best. Another @ESEA Rank S spotlight focusing on some of the talent trying to grind their way to the pros This time checking in with @Kiirokamicsgo pic.twitter.com/6RWviIQG8l — Jason O’Toole (@MosesGG) December 6, 2019 This online era would be the perfect timing to look at, fix, and restructure that scene and the content that can be created there. Counter-Strike is one of the deepest esports in terms of semi-pro’s competitiveness and the amount of potential that we have down there—but we don’t give it any love while so preoccupied with the battle at the top. It’s become super disorganized, with teams dying, players jumping to new teams or even games, and no real goals set. Especially with a new game like Valorant coming out right now, the biggest part of our scene that has been gutted has been semi-pro players who haven’t made it to the top yet, and just see Valorant as a better opportunity at the moment. A huge priority for Counter-Strike, especially right now, should be building a semi-pro scene that has a clear structure leading to the professional ranks, with more tools to find players, build rosters, and actually learn how to compete properly. And if we can create room to get more eyes on the up-and-coming, they’ll have more to play for and can experience progressive growth. What online Counter-Strike means for a return to LAN While online results are legitimate, it’s hard to put a full force of weight behind them. At the moment, online play won’t shift teams up or down in my rankings or make me believe teams are trash or championship-caliber. Instead, the community, and us as analysts, need to look at this online stretch as more of a barometer for judging teams when we get back to LAN. BIG finally showed that they can still be dangerous with this lineup, so will they still be dangerous when we get to LAN? Furia showed an aggressive style that historically seems to work better online, can that style keep up when we return to offline events? We can bring those storylines to the first LAN tournament and find out if teams can meet or exceed expectations. We’re away from arenas and that hurts the reliability of our results. But now we can turn it around, hit a pause on these massive costly events, re-evaluate the millions of dollars we spend building out arena events, and see if we should scale back some of those and relocate the money elsewhere.

35 more CSGO players banned by esports watchdog ESIC for betting offences Valve / ESICAs many as three dozen more pro CSGO players have been handed competitive bans up to five years in length by the Esports Integrity Commission, following a joint ESIC and ESEA investigation uncovered multiple breaches of the Anti-Corruption Code in domestic Counter-Strike competitions. [jwplayer f7GYaDHg] The ESIC confirmed the 35 bans in an official statement on Jan. 22. The multitude of bans comes at the end of a near-two year process from the esports watchdog, who has been investigating match-fixing in Australia, America, and more recently several European competitions for the past 24 months. In the report, ESIC confirmed that “a total of 35 individuals have been observed to be in breach of the Anti-Corruption Code administered by ESIC. This in addition to the initial six individuals previously sanctioned by ESIC on October 23, 2020.” These betting breaches were reportedly conducted through Ladbrokes Australia’s gambling apps. The Sydney-based bookie assisted the ESIC investigation. ESIC issues sanctions against 35 players for betting related offences & extends bans for 2 players previously sanctioned in October 2020. ESIC will continue to investigate further offences in Australia, NA and Europe in cooperation with law enforcement. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/KgVudv0d9t— ESIC (@ESIC_Official) January 22, 2021 In some cases, the ESIC report continues, several of the now-banned players also participated in “collusive behavior,” sharing details of fixed games with third parties which would lead to them “placing identical bets.” Two more Australian players — first banned in October last year — also had their competitive sanctions increased following the discovery of similar offenses. All offending CSGO players have also been “referred to law enforcement.” Full list of banned CSGO players The lengthy list of banned Australian players come from a multitude of orgs, and include at least one code-hoping convert who has recently made the switch to Valorant. Joel ‘PEARSS’ Kurta, who spent six months playing for Ground Zero in 2020, has been handed a 12-month ban starting January 22. It is unclear how this will affect his competitive career, however, as he swapped to Valorant team “WaterBottle.” Ground Zero player, Andy ‘Noobster’ Zhang, also received a lengthy ban. The 24-year-old, who most recently was a stand-in for AVANT, was handed a three-year suspension. The thirty-five banned CSGO players were in breach with Article 2.2 of ESIC’s Anti-Corruption Code, as well as ESEA’s standing MDL tournament rules. The longest ban was for Wilson ‘willyks’ Sugianto (60 months). Banned duo Daryl ‘Mayker’ May (previously Ground Zero) and Akram ‘ADK’ Smida (previously Rooster) also had their sanctions amended. Smida’s ban has been increased to 24 months, while May is now set for four years on the sideline. Banned players Jeremy “motion” Lloyd (Control) — 12 months – Patrick “falcon” Romano De Sousa (Control) — 12 months – Johnathan “Del” Sackesen (Lese) — 12 months – Grayson “vax” Uppington (Overt) — 12 months – Aidan “meta” Wiringi Jones (Overt) — 12 months – Kaito “minusthecoffee” Massey (Aftermind) — 12 months – Mason “msn” Trevaskis (Aftermind) — 12 months – John “jcg” Grima (Integral Nation) — 12 months – Isaac “prodigy” Dahlan (Integral Nation) — 12 months – Billy “beetee” Thomson (Integral Nation) — 12 months – Kieren “Muzoona” Jackson-Clapper (Integral Nation) — 12 months – Matthew “zilla” Zdilar (Mako) — 12 months – James “roflko” Lytras (Vertex) — 12 months – Damon “damyo” Portelli (LAKERS) — 12 months – Jak “jtr” Robinson (Rooster 2) — 12 months – Daniel “rekonz” Mort (R!OT Gaming) — 12 months – Nicolas “lato” Gullotti (Skyfire) — 12 months – Marcus “mdk” Kyriazopoulos (really weird) — 12 months – Joel “pearss” Kurta (Waterbottle, Valorant) — 12 months – James “jamie” MacPhail (Downfall) — 12 months – Ioan (Ionica) “bowie” Tuleasca (Lese) — 12 months – Joshua “joshaaye” Wilson — 12 months – Ryan “kragz” Clarke (Incept) — 12 months – Roman “matr1kz” Santos (Forbidden) — 24 months – Cailan “caily” Lovegrove (Aftermind) — 24 months – Andy “Noobster” Zhang (Ground Zero) — 36 months – Jayden “foggers” Graham (Control) — 48 months – Sam “tham” Mitchell (Buckets) — 48 months – Mate “habbo hotel” Poduje (LAKERS) — 48 months – Samuel “samy” Jarvis (Caught off Guard) — 48 months – Daniel “deezy” Zhang (Aftermind) — 48 months – John “wots” Zhu (Forbidden) — 48 months – Matthew “jam” Castro (Overt) — 60 months – Alvin “Gravins” Changgra — 60 months – Wilson “willyks” Sugianto (Vertex) — 60 months – Amended bans Akram “ADK” Smida (Rooster) — 24 months (from 12) – Daryl “Mayker” May (Ground Zero) — 48 months (from 12) – ESIC has already issued all offending players with notice of charge, which details the offense, and available appeal mechanisms. All impacted parties are now eligible to appeal their Counter-Strike charges by emailing Kevin Carpenter, chairman of the Independent Disciplinary Panel. For a full breakdown of ESIC’s investigation, details of specific matches where the bug was used, and an explanation of the sanctions, read the full report here. ESIC concluded their report with a message to the CSGO community: “It is crucially important that professional players abstain from placing bets on the game in which they earn an income from,” the esports watchdog wrote, “in order to preserve the integrity of the esports landscape internationally and mitigate the potential for bad actors to take advantage of our sport.”

MonteCristo open to “exploring” CSGO after leaving Overwatch League After leaving behind the broadcast team of Overwatch League before the start of its third season, Christopher ‘MonteCristo’ Mykles has already hinted at games and events he’d like to work on in the near future, and shared fond admiration for one game in particular. The departure of MonteCristo from the Overwatch League broadcast team has been a focus point on the narrative surrounding the future and longevity of the Blizzard-run league. Other departures like fellow broadcaster Chris Puckett, and reports like the multi-part behind-the-scenes look by Richard Lewis paint a bleak future for OWL after just two years. But after creative differences drove Monte away from Overwatch League, he’s wasting little time on the sidelines, and is already making moves towards other viable desks. In a reply to a Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields post on Twitter about doing commentary versus desk duties, Monte declared his preference for desks along with Thorin. He claimed analysis desks let analysts “cherry-pick the interesting parts,” let them build up their on-camera personas, and credit them for being more “loose.” As much as I love casting, I think I have learned that I prefer desks, too. You aren’t a slave to the game and can cherry-pick the most interesting parts to focus on. It’s also better if you want to build up your persona since it is on camera and you can be more loose. — MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) January 9, 2020 Thorin wasted no time in attempting to recruit his friend to a different competitive shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Monte replied that he loves CSGO, and that he would be “down.” With a massive 2020 season coming up, and with an opportunity to take a crack at one of the biggest personalities and draws in the realm of esports talent, the folks at BLAST shot their shot, replying to Monte with the inspective monocle emoji. Monte replied with just a fraction of his resume, saying he can host desks, prompting BLAST to inform him about the availability of desks at their tournaments. Dexerto reached out to Monte following these interactions on Twitter, and while he said the replies to BLAST hadn’t yet manifested into something concrete, he did say that he “wouldn’t say no to hosting a CS desk for them.” Monte further elaborated on his appreciation for Counter-Strike to Dexerto: “I’ve always been passionate about Counter-Strike and I’ve watched more CSGO in the past two years than any other game besides Overwatch,” he said. “I’ve become good friends with many of the casters over the years but never had an opportunity to enter the scene. “I’d certainly be welcome to exploring opportunities to start dabbling in CSGO, especially as a desk host since I would need time and experience to get up to speed as a caster or analyst in order to do justice to the game.” BLAST announced their 2020 BLAST Premier Series at the end of 2019, and announced over $4 million in prize pools. In December they announced the 12 teams competing in the first Premier Series. The BLAST Premier Spring 2020 season is set to start on January 3, in London, England. FaZe Clan and Ninjas in Pyjamas will face each other in the first series.

MonteCristo and Semmler join new CSGO league after leaving OWL Robert Paul for Blizzard EntertainmentChristopher ‘MonteCristo’ Mykles will be making his CS:GO casting debut at the new ‘B Site League’ this year while Auguste ‘Semmler’ Massonnat will also be returning to the game, after both casters departed the Overwatch League heading into 2020. After speculation over where some of the Overwatch League’s greatest talent would end up following a mass exodus after the 2019 season, two of the biggest names in casting have announced their future plans. Both MonteCristo and Semmler will be part of the talent line-up for the B Site League, a new league operated by FACEIT starting in March 2020. The tournament organizer announced the talent lineup for their upcoming league on Twitter on January 23, and it’s jam packed full of stars. From James Bardolph and DDK to the return of Semmler, and Thorin as both an analyst and the league’s Creative Director, some of Counter-Strike’s most renowned names will be getting behind this endeavor. It’ll be MonteCristo’s first rodeo in CS:GO, but he’s ready to go along for the ride. He’d previously stated was open to “exploring” casting the game, but “never had an opportunity to enter the scene.” Read more: F0rest explains why he left NiP – “Excited to be part of this project as both on-camera talent and assisting with creative direction and production,” he said. Excited to be part of this project as both on-camera talent and assisting with creative direction and production. The format has been designed by myself and @thooorin with help from @c9_ken. It was inspired from the MSL in Starcraft with trash-talking and showmanship in mind. https://t.co/IIBdCkORCD — MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) January 23, 2020 Given a lack of creative direction was one of the major reasons he left the Overwatch League, the former League and Overwatch caster is looking forward to bringing one of his dream events to fans. “The format has been designed by myself and Thorin with help from C9 Ken. It was inspired from the MSL in Starcraft with trash-talking and showmanship in mind. Read more: Stuchiu: The Outsider, an Oskar story – “Also hope you CS:GO fans are ready for some OGN-style hype videos.” Not much is known about the new league yet, with the team list not confirmed, although there have been reports that Cloud9, MIBR, Gen.G, Dignitas, and MAD Lions have signed on, with the league eventually aiming to house 12 teams. Sean Gares also mentioned that the league will feature “a full season of LAN play.” I’m soooo excited to work on a full season of LAN play. Lot of cool things planned for this league… can’t wait for this to kick off!🤩 https://t.co/kn5fxFnJVB pic.twitter.com/jLeRn65Uwj — Sean Gares (@seangares) January 23, 2020 The B Site League is one of the many next steps for the two former Overwatch League casters looking to find their feet after leaving Blizzard’s hallmark franchise. MonteCristo partnered with Cloud9 to create new “competitive products” while focusing on doing esports “[his] way.” As for Semmler, the CS:GO veteran is getting back into the swing of things with appearances at the Blast Premier Series also planned.