Author: Nik Ranger

MoistCr1TiKaL says he “definitely” wants a Moist Esports CSGO team Moist EsportsCharles ‘MoistCr1TiKaL’ White Jr. said while watching his Valorant team compete with other content creators that he is interested in having a CS:GO team under Moist Esports. Moist Esports might be looking to expand even more as MoistCr1TiKaL said in Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik’s stream while watching his Valorant team play against FaZe Clan that he is interested in jumping into CS:GO esports with his organization. “You guys ever going to get a CS:GO team?” taric asked Ludwig Ahgren and MoistCr1TiKaL. “Nah man, we have the weeb CS:GO team so that’s all the matters,” Ahgren said in response, referencing the Valorant squad. “I definitely want to get into CS:GO for sure,” MoistCr1TiKaL said right after with Ahgren quickly changing his mind after the Moist Esports co-owner expressed his interest in the Valve shooter. Moist Esports currently has multiple teams under its umbrella in Apex Legends, Rocket League and Valorant among others. The organization is currently owned by Ahgren, MoistCr1TiKaL and Matt ‘SuperSpicyMatt‘ Phillips. Moist Esports CS:GO incoming? Both Ahgren and MoistCr1TiKaL have been transparent with their esports ventures, with Ahgren even initially expressing some trepidation about getting a Valorant team before Moist signed one in North America. If Moist were to get a CS:GO team, the organization would have its pick of the litter in North America if they choose to compete in the region. Most North American organizations have either picked up European teams or have scaled back their investment in the esport as of late. Moist esports is not entirely a North American brand as the organization has teams in Oceania and Europe. If the team is looking to enter the esport, there are multiple teams across the world that would be interested in donning the Moist colors in CS:GO.

MMA Legend Mark Hunt Sends Message of Warning to HenryG as IEM Sydney Gets Even More Exciting HenryG Image: EPICENTEROne of the legends of mixed martial arts and kickboxing, Mark Hunt, has sent a message to Henry ‘HenryG’ Greer and Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill at IEM Sydney. The highly anticipated IEM Sydney Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event is in full swing and it has already produced a number of surprising results. The most notable of these came when the legendary SK Gaming were eliminated on day one following shock upset losses to TyLoo and Grayhound. FaZe Clan also had a scare after suffering a best of three loss to Renegades and then having to go to a Dust 2 decider map against Grayhound in the Group A elimination match. But the professional matches aren’t the only storylines to grab the attention of fans as two members of the broadcasting team, HenryG and SPUNJ, will be facing off against each other in a showmatch. SPUNJ, the hometown favorite, has already announced that he will be teaming up with some of his former Vox Eminor/Renegades teammates for the game but things got a great deal scarier for HenryG on May 2nd when MMA legend Mark Hunt said he’ll also be in the Austrlian team’s corner. In a post on Facebook and Twitter, Hunt said “There’s this arrogant English fella named HenryG picking on my boy SPUNJ” before stating “I’m coming for you Henry!” Hunt was born in New Zealand and now lives in Australia. Famous for his walk-off knockouts in both kickboxing and MMA, the “Super Samoan” definitely belongs on the list of people that you don’t want to mess with. Hunt has expressed his love for CS:GO in the past and the news that he’ll be at IEM Sydney has got a lot of fans excited – If he decides to join the server for the showmatch you can guarantee that he will get the loudest cheer of the weekend. HenryG’s UK team, whose roster is currently unannounced, will certainly have their work cut out against the former and current Australian pros that SPUNJ is bringing to the party. However, the Brit was one of the most successful UK players in the history of Counter-Strike: Source and you can be sure that he’ll have a trick or two up his sleeve for the match which is due to take place on Sunday May 6th. There’s this arrogant English fella named @HenryGCSGO picking on my boy @Spunj at #IEM Sydney this Sunday. I’ll be in Spunj’s corner :flag-au::punch::skin-tone-4:. I’m coming for you Henry! https://t.co/dnDlzDxUyz https://t.co/nQMIsNItY9 — mark richard hunt (@markhunt1974) May 2, 2018

Mixwell seemingly confirms Cloud9’s new CSGO lineup Ex-Cloud9 CSGO star Oscar ‘mixwell‘ Cañellas may have accidentally confirmed the North American team’s new Counter-Strike squad. Cloud9’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster has seen a lot of turbulence since their Major win in 2018 as the team failed to do much of anything in 2019. The core of their most recent roster transferred to Gen.G at the start of December, leaving mixwell without a team. Many rumors have been flying around regarding the future of the organization in CSGO, however, the Spaniard may have unintentionally confirmed one of them. The ex-C9 star spoke about his year in a long Twitter post on December 31, where he went into detail about his time with Cloud9. Most notably, he spoke about his potential future with the team saying that he was offered to build a team from scratch. “I got the news of Cloud9 selling the trio to Gen.G. They wanted me to stay and build something from scratch, but nowadays it is hard to form a team in North America with good players,” said mixwell, before adding an interesting note about the future of the team. “The ATK team was a good option for them, so I ended up with no team in the end,” he wrote, revealing the likely future of Cloud9 – acquisition of the ATK roster. ATK are a fairly new up-and-coming team that have impressed lately, taking a map off of Team Liquid at ECS Season 8 and defeating both North and G2 at the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals. Many fans believe them to be the perfect signing for Cloud9 as they are a complete roster and shown that they can compete with the best. If they receive the backing of one of the biggest North American organizations, then they could prove to be a real force in CSGO. Cloud9 have yet to comment on this, however, with the newest competitive season of Counter-Strike approaching, they will do doubt unveil something soon.

Mixwell Reportedly Set to Reunite With Former OpTic Gaming Teammates in Cloud9 ELEAGUEFormer OpTic Gaming star Óscar ‘mixwell’ Cañellas is reportedly set to reunite with two of his former teammates as a stand-in for the reigning Major Champions, Cloud9. Mixwell left OpTic Gaming in February of 2018 after almost two years with the North American organization but the Spanish star has struggled to find a permanent home ever since. He joined G2 Esports on a trial basis in March but the organization eventually decided to overhaul the CS:GO roster completely following some sub-par results – allowing Richard ‘shox’ Papillon to assemble a new trial team. Now, according to reports from Rush B Media, mixwell could potentially have the opportunity to reunite with two of his former OpTic teammates, Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik and Will ‘RUSH’ Wierzba, as a stand in for Cloud9. Read More: Former SK Gaming CS:GO Roster Officially Move to ‘Made in Brazil’ (MiBR), Partner with Tinder and Betway – Cloud9 has been looking for a new permanent fifth since deciding to bench Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta in May, and it looks like the reported talks with G2’s Nathan ‘NBK-’ Schmitt have now stalled. With this in mind, it looks like mixwell will be playing with the North American team at ESL One: Cologne and ELEAGUE Premier. Whether this could eventually result in a permanent position with the team is currently uncertain. The Cloud9 players have struggled to regain their ELEAGUE Boston form. Mixwell, RUSH, and tarik had some impressive results during their time with OpTic Gaming, including the stunning ELEAGUE Season 2 victory over Astralis in 2016. RUSH and tarik are now the reigning Major Champions but the Cloud9 players have struggled to repeat their ELEAGUE Boston 2018 success since losing Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip to SK Gaming in March. Mixwell’s reported stand-in stint with the team will be a big opportunity for both parties to get their 2018 CS:GO season back on track.

Mixwell Gives More Details on His Future Potentially Joining Former OpTic Teammates on Cloud9 Former G2 player Oscar “Mixwell” Cañellas has commented on the speculation that he could be joining up with his former OpTic Gaming teammates on Cloud9, saying he is available as a stand in. Mixwell previously teamed with Will “RUSH” Weirzba and Tarik “tarik” Celic for over a year under OpTic Gaming, winning the ELEAGUE Season 2 together in 2016. But after Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz left, the roster effectively fell apart, with RUSH and tarik leaving to join Cloud9 shortly after. Despite being homesick, Mixwell remained with OpTic in the US for a time, before eventually returning home to Spain. After deciding that the new roster, an all European mix featuring the likes of Emil “Magisk” Reif and Adam “friberg” Friberg, was not going to work out, Mixwell left OpTic after almost two years with the organization. He has since played with French side G2 Esports, but the team had very limited success, leading to Mixwell’s departure as G2 decided on their plan B. Mixwell has been effectively team-less in the interim, but was recently linked with a move to Cloud9, who are in search of a permanent fifth player. There was no official word from Cloud9 or the players on the rumors, but Mixwell has now spoken on the potential of the reunion. Cloud9 need to play with a potential 5th, I will be here if they need someone to stand in but I don’t want to go back to NA right now. I’ve been in the same situation on OpTic where it was really hard to find someone, I wish them luck because they are good guys and a great team! — Oscar Cañellas (@Mixwell) June 29, 2018 He also reaffirmed that if Cloud9 called upon him for a temporary spot on the team, he would step up, ‘if they need him’. Cloud9 player RUSH previously stated that the team are set on finding a permanent addition to the roster, rather than just another stand in. He also mentioned that they had a number of players, both based in North America and outside, in mind. However, although Mixwell is seemingly playing down the possibility of permanently joining C9, both he and the organization may be left with little choice considering the number of vital tournaments and qualifiers fast approaching in the rest of 2018. Mixwell’s desire to stay in Europe rather than move back to North America sounds like it remains a major hurdle for him and any potential NA suitors to overcome.

Mixwell Gets New Opportunity as Danish Team Looks to Go International ELEAGUEÓscar ‘mixwell’ Cañellas has joined North as a stand-in for DreamHack Open Valencia as the Danish organization considers moving towards an international roster. Mixwell will replace Daniel ‘mertz’ Mertz, the team’s 19 year old AWPer that joined the full roster in January of 2018 after a number of months on the Academy team. The move comes as a result of the team’s coach, Alexander ‘ave’ Holdt, wanting to try a new approach that will see them move away from their all-Danish roots and look at the potential of an international roster: “I have been looking to change up things, inside and outside the game, for some time and with the player break coming up after Valencia, I thought that now would be a good time to do a test-run with an International lineup” Read More: MiBR and Cloud9’s CS:GO Teams on the Brink of Major Changes as Tarik and Coldzera Reportedly Consider New Opportunities – Mixwell, who has struggled to find a permanent home on a roster since leaving OpTic Gaming in February, has a wealth of experience playing with international rosters and has proved himself on CS:GO’s biggest stages time and time again. Mixwell played with a variety of nationalities while on OpTic Gaming. North’s Director of Esports, Jonas ‘whimp’ Svendsen, made it clear that the addition of the Spaniard for DreamHack Valencia is an opportunity to test things out and make a final decision ahead of important tournaments like the FACEIT London Major in September: “Óscar is an experienced and skilled player, and I am happy that he will be playing with us in Valencia. The trend in rosters is moving towards a more International outlook, and in our current situation, Alexander and I felt that the last event before the player break, would be a good time to change up the dynamics and see how the players react to a new structure”. “We have an important autumn coming up, with a lot of big tournaments, including the Major, and with the lack of consistency that we have been showing we can’t leave any stones unturned. I want to see how the team fares in a different setting and to break up the current dynamics” The team’s lineup for DreamHack Masters Stockholm in August is currently undecided and whimp confirmed that mertz, and other players, will still be an option moving forward. North has struggled to meet expectations at premier events for the last year and many fans are still scratching their heads about certain roster moves like the decisions to drop Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif and Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke. SEE YOU IN DH VALENCIA! I will be playing with @TheNorthIsHere as a stand in infront of my home crowd!¡NOS VEMOS EN DH VALENCIA! ¡Voy a jugar el torneo como stand in con @TheNorthIsHere, por fin puedo jugar con vosotros de público… Tengo unas ganas tremendas!— Oscar Cañellas (@Mixwell) July 9, 2018 The decision to try out new structures without making any permanent decisions seems to be a sign that the organization has learnt from previous mistakes and it taking a more measured approach in the second half of 2018. North’s DreamHack Open Valencia roster will consist of: Mathias ‘MSL’ Lauridsen – Philip ‘aizy’ Aistrup – Markus ‘Kjaerbye’ Kjærbye – Valdemar ‘valde’ Bjørn Vangså – Óscar ‘mixwell’ Cañellas (stand-in) –

missharvey column: Valve, here’s what CSGO needs to be great (Part 2) ESEA TVAfter a storied career in Counter-Strike as a player, Stephanie ‘missharvey’ Harvey is issuing a call to arms for the CS:GO developers to act and help the game. After exploring the issues in Part 1, here’s what Valve needs to do before it’s too late. In my last piece, I outlined a plethora of issues which I believe are the root of CS:GO’s drastic loss of momentum. While there’s no doubt that the statistics paint a positive picture for Counter-Strike, the grass is greener where you water it. Valve has neglected their community to the point where many are considering whether Valorant — a tactical shooter still very much in its infancy — will be the killer of CS:GO. Let’s get CS:GO’s community back on board As you may have noticed, the Counter-Strike community has a fond place in my heart. That’s no secret.— the CS:GO community is like no other, they’re loyal, extremely passionate about their game, and dedicated to making it an awesome experience for pros and beginners alike. And this is where Valve needs to start: everything needs to revolve around the community. So what can the devs do? Well, for starters, there needs to be a better global link between the player logging into Steam to play CS:GO and what the developers have in the pipeline. Easiest way to achieve this? Roadmaps. Planning the route ahead and sharing their goals with the players could be done on a bi-monthly basis, or from Operation to Operation. Either way, it would provide a level or transparency that Valve is yet to show. That way, if a player wants to know when to expect the next rotation of maps or hotfixes, they can do so by just consulting a roadmap that is frequently updated by the devs in-game. From a content standpoint, Operations are a gimmick. There is no season-based Battlepass system (which seems to be the modern way) and it feels like Valve are being left behind in an era where content can make or break player drop off rates. Other than love for the game, I feel like Valve are giving players no reason to continue their grind. Compare this with the likes of Valorant and Call of Duty, where players have always got a reason to grind — be it Riot’s Act-based Battlepass, or Activision’s Season-based system. And there’s so much more that can be done. A large majority of the community aspire to play like professional players. Instead of relying on third-party websites, why not embed features like player configs directly into CS:GO? This could be as simple as linking it to a verified Steam profile associated with a pro. You could even take this a step further than just downloading the whole config — why not show the user what’s being changed and give them the option to swap specific elements out? So, in practice, a player could take NiKo’s crosshair, juliano’s sensitivity and kennyS’ viewmodel. Again, food for thought, but this is just scratching the surface. Steam already has a profile system in place, and it’s begging to be more relevant than just a vanity item. Valve: Are you in or out? I think it’s fair to say, we need more of a ‘buy-in’ from Valve — and by that, I don’t mean a measly half-buy… I mean an all-out M249 full-buy with a Zeus sprinkled on top. Using content to drive interest in a game is just the tip of the iceberg. There are fundamental issues that need resolving. Aside from being on the ball with things like bug fixes and more frequent patches, why not make the playing experience even smoother and make 64-tick servers a thing of the past? For those who haven’t dabbled with 128-tick servers, let me give you an example of how it feels. Imagine taking a shot at an enemy who is jiggle-peeking around a wall and connecting the bullets you fire. As opposed to seemingly getting killed from behind said wall… Honestly, the difference is night and day. The best part – there are community-run servers that offer a 128-tick rate as standard. In this one example, we have a problem and tons and tons of possible solutions. Let’s assume Valve doesn’t want to overhaul their server structure (which they should do), what else could they do? Reach out to third parties and embed their structure into your game? Give players the choice to play on 128-tick for a small monthly fee (while possibly reducing the amount of cheaters in that matchmaking category)? Slowly implement 128-tick to higher ranks and prime players and test out the outcome? As you read this, I am sure you are coming up with other ideas, and in my opinion, this is one of the things Valve should have been working on for years now. But even if they had been, the community is none the wiser! Esports is thriving, now is the time to act! The interest in CS:GO from an esport perspective has never been greater. More hours are being streamed on Twitch than ever before, and as a result, viewership metrics are higher from month-to-month. With so many tournament organizers wanting their slice of the CS:GO pie — despite being riddled with the logistical nightmare that is presented with online play — it’s obvious that Valve could be capitalizing on a huge demographic here. Imagine a pro player’s Steam profile was their hub. Links to all their social profiles with the ability to subscribe to them. An entry level of subscription might issue fans with access to their demos, configs and notifications when they’re online and scrimming. An additional level might include access to exclusive content and the ability to exclusively watch your favorite pro’s point-of-view during a Major, with access to their comms during select portions of the match. Imagine Patreon, but for Counter-Strike. By no means am I saying that all of the above will fix everything — there’s so much more that can be done. There’s a gold mine of content with custom servers that could so easily be embedded into the game. Again, look at Valorant’s Spike Rush. The community asked for a faster-paced game mode, and Riot answered. We have FFA Deathmatch modes, retake simulators, warmup arenas, movement (surfing) servers… The list goes on. Valve could easily take the community’s input here and really push CS:GO forward in a positive direction. So what’s the takeaway message? Community first. As you can probably tell if you’ve got this far, I’m a firm believer in Counter-Strike’s loyal fanbase. The fact of the matter is, that everyone below tier-one pros are starving, and as it stands, there is no ecosystem to support these players — be it tier-two pros, aspiring pros or the casual gamer. So c’mon, Valve, the ball is in your court.

missharvey column: Valve, wake up before it’s too late for CSGO (Part 1) ESL Before delving into the nitty gritty, I want to preface this by saying that Counter-Strike from a developer standpoint is prospering. In April 2020, CS:GO hit an all-time high of over 1.3 million concurrent players — averaging over 850,000 for that month alone. However, from a community point of view, you wouldn’t know it. I often worry for the future of CS:GO and get pretty upset from the lack of freshness coming out of the game; its gameplay might be as good as any CS game ever was, but the boredom and the burnout is growing day by day. Undoubtedly, Counter-Strike has gone from strength-to-strength since its humble beginnings as a Half-Life mod. But we’re now approaching the eighth year of CS:GO’s life — the majority of which has been spent setting the example for what a competitive first-person shooter should look like — and CS is falling off the wagon. Who’s at fault, you ask? The game developers. Yep, I strongly believe it is the game dev’s responsibility to cherish its product and its community, renew their experience, bring in new players and strive to make the scene better. Evolve or fall behind. Fortunately for Valve, there hasn’t been an S-tier shooter to compete with CS:GO during its tenure at the top. But the landscape of competitive gaming is changing, and other game companies are learning fast. On top of it, since its peak earlier in 2020, CS:GO’s player base is on a steady decline, and this should be a wake up call for Valve to take swift action. They should nurture CS if it wants to stay competitive in the field of new and shiny FPS esports titles. CSGO is still the greatest FPS esport Despite all of its inherent flaws (which we’ll go into later), CS:GO is the gold standard for what a first-person competitive shooter should strive to be. At its core, the mechanics are sharp and precise, and every other feature in the game complements it to make this perfectly balanced cocktail. But aside from doing the basics to an unrivaled standard, there’s something else which helps CS:GO shine where others often fail… the game’s tension curves. Scaling both the difficulty of the game and the emotional input and wrapping into one neat package is something CS:GO does almost effortlessly. At the start of the round, you and your team make a tactical decision on what to buy based on a number of variables (economy status, the enemy team etc.), after which, the round plays out until a critical point. This is where the difficulty of the game is ramped up (enemy applies pressure) and you either overcome the stimulus or fail. It’s at this critical point where you’re most invested in the game from an emotional standpoint, and the outcome will determine the emotive response. “Yay, we made the right decision and won” = euphoria… Or “Damn, Purple, you lost us the round” = disappointment. Either way, you’re hooked because the game’s difficulty is relative to your response and is scaled according to your input. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows But while there’s no doubt that Valve have mastered the art of enthralling gameplay, CS:GO is at a stage where it simply needs more. For decades, that ‘more’ came from us, the community. We invested the money, hosted the tournaments, made the mods, improved the websites, played in our leagues, created our launchers, provided the content, just name it. We made sure WE nourished our favorite game by investing in OUR community. Valve didn’t support us? It’s ok, we had the best game in the world back! However, with how rapidly competitive gaming is changing and how massive it is becoming, this is no longer something that is sustainable. This push also has to come from the developers as well. And in this case, to be quite frank, Valve seems about as passionate about CS:GO as I am about carrots. I like carrots, they are good, but I can’t recall a time I was actually excited to eat a carrot. What we need is a Valve that cares. In comparison, take Riot Games for example… While yes, Valorant is still in its infancy, the developers have been extremely transparent about their plans, and have taken community feedback on board in a bid to improve the game. And I don’t think this is just the honeymoon phase of having a ‘new game’ — it’s deeper than that. This micro-level passion reflects in what is an extremely well-thought-out game. In fact, Valorant is the first game that has made me feel the way I did when I first played Counter-Strike. Riot have taken a leaf out of Valve’s book — when it comes to replicating those tension curves — with their flagship Spike Defuse game mode. Adding Agent abilities and well-balanced gunplay to this just adds another layer of excitement. So with all that said, isn’t it time that Valve looked at how Riot has approached Valorant’s community for answers and, most importantly, listened to their feedback? I actually feel as if Valorant’s dev team is listening more to Counter-Strike players than Valve itself. There have been a lot of times in my career where I wish Valve showed us more, and once again we seem to be at a crossroads. They have everything they need to stay on top, but seem to be happy to just sit back and let other games play catch-up. I mean, c’mon, 64-tick competitive servers in 2020? Is Valve countering Counter-Strike? From an esports perspective, I’d argue that there isn’t another game out there that can offer the level of spectator intensity that CS:GO does; the millions of people tuning into Majors and the sold-out arenas attest to that. So with that said, why aren’t Valve investing in that scene? Sure, we have our majors, and they offer in-game cosmetics or Pick ‘Ems to ramp-up interaction… but those are getting tiring and there’s so much more that can be done. Away from the bright lights of the Major-tournament stage, there’s a thriving, organic scene that goes unrecognized to the masses. What’s keeping that alive? At the moment, it is tournament and league organizers. Outside of our 2 majors a year, the likes of ESL, DreamHack, BLAST, etc. are responsible for everything when it comes to running pro events (from the prize pool to player travel) and FACEit, ESEA, etc. are making sure the amateur scene doesn’t starve to death. I’ve never been in favor of a franchised model, but more developer input and in-game integration would place the existing community up on a pedestal. We need up and coming players to feel supported, while enticing casuals to engage more with the esports aspect. Imagine a world where Valve embedded a ‘Path to Pro’ system into the game, which rewarded the grind. Awww, dreaming. Quite frankly, Valve is so lucky to have CS:GO — there’s a reason why other titles in the space attempt to replicate everything that Counter-Strike does well, and often fail at doing so. It is really unique and its ever-faithful community is so hungry for support that as soon as we get the smallest gifts, like hats on chickens, we go crazy. Our community is not asking for much, but rarely gets anything given back. I think we should be asking for a lot, and get a lot more in return. In the next part, I’ll be outlining an in-depth view of exactly what Valve can do to take CS:GO to new heights, given the topics we briefly touched on above. Even after all this, I have not lost hope in Valve and believe they can still wake up, before it’s too late. Stay tuned for the second part of missharvey’s debut column, where Stephanie will outline some potential solutions for the issues detailed above.

Tarik forgot he left Cloud9 for MIBR after seeing the FACEIT London Major matchups DreamHack / Adela SznajderHe’s done it again – MIBR’s Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik forgot what team he plays for and is a now officially the most forgetful CS:GO player on the planet! You might think that leaving the North American team that you won a Valve sponsored Major with, and starting a new adventure with the most successful Brazilian core that the game has ever seen, would be something that sticks in your memory. However, tarik completely forgot he was no longer a member of the Cloud9 roster after seeing the first round draw for the New Legends Stage at the FACEIT London Major. “My first glance at this and I told my team “oh we play against Vega”… then I realized I’m not on Cloud9 anymore”, the popular player revealed! references it in a response to his original tweet. On that previous occasion, tarik’s mistake was actually caught on stream. Scrolling through the scheduled matches on HLTV, the rifler looked at OpTic Gaming’s scheduled match against Team Liquid and exclaimed “We play Liquid tomorrow? I don’t know if we know about that”! He soon realized his mistake and was suitably embarrassed, saying “oh my god I’m tripping bro, I’m not even on OpTic… bro, what am I doing?!” Luckily for the 22-year-old, this time around there were no cameras to catch him out when he forgot that he has been a part of the MIBR lineup since July… Tarik and MIBR (no tarik, not Cloud9) have been drawn against TyLoo for their opening match at the $1 million tournament. Cloud9, on the other hand, will begin their title defense against the always dangerous Vega Squadron.

MIBR’s TACO wants supposed CS:GO radar exploit banned for IEM Katowice Major Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo is looking for changes to be made to the game’s smoke grenades before the prestigious IEM Katowice Major gets underway. The smokes issue supposedly allows players to create a bind that means they can quickly zoom in on their radar and see opponents on their mini map before they appear in the smoke. Some players will spam the bind as a smoke grenade is fading in a bid to get a radar prompt that shows a nearby enemies location. While not a cheat, it is a controversial part of the game and one that some fans and players believe is an unfair exploit. Some pros, including MIBR players, want changes to be made ahead of the Katowice Major to prevent the use of the trick. TACO tweeted the tournament organizers, ESL, asking for changes to be made: “Hey my lovely ESL, I know it must be late but I have two request. 1- Make hats allowed again. 2- Ban this RADAR bind that makes it possible to see our opponents on the radar before the smoke fades. The #2 is really important. I want real CS. #FairPlay” The Brazilian also added that he has been using the bind to level the playing field: “I have been using this radar bind because I’m tired of getting fucked by idiots crouched in the smokes waiting for it to fade. Make CS fair again!” I have been using this radar bind because I’m tired of getting fucked by idiots crouched in the smokes waiting for it to fade. Make CS fair again! — Epitácio (@TACOCS) February 11, 2019 However, not all pros were supportive of TACO’s request – with Fnatic’s Jesper ‘JW’ Wecksell taking an ‘adapt or die’ attitude to the bind, despite not being a fan of it. He replied to his longtime opponent, stating: “I found this zoom bind about one month ago, I heard players were using it so why not, you know adapting? “I don’t defend it, I’m telling you where the problem is. I have never used anything that is banned from tournaments, Mr. using banned aliases during tournaments ;).” I found this zoom bind about 1 month ago ish, i heard players were using it so why not, you know adapting? I dont defend it, im telling you where the problem is. I have never used anything that is banned from tournaments, Mr. using banned aliases during tournaments 😉 — Jesper Wecksell (@JW1) February 12, 2019 Not even TACO’s own teammate, Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga, believes the radar issue is the biggest problem in the game – with the AUG rifle being at the top of his list. He responded to Taco, saying: “1 – I don’t give a fuck. 2 – there is AUG still (in-game), so who cares about radar?” 1 – I don’t give a fuck. 2 – there is AUG still, so who cares about radar :shrug:♂️ — Fernando Alvarenga (@fer) February 12, 2019 Not all pros have resorted to using the exploitative bug, though.. Former Tricked Esport and Nordavind player Allan ‘AnJ’ Jensen added that he has refused to cave in: “I’ve been too stubborn to use it myself, which is just stupid because it gives such a big advantage. I want it gone too :(“ I’ve been too stubborn to use it myself, which is just stupid because it gives such a big advantage.. I want it gone too 🙁 — Allan Jensen (@AnJcsgo) February 11, 2019 The smokes in CS:GO have been a hot topic for some time. Back in November, following the ECS Season 6 Finals, FaZe Clan’s Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač called out in-game exploits being used with the smokes as Astalis players picked up some jaw-dropping kills through them. Read More: Sources: TSM exploring options in CS:GO – The Danish powerhouse squad had been accused of using ‘special Nvidia settings’ to see through smokes but they refuted all the claims against them – with the majority of the CS:GO community, including pros like JW, jumping to their defense. However, Astralis’ in-game leader, Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander, doesn’t even appear to know about this particular issue, as he questioned what TACO was talking about. I dont really understand the thing about the radar bind? Is it just the bind to make the radar more zoomed in? — Lukas Rossander (@gla1ve_csgo) February 12, 2019 Current FaZe Clan coach Janko ‘YNK’ Paunovic was one of the first personalities to jump to the defense of Astralis back in November and he questioned why TACO had asked ESL to make a change to the long-standing bug and not gone to Valve – seeing as ESL are only a tournament organizer. I don’t see how ESL can do this, it’s a game thing, it would have to be a fix from the devs and seeing how it has been in the game for forever, doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen anytime soon. I suggest you keep practicing it guerreiro, just like the AUG 😀 — Janko Paunovic (@YNk) February 12, 2019 It is unlikely that changes will be made to the current bug, despite the Major being just around the corner and some pro players being so vocal about it becoming increasingly prominent in-game. UPDATE As the issue continues to garner more and more attention online, former pro turned analyst Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill has explained exactly how it works in-game. There are other tweaks with position and size of the hud its self that you can do to make it even bigger. This is why you will see on the face cams pros looking at the top left while standing in or next to smokes in tight choke points. — Chad Burchill (@SPUNJ) February 12, 2019 We will continue to update this post as the story progresses.

MiBR’s FalleN addresses CSGO “aimlock” accusations against Chaos EC MiBR / Chaos EC[jwplayer 3EyfiByz]Counter-Strike: Global Offensive veteran and MiBR captain Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo addressed the clips against Chaos EC players that allegedly shows them aimlocking during official matches. The bout between the two teams during a Beyond The Summit fixture has caused pros and talent in the CSGO landscape to chime in about the accusations involving Chaos and its players Nathan ‘leaf’ Orf and Erick ‘Xeppaa’ Bach. “I don’t like to accuse anyone of cheating without evidence, they’ve done this to me in the past and it can be a great injustice,” FalleN said in a translated tweet. “Let’s wait for the championship to find out is just what we can do. I found the uploaded clips suspicious, yes.” Speaking up against the clips he deemed suspicious, FalleN’s comments sparked ire directed at Chaos EC and its players. Threats and malicious comments were being made by a vocal portion of the community against the org suspected of cheating. Mousesports’ Robin ‘ropz’ Kool, who was the target of such vitriol early in his career, also responded to the allegations against Chaos and its young players, since much of it was a stark reminder of his own uprising in CS. i lost hope and didn’t want to play when i was under the same fire, there’s literally nothing to do and i was just helpless, only time will tell.. don’t accuse, especially us, the pros. if you think “”wow a pro claims you’re cheating you must feel amazing”” just shut ur dumb mouth — ropz (@ropz) June 22, 2020 “I lost hope and didn’t want to play when I was under the same fire,” ropz explained. “There’s literally nothing to do and I was just helpless, only time will tell. Don’t accuse, especially us, the pros. If you think ‘wow a pro claims you’re cheating you must feel amazing,’ just shut your dumb mouth.” Fans highlighted certain moments in the MiBR/Chaos match, as well as previous instances against Team ONE, as support for their claims. However, after reviewing the clips, there’s enough of a margin for uncertainty that people in the industry are imploring influential figures to take into account before voicing out, since accusations are often enough to stain players’ names and careers, whether they end up being true or not. “If you’re going to accuse 16 years olds of cheating, unleashing fans frothing at the mouth to their twitter feed, at least find some good clips. S**ts wack af,” CSGO and esports commentator Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson said. The conversation quickly changed from addressing or investigating the accusations against Chaos and its players to quelling the hate that’s festering among spectators. “The clips are suspicious, but the threats are uncalled for,” Former MiBR member and current Evil Geniuses rifler ‘Tarik’ Celik said. “Please understand that should not be an option. I’m sorry for adding fuel to the fire as I am not in a position to make an accusation publicly. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty so let the officials decide.” If you’re going to accuse 16 years olds of cheating unleashing fans frothing at the mouth to their twitter feed at least find some good clips shits wack af — MACHINE // (@MACHINEgg) June 23, 2020 As more speak out on Chaos EC, there could be further developments as it pertains to tournament organizers and their official findings on whether or not the players used cheats. As always, we will continue to bring you the latest information as more details are made available moving forward.

Report reveals why MIBR’s zews can’t sub for coldzera at StarLadder Berlin CS:GO Major L: ESL, R: ECSMade in Brazil will reportedly not be able to use coach Wilton ‘Zews’ Prado as a stand-in for the StarLadder Berlin CS:GO Major after star player Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David requested to be benched. The MiBR roster was thrown into uncertainty on July 7 after reports surfaced that coldzera has requested to be placed on the bench ahead of an eventual departure from the team. If coldzera does ultimately leave the team, the move would mark the end of an era, with him having been a core member of the roster since 2015. During that time, the Brazilian squad won two Majors, established their own era of dominance, and for much of it coldzera was considered the best player in the world. According to the report by HLTV, MiBR intended to field coldzera for BLAST Pro Series Los Angeles, which takes place July 13-14, and IEM Chicago on July 18-21, before moving him to the bench. The team would then play with coach zews in his place at the StarLadder Berlin Major. Read more: DeKay Debrief: ESL One Cologne 2019 – Those plans might have to be reconsidered, however, as a new report by Mais Esports suggests that Zews will not be eligible to play in coldzera’s place. The Major ruleset does allow for coaches to stand in for players, as has been seen on a number of occasions, but only in cases deemed an emergency. For StarLadder, a player asking to be benched is reportedly not considered an emergency, and therefore MiBR will not be able to play with their coach. The report casts further uncertainty over the state of the MiBR roster going forward, but it seems likely that any changes they wish to make will have to wait until after StarLadder Berlin, with rosters for the Major already being locked. Exactly where coldzera could end up once the Major is complete remains to be seen, but there has been speculation that he could look to move to FaZe Clan, which would see him join forces with fellow superstar Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač. The decision by coldzera to bench himself comes after an extended period of underwhelming results for MiBR. They haven’t won a premier tournament sinc making the move to the Immortals-owned brand, and the recent addition of Lucas ‘LUCAS1’ Teles doesn’t seem to have reinvigorated the team, who finished in last place at ESL One Cologne, the result which appears to have prompted coldzera’s decision.

MIBR star FalleN hits back at Semmler over “burning paychecks” comment Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment / Adela Sznajder for DreamHackMIBR captain and AWPer Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo has deflected criticism from Auguste ‘Semmler’ Massonnat that the team is “burning paychecks” heading into 2020, calling it “commentary I usually read from mad fans after losing a bet.” MIBR has struggled in recent months. After reaching their peak as SK Gaming back in 2016, under the new brand they’ve failed to make a good impression, falling down from their pedestal as the Brazilian gods of CS:GO. With a roster constantly in flux, from the departure of Jacky ‘Stewie2k’ Yip in 2018, to Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David moving to FaZe Clan the next year, only recently have the team managed to lock in a solid core. Semmler has criticised the new roster heading into BLAST Premier though, with the caster saying that some of the older players on the roster are just sitting there “burning paychecks. “I doubt [they can return to being an elite team,]” he said, replying to Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill’s question about whether the Brazilian squad will ever hit their peak again. “I feel like the way they got to the top was through the hunger of trying to reach the top. They had that carrot on the stick, putting all on the line, no holes barred, everything going into just trying to get to the top. “Now they’ve reached the top, and they became dominant, and they had some of the best players [in the world] on the team — coldzera obviously, FalleN — but once they got to the top, maintaining that cutting-edge is what has worn them down. “I don’t know if they are just trying to be on life support…and keep burning paychecks or if they are going to get that re-ignition to put everything on the line again.” The comments ruffled feathers in the MIBR camp, who have been hard-at-work bootcamping before BLAST Premier kicks off in London on January 31. FalleN, the team’s leader through thick and thin, lashed out against Semmler’s “easy…smack talk.” “Easy to come with smack talk and say we lost hunger and that is why you don’t see us succeeding anymore,” FalleN said, responding to the caster. “You have no idea how much we work and how much we invest ourselves on trying to be the best.” People have come out in support of the MIBR star AWPer, with former Greyhound coach Neil Murphy posting a screenshot of MIBR’s European bootcamp schedule, with the team scrimming six-hour blocks every day. “If you don’t think we will succeed that is your opinion, I don’t mind at all,” FalleN added. “But don’t ever put a question mark on how much effort we put in. Five years out of country, far from family, living and breathing the game the whole year.” The Brazilian had one final quip for the caster at the tail end of his Twitter thread. “I have huge respect for you and I’m a big fan of your work, but this is commentary I usually read from mad fans after losing a bet.” I have huge respect for you and I’m a big fan of your work but this is commentary I usually read from mad fans after losing a bet — Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) January 28, 2020 MIBR will be looking to show off their improvement over the off-season at BLAST Premier London this weekend, kicking the action off with a match against Team Liquid on January 31. They will also be participating in the B Site League, according to reports. Semmler will have a chance to cast the new MIBR in action at both events, after jumping from the Overwatch League back into CS:GO after a two-year hiatus.

CS:GO: MIBR set to pay $150,000 for final piece of roster puzzle DreamHack / Adela SznajderThe ongoing roster rumors regarding the Made in Brazil (MIBR) Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster have taken another turn following a report from ESPN Brazil. The fact that the Brazilian roster is on the brink of a major overhaul is one of the worst kept secrets in CS:GO. The team’s American stars, Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip and Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik, appear to be on the way out of the squad. However, there’s a great deal of debate about who will be joining in their place. The current consensus among industry insiders is that the Brazilians will be reuniting with their former teammates Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo and João ‘felps’ Vasconcellos, as well as their former coach, Wilton ‘zews’ Prado. TACO and zews will reportedly be coming to MIBR as part of a swap from Team Liquid, who will take Stewie2K in return. However, getting felps from INTZ will involve a buyout that, according to ESPN Brazil, will be extremely hefty. “felps will cost US $ 150,000,” reports Roque Marques in the translated version of the ESPN report. “The player, who currently defends INTZ, is about to sign with the team and the price has already been agreed between the organizations.” If these reports prove to be true, MIBR will be shelling out a great deal of cash for a player that spent a number of months on the bench when he played with Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo and company under the SK Gaming banner. Despite finding success, and winning a number of international tournaments together, the SK core and felps competed alongside each other for just eight months before the youngster was replaced by Ricardo ‘boltz’ Prass on the starting roster. Now, after almost a year away from top flight CS:GO, it looks like the 21-year-old will be getting a second bite at the cherry with MIBR. If the reported INTZ buyout goes through, and felps joins MIBR along with TACO and zews, Made in Brazil will consist of: Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo – Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David – Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga – Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo – João ‘felps’ Vasconcellos – Wilton ‘zews’ Prado (coach) –

MiBR set to join ESL Pro League Season 11 ESLPremier South American CSGO org ‘Made in Brazil’ (MiBR) are set to join the ESL Pro League 2020 campaign while maneuvering the inaugural season of Flashpoint. The famed Brazilian org, led by Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo, are going to split their time between both leagues. They hope their participation in the EPL will give them a shot at a prized position in ESL One Cologne. In the lead up to the 2020 season, Flashpoint were on the hunt for the best talent they could muster, seeing as teams would essentially have to pick the new league over ESL (or vice-versa) due to schedule/format overlap. Since then, worldwide developments have forced leagues to adopt an online-only approach to what were originally supposed to be regular seasons played on LAN. The online era of both leagues will open a window, however slim, to participate in both competitions. Playing in ESL Pro League Season 11 is “the only way to get points to play ESL events, since we are not part of the teams there, which hurts in the future for tournaments such as Cologne,” MiBR manager Ricardo ‘ricsini’ Sinigaglia said. Welcome to the #ESLProLeague Season 11, @mibr 🙌@FalleNCS, @fer, @TACOCS, @kngvito & @meyern join Group C and will compete in the American division! pic.twitter.com/2CIlSC1BUT — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 21, 2020 The Brazilian manager voiced concerns on the way ESL are distributing rank points, which could have major implications for deserving teams to earn coveted spots at top-tier events. Shortly after the announcement, both Fallen and the MiBR organization echoed similar sentiments to that of their manager’s point. “Despite this time being on the better part of it, I believe that no tournament organizer should be able to have their own Ranking,” Fallen said. “This is dangerous, as it can be used to weigh your own tournaments more heavily than others – and this hurts the players and the fans.” MiBR will be integrated into the Pro League’s North American division and joins 100 Thieves, Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, Swole Patrol, and fellow Brazilian team FURIA. The Flashpoint founding member team, MiBR, are currently fighting through the Phase 1 bracket of the ‘Snakes & Ratters’ group, having eliminated Team Envy 2-0. ESL Pro League’s NA division will start on March 26, while the second phase of Flashpoint will officially start on March 27.

MIBR reveal latest plan to resolve CS:GO team issues ESLThe Made in Brazil CS:GO team has announced its latest strategy for attempting to deal with the turmoil currently affecting the team. MIBR announced on July 11 that they’ve signed a sports psychologist, Dr. João Cozac, who has over 30 years of professional experience, to help the team moving forward. The addition comes after a long and steady decline in MIBR’s performances, with the once-dominant Brazilian squad having long since been out of the conversation as a real championship contender. Sports psychologists have become increasingly prevalent in esports and particularly in CS:GO, with Astralis being the first major team to sing the praises of their sports psychologist and other support staff for their role in helping develop the squad that held the number one world ranking for over a year. Several other teams have also turned to sports psychologists in search of an edge, including current world number ones Team Liquid and Na’Vi, who cited Astralis as a direct inspiration for the move. While a sports psychologist may not be a magical cure for MIBR’s issues, the team will undoubtedly be hoping that the move will help address the internal issues they’ve been facing. MIBR’s issues recently came to a head following a last-place finish at ESL One Cologne for the team, after which it was revealed that star player Marcelo ‘Coldzera’ David had asked to be benched and was expected not to play for the team at the StarLadder Berlin Major. Those plans seem to have fallen foul of the Major rules, however, as reports have since suggested that MIBR will not be able to field coach Wilton ‘Zews’ Prado as intended. While there is a provision which allows for coaches to take a player’s place, it can only be implemented in an emergency, and StarLadder reportedly does not consider MIBR’s situation as such. Whether MIBR’s new sports psychologist can help truly repair the rift in the team remains to be seen, but getting the team back in form for the Major could prove crucial, as it seems increasingly likely that coldzera will have to compete with the squad after all.

MiBR players reveal what it was like to play CSGO with their coach Igor Bezborodov and StarLadderJust before the CS:GO team at Moscow. MiBR believe that they are on the road back to top form. The road they’ve taken through 2019 has not been the easiest, having ended last year and beginning this year by scrapping their Stewie2K/tarik experiment, as well as starting anew with an all-Brazilian lineup. Despite a strong start to the year with a semifinals appearance at the Katowice major, the rest of the year was a struggle for a roster core that once was dominating Counter-Strike as SK Gaming just two years ago. This year, MiBR was humiliated in front of their hometown fans at BLAST São Paulo, made two fruitless trips to China with WESG and StarSeries season 7, and had several less-than-stellar finishes before and after their best player asked to be benched. But the Brazilian boys have stayed positive through all of it – even having to play alongside the man who usually stands behind them, their coach. “Playing with our coach was a big challenge for us, and we survived,” Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo told Frankie. “We learned a lot of lessons. If we can take the best of a bad situation then I’m happy. I think we are mentally a stronger team.” Watch BLAST Pro Series Moscow – BLAST Backstage from BLASTProSeries on www.twitch.tvIt takes a special kind of mental strength to withstand such a rough year, but Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo took the time to acknowledge how hard it was for coach zews, and give him his due credit for hanging in there. “It’s hard. He was having fun and learning a lot. He knew it’s very hard to become a player [again] after a number of years. He was a really good player.” Zews stepped in to fill a player spot for the Berlin major, where MiBR went 1-3 and experienced one of the unluckier draws when it came to the toughness of their opponents. When Frankie brought up that they had to face ENCE, G2, and Na’Vi after they beat NiP, FalleN chuckled and said, “Now that you say that I’m starting to feel better about it.” “Going towards the major we had some bad days and we had days that went well,” TACO continued. “We got a little sad after the competition. But we played some good opponents, and we have nothing to be ashamed of.” MiBR are in good spirits after the acquisition of kNg, admitting that they’ve been after his services for quite some time. “He’s a great player,” said TACO. “We’ve always wanted to play with him. Every time we thought about changing someone, we wanted Vito. It didn’t work out then, but this time it worked.” BLAST Moscow will be the first event for kNg under the MiBR banner, and the team has high expectations for this tournament. They’ve identified ENCE and Na’Vi as the teams to be the most worried about, and will meet Na’Vi in the first round of what will be the sendoff tournament for Na’Vi’s in-game leader Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko.

MIBR management reveals how long CSGO teams wait for prize payouts StarLadderSenior Vice President of Immortals and former CS:GO analyst Tomi ‘Lurppis’ Kovanen revealed on Twitter how long teams have to wait on average to receive their prize pool winnings from tournaments, and who is affected most by the delays. While the competitive Counter-Strike scene may not have that single annual tournament with an engorged prize pool like Dota 2’s The International or the Fortnite World Cup, there are still millions of dollars up for grabs spread out across the whole year. As leagues continue to be created and evolve, like the ESL Pro Tour and the BLAST Premier series, players can expect more cash to be injected into the prize pools going forward as the scene continues to grow and expand. However, despite the growth within the pools themselves, it appears the scene is still struggling to grow when it comes to a timely release of the winnings to its recipients. Lurppis, a former CSGO analyst and current SVP of Finance and Business Development at the Immortals Gaming Club, says that prize money payments are still a “real issue.” https://twitter.com/tomi/status/1218136602427514880 Lurppis states that MIBR, the Brazilian CSGO roster and brand that is owned and operated by Immortals, on average received their prize payouts five whole months after tournaments ended in 2019, and that several events still hadn’t paid out weeks into 2020. The long waits for payments from tournament organizers mirror the issues brought up by freelancer broadcast talent towards the end of 2019, when caster Henry ‘HenryG’ Greer called out StarLadder for late payments. Lurppis brought up the issues with talent in his recent tweets as well, saying “TOs just need to do better— this isn’t any different from the reported issues with payments to talent.” He did acknowledge that for big organizations like Immortals and well-paid players like the MIBR roster, the problems with prize pool payouts are “less of an issue,” but that it could be “hugely problematic for upcoming players on low (or no) salary.” https://twitter.com/tomi/status/1218203897979899910 Even if players are being well-paid, they are still losing out on a significant portion of money, as he writes that “players usually get 90% or so” of prize money, meaning “this only directly hurts players.” https://twitter.com/tomi/status/1218139507461185537 Finally, Lurppis tore into the notion of tournament organizers being unable to pay on time because they are waiting for sponsorship money, saying it’s “poor management” and “sincerely [hoping] they go under” if they operate like that. https://twitter.com/tomi/status/1218143195214815238 MIBR is scheduled to compete in the upcoming ESL Pro Tour and the BLAST Premier series, and will compete in the Challengers stage in front of their home crowd at the ESL One Rio major in May.

MIBR fine CSGO star Fer for “racist” comments during Twitch stream Adela Sznajder for DreamHackBrazilian CS:GO team MIBR have fined Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga after the star player made a “racist” comment in a recent Twitch stream. Fer reportedly made a comment earlier this week, targeting the looks of people from different races. He then reportedly mocked people who were going to call him out for being “racist,” before jumping back into game. He then reportedly mocked people who were going to call him out for being “racist,” before jumping back into game. After the clip went viral, MIBR issued a statement condemning the star’s actions, and punishing him with a fine. “Fer, one of our players, made a mistake,” MIBR said in their June 2 statement, according to a translation. “He was wrong. He made comments in his stream that do not reflect our values, and we believe, that also do not reflect his values. “Fer knows and recognizes this type of language feeds a narrative that is wrong and deeply damaging. Instead of hiding, he faced the problem and apologized. “We will impose a fine on fer for his comments, and work with him to choose organizations that promote racial equality. The amount of [his] fine will be allocated to these institutions.” The amount fer was fined by MIBR was not disclosed by the org. The star has also since come out and issued an apology to fans. “I apologize if I somehow gave an impression of racism in my stream,” he said on Twitter, according to a translation. “Everyone who knows me knows that I have no prejudice and that I am open to any kind of opinions and debates.” Peço desculpas se de alguma maneira passei uma impressão de racismo na minha stream. Todos que me conhecem sabem que não tenho nenhum tipo de preconceito e que sou aberto a qualquer tipo de opiniões e debates. De qualquer maneira, segue abaixo outro trechohttps://t.co/tXDo3Q0BU0— Fernando Alvarenga (@fer) June 2, 2020 While he was issued a monetary fine, fer faced no further sanctions from MIBR. He was allowed to line-up for them in the Blast Premier Spring Showdown against Chaos Esports Club. The former major champions drew Inferno with the North American upstarts 15-15. They lead their group, containing fellow South American team FURIA and Gen.G, with one game left to play.

MiBR CS:GO pro Fer slams new competitive map Vertigo Dreamhack/ValveCounter-Strike: Global Offensive map Vertigo for being stupid to play and ugly to watch. Valve made a major change to the CS:GO active duty map pool with the March 29 update, removing Cache in favor of Vertigo, a map that had never seen the light of competitive play before. Professional players have routinely criticized the map since its introduction, despite not many top-level matches being played out on the map. However, when it has appeared in tournament action, pros have been quick to criticize the map – with some even calling for its removal completely – even when they win. MIBR’s Fer was left furious the map after taking on Team Liquid in the final of ECS Season 6’s North American week four stage. Despite MIBR winning on Vertigo, 16-11, Fer was not a fan of what he had played and quickly spoke out against it. “Btw [by the way] this vertigo map is worse than shit,” he tweeted after the game. “It’s so ugly to watch and even more stupid to play.” Being such a high profile gamer, it didn’t take long for other players to latch on to what Fer was thinking, with many agreeing with his criticisms. Btw this vertigo map is worse than shit. :woozy: It’s so ugly to watch and even more stupid to play. :injured: — Fernando Alvarenga (@fer) May 17, 2019 Former Luminosity Gaming pro Gusatvo ‘SHOOWTiME’ Goncalves responded to Fer by stating that Vertigo has a ‘deathmatch’ on the A bombsite, hinting at the fact that it doesn’t play like any other map in the pool. Fer seemingly agreed with that statement, adding that any attack onto that bombsite ends up being a 5v5 showdown between all 10 players in the server. Basicamente um encontro de 10 nego no bomb A com umas caixas e uma rampa e todas as bombas do jogo. — Fernando Alvarenga (@fer) May 17, 2019 French pro Dan ‘ApEx’ Madesclaire, who dons the colors of Team Vitality, joked about the repetitiveness of the map in his reply – as teams solely target the A site, ultimately playing the same game over and over. Retake A this round next round ? Retake A hmmmm next ? Retake A maybe ? — Dan Madesclaire (@Vitality_apEX) May 17, 2019 Other pros also chimed in with new criticism of the map. OpTic Gaming’s in-game leader Mathias ‘MSL’ Lauridsen offered some thoughts about pros ‘speaking up’ against recent changes, before turning his attention to the map pool. Focusing solely on Vertigo, he posted: “Also vertigo is just not a map that should be played competitive. It’s about planting the bomb and 15 rounds of afterplants. It goes so much against what CS:GO require of teams and players,” before tagging the CS:GO Dev Twitter account. Also vertigo is just not a map that should be played competetive. Its about planting the bomb and do 15 rounds of afterplants, it goes so much against what csgo require of teams and players. @csgo_dev 2/2 — Mathias Lauridsen (@MSLcsgo) May 17, 2019 It remains to be seen if Valve will shake up the map pool any time soon following the numerous calls from pros for a change, especially with the StarLadder Major on the horizon. Other tournament organizers like ESL and FACEIT have only just cycled the map into their own event map pools, even though actually seeing it in competitive play is – of now – a rare occurrence. Valve has been quick to respond to player feedback with CS:GO in recent weeks, pumping out regular updates taken. They do take on pro player thoughts at their Major events so it may be a case of holding out until Berlin before a change is made.

MIBR drop TACO, fer & dead from CSGO roster following coaching scandal MIBR[jwplayer uAaXRrFw] Prominent CS:GO esports organization, MIBR, have dropped star players Epitacio ‘TACO’ de Melo, Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga, and coach Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia following the recent drama surrounding coaches using banned exploits. Fer, TACO, and dead were released from MIBR’s roster on September 13, nearly a week after a major coaching scandal rocked the CS:GO world. Dead, who had been with the team since March, was one of the coaches implicated in scandal after it had been determined that he, along with 10 others across the esport, had knowingly used a bug to gain a spectating advantage of opponents. Obrigado @fer, @TACOCS & @ricsini. pic.twitter.com/rl6YpXqNam — MADE IN BRAZIL. (@MIBR) September 13, 2020 In summary, MIBR affirms that their social face value and overall integrity shouldn’t be tarnished by those that represent the organization, even if it’s long-standing players. “We are living in a moment where it is important for MIBR and MIBR fans to make changes, and we will be making some adjustments to the roster over the next several weeks,” they stated. The post assures fans that the Brazilian CS:GO legacy of these players will always be remembered, but the show must go on. The team will continue to reshape its competitive roster and will be “retooling” ahead of the premier fall competitions, including BLAST and Flashpoint 2. TACO and fer became MIBR icons after joining the org in 2018, along with fellow star FalleN. The three formed a core that existed for nearly two years before being dismantled in the wake of this announcement. “I just want to make it clear that it was a decision made exclusively by the organization,” TACO wrote in a Twitlonger after being dropped. “I’m sad that I have to leave my teammates FalleN, fer, kNg, trk and dead – especially in the current team situation, but looking forward to seeing what the future holds!” Fer also promised he’ll reveal more details about the situation in the future. “At this moment, I can’t talk too much about the situation, but as soon as what’s pending with the organization is solved, I will speak myself about it.” FORA DO MIBR / OUT OF MIBR Read: https://t.co/aC7pjm88sY — Fernando Alvarenga (@fer) September 13, 2020 Only time will tell who MIBR will line up to replace these two legendary figures, but whoever it is, they’ll have big shoes to fill, not just in terms of talent but also what they represent to the fans. September 13 update (6:20pm PT): FalleN has also announced his departure from the MIBR line-up, citing his dissatisfaction with the roster changes. “At this moment, more than ever, I need to be faithful to my values and heart to close this chapter of this beautiful story and, with regard to the fans who never left us, I communicate my [dissatisfaction] with MIBR in front of the decision to completely overhaul the line-up I chose to play for.”

MiBR destroyed by Astralis and reigning major champions Cloud 9 eliminated at FACEIT London Major A crazy day of matches saw reigning major champions Cloud9 eliminated from FACEIT London, and MiBR were humbled in a brutal 16-0 at the hands of Astralis. The day started with BIG Clan overcoming Hellraisers, winning 16-9 on Train, but Hellraisers are still in with a shot, sitting at eighth in the standings, with a two and two record. NiP took care of Vega Squadron on Train also, leaving the Russian/Ukranian squad with a 1-3 record, eliminating them in 12-14th. FaZe Clan made quick work of TyLoo, eliminating them also with a comfortable 16-4 win, ending an impressive run for the Chinese hopefuls. Na’Vi and Fnatic was hard to predict, but Na’Vi’s Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov stepped up in the fragging department, as his usually unstoppable teammate Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev was unusually quiet. Next up was easily the match of the day, as G2 and Cloud9 battled on Inferno, which almost like clockwork went to Overtime. Cloud9 fought valiantly, but couldn’t clutch up in the crucial moments, losing 22-19 and failing to make it to the new Champions Stage. The final game was finely poised, as Made in Brazil faced their toughest test of the event so far with favorites Astralis looking in top form. But it wasn’t close at all in the end, as Astralis won the first ever 16-0 in CS:GO Major history, looking absolutely peerless on the CT side of Dust 2. For North American fans, Cloud9 may be gone, but Team Liquid are going strong, as are the surprise package in CompLexity, with both teams taking 2nd and 1st spots respectively in the current standings. MiBR will have their opportunity to bounce back against NiP tomorrow, but FalleN and new coach YNk will have to seriously rethink their strategies after their crushing loss vs Astralis.

MiBR CS:GO confirm fifth player in tarik replacement DreamHack / MiBRMade in Brazil (MiBR) are finally an all Brazilian roster once again, following the official confirmation that João ‘felps’ Vasconcellos has signed, reuniting with his former SK teammates. Felps completes the five man lineup for MiBR heading to start 2019, and is a reunion of the roster which secured five major titles in 2017, before he was replaced by Ricardo ‘boltz’ Prass. The move was an expected one, despite the somewhat cryptic teasers and hints leading up to the reveal video, which itself attempted to keep the secret going for as long as possible. It leaves Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik’s future uncertain, as he currently remains with MiBR, presumably in an inactive role. With the recent recruitment of Epitacio ‘TACO’ Melo from Team Liquid, along with coach Wilton ‘Zews’ Prado, tarik’s fellow North American teammate Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip made the transition back to NA by joining Liquid. MiBR made the announcement on January 12, with a teasing reveal video, showcasing some of the former SK lineup’s finest moments from the past. Update: Tarik has now shared a message to his followers regarding his time at MiBR and his short term plans for the future: You can look at my past and every team I ever joined I was never the first to leave. I always wanna stick it through, thick and thin, but someone always ends up pulling the puzzle piece out too soon. I knew that joining MIBR was a risk and unfortunately it didn’t pan out. Some difficulties in language and culture, but most importantly a clash of play styles brought it to an abrupt end. Regardless of everything, having the chance to learn and work with the Brazilian core was a unique and thrilling opportunity for me. Although it was short-lived, it was an honor to play with the legends. I have no regrets, everything happens for a reason. At this time I’ll be sitting out with MIBR, streaming and working further on my personal game, until another opportunity arises. Thank you for all of my fans who’ve followed me since the beginning, and especially thanks to the fans of Brazil for accepting me in open arms, you are all incredible. -Tarik da nova geração Whether the MiBR team can live up to their previous selves remains to be seen, with their first major event together at IEM Katowice only a month away.

MiBR CS:GO coach zews is hardly recognizable after incredible weight loss ESLBrazilian CS:GO coach Wilton ‘zews’ Prado has shocked fans with a dramatic weight loss transformation seen in a ‘Coach Confidential’ video with his team, MiBR. Returning to the roster that he helped coach to numerous victories under the Luminosity and SK Gaming banners, zews is looking to get the team back to peak form in 2019. But, Prado himself already appears to be reaching peak form individually following weight loss surgery to help improve his overall health. Speaking on Reddit in response to *the original version of this article, zews explained that he had the surgery due to problems with sleep apnea and his mental health. “I couldn’t go on like that as it was not only affecting my profession but all of my life. My mental health was deteriorating fast and I needed to take control again. […] Now several months later my life quality has improved exponentially and had I known it would have been like this would have probably even done it sooner.” Fans first noticed the change in an MIBR video on January 29, where zews discussed how he plans to work and improve with the now all-Brazilian lineup and was looking noticeably slimmer. With his new-found physical and mental health, Brazilian fans will hope zews will be able to lead MiBR to victory as they prepare for the challenge of the IEM Katowice Major. As he explains in the video, zews knows the ceiling of the roster is incredibly high – having been proven in previous years – but the team undoubtedly has a lot of work to do if they are to return to the top. * This article originally stated that zews’ transformation was solely the result of gym work and dieting. The coach clarified on Reddit that he had had surgery and a gastric sleeve to help lose weight and improve both his physical and mental health.

Coldzera pulls off insane clutches as MiBR advance to IEM Sydney semi-finals ESLMIBR’s Marcelo ‘Coldzera’ David took a step back in time to lift his team over Mousesports during an intense quarter-finals match-up at IEM Sydney. The once-dominant SK Gaming line-up returned took up the iconic Made in Brazil name back in July of 2018, but has stumbled in living up to their top billing. While the team has made a number of roster changes, including flirting with non-Brazilian players, they have remained a threat in tournaments – even if they haven’t been guaranteed wins like in the past. Yet, it appears as if they may be returning to form thanks in part to the stellar, and seemingly vintage, play of Coldzera at IEM Sydney. Cold breaks Mouz hearts with 1v3 clutch Depending on where you are in the world, Sydney can prove to be a tough CS:GO tournament to watch with plenty of fans sleeping through the late-night event, while others are woken up by droning alarm clocks. Read More: Thorin’s Top 10 CS:GO Players of 2018 – Yet, those who decided to power through were treated to a vintage Coldzera performance as he lit up Mousesports during MIBR’s 2-0 series victory. Behind Cold’s incredible play, the Brazilians were able to outlast the newly-formed European line-up 22-19 on Mirage before picking up a 16-10 victory on Overpass. As you may expect, the two-time HLTV number one player of the year stepped up in pivotal moments for his squad – including pulling off an incredible 1v3 post-plant clutch on Mirage to keep his team’s chances at winning the map alive. Coldzera pulls out the Ace However, seeing as Coldzera had a +23 kill-death ratio, you could probably expect a few more moments of magic from him. He delivered on Overpass, once again, pulling the rug out from beneath Mousesports. The Brazilian picked up a stunning Ace during round 12, which allowed his team to stretch their lead over the European squad to six rounds. It was, again, in the post-plant situation where he shined brightest – throwing down in an intense battle of wits with Robin ‘Ropz’ Kool with only a few seconds left on the round end timer. Coldzera mustered up all of his major-winning experience to wait out, and ultimately, outgun the Estonian wonderkid despite having an extreme disadvantage in health. MIBR picks up the eco round Yet, his ability to break the hearts, and spirit, of the young Mousesports line-up wasn’t finished just there. With MIBR stuck on a Desert Eagle buy round, Coldzera reached back into his bag of tricks and pulled out not one, but two, one-tap headshots to give his team a fighting chance. With the numbers advantage on their side and the attacking push stopped, Cold went hunting and picked up a third-kill – helping his team steal a pivotal round away despite lacking the firepower to go toe-to-toe with Mousesports. Can MIBR win at IEM Sydney? While Astralis decided to shun an appearance at IEM Sydney, teams like MIBR – who are searching for that elusive victory – have been handed a golden opportunity to strike. However, they’ll need the two-time number one player in the world to really be back to top form as they face a tricky task against Team Liquid in the semi-finals on May 4. Yet, if they can the topple the top North American squad, they’ll find themselves in a tournament grand final for the first time since the ECS Season 6 finals back in November of 2018.

MiBR and Cloud9’s CS:GO Teams on the Brink of Major Changes as Tarik and Coldzera Reportedly Consider New Opportunities MiBR / ELEAGUEThe future for Made in Brazil and Cloud9’s CS:GO rosters was thrown into serious doubt on July 9 when numerous rumors broke about potential moves involving Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David, Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik, and Ricardo ‘boltz’ Prass. Anyone that thought the switch from SK Gaming to the recently revived MiBR would be enough to breathe new life into Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo’s storied Brazilian Counter-Strike roster was sorely disappointed by their first official outing. Despite a comeback win against Renegades in their first match, MiBR fell at the hands of FaZe Clan in the Group B upper bracket semi-final and would later lose to BIG in the lower bracket final to be eliminated in 7th-8th place. It would seem that yet another disappointing group stage exit has pushed the team over the edge and on July 9 two major stories broke about potential roster moves that will completely shake up the CS:GO landscape if they come to pass. First, DBLTAP reported that Cloud9’s in-game leader tarik is in talks with MiBR about replacing boltz, which would make him the second member of the ELEAGUE Boston Major C9 roster to jump ship for a spot with the Brazilians after Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip did the same back in March. Even more surprisingly, a report from flickshot.fr then surfaced claiming that MiBR’s star player, Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David, is considering leaving the team after the FACEIT London Major in September due to internal differences: “it would seem that relations between Brazilian players are very complicated and that a breakout has appeared over the months between key elements of the team. Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and Fernando “fer” Alvarenga would be opposed to Marcelo “coldzera” David regarding the path the team should take and the work to be done.” It would appear that coldzera’s first choice of destination would be Team Liquid where he would reunite with Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo, but a huge buyout clause may prevent that from happening. Read More: Cloud9’s RUSH Weighs in on the Home Crowd Advantage Debate Following BIG’s Impressive ESL One: Cologne Run – It is important to note that if coldzera left before FACEIT London, MiBR would lose their spot in the Major due to the rule about having at least three members of your team that earned legend status in the last Major. If tarik does decide to leave Cloud9, the reigning Major Champions will be able to hold onto their spot due to still having Tyler ‘Skadoodle’ Latham, Will ‘RUSH’ Wierzba, and Timothy ‘autimatic’ Ta on the roster. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!

MiBR CS:GO pro Fer posts gruesome image after ear surgery MiBR entry fragger Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga has posted a painful-looking picture of his ear following surgery. The Brazilian joined MiBR back in June, and has gone on to win the eighth season of the North American ESL Pro League. While fer has played all over the world since joining MiBR, he was forced to miss the Blast Pro Series event in Lisbon Portugal on December 14, as he flew back to Brazil on the same day to undergo surgery on his right ear. Fer confirmed on December 2 that he had been suffering with ear issues, which have been extremely painful and even caused his ear to bleed during matches. The MiBR star used Instagram on Thursday, December 20 to reveal that his operation had been a success, and that while he was in a lot of pain, he’s currently on the road to recovery. Fer underwent a Tympanomastoidectomy, a surgery which helps treat frequent ear infections that have damaged the eardrum and tissue in and around the ear. The surgery was made more complicated as an infection he had due to his perforated eardrum had corroded a bone, and decided to use a titanium plate to replace the missing bone. 500Alvarenga thanked his fans for their messages of support, and said that “nothing falls from the sky,” meaning that everyone needs to fight for the goals, before taking a friendly jab at likely future teammate Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo, saying that the only things that fall from the sky are his wrongly thrown flash grenades. With fer unable to compete in Lisbon, MiBR turned to Swole Patrol’s Braxton ‘Swag’ Pierce to plug the gap, with the squad eventually placing fourth at the tournament.

mertz has a point to prove in CSGO return: “There are a lot of things to fight for” Adela Sznajder/DreamHackDaniel ‘mertz’ Mertz’s CS:GO career has not been what many projected it to be. As he returns to the game after a Valorant sojourn, he is confident that he can still realize his potential. mertz vividly remembers the moment his career began to lose pace. In a July 2018 interview with HLTV.org, then North captain Mathias ‘MSL’ Lauridsen explained mertz’s removal from the team days earlier with the need to have an AWPer that could “kill a lot and play smart”. That billing of a player who was ‘all aim and no brain’ has stuck with him in the years since and is still frequently brought up by the CS:GO community every time his name is mentioned. It was, mertz acknowledges, “a punch to the stomach”, though he says it was not entirely unwarranted. His undoing was his attitude towards the game and the fact that he took his career “a little bit for granted” — something he did not realize until years later. “I was a much less mature guy back then, and I think I had a lot of other priorities,” he tells Dexerto. “Maybe I wasn’t taking things as seriously as I should have or putting in the hours that I should.” After a nine-month spell with Heroic that was ended by a last-place finish at IEM Sydney, mertz suddenly found the doors to tier-one Counter-Strike closed to him. So he took a step back and moved to smaller teams. He played for Singularity, Copenhagen Flames and x6tence, putting up solid numbers every time. But in a stunning turn of events, the Spanish organization decided to drop the team just two months after his arrival. By the time he joined Nordavind in February 2021, he had grown increasingly disillusioned with the game. That summer, Nordavind put all their chips on the Brazilian market, merging with 00 Nation and signing the team known as O PLANO. Tired of “waiting for things to happen” after a string of negative experiences, mertz decided to try his luck in Valorant, landing a spot on Team Heretics, one of the biggest names in the EMEA region in the game’s infancy. But by then, Heretics had become a revolving door of players; his tenure with the Spanish organization lasted under three months. mertz said that he never found his footing in the game, something he partly attributes to the confluence of players from different paths, which made it harder to find a common ground. At the same time, he harbored a feeling of unfinished business in the CS:GO scene. So he decided to give the game another chance. “I didn’t feel quite at home in Valorant,” he explains. “I was missing Counter-Strike. My good old Counter-Strike.” A fresh start mertz is determined to fight back to the top of the CS:GO scene from the bottom. He has joined The Prodigies, an academy team assembled by Prodigy Agency, the Toulouse-based talent agency that represents some of the best esports players in the world. Jérôme Coupez, the founder and owner of Prodigy Agency, wants this project to serve as a platform for up-and-coming talent to showcase their ability. (All players receive a salary and access to coaching and training facilities.) He has hired a production company and professional casters to cover The Prodigies’ league games, bringing more eyeballs to the team. VODs and highlights are also posted on YouTube after every match. Last season, The Prodigies moved up the ladder as they secured promotion from ESEA Intermediate to Main. (The team was even one match away from climbing up to the Advanced division.) It’s a different reality from what mertz is used to, but at the same time, it’s the perfect atmosphere for a player in his situation to regain his best form. “It should be beneficial for both parties,” he explains. “I can teach the younger talents and they will give me the chance to show that I’m still good.” After three months in which his days were spent playing FACEIT pugs (not even FPL, from which he was kicked for inactivity when he moved to Valorant), mertz is ecstatic to be in a team environment again. He believes that he still needs some time to shake off the rustiness, saying that he feels at “75 percent” of his best self. “There’s some stuff I need to catch up on,” he adds. “I haven’t played on a team for over a year. That’s a long time out of the game.” mertz doesn’t put a timetable on finding a top team again, but he said that he hopes to be ready by the time the next big shuffle in the CS:GO scene comes around, which will happen at the end of the current Major cycle. He also sees the irony of his situation. He went to another game to find the opportunities that were in short supply in the CS:GO scene, only to watch Astralis, Denmark’s biggest team, experiment with different AWPers during his time away, without success. “I definitely think I could have carried on and reached bigger heights, but I was also doubtful at the time that it would happen,” he says. “Looking at what Astralis have been through, maybe I could have got a chance there if I was performing well. “Maybe you can say that mistakes were made, but I still feel that I’m coming back refreshed.” With mertz, it always comes back to the same theme. Can he finally live up to the potential that many saw in him in 2018, or will he always be seen as an example of wasted talent? He has heard all the noise over the years. And while he admitted that proving his doubters wrong does “fuel the fire” in him, he insisted that his main target is to finally reach the level he knows he can play at. “I think I have barely achieved anything,” he says of his career. “I have played on some big teams with some big names, but I have never won a big tournament. So I think I still have a lot to achieve and that there are a lot of things to fight for. “You want to show people that you are not what they think you are, but most of my motivation comes from within and from knowing that I could have been more but didn’t do myself justice. Now I can grind and hopefully, at the end of this, I’ll look at myself and say, ‘I did what I wanted with this.’”

McSkillet sued one year after tragic car crash left mother and daughter dead McSkilletAlmost one year on from a wrong-way car crash involving YouTuber Trevor ‘McSkillet’ Heitmann, his estate is now being sued. Heitmann, a popular CS:GO content creator who was notorious for trading expensive in-game cosmetics and showcasing them on his YouTube channel, drove his McLaren on the wrong side of the freeway on August 23, 2018, killing himself and a mother and daughter in the collision, according to the LA Times. Forty-three-year-old Aileen Pizarro and 12-year-old Aryana Pizarro were northbound on the Interstate 805 when their SUV was hit by the oncoming sports-car. Per the report from the LA Times, the McLaren was traveling at 100 mph before it collided head-on with the SUV, causing a multi-car pileup and leaving another person seriously injured. Dubbed the ‘king of skins’, the 18-year-old received a trade-ban from Valve, the developers of CS:GO, in the June before the crash. After the tragic events of August 23, it was reported by Heitmann’s friends that he has been suffering from depression, in a report by Narcity. A GoFundMe page was set up after the crash in 2018 and successfully raised over $67,000 in aid of those affected by the tragedy. The family of the victims are now suing the teenager’s estate, the City of San Diego and the County of San Diego. The family alleges negligence (resulting in the death of the mother and daughter) towards the City and the County. The lawsuit states that the San Diego Police failed to apprehend Heitmann after he was examined by a psychiatrist days prior to the incident. The psychiatrist allegedly stipulated that he was “a danger to himself and to others and must be immediately detained on a California Welfare & Institutions Code: 5150 hold”. In accordance with the prosecution, the family claim that police officer failed to act accordingly and place the teenage on a 5150 hold. As per litigation, financial loss and compensation for the loss of the mother and daughter to the family are being reviewed. Prior to his death, McSkillet had amassed over 840,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel who consistently supported his collection of his in-game paraphernalia, with some individual items estimated value to be thousands of dollars.

May 1st CS:GO Update Finally Addresses SMG Animations – 1.36.3.3 Patch Notes The latest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive update might not be the major Panorama UI overhaul that we were hoping for, but it does finally address one of the most infuriating animation bugs in the entire game. If you’ve ever died to another player using an SMG in CS:GO even though you were convinced had a knife or a grenade in their hand, you were probably right. In perhaps one of the most infuriating animation issues in the history of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a one-handed walking animation for the Mac10, MP7, and Mp9 constantly tricked players into thinking their opponent wasn’t holding a weapon. The subject has been brought up by community members on a regular basis but on May 1st Valve finally addressed it by adding a new “two-handed version to improve weapon recognition”. Members of the CS:GO community often express the feeling that Valve does not care about them, as they still wait for the UI overhaul that was promised in 2017, and this SMG update is hardly going to change that belief, but it is a start. The “Gangsta pose” is no more. Credit: -ZooL- The full patch notes can be found below. AUDIO Enabled streaming audio by default, making use of the ‘sound cache’ unnecessary. The sound cache can be forced back on by setting snd_disable_legacy_audio_cache 0 if any issues are found. – Weapon reload sounds now follow the reloading players as they move around. – Fixed sound device override exploit to cancel sounds. – GAMEPLAY Replaced custom Terrorist one-handed walking animations for the MAC10, MP7, and MP9 with an alternative two-handed version to improve weapon recognition at a glance. – MAPS ShortNuke: Added more spawn points per side – Fixed model occlusion bug inside vent – Added solid background to top of yellow crane inside site –

May 14 CS:GO update patch notes – Economy and map fixes, Danger Zone changes and more ValveValve have made a ton of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players happy with their May 14 update that’s going to give the game awesome new lobby features along with crucial tweaks to Matchmaking and Danger Zone. The legendary team-shooter has seen its share of big updates in the past, but this time Valve are introducing major quality of life updates for the seven-year-old title while cleaning up some of the game’s maps. The May 14 update has brought in everything from an update to round money loss, to big changes for community maps Ruby as well as Workout, a new queue feature and tons more. Loss Bonus money gets a big update CS:GO players both casual and professional have been clamoring about the need to change up how the game handles loss bonus money, especially after winning a round. With the next update for the game “loss bonus money will now always step down to $2,900 after a team with a $3,400 max loss bonus streak wins a round.” This came to the delight of a lot of notable CS:GO players who have been hoping for the change to come for some time. Release Notes for today are up! Loss bonus now caps at 5 rounds, new Danger Zone items have been unlocked, a “”looking to play”” feature has been added, and a “”CS:GO events”” feature with @HLTVorg schedule info has been added to the WATCH tab. Full notes: https://t.co/DCMg50ntf6 pic.twitter.com/mDYQpU791I — CS:GO (@csgo_dev) May 14, 2019 Valve are refining Ruby The community map is going to be getting tons of bug fixes and new additions implemented that will change how it looks a bit. Valve have put in a boost in Alley as well in mid for the T’s giving the map a bit more flexibility for players to try out. Similarly, they also “trimmed excessive areas” which hopefully means there won’t be as much empty map anymore. The devs have also rerouted Alley from A main to mid. This change is one in a few fixes that will improve the “flow” of the map to improve the gameplay experience. Workout is getting touch ups While Workout’s changes won’t be as extensive, the devs are cleaning up the map to make it easier to operate. A “rogue spawn point” on the map has been deleted, and the devs have also “fixed boosting into the hole in Kids Zone.” The court area of the map had its shadows tweaked, while the shower area is going to be slightly more illuminated after the update. Game changing queue feature Valve have added a new “looking to play” option that will look to make queuing up with people much more streamlined. Simply click on the new button and “you’ll be added to a list of players who are ready to team up.” The feature will work both ways too, as teams who are missing a few players for a full squad will be able to pick players in the “looking to play” list and quickly add them to their game. Danger Zone will make it easier to track you down The CS:GO battle royale mode is getting a plethora of changes with the next update. A new change is going to give dropped shields from death a slight delay before they’re able to be automatically picked up by another player. Read more: CS:GO: FaZe Clan’s Failed Era by Thorin – From different starting item options, to a new Drone Pilot upgrade in the Tablet Buy Menu that lets you spy on players, Danger Zone players are going to want to bone up on the new features before parachuting in. There is a lot to unpack in CS:GO’s latest update, so make sure to get the full scope of what’s to come in the patch notes below. Release Notes for 5/14/2019 2019.05.14 – [ DANGER ZONE ] – Unlocked Drone Pilot Tablet, Bonus Wave Money, Bonus Explore Money, and Armor+Helmet as starting item options. – Drone Pilot upgrade is now available for purchase in the Tablet Buy Menu. – Tasers will now always open the crate they are fired at; they no longer sometimes do partial crate damage. – Shields dropped from death have a slight delay before being automatically picked by nearby players. – Fixed some instances of safe models spawning in midair. – Fixed item outline colors on dropped grenades. – Map collision fixes and stuck spot removals, and a few visual bugs squashed too. [ GAMEPLAY ] – Loss bonus money will now always step down to $2,900 after a team with a $3,400 max loss bonus streak wins a round. [ UI ] – Introducing the “Looking to Play” feature: players can now advertise themselves as available for party invites, can be invited by other parties from the “Looking to Play” tab of their CS:GO friends list, and can accept party invites from the CS:GO main menu. – Introducing CS:GO Events: players can now see an HLTV-provided schedule of professional LAN events in the Watch tab. Favorite your preferred community tournaments and get notified about professional live matches on the CS:GO main menu. [ MISC ] – Friends and other players can no longer join lobbies that already entered matchmaking queue. – Fixed exploits related to vote commands. [ MAPS ] – Latest updates to community maps Ruby and Workout. Ruby: – Minor bug fixes – Clean up – Added setdressing – Added boost in Alley – Added boost spot in mid for Ts – Overall gameplay tweaks – Trimmed excessive areas – Improved overall gameplay flow – Large changes to mid to improve flow – Rerouted alley from A main to mid – Removed ladder bug – Removed pixel walk Workout: – Fixed boosting into the hole in Kids Zone – Deleted a rogue spawn point – Fixed some shadow issues in the court area – Brightened the shower area slightly [ SDK ] – VBSP: Fixed a rare bug in displacement physics hull generation during map compilation that could result in large gaps near the edges of completely flat displacement surfaces.

Massive CSGO exploit allows wall-hacks without getting caught Chod’s CheatsAn exploit has been discovered in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that allows players to enable wall-hacks without running the risk of being caught and banned. One of the biggest issues that has plagued CS:GO over the many years of its existence has been cheating, primarily the use of wall-hacks and aimbots the give players a very unfair advantage. Gaming organizers ESEA and FACEIT have made successful efforts to counter these cheats, especially when it comes to the competitive side of the game, thanks to the heavy-duty anti-cheat systems employed on their servers. However, another exploit has been thrust into the spotlight, one that overrides anti-cheat software and allows for hacks to be enabled from the in-game console. Read More: Stewie’s account hacked during Berlin Major – The video below, tweeted out by game expert ‘DonHaci,’ the self-acclaimed “Premier mind of CS:GO,” shows this exploit being used on a FACEIT server. “There is yet another critical bug out there that literally allows you to enable sv_cheats 1 in matchmaking, FACEIT, ESEA etc…” he tweeted. “Would recommend not playing until it gets fixed.” This is a video of it being used on FACEIT pic.twitter.com/LeRvBXJh5d — Haci (@DonHaci) September 6, 2019 In the clip, an innocent match kicks off with everything looking as it should, until the console is opened and the ‘sv_cheats 1’ command is prompted, which apparently opens the door for hacks to be enabled. Surely enough, following the command input, the player is then able to generate the thermal models for everyone in that lobby, enabling him to see the entire enemy team’s position and movements. Read More: Roster rumors for FaZe CSGO – As it turns out, according to Haci, this exploit apparently isn’t even something new, as others have claimed to be using it “for years.” “This is worse than I thought,” he tweeted. “People have come forward to me and told that they have been abusing this for years. For years, there has been an exploit going around where you can override protected cvars and enable sv_cheats 1, which allows you to enable wall-hacks with commands.” This is worse than I thought: People have come forward to me and told me that they have been abusing this for years. For years there has been an exploit going around where you can override protected cvars and enable sv_cheats 1, which allows you to enable Wallhacks with commands. — Haci (@DonHaci) September 6, 2019 If that is true, then CSGO and these competitive gaming organizers have a much larger problem on their hands than they may have initially realized. Fortunately, thanks to Haci’s tweet gaining massive attention on social media, this may end up being patched and taken care before too long.

March 13 CS:GO update finally nerfs AUG and makes major changes to round loss bonuses – Patch Notes CS:GOA massive update has been released for CounterStrike: Global Offensive on March 13, introducing a flurry of new content and much-needed changes to the game. Chief among those changes is a major adjustment made to the round loss bonus system, which determines how much in-game currency players receive after losing a round. Now, these bonuses will be based on the count of a team’s round losses, with the count increasing by one after every loss and deceasing by one after every win. Previously, a round win would completely reset the round loss bonus. According to the developers, this change has been made with the goal of “reducing a negative feedback loop following streaks of losses.” In reaction to this change, many players are already predicting that this new system will reduce the number of ‘eco rounds,’ which, in turn, would mean more rounds with major guns in play. Another major change made in this update is a nerf to the AUG, whose price has now been reverted back to $3,300 after it had been recently lowered to $3,150. This change had given rise to a lot of negative feedback among the player-base, many of whom felt that the scoped AR had become way to powerful with its low price. Read More: Valve releases CS:GO update fixing major streaming issues affecting Warowl and coldzera – Patch notes – Additionally, staying on the topic of weapons, the M4A1-S will now hold 25 bullets in the magazine and 75 in reserve, while the Sawed-Off shotgun’s range has been increased to 1,400. The release of this update also means that the brand new Prisma Cases have begun to be shipped out, featuring 17 community-designed weapon finishes and six new Horizon knife finishes. All of these brand new weapon and knife skins can be seen below, as well as the names of the artist who designed them. The official patch notes for this March 13 update, including all of the new additions, changes, and removals made, can be viewed below: Release Notes for 3/13/2019 [GAMEPLAY] Adjusted round loss bonuses with the goal of reducing a negative feedback loop following streaks of losses. – Round loss bonuses are now based on the count of a team’s round losses. The count increases by one after every loss, and decreases by one after every win (minimum 0). — With 0 Losses: $1400 — With 1 Loss: $1900 — With 2 Losses: $2400 — With 3 Losses: $2900 — With 4+ Losses: $3400 – Previously, a win would reset the round loss bonus. Now, a win reduces the loss counter by one. – Teams still begin the half with a loss count of 1. – This is enabled by default and can be controlled using the mp_consecutive_loss_aversion server setting. – The round loss bonus is still limited to mp_consecutive_loss_max multiplied by cash_team_winner_bonus_consecutive_rounds. – Added flashbang assists for players who successfully flash an enemy which then gets killed by another player. Players who threw the flashbang will get an assist callout in the death notice. However if another player inflicted >40 damage to the victim for the assist, the flashbang assist player will not get the callout. – AUG — Now that players have had an opportunity to learn to love the AUG, returning the weapon to its original price of $3300. – M4A1-S — The M4A1-S now holds 25 bullets in the magazine, and has 75 in reserve. – Shotguns — Price reduction for some shotguns: Nova ($1050), Sawed-Off ($1100), Mag7 ($1300). — Nova penetration increased to 1. — Sawed-Off range increased to 1400. — Single shell shotguns in the middle of their reload sequence will no longer automatically continue to reload after a player holsters and deploys them. – Fixed a bug that prevented C4 or enemies seen through open doors from showing up on the radar. – Fixed a rare bug where a C4 bomb reset trigger could reset the bomb to a position that was not on the ground. [PRISMA CASE] – Introducing the Prisma Case, featuring 17 community-designed weapon finishes, and the Horizon Knives in Chroma finishes as rare special items. [ MISC ] – New Loadout Shuffle feature is available in the inventory. Choose to shuffle any number of your weapons or music kits and a random one will be equipped each map. – Several fixes for the ‘Clean Names’ communication setting. – Renamed workshop workbench setting to ‘Side View’. – Removed visual artifacts on a few image assets. [ MAPS ] Canals: – reduced number of routes around bombsite B – moved bombsite B inside the palace – added a door from center stairs to courtyard platform – made it possible to jump up to B bridge from scaffold – new radar map style Vertigo: – Thank you to all the diligent players that continued testing Bombsite B – Blocked runboost from T spawn to Bombsite B (will still be possible in B site configuration) – Obstructed boost from top of floodlight in back of A – Changed layout of back of A site, made entrance onto site a regular doorway, added half-wall in front of scaffolding – Added usable door in mid towards bombsite B – Simplified collision model of support jack – Fixed unintended boost on scaffolding on A ramp – Made boostable concrete mold by A site slightly larger – Improved clipping inside elevator shaft Community maps: – Updated radar for Abbey and Biome

Maniac: Now’s the time for Magisk to step up | IEM Katowice Playoffs preview with BanKs With lots of CIS teams making their dream run all the way through, the pair discuss what they think is going to happen within the event. Looking at the $1,000 Dexerto CSGO IEM Best of Three freeroll that’s chock-full of cash prizes, the pair sit down to contend over their own personal choices — picking 5 players and an Ice pick that acts as a sixth — with Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev cropping up more than once. Taking on each other’s views, they discuss the props (either kills and deaths, headshots, or assists) of each player and vote on whether their stats will get over or under what’s displayed. For BanKs, he believes that there’s a lot of risk in this, as he feels that it’s uncertain as to what’s going to happen for the teams in lots of these games. Similarly, Maniac states that these players “have their fair amount of surprises.” To see just who the pair picked, check out the video above. To try ThriveFantasy for yourself, head over to the link below. Use promo code DEX when you sign up today, and you will receive an instant match up to $50 on your first deposit! Terms & Conditions of the ThriveFantasy service apply. For a full list of Terms & Conditions, please visit here.

Maniac: “I’m really worried for G2” | IEM Katowice Groups preview with Richard Lewis Richard Lewis and Maniac discuss Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač & co’s current struggles. The pair explain how too many of their big names are going absent at key moments, and whether or not G2 is in for a bumpy ride at Katowice. Delving into NAVI’s unbelievable form heading into the event, Richard firmly believes that they’re going to retain their crown. Maniac also offers his thoughts on why he believes that Vitality won’t be performing up to their usual standard at this tournament. Read More: Six players to watch at IEM Katowice 2021 – For FaZe, the team currently ranks at 19th in the world, which Lewis believes to be an artificial, temporary placement. With Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken on the roster, the team got off to an incredible start with their performances at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. Unfortunately, there’s something in the waters for Evil Geniuses right now. While they’ve had a couple of wins, Maniac believes that they are “one or two disappointments away from making changes.” As we head further into IEM Katowice’s event, all eyes are on each of these teams to see how they perform. For all IEM Katowice news, make sure to stay tuned over at our dedicated event hub.

Man City’s Sergio Aguero reportedly recruits ex-MiBR player to CSGO team Twitter: @KRUesportsKRÜ Esports, founded by Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, is reportedly ready to enter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive after the acquisition of an Argentinian roster featuring ex-MiBR player Ignacio ‘meyern’ Meyer. The report, a collaboration between cybersport.pl and DRAFT5 also indicates that the Uruguayan 9z player Maximiliano ‘maxujas’ Gonzalez will be joining the organization. Former Sharks Esports In-Game Leader, Luca ‘Luken’ Nadotti, will be reunited with meyern as the captain of this new lineup. Rounding up the lineup are Nahuel ‘nhl’ Herrera and Gabriel ‘1962’ Sinopoli, with both Riflers being acquired from the Coscu Army CSGO team. KRÜ Esports was founded in October and is already present in FIFA esports, signing several players and streamers to their organization. Meyern was part of the MiBR roster for six months, replacing Lucas ‘LUCAS1’ Teles. Before his departure in June 2020 he helped his team manage a second-place finish in Flashpoint 1 and Semifinalist at the North American EPL Season 11 Finals. Since his departure from the Brazilian roster, he has been playing for the mixed South American team 9z alongside maxujas. Sergio Aguero is not the first soccer player to start his own Esports organization. Real Madrid’s midfielder Casemiro recently acquired a Brazilian CSGO team under the banner of CaseEsports. Several Brazilian Soccer players have been open about their love of the Valve FPS with some such as PSG Forward Neymar even streaming their games on Twitch. Read more: How to watch Flashpoint Season 2 – South America has a deep history in Counter-Strike, however, most of its success has come from Brazilian teams, with the original MiBR team in CS 1.6 and in CSGO with Luminosity/SK Gaming. The South American CS:GO landscape has been incredibly active in the last few months. Former MiBR members are reportedly brewing up a team while world class athletes are forming new orgs, making it an exciting time for the region.

Major Changes to Hitboxes and Nuke in New CS:GO Pre-Release Update – Patch Notes A new CS:GO update has hit the Beta depot which attempts to address one of the biggest issues with hitboxes and brings changes to both Nuke and Overpass. Anyone that has put enough hours into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will have experienced the awful feeling of trying to shoot an enemy from behind and absolutely nothing connects. Now, this could mean that you’re just a terrible player and missed everything or it could mean that you’ve been a victim of the unpredictable hitboxes for headshots from behind. Similar issues often occur when you’re trying to shoot an enemy that is hunched over the bomb defusing it or when you’re using a weapon that doesn’t kill in one headshot and the headshot animation causes your second bullet to miss. Read More: Former Cloud9 Star n0thing Discusses shroud’s Return to CS:GO and Their New Team With Other Legendary Players – Well, the latest update to hit the pre-release Beta depot might bring an end to these infuriating problems as the notes claim to have added a new hitbox to the back of the neck which should make things more predictable: “Added a new hitbox type for necks and applied it to the existing neck hitbox on character models. Bullets that penetrate the neck into the head will now count as headshots. This should make it more intuitive to tell when an attack from behind will result in a headshot.” That’s not all, though. The developers have also addressed the issues with using the “E” key to pick up weapons – a feature that regularly does not work as intended and has caused numerous issues even at the very highest level of play. A number of other small gameplay changes have been rolled out along with some significant changes to Nuke which sees the Toxic room removed and changes the exit point of the vent at the B bombsite. Overpass has also seen some change as the ambient sounds have finally been reduced (the train might finally be bearable!) The full patch notes can be found below. When these changes will be implemented in the main game is currently unknown. Nuke’s B site will now resemble ShortNuke from the Wingman mode. Pre-Release Notes for 5/17/2018 The following changes are available in the 1.36.3.5-rc1 CS:GO Beta depot. GAMEPLAY General adjustments to ambient sounds: – Increased resolution and character of reverb effects to better reflect surrounding map geometry – Small mix adjustments – Improved vent destruction sounds and increased audible distance. – Added a new hitbox type for necks and applied it to the existing neck hitbox on character models. Bullets that penetrate the neck into the head will now count as headshots. This should make it more intuitive to tell when an attack from behind will result in a headshot. – Fixed ‘use’ key to more reliably pick up weapons on the ground and to not drop the active weapon if a replacement weapon cannot be picked up. – MAPS Nuke: Optimizations for low settings – Blocked visibility between silos inside A site – Ported over ShortNuke gameplay changes: – Removed Toxic – Vent no longer connects directly to B site, but has another exit close to double doors – Pushed new corner boxes on B site further back to prevent headshot angle towards ramp – Added solid background to yellow crane inside B site – Smoothed out some player movement – Overpass: Lowered volume of ambient sounds in Overpass – Added grenade and player collision to fence cage near construction – Removed spooky shadow fading in when approaching T main entrance to B site –

Astralis’ Magisk reveals identities of shirtless stage crashers at CSGO Berlin Major StarLadderFollowing Astralis’ victory at the StarLadder CS:GO Berlin Major 2019, Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif spoke to Frankie Ward and Dexerto about the victory, and revealed the identity of the gentlemen who stormed the stage. The 2019 Berlin Major saw Astralis reach their third consecutive Grand Final at a Major, and the only team that stood between them and further glory was the Kazakh side AVANGAR. Wanting to get to their victory ceremony as quickly as possible, the Danish powerhouse took down AVANGAR in dominant 2-0 fashion. However, following the victory, the players weren’t alone as they celebrated on stage, as the Dexerto crew caught a couple of fans getting wild alongside the booth. The fans banged on the booth glass and fell over, much to the delight of the victorious players inside. When @astralisgg just made CS:GO history at #BerlinMajor but you want to be the center of attention :joyful::joyful::joyful: pic.twitter.com/u57Lw4xi8V — DEXERTO.COM @ Berlin Major (@Dexerto) September 8, 2019 After seemingly everyone was confused as to who those sloppy supporters were, Astralis’ Magisk spoke to Frankie Ward and Dexerto and revealed their identities. “It’s gla1ve’s brother, so we knew them, we’ve seen them before,” he admitted to Frankie. “It happened at ECS in London as well.” As for the other gentlemen, Magisk said he recognized them from the previous encounter in London, which means they’re likely to be the brother’s friends. Recently crowned #BerlinMajor Champion with @astralisgg,@MagiskCS talks with @getfrank about his team overcoming adversities to make history. Powered by @TeamRazer | #ThisIsEsports pic.twitter.com/kPZqchVTDz — DEXERTO.COM @ Berlin Major (@Dexerto) September 8, 2019 While that part of the celebration was unplanned, as was the breaking of the bottom part of the championship trophy, the Danish destruction of AVANGAR’s magical major run went all according to plan. Magisk acknowledged that preparation was key to to a dominant defeat, which echoed what gla1ve told Frankie and Dexerto the day prior. “We had a pretty good idea of how we should play the T side [of Inferno] against them, we found a lot of tendencies of how we could punish them.” Magisk also gave credit to their slow play approach they used on the second map on Dust 2. He said the key was to slow down AVANGAR’s pushed into site by using lots of utility early in the round, which mimics the approach Astralis used against NRG Esports in their Train rematch in the semifinals. The third straight major championship coincides with a special date, Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz’s 24th birthday, and Magisk tells Frankie that he went above and beyond to get him a gift. “I set [dev1ce] up so that he could get MVP on his birthday, so I would say that’s a pretty good birthday present,” the 21-year-old rifler told Frankie. “I’m really happy. It’s been a long time since we actually won something, so it’s a nice feeling to finally win.” Counter-Strike and Astralis fans can be happy too, as magisk hinted that fans will see more of the Danes in the future, after they had skipped some big tournaments over the past few months.

MIBR blow crazy lead as MAD Lions win Flashpoint 1 – Final placements DreamhackMAD Lions have won Flashpoint 1 after pulling off an incredible comeback in the final map to defeat MIBR 2-1. It was little surprise to see MAD Lions and MIBR end up in the grand final, with the pair having been the top performing teams over the course of both the Flashpoint season and the playoffs. When they first met in the winner bracket final it was MIBR who got the best of the match-up, taking a 2-1 win to secure the first spot in the grand final. MAD Lions were forced to fight off HAVU Gaming, who they beat 2-0 in the lower bracket final, to claim their own place. In the grand final itself, the teams traded maps, setting up a decider on Train, but it looked like MIBR would once again defeat MAD Lions after they took a commanding 12-3 lead into the second half. MIBR could never get their own T-side rolling, however, and MAD Lions were able to claw their way back, giving the Brazilian squad only a solitary round after the side switch to claim the map 16-13, and the series 2-1. With their win, MAD Lions also took home a massive $500,000 – fittingly, the lion’s share of the $1 million total prize pool for Flashpoint 1, marking the biggest win both in the organization’s history, and for any of the players. Both MAD Lions and MIBR are founder teams of Flashpoint, and so will return for the next iteration of the competition. Flashpoint have yet to confirm details for their second tournament, however. The final placements for Flashpoint 1 can be seen below.

m0nesy’s insane 1v4 at BLAST Premier is already CS:GO clutch of the year worthy NAVI16-year-old Counter-Strike prodigy Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov’s had his first taste of top-tier completion with G2 Esports, and his 1v4 clutch against MIBR is already play of the year worthy. Despite being only 16-years-old, Russian prodigy m0NESY has already started to cement himself as a top-tier Counter-Strike talent that can do it all against the very best. m0NESY who kicked off his career on NAVI’s junior roster recently joined G2 Esports in early 2022. The first test for the rookie prodigy under his new organization is BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2022. As 12 teams battle it out for $200,000 and a spot at the Spring Finals, m0NESY pulled off an insane 1v4 clutch vs MIBR, and it could be a contender for the clutch of the year already. During day four of the Play-In Stage, G2 faced off against MIBR, where they effortlessly swept the Brazillian team 2-0. However, the highlight of the series comes from the young Russian AWPer m0NESY. In the second map, Inferno, m0NESY was left in a difficult 1v4 situation while looking to break into the B site and put his team up 8-1. With his teammates falling all around him, and with the MIBR squad in some powerful positions, it didn’t look great for him. However, with the odds against the young Russian, he clutched up with AWP, pulling off a heart-stopping plant in the process with the clock absolutely against him. THIS IS CRAZY @m0NESY13 !!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QYhHlmjLAG — BLAST Premier 💥 (@BLASTPremier) February 6, 2022 Clips of the insane clutch from the G2 AWPer has since garnered hundreds of thousands of views across social media, with many praising the youngster. After swiftly sweeping MIBR 2-0, G2 Esport qualified for the Spring Finals that will kick off later this year in June.

m0E Makes Surprise Bid to Play for Cloud9 at the FACEIT London Major, Promises to Donate All Earnings to Charity ELEAGUE / TurnerMohamad ‘m0E’ Assad has announced that he is “open to the idea” of playing for Cloud9 at the FACEIT London Major and donating all of the money he makes to charity. Cloud9’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster is currently in a state of disarray after Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik decided to leave the team for a new opportunity with MiBR. Tarik is now the second member of the ELEAGUE Boston Major winning team to have switched from Cloud9 to the Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo’s Brazilian team after Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip did the same in March. With that said, the reigning Major Champions are in dire straights as they look towards defending their title at the FACEIT London Major in September with only three of their five players remaining. Enter former professional player, and often controversial streaming personality, m0E. The 31 year old took to Twitter with a surprising announcement where he said he would consider playing for Cloud9 in London and would even donate “my cut of sticker money/prize” to a charity of the community’s choosing: officially announcing that i will be open to the idea of being @Cloud9 stand in for the major. I will also be donating my cut of sticker money/ prize to a charity of the communities choice. https://t.co/Yz01WUTh7k — mOE (@m0E_tv) July 16, 2018 m0E’s career in CS:GO never lived up to what he achieved in Counter-Strike: Source but his popular, and often controversial, streaming content meant that he was never far from the public eye. He played as a stand-in for Team Liquid in the past but hasn’t played at a professional level since 2016 when he was a part of a largely unsuccessful Echo Fox project. At first glance, the idea of m0E standing in for Cloud9 seems about as far fetched as they come. However, the Major roster lock rules meaning that anybody that played in the earlier qualification stages is already barred from competing with another team, shortening the list of available players significantly. Other potential stand-ins could include former Cloud9 stars like Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert and Sean ‘seang@res’ Gares, or European imports like Jørgen ‘cromen’ Robertsen, who made a name for himself as a stand-in for FaZe Clan in recent months.

Lurppis sheds light on future of OpTic CS:GO team after Immortals buyout STARLADDERImmortals Gaming Club confirmed that they had acquired Infinite Esports and Entertainment on June 12, taking control of the company, and the legendary OpTic Gaming organization. The LoL team from 2020, and hold on to the ultra-popular Call of Duty lineup going forward, but had bad news for fans of the organization’s CS:GO team. Immortals Gaming Club confirmed that they would look to “divest” the OpTic CS:GO squad, due to their ownership of Brazilian team MIBR, but offered no other information regarding the sale. Now, Kovanen has given fans of the team a glimpse at what the future holds for them, confirming that they are working to find the squad a new organization as quickly as possible, and that they are in contact with Valve and the players to ensure they remain happy throughout the process. He tweeted: “We want to find the OpTic CS:GO team a new home as soon as we can to avoid violation of [ownership] rules. We’ve reached out to Valve [regarding] major qualifiers, and are working with the team to ensure they’re as happy as possible with the ultimate outcome.” To clarify for my CS:GO followers, we want to find the OpTic CS:GO team a new home as soon as we can to avoid violation of o/s rules. We’ve reached out to Valve re: major qualifiers and are working with the team to ensure they’re as happy as possible with the ultimate outcome. — Tomi (@tomi) June 12, 2019 Immortals are forced to sell OpTic Gaming’s Counter-Strike roster as rules state that an organization cannot own two teams competing in major competitions, and with MIBR already under the IGC umbrella, OpTic’s roster will have to be offloaded. Where the team will end up and the time-frame for the move remains to be seen, and Valve have yet to confirm whether OpTic CS:GO will be able to compete in the upcoming major qualifiers despite being owned by Immortals. The OpTic CS:GO squad is currently scheduled to face Sprout on June 12 for a spot in the Europe Minor Championship for the StarLadder Berlin Major. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the team’s future as more information becomes available.

Ludwig unboxes insane $1,000 CSGO knife in first-ever case opening YouTube streamer Ludwig Ahgren showed off his insane luck when he unboxed one of the best knives in CS:GO, an M9 Bayonet valued at $1k in his first-ever case opening. Counter-Strike is widely known for being one of the most popular first-person shooters. However, many recognize CS:GO for its skin market and cosmetic trading sometimes more than the actual game itself. Obviously, the cosmetics are very sought after, as some are even valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars due to rarity, pattern type, wear level, and unique characteristics. Luckily for popular streamer Ludwig, he managed to get a rare knife on his first unboxing, leaving his chat absolutely speechless. In his May 25 live stream, the popular creator decided to play some Counter-Strike. Despite him struggling to understand the contents and rarity of what was inside each, he paid $10 for a key and opened his first-ever crate. While spinning, Ludwig jokingly said “so why don’t we just get the yellow thing then,” referring to the rare special item icon which typically contains a knife or a pair of gloves. Both of which are valued extremely highly in Counter-Strike. Surprisingly, with a chance of only 0.26%, the YouTube star actually landed on the rare item. More astonishing is the fact Ludwig unboxed it on his first-ever case, and it was an M9 Bayonet Marble Fade, which is valued at over $1k. Upon seeing the knife, Ludwig was in absolute hysterics. “Oh my god! What the hell,” he shouted. “That was the first box that I’ve ever opened in my life,” the streamer exclaimed. On the other hand, his chat was absolutely baffled by his dumb luck as many spend thousands on cases and never receive anything close to the value of Ludwig’s new M9 Bayonet.

LUCAS1, vsm and Cogu leave MIBR 3 months after CSGO rebuild Twitter: MIBRFour of MIBR’s newest additions have left the CS:GO squad as soon as they arrived. LUCAS1, vsm, and Cogu announced they were leaving the squad after renegotiations fell flat, while leo_drunky’s loan from Sharks Esports has also ended after just three months. After a tumultuous 2020, things were looking up for MIBR’s new squad. The loss of Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo, Epitacio ‘TACO’ de Melo, and Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga left the squad worse for wear, but they managed to instill some hope back in the Brazilian CS:GO faithful with their new roster. Between Lucas ‘LUCAS1’ Teles, Leonardo ‘leo_drunky’ de Oliverira, and Vinicius ‘vsm’ Moreira, MIBR looked renewed, even placing as high as fourth in Flashpoint Season 2. However, the rebuild has fallen flat by the team’s high standards, and the MIBR is off soul searching again. Their four new additions — including coach Raphael ‘cogu’ Camargo — have announced they have all left the squad. LUCAS1 and vsm kept it short and sweet, thanking the organization for their brief stint. LUCAS1 added that while he tried to renegotiate his contract, it “did not work.” Não é bait. Nosso contrato era de 3 meses e não deu certo a renegociação. — Lucas Teles (@LUCAS1) January 6, 2021 Cogu revealed he was looking to kickstart a new project in CS:GO, with the 35-year-old coach on the lookout for a new organization. Read More: Can anyone catch S1mple & ZywOo? – “Today was my last day at MIBR. I would like to say that I will stay on CS:GO and [I’m] looking forward to [competing] on the [highest] level again. I have a stable and set project with 6 players, any org interested can get in touch with me,” he said on Twitter. Today was my last day at MIBR. I would like to say that i will stay on CSGO and looking forward to compete on the high level again. I have a stable and set project with 6 players, any org interested can get in touch with me. RT aprecciated— Raphael “”Cogu”” Camargo (@cogucs) January 5, 2021 Leo_drunky’s loan with MIBR has also reportedly ended at the same time, with the prodigy headed back to Sharks Esports. MIBR has not officially announced the departure of any of the players. Alencar ‘trk’ Rossato and Vito ‘kNg’ Giuseppe remain on the roster. While FalleN and TACO remain contracted with MIBR, the former is reportedly set to join Team Liquid in the coming days.

Long-awaited CSGO upgrade to Source 2 engine reportedly canceled Valve[jwplayer gXNuaJEZ]It doesn’t appear as though Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be transitioning to Valve’s Source 2 engine anytime soon, as the developers have reportedly stopped working on the major engine update. CS:GO first released in 2012 and has since remained on the original Source engine, an engine that was designed eight years prior in 2004. Dedicated players have speculated for years as to when the iconic FPS may be overhauled with an update to the more contemporary Source 2. Rumors have been swirling throughout the first half of 2020 with insiders claiming that such an update could be right around the corner. Valve News Network owner Tyler McVicker even pinpointed May 18 as an exact date for the CSGO overhaul. However, recent developments have forced McVicker to go back on these claims. With a reputable history of accurate leaks and insider tidbits, the Valve fanatic has since explained how the Source 2 update “is not happening.” “There was a meeting and they made a decision,” he said. The reason behind the project’s cancellation is simply that it was “too much work,” according to McVicker. “As of now, it’s not happening. They’re not going to do it.” The massive engine update – similar to Fortnite’s in February 2020 – would have allowed for improved visuals and gameplay mechanics. Leaked lines of code in a Dota 2 update even pointed towards Source 2’s improved rendering, shadows, and skyboxes. While these changes could have helped upgrade the shooter, there was one key factor that prevented the transition. “They have a build…they’ve had a build for like two years,” he explained. “It’s not that they can’t port the game…they can’t port the community content.” From custom game modes to brand new maps and plenty more, community-made content has long been an integral part of the CS:GO experience. Though this ever-expanding library of player creations is supposedly what’s holding the game back from the Source 2 engine. “They have no means of allowing the massive backlog of community created CS:GO content to be easily played and ported. If they ever figure that out, then it will happen. But as of now…not happening.” While this issue may have halted development for the time being, perhaps the game may still make its way to the Source 2 engine down the road. That is, if the issue of community content can be addressed.

Chaos EC confirm CSGO exit after IEM Global Challenge Chaos ECDecember 2 update: Chaos Esports Club has officially announced their departure from both CS:GO and Rainbow Six: Siege, effective immediately. Chaos’ CS:GO squad will continue playing under their banner until after the IEM Global Challenge, set for later this month. Their European Rainbow Six team is already looking for a new organization. The team claimed the current global situation was the ultimate reason behind dropping the two squads. “Sadly, despite a great deal of effort, the impacts of this have now hit home with us and put pressure on our organization’s ability to support our rosters and the incredible players behind them.” Due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, our ability to support our rosters and incredible players behind them has reached its limit. Today we sadly confirm the release of our CS:GO roster at the end of the year, while we find a new home for our R6 team.https://t.co/QUUHYQbkZF pic.twitter.com/VQWgRXejU5 — Chaos EC (@ChaosEC) December 2, 2020 Earlier: Chaos Esports Club, the NA-based team owned by The GG Group, which includes Logic and Pusha T, is reportedly looking to depart from the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene. North American Counter-Strike could suffers another blow as the Chaos Esports Club is rumored to be preparing an exit from CS:GO. According to DBLTAP, the organization is looking pull out from the competitive scene centered around Valve’s famous FPS as investors are looking at a change in direction. “Chaos Esports Club are exploring potential transfers for all of their professional CS:GO players in an effort to exit the game,” DBLTAP’s Jarek ‘DeKay’ Lewis said. Chaos is just one of a few NA organizations that have recently decided to abandon CS:GO, with most switching to focus on Valorant or Call of Duty. NA orgs, among others, have been vocal about the unsustainability of the CS:GO open circuit in the online era. More teams are investing in other titles, while slowly distancing themselves from the Valve-developed shooter. Chaos EC was founded in 2015 and was formerly known as Digital Chaos. They entered the CS:GO scene in late-2018 with a Swedish lineup which included veteran stars like Markus ‘pronax’ Wallsten, Mikail ‘Maikelele’ Bill, and coach Jonatan ‘Devilwalk’ Lundberg. After acquiring a North American lineup in September 2019, the team led by Josh ‘steel’ Nissan found some modest success and even managed to briefly break into the top 20 of the HLTV rankings. Even at the best of times change is constant. Coming off of our recent success, @JoshNissan will be transitioning to streaming full-time as a content creator focused on Valorant. 📰https://t.co/conBgUWL4d pic.twitter.com/FqSzIQ6JM3 — Chaos EC (@ChaosEC) August 31, 2020 None of the players from 2019 remain in the lineup, with the team failing to replicate the height reached during steel’s captaincy. It is not clear whether the players will remain together and be collectively released from the organization, or individually transferred to other teams.

LIVE: How to watch ECS Season 7 CS:GO Finals – Stream, schedule, results, interviews Dexerto/ECSThe ECS Season 7 Finals takes place in London, England from June 6-9, with a $500,000 prize pool on offer to some of the top CS:GO teams in the world. Eight of the best European and North American squads will descend on the SSE Arena for the chance to claim ECS Season 7 glory after five grueling weeks of qualification. ECS changed up the qualification method for the Season 7 finals, with teams competing in weekly tournaments for the chance to qualify. The first three victorious teams from each region were given automatic qualification, while the final two teams were decided by the amount of prize money they had racked up. Who is playing at the Season 7 finals? The European teams in action are Astralis, Ninjas in Pyjamas, North, and Team Vitality. On the flip side, the four North American representatives come in the form of MIBR, Complexity, Furia, and NRG. Read More: DeKay Mailbag Part 3: smooya’s future in CS:GO, Who OpTic will replace, and Thoughts on Team Liquid – The expectation will be on Astralis to claim the crown considering they are the defending champions from Season 5 and Season 6. However, the Danes have not competed at a LAN event since BLAST Pro Madrid on May 10, and lost their world #1 ranking in the process. They will be able to gain ground on Team Liquid since the new top dogs were unable to qualify. Where can I watch? The high level Counter-Strike action is available on Twitch through ECS’ main channel – FaceIT. Russian commentary is also available through StarLadder’s Twitch channel. Watch live video from FACEIT TV on www.twitch.tvWhat is the format? The first two days of competition will be focused on the group stage. The two groups of four will play out best of one matches but elimination and decider matches will be best-of-three series. In a shock result, Astralis have already suffered a 16-14 defeat to Furia on Nuke, with the Danes showing some clear signs of rust. However, Team Vitality avoided an upset of their own by defeating Complexity 16-9 on Dust 2. What are the groups? The groups are separated to have two teams from each region inside and they are as follows: Furia interview After their surprise win over Astralis, Furia’s coach Nicholas ‘guerri‘ Nogueira spoke to Dexerto about the victory and their rise in the CS:GO scene. We had a chat with @guerriCSGO after @furiagg’s big win in #ECS7 Stay tuned for more! pic.twitter.com/BUxPsAX3y9 — DEXERTO.COM (@Dexerto) June 6, 2019 The top two teams from each group will move on to the play-off stage that will be played out in front of a packed crowd. All matches from the playoffs will be contested as best-of-threes and you can find a full schedule below. Thursday, June 6 Friday, June 7 Saturday, June 8 Sunday, June 9 – Grand Final This article was last updated on June 8 at 1:40 am Eastern Time.

LIVE: CSGO transfer news: All roster changes and rumors ValveA number of teams in the CS:GO scene are looking to fine-tune their lineups going into the new season. Keep up to date with all roster changes and rumors right here. While typically not as busy as the summer break, the winter off-season period is used by some organizations to bolster their squads before the new season officially begins. The BLAST Premier Spring Groups, which will take place between January 19 and 29, will mark the beginning of 2023’s competitive season at the highest level. Before the end of the month, ESL will host the 2023 edition of IEM Katowice, with 24 teams in attendance and $1 million in prize money. Below you can find all the latest transfer news and rumors in the CS:GO scene. The article will be updated as more roster changes are announced or reported. Latest CSGO roster changes and rumors: January 24 Falcons have confirmed the signing of former HEET player bodyy, who reunites with kennyS and NBK, his teammates on G2 Esports. – Polish veteran Snax has put together a new team called ‘Let us Cook’, which also includes Maze, s0und, Blytz, and fr3nd. – Falcons have announced that hAdji has been moved to the bench as the team prepares for the BLAST.tv Paris Major qualifiers. – JACKZ is no longer part of HEET’s rooster, with the French team set to bring back Lucky and pick up Maka (Falcons) and Razzmo (TGF), according to 1pv.fr. – January 21 Danish coach trace has announced that he is a free agent after being released from his Astralis contract. – Asian team NKT have announced that Machinegun has been brought in as their new head coach. – January 19 Danish rifler niko has announced that he is no longer contracted to OG and that he is open to offers. – January 18 Monte have secured the services of Ukrainian rifler sdy, who was without a team after leaving NAVI. Meanwhile, lmbt has been appointed as the team’s new coach. – January 17 Cloud9 have completed the signing of former Virtus.pro player buster, who replaces interz in the starting lineup. – Former HEET player bodyy is close to joining Falcons to replace Python, according to 1pv.fr. – HEET have announced the departures of afro and bodyy. The former has been linked with LDLC. – January 16 Flamengo Esports have secured the services of f4stzin (Case Esports) and n1ssim (Los Grandes). – FURIA have unveiled sidde as the team’s new assistant coach. He takes over from Tacitus, who joined MIBR. – Sharks have bolstered their squad with the additions of Gafolo and rdn, while longtime member jnt has been moved to the bench. – O PLANO have acquired lub from MIBR Academy and signed free agent shz, the team has announced. Xamp, formerly of Fluxo, is the team’s new head coach. – Paquetá Gaming have confirmed the double signing of yeL and nython. – HEET player afro is close to joining LDLC, according to 1pv.fr. – January 15 Evil Geniuses have announced that academy player wiz has been promoted to the starting lineup as its new AWPer. – January 14 zakk is Imperial’s new CS:GO coach, the Brazilian organization has confirmed. – January 13 Imperial have confirmed the departure of veteran fer, who will reportedly retire from the game, and the addition of JOTA. – zews has joined Fluxo as their new head coach, the Brazilian organization has announced. – GODSENT have announced their new, Swedish lineup, consisting of ztr, draken, Plopski, joel, and Rusty. – MIBR have parted ways with JOTA, who has been linked with a move to Imperial. – NIP have announced the return of LNZ to their academy team to replace ztr, who is on the brink of joining another organization on loan. – 9INE have completed the signing of Polish AWPer hades, who was last seen playing for ENCE. – January 12 9z have confirmed the departure of Brazilian coach zakk, who has been linked with Imperial. – Evil Geniuses have announced the addition of Nouns star jeorgesnorts to their EG Black team and of Momo to their EG White squad. – Brazilian team Fluxo have confirmed the signing of history, who joins from Arctic. He replaces lux in the starting lineup. – Monte Esports have benched Danish player Fessor. The move comes less than a week before the team is due to compete in ESL Challenger League Season 44. – January 11 shox has revealed the team that he has put together before the qualifiers for the BLAST.tv Paris Major. He is reuniting with his former teammate SmithZz in this new project, which also includes three young players: day0s, Kursy, and Neityu. – German organization ALTERNATE aTTaX have completed the signings of Spiidi, who last played for cowana Gaming, and slaxz-, who recently left Sprout. – Apeks have parted ways with shox, who was on the bench. On Twitter, the French veteran revealed that he is creating his own project ahead of the BLAST.tv Paris Major qualifiers. – Brazilian team O PLANO are close to signing free agent shz and naming xamp as their new coach, according to Dust2 Brasil. – January 10 Entropiq and Russian coach hooch have parted ways, the Czech organization has announced. – Former Kinguin and AGO member SZPERO has joined Anonymo as the team’s new in-game leader, the Polish organization has announced. – Brazilian coach peacemaker, who has been without a team since leaving Imperial, is close to joining Los + oNe, according to Dust2 Brasil. – Former Bad News Bears IGL Shakezullah has agreed to join Evil Geniuses as an assistant coach, Dust2.us reports. – January 9 NIP have confirmed the signing of Ukrainian AWPer headtr1ck from NAVI. – Sprout have completed the signing of Romanian star XELLOW, who joins from Nexus Gaming. He fills the slot left vacant by slaxz-‘s departure in December. – January 8 Virtus.pro have confirmed the addition of KaiR0N- to their CS:GO team, which plays under the name ‘Outsiders’. He takes n0rb3r7’s spot in the starting lineup. – January 6 Brazilian coach zakk will take charge of Imperial’s CS:GO team, according to GameArena. On January 3, zakk said that his contract with 9z had expired and that he was open to offers. – OG have announced the departure of mantuu, whose contract has come to an end. The Polish AWPer had been in OG’s ranks since December 2019, when the organization entered CS:GO. – MIBR will promote academy player insani to the main team, according to Dust2 Brasil. He will replace JOTA, who is on the brink of joining Imperial. – fnatic have released their entire Rising squad as they put the academy project on hold. Meanwhile, they have announced contract extensions for CS:GO coach keita and team director Samuelsson. – BIG have parted ways with academy player Aqua and with analyst duo jansen and Radion. On Twitter, Aqua announced that he has retired from the game. – January 5 Former FURIA assistant coach Tacitus will join MIBR’s coaching staff for 2023, according to Dust2 Brasil. – Evil Geniuses have parted ways with Bulgarian AWPer CeRq. On January 3, Dexerto reported that CeRq had been left out of the lineup for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. – IEM Rio Major champions Outsiders are close to signing highly-rated Russian player KaiR0N, according to CIS insider OverDrive. KaiR0N-, who is on Aurora Gaming’s bench, will replace n0rb3r7. – January 4 FURIA are in advanced talks with ODDIK coach sidde to become their team’s new assistant coach, according to Dust2 Brasil. – 00Nation have confirmed the signing of Brazilian AWPer nqz from 9z, with Argentinian sniper try moving in the opposite direction. – Bad News Eagles manager James Banks has rejected rumors that his team is on the verge of joining GODSENT. – Turkish AWPer woxic has announced that he is no longer contracted to Eternal Fire and that he is looking for a new team to represent. – NAVI academy graduate headtr1ck appears poised to sign with NIP, having been included in the Swedish organization’s lineup for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. – January 3 Evil Geniuses are set to replace CeRq, according to Dust2.us. Dexerto has reported that the Bulgarian AWPer is not part of the team’s lineup for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, which includes three young players: viz (EG White), wiz (EG Black) and jeorgesnorts (Nouns). – 9z coach zakk has announced that his contract has expired and that he is open to offers. – HONORIS have handed a trial to lunAtic, who replaces Grashog in the starting lineup. – Former ENCE AWPer hades will join 9INE to round out their roster, according to rumors in Poland. – January 2 Fluxo are close to signing ARCTIC’s history in a deal worth approximately $93,000, according to Dust2 Brasil. Fluxo turned to history, an 18-year-old Brazilian player, after missing out on nqz, who is reportedly joining 00Nation. – Cloud9 are closing in on the signing of Virtus.pro’s buster, according to HLTV.org. The Kazakhstani player will replace interz. – January 1 Boombl4 has announced that he is a free agent after parting ways with NAVI. The Russian captain will reportedly create a new team under BetBoom. – December 30 Veteran coach Björn ‘THREAT’ Pers has stepped down from his role as NIP’s Technical Director. – NAVI have parted ways with sdy, who had been part of the team since June. Academy graduate npl is now part of the starting lineup after playing for the team at the BLAST Premier World Final as part of a rotation with sdy. – Apeks have announced that kyxsan has been acquired from Apeks. The Macedonian player has signed a one-year contract with the organization. – December 25 suNny has announced that he is a free agent after being released from his contract with TITANS. – December 23 Imperial are looking to sign JOTA from MIBR to replace veteran fer, according to Dust2 Brasil. – December 22 Astralis have confirmed the signing of 19-year-old Buzz, who joins from MASONIC. – ENCE have parted ways with Polish player hades, who had been on the bench since August. – December 21 NIP have announced that es3tag has been moved to the bench. The Danish rifler had been part of the team since November 2021. – Sprout have bid farewell to longtime member slaxz- after a two-year association. –

LIVE: CSGO roster shuffle post-Berlin Major Sami Rabina / ESL / DreamHackThe StarLadder Berlin Major has come to an end, and, just like after every Major, teams are beginning to tinker with their squads in an attempt to (hopefully) take them to the top of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive world. This post-Berlin Major shuffle hub will keep you updated with all the latest transfer news and rumors over the next few months. The timeline will be updated and teams and players make announcements, and we’ll also have all the latest rumors and leaks about potential moves. CSGO roster changes and rumors so far It’s an exciting time for CSGO fans, as organizations like 100 Thieves look set to (re)enter the scene, core lineups have been split, while veteran players and up-and-comers alike are being scouted to join new homes. Almost every region in the world, from North America, Europe and South America, is set to experience some kind of roster shake-up. Timeline: Confirmed CSGO roster changes The following moves have all been confirmed by players and organizations. September 28 Team Vitality confirm signing of shox Announced on Team Vitality Twitter – Replaces NBK, who was benched after major – Vitality lineup: shox, ZywOo, ALEX, apEX, RpK – September 27 Ninjas in Pyjamas sign twist twist was benched by Fnatic along with Xizt after failing to qualify for Berlin major – twist has been approached by NiP in the past, but said no – NiP roster: twist, f0rest, plopski, Lekr0, REZ – September 26 compLexity acquire RUSH and blameF Roster re-haul comes after CEO blasted players for poor performance at Berlin major – blameF joins from Heroic, RUSH joins from Cloud 9 – Rickeh left coL after Berlin major, but rest of the previous roster is still considered active – GeT_RiGhT departs from Ninjas in Pyjamas Initially reported by dekay, confirmed by NiP – NiP announced months ago they were evaluating GTR’s future with the team – GTR’s 2564 day tenure with NiP has officially come to an end – G2 Esports part ways with shox Evil Geniuses acquire NRG Esports roster Initially reported by dekay on September 25 – EG reportedly spent last several months exploring CS opportunities, reached out to NRG roster – EG departed from Counter-Strike seven years ago, before CS:GO even came out. – EG roster: tarik, stanislaw, Brehze, CeRq, Ethan – September 25 coldzera officially joins FaZe Highly anticipated move announced evening before ESL One NY – Rumored since end of StarLadder Berlin major – FaZe roster: NiKo, olofmeister, rain, coldzera, broky (on trial) – September 20 GuardiaN returns to Na’Vi Announced by Na’Vi – B1ade moves from director to coach role, s1mple appointed as captain, Boombl4 confirmed as IGL – FaZe now has two open slots, ideally for IGL and AWPer – Na’Vi lineup: GuardiaN, s1mple, Boombl4, flamie, electronic – HellRaisers announce new lineup Announced by HR – Previously benched their whole roster after StarLadder Berlin – ANGE1 and nukkye return to starting lineup. Flarich joins from Pro100. crush and scoobyxie join from disbanded Vega Squadron – ISSAA, oskar, loWel, Hobbit remain on HR bench – September 17 KioShiMa joins G2 Joins as a stand-in for shox – Temporary signing for IEM Beijing qualifier and ESL One New York – September 16 Flusha and Golden join Fnatic Flusha joins permanently – Golden joins on loan from Cloud9 until the end of 2019 – September 14 G2 Esports reportedly transfer shox to Team Vitality Not yet confirmed by team or player, but initially reported by 1pv – Transfer value reported to be between $350-450k – September 12 Luminosity parts ways with their roster steel, NEKIZ, boltz, zakk (coach), and HEN1 (previously inactive) all leave LG – felps (on loan from MiBR) and skullz (on loan from W7M) still playing with ex-LG players – Only LUCAS1 still on LG roster, currently on loan to MiBR – September 11 FaZe Clan release NEO from bench Announced on FaZe twitter – Filled in as a substitute for six months – Grayhound sign INS Announced on Grayhound twitter – Grayhound back to full five-man roster after releasing Neil_M – September 9 Na`Vi’s Zeus confirms retirement plan Announced on Na`Vi’s website – Zeus is set to retire after BLAST Pro Series Moscow on September 14 – No replacement has been confirmed – Renegades confirm they are staying in CSGO Announced on Renegades Twitter, amid rumors of the organization letting player contracts expire – September 7 Vitality bench NBK Announced on Vitality’s twitter – No official replacement has been confirmed – Edward’s Winstrike loan ends Announced on Winstrike’s website – Edward rejoins the Na`Vi bench – September 5 ENCE bench Aleksib Announced on ENCE’s website – SuNny replaces Aleksib – MiBR confirm kNgV- signing Announced on MiBR’s Twitter – KNgV- replaces Coldzera – CS:GO roster rumors Not all changes have been confirmed yet, but some sources and rumors indicate that some of the following changes might be in the works. Where will aleksib end up? The deposed in-game leader of ENCE, aleksib is still available on the transfer list. ENCE announced before the StarLadder Berlin major that they would be replacing aleksib with suNny following the major’s completion. But since the major, ENCE’s first appearances with suNny haven’t gone according to plan, with a disappointing finish at BLAST Moscow, and a tough start to ESL One New York. It’s only ENCE’s second LAN, so the Finnish side shouldn’t be too worried. But more poor results could also mean ENCE can demand a higher asking price for aleksib. FaZe were rumored to be in talks with the Finnish in-game leader, but as they compete in New York with a full team of five, it’s unknown whether or not they are still pursuing his service. aleksib has also acquired interest, along with NBK, from 100 Thieves. Shox to Vitality. Are G2 going CR4ZY? Where does NBK end up? Another French shuffle is rumored to be in the works. While reportedly not as big as previous French shuffles, it looks like we’ll see a star switch teams, a disgruntled veteran leave the scene, as well as some imports arrive. With G2 Esports confirming the departure of shox, Vitality has announced that he has joined their ranks.. Vitality moved NBK to the bench following the conclusion of the Berlin major, and he’s looking forward to getting out as quick as he can and compete with an international roster for the first time in his career. NBK has acquired interest, along with aleksib, from 100 Thieves. According to reports from 1pv, G2 is looking to fill the void left by shox and potentially move on from Lucky by signing nexa and huNter- from CR4ZY. CR4ZY were one series away from advancing to the playoffs of the StarLadder Berlin major, and CR4ZY’s CEO called out G2 Esports for alleged poaching before the major even ended. 100 Thieves, Dignitas, Misfits, compLexity exploring roster options Numerous organizations have expressed interest in coming back to the CS:GO scene or completely re-hauling their competitive rosters. 100T founder Nadeshot announced on Twitter that the organization was actively looking to sign a roster during the Berlin major. Dignitas’ CEO addressed poor player treatment in his announcement, and put out a call for any and all talent across the world. Dekay reported that Misfits are also interested in re-asserting themselves into CS:GO scene, as are other organizations as well. compLexity are in the midst of a roster overhaul after CEO Jason Lake stated on Twitter that their poor results at the Berlin major wouldn’t be tolerated. Since then, compLexity have gone and signed blameF from Heroic and RUSH from Cloud 9. Team Envy looking to invigorate roster In one of the first North American moves, Team Envy are looking to shake things up as they are reportedly in talks with multiple players, most notably Ryan ‘ryann’ Welsh, Yassine ‘Subroza’ Taoufik, Joshua ‘steel’ Nissan, and Ricky ‘floppy’ Kemery. It is unclear which, if any, of these players will join Envy, however, the team already has a full roster so big changes may be in store. CSGO Major roster rules and deadlines The official rules and deadlines have not yet been announced for the next CSGO Major, however, team rosters are generally ‘locked’ two months before the start of the Major. Very little details are available about the next Major event, with the only real information being the date – May 11-24, 2020. In the meantime, things do not stop for CSGO teams, the next event is just around the corner, with ESL One New York on September 26-29, and then DreamHack Malmo on October 1-6. This page was last updated on September 28, 2019 at 1:04 PM ET.

LIRIK dishes out scathing review of “noob cheater” in CSGO Saqib ‘LIRIK’ Zahid spent some time on stream going through some cheating cases in CS:GO’s Overwatch tribunal system, before stumbling across the worst “noob cheater” in the game’s history and giving them a scathing review. Game developers like Valve develop their own anti-cheat software to try and catch hackers in action and ban their accounts. However, sometimes it comes down to the community to make the verdict. The murky cases of CS:GO hacking get pushed onto the Overwatch system, where high-ranked players can vote on whether a player was hacking or not. It can lead to some amusing moments for streamers like LIRIK, who go through the cases with their chat, finding the most blatant cheaters mixed in with the salty enemies. While scrubbing through some cases on January 7, LIRIK stumbled across an obvious wallhack and aimbot user decimating the enemy on Dust II. The cheating was painfully noticeable, even with the little tweaks the hacker tried to use to hide it somewhat. That didn’t stop the streamer from giving the hacker a verbal beatdown on stream, labelling them as quite possibly CS:GO’s worst cheater. “This poor guy here, this is what you call a noob cheater here, in his natural environment,” he said. “This poor noob cheater boy, he tries to blend in but the problem here in this scenario is that his aimbot is too strong.” While the cheater would make unbelievable spray transfers and hit crazy headshots, they tried to throw his teammates — and ultimately the Overwatch tribunal members — off their scent. It failed miserably. “Even though he acts like ‘oh my god, oh no, I’m a noob, look at me,’ the problem is his aimbot, the knob is turned up to 10, while his sneakiness level is on like four trying to blend in,” LIRIK said. The streamer used an analogy to try and describe it, comparing the hacker trying to fit in with his teammates like a penguin who guzzled a bit too much fish. Read more: Cloud9 confirm ATK roster signing – “This guy is a noob,” he said. “He’s trying to blend in, acting. You know like a group of penguins? He’s trying to act like the other penguins, but this motherf**ker ate way more f**king fish than he lets on. He’s just chilling though, he’s acting.” LIRIK’s chat was having a field day with the obvious cheater too, even making a reference to the hacker’s superior gaming chair and gaming socks giving him the edge moreso than hacks. It was an open-and-shut case, with the streamer submitting his vote to try and get the hacker taken off CS:GO’s servers. More than losing their account though, the hacker’s pride and ego would have also been smashed to smithereens after being labelled as quite possibly the game’s worst cheater.

LIRIK destroys keyboard in frustration after getting killed in CSGO Popular Twitch streamer “LIRIK” got up close and personal with his keyboard after an intense knockout during a CS:GO match. LIRIK is one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, and signed a “multi-million” dollar deal with the streaming platform along with “TimTheTatman” and “DrLupo” on December 10. Known as a variety streamer, LIRIK has been on the platform for longer than most, but showed during a recent stream that experience doesn’t always protect you from the tilt. https://twitter.com/LIRIK/status/1204461955932663811?s=20 During a CS:GO match on December 11, LIRIK found himself in a one-on-one shootout with a member of the enemy team that honestly could have gone either way. After firing and missing, LIRIK was taken out, and promptly introduced his keyboard to his fist. Even without a face cam, it’s not hard to tell what’s going on. But a seasoned streaming pro like LIRIK wasn’t about to let a little tilt throw him off of his game, and he seemed to regain his composure in almost record time. “It’s fine, chat,” LIRIK said calmly as he attempted to tab back into CS:GO. “I just needed to have a chat with my keyboard, all the keys fell off though.” The lost keys didn’t seem to affect LIRIK either, and he continued playing CS:GO before eventually switching to Dead by Daylight later on in the stream. LIRIK’s keyboard slam scores high points for how pleasing it sounds, and because he was able to continue streaming in spite of the outburst – but the lack of a face cam or reaction does deduct a few marks. With a new “multi-million” deal with Twitch officially in the books, LIRIK fans can look forward to plenty more memorable moments from their favorite streamer on the platform. Twitch seems to be following Mixer’s lead in signing big-name streamers to lucrative deals, and it will be interesting to see how it works out in both cases.

Liquid’s EliGE calls out CS:GO team for shady practices For professional CS:GO players, scrims are a chance to practice the game at a high level, but they’ve also turned into a way for opposing teams to use some underhanded practices. On October 8th, Liquid’s Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski took to Twitter to call out one such organization. With CS:GO being such a technical, frame-perfect game, recording opponents POVs can give a team a significant advantage. PSA for teams: Make sure you check status on console before scrims to make sure the other team isn’t recording your POVs without your consent 🙂 Pretty shady to do and so annoying teams are still doing this shit — Jonathan Jablonowski (@EliGE) October 8, 2018 When told to @ who he is talking about, EliGE obliges and calls out Rogue. But it doesn’t seem like Rogue is the only organization who may be using this trick. More: Latest CS:GO Update introduces new character models and changes to Casual modes – October 3 patch notes – Tarik, a player for Made in Brazil, responded to the tweet. He remembered a time an organization “had trouble connecting” to his team’s server only to find a screen-recording set up when they switched to the opposing team’s server. Had an instance where the other team said their 5th couldn’t join our server, then once we played them again we realized their sever had GOTV. Super shady. — tarik (@tarik) October 8, 2018 Tarik neglected to name the organization in question. To discover if an opposing team is recording a scrim is actually pretty simple. All it requires is turning on GOTV, the in-game viewing service, for the server being used to host the scrims. The ease of use of GOTV, coupled with the solid advantage a team using the service receives, makes this a valid worry for professional CS:GO teams. More: Richard Lewis Is Confident That There Isn’t a Cheating Problem in Professional CS:GO Despite the Recent Norwegian Scandal – Luckily, it is easy to identify teams using this trick, and calling out the organization in question – like EliGE – should stop major organizations from risking their reputation for a little bit of intel.

CSGO star Stewie makes bold statement ahead of Liquid’s Berlin Major Champions Stage matches HLTV / StarLadderCounter-Strike star Jacky ‘Stewie2K‘ Yip has reminded the other seven teams in the New Champions Stage at the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019 that Team Liquid is confident of cementing their current era with a trophy at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The North American organization arrived in Berlin as heavy favorites, after winning four straight premier events to clinch the second-season Intel Grand Slam, but not everything went as planned for Liquid once the New Legends Stage began. Back-to-back losses to NRG Esports and AVANGAR set Stewie2K’s team on the hardest road, but 2-0 wins over North and mousesports still scored them a seat among the final eight. Now the American star has revealed Liquid don’t mind at all who they’re facing next. “Right now, we are not too worried about beating anyone. It doesn’t matter who our opponent is, it’s just about getting the W,” Stewie2K told StarLadder after qualifying for top eight. Read more: ESL, DreamHack announce $5m Pro Tour – Next up for TL is Astralis, who have struggled in recent tournaments. “Playing against Astralis – we know they are still a great team. I’ve been watching them. The results might not show that they are dominating as they were in the past, but I can still see them improving.” The former major champion also agreed with the general sentiment of the CSGO community about the competitiveness of the Berlin Major so far. Despite being a key member of one of the best teams in the world, Stewie2K admits it’s been a tough run. “At this major, there are so many teams that are so good,” he said. “Even in the last stage, teams like forZe, they are doing so well. We’ve played them a lot in qualifiers and practice and we think they are a good team that can beat other teams like CR4ZY or AVANGAR. “There is so much competition nowadays. All you have to do is study an opponent that is really good. Once you understand more styles from different teams, you can really become a high caliber team, and I think a lot of teams are starting to do that.” Liquid’s qualification also puts Stewie2K just three series away from becoming North America’s first two-time major champion. While it’s an exciting milestone for the 21-year-old, Yip admitted he’s more focused on just enjoying his time with the game, and with his current roster. Read more: ESL Pro League introducing exclusivity rules – “I’m not that type of a guy who looks to be the number one player in the world, to have the best stats, or get the most kills. I’m just a player who doesn’t like to lose. I like to win, I like my trophies, I like winning with my team. I’m just looking for good times, make sure that I can create memories, and live my life with that,” he said. The quarter-finals of the StarLadder Berlin Major begin from 9.30am PT on Thursday, September 5. Team Liquid takes to the stage on Friday evening when they face Astralis. Keep up-to-date with all the action from Berlin via our StarLadder Major hub.

Liquid making bid for ‘most dominant CS:GO team ever’ after matching another Astralis record ESLCS:GO team in the world, unseating Astralis back in June in the middle of their most dominant tournament run ever. Their lop-sided victory over ENCE at the Intel Extreme Masters event in Chicago on July 21 solidified their position as one of the game’s all-time great teams, tying an incredible record of 6 consecutive premier wins set by Astralis through late 2018 and into early 2019. In Chicago, ENCE were only able to secure 19 rounds over the course of their best-of-five series, with Team Liquid smashing their way through the Finns on Nuke and Overpass to become the first American team to win an IEM event on home soil, and more importantly, secure their sixth consecutive victory at one of Counter-Strike’s premier events. Liquid’s run dates back to IEM Sydney in May, and also includes successes at DreamHack Masters Dallas, ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals, ESL One Cologne, and BLAST Pro Series Los Angeles. This brings them equal with Danish powerhouses Astralis, who first set the record starting with IEM Chicago 2018, with victories at ECS Season 6 Finals, ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals, BLAST Pro Series Lisbon 2018, IEM Katowice 2019 and BLAST Pro Series São Paulo 2019. Both teams also secured the CS:GO Intel Grand Slam during their incredible run, taking home a cool $1 million bonus for winning four events organized by ESL or DreamHack within a window of 10 events. For Team Liquid to surpass Astralis and break the record with seven consecutive victories, they’ll need to do so on the biggest stage in Counter-Strike, as they head to Germany to compete in the StarLadder Berlin Major. The Americans are undoubtedly favorites heading into the competition though, and with momentum on their side, it’s hard to argue that Team Liquid won’t be extending their incredible streak when the major wraps up on September 8.

Liazz reportedly joining Gen.G after 100 Thieves CSGO split ESL / Gen.GThe former members of 100 Thieves are some of CS:GO’s hottest free agents right now, and Gen.G might have snagged themselves one. Jay ‘Liazz’ Tregillgas is reportedly set to join the North America team, filling in for one of Damian ‘daps’ Steele and Sam ‘s0m’ Oh. [jwplayer hyhujHH2] The brakes were pulled on Gen.G’s CS:GO project after the departure of IGL daps and rising star s0m. The duo moved to Valorant, becoming the first two core members of NRG. However, not all hope is lost for the up-and-coming squad. With 100 Thieves pulling out of CS:GO, most of the highly sought after Aussie core is up for grabs. Gen.G might have just snapped up one of the best prospects. It is with a heavy heart we announce that 100 Thieves will be exiting CS:GO. pic.twitter.com/cJqKk5Vvwp — 100 Thieves (@100Thieves) October 12, 2020 Liazz is set to join Gen.G CS:GO as their newest member, according to reports from DBLTAP. The 23-year-old Australian was hitting a purple patch just as 100 Thieves dropped his roster on their way out of the title. Liazz joined the 100 Thieves core back in September 2018, when it was still known as Renegades. He was known as one of the best riflers in Australia, having led the Order squad to the top of Australian CS:GO before going international. On 100 Thieves, things weren’t as smooth sailing. While it started off well with a second-place at IEM Beijing 2019, and ended well with another runner-up spot at ESL Pro League Season 12 NA, the middle section was patchy. The core hasn’t won a title since the Katowice Asia Minor back in January 2019, often placing behind the likes of Furia, Team Liquid, and Evil Geniuses in North America. Gen.G have shown a lot of promise, although this has waned with the departure of s0m and daps. While the team got off to a blistering start by winning DreamHack Open Anaheim and the ESL One Road to Rio, they’ve fallen off recently. Playing with Danny ‘cxzi’ Strzelczyk as a stand-in, they finished ESL Pro League Season 12 NA in 5-6th. The roster shuffle is going to affect their RMR points too, given daps and s0m were on the team during the first qualifiers. Gen.G is yet to make a public statement on the reports. Liazz also has yet to publicly comment. We will update you as more information arises.

Learning from LoL success, Evil Geniuses launch 15-man CSGO roster Evil GeniusesEvil Geniuses have signed the Party Astronauts and Carpe Diem rosters as part of Blueprint, a new training and development program for CS:GO. The move sees Evil Geniuses create the “first-ever 15-player roster” in CS:GO as the Party Astronauts and Carpe Diem teams join the organization’s existing lineup. Evil Geniuses’ plan is, beginning in 2023, the team will operate “as a fluid roster”, giving the best performers the chance to compete in the biggest events. Blueprint is a development program aimed at revitalizing the North American CS:GO scene, which has struggled to remain relevant in the game in recent years. At the recent PGL Major Antwerp, Complexity were eliminated in 20th-22nd place, while Team Liquid did not win a single game in the Legends Stage after squeezing past the Challengers Stage. Evil Geniuses’ own team, featuring the core of Cloud9’s Boston Major-winning lineup, has come under intense scrutiny following a run of poor results. The team failed to qualify for a number of international events, including the Major, prompting CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson to apologize to fans on Twitter. “We are not complacent with these results and are committed to making changes to improve!” she wrote. But Blueprint is not a band-aid solution to Evil Geniuses’ current problems, the organization’s director of gaming excellence Danny Engels tells Dexerto. It’s about addressing some of the structural issues that have prevented North American teams from nurturing elite talent and challenging for the biggest titles. “It’s pretty clear that the way we have been working in North America doesn’t seem to lead to success,” he says. “Many players complain about the practice in North America not being up to standard when compared to Europe or just the missing infrastructure. “There are no tier-one tournaments happening in North America, and it’s really hard for players to make a living out of playing Counter-Strike.” Engels says that Evil Geniuses will not operate the Party Astronauts and Carpe Diem teams as an academy project but rather as an expansion to their existing team. In the coming months, the new players will be onboarded into the company at EG’s headquarters in Seattle while the main team focus on their upcoming tournaments, including ESL Pro League 16 and BLAST Premier Fall. With Blueprint, Evil Geniuses will be able to participate in a wide variety of CS:GO tournaments without putting additional strain on the main team. “There could be a world where three Evil Geniuses teams will be playing at the same time in three different tournaments,” Engels says. The three rosters will stay untouched for the time being, but in the future, Evil Geniuses will consider shuffling players around, depending on the teams’ needs and the events on the horizon. “You want to have five players to compete in the RMR and the Major,” Engels says. “But ESL has a rulebook that gives you the potential to run a ten-man roster. BLAST, for example, also has a lot of flexibility when it comes to changing rosters from stage to stage. “We feel super strong about the flexibility to move players around the teams, depending on what we feel is the best possible setup for EG to be successful.” Developing more young stars Chris DeAppolonio, chief innovation officer at Evil Geniuses, explains that a key aspect of Blueprint will be the adoption of the analytics-driven approach that has proven so successful for the organization in other games. With two homegrown players in Joseph ‘Jojopyun’ Joon Pyun and Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki, Evil Geniuses’ League of Legends won its first LCS title this year and went on to represent North America at the Mid-Season Invitational in Busan, South Korea. “When we look at League of Legends, we identify talent and develop them in-house using data and analytics,” DeAppolonio says. “Those are areas that we will bring into Counter-Strike but using different types of metrics that make sense for this title. “There will be similarities there in terms of how our data science team will work with our coaching staff to look at player development. The other area we have seen with League is a support system for the team, not just with coaching staff and management, but also mental health coaches and physical therapists.” Engels agrees with the notion that replicating the organization’s success story in League of Legends would be the ideal scenario with Blueprint. “I would love to have future North American Counter-Strike stars,” he says. “Who wouldn’t? You can see with our selection of players that there is a focus on North America. We’re not trying to farm European talent and bring them to North America. We want to invest in the North American Counter-Strike space. “Counter-Strike would probably love to have another Jojo, especially with the banter style.” As the Party Astronauts and Carpe Diem players begin the process of acclimatizing to their new surroundings and feeling the weight of expectations that come from representing one of North America’s biggest organizations, Engels knows that it will take time for Blueprint to bear fruits. But he’s not looking for instant success, and neither are these new players. https://twitter.com/EG_CSGO/status/1532361796220092418 With the Major rules limiting the number of players that can represent an organization at Valve events to five (plus one substitute), EG’s new talent know that they are sacrificing immediate opportunities in the pursuit of future glory. “Because they will get the infrastructure and the development, they see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Engels says. “They see the greater good of developing through the Evil Geniuses Blueprint. “Hopefully, they will become the future of North American Counter-Strike and get us lifting trophies again.”

Astralis CSGO players aim differently to other pros, here’s how StarLadder | ValveOne of the most dominant teams in CS:GO history, Astralis, has a surprising approach when it comes to aiming and crosshair positioning. After an extraordinary performance at the 2019 StarLadder Berlin Major, which saw the Danish organization cruise through the playoff bracket without dropping a single map, it can be said that they are a step ahead of the competition right now. A recent Reddit post has analyzed a unique aiming tendency among players on the Astralis roster. A tactic that could be the leading contributor to their history-making, third consecutive Major Championship. Dissecting gameplay from 2019, Reddit user ‘IWillFindAWayToDoIt’ has highlighted how members of the Astralis lineup often aim for the body, as opposed to the heads of their opposition. Read More: Why Astralis chose Vertigo vs Liquid – When pre-aiming certain angles, or holding down specific chokepoints for instance, this habit among the players is especially evident. In one such example, the post focuses on the way in which Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif holds A Site on Mirage. “His pre-aim against palace is really low and even when he peeks ramp you can see it’s on the same level as the chest of the enemies.” When juxtaposed with identical plays from other pro players such as Jay ‘Liazz’ Tregillgas of Renegades, it becomes clear that Magisk is focusing his crosshairs at a lower elevation than what would be considered the norm. The benefits of doing so seemingly outweigh the risks for the 21-year-old champion, as he goes on to mow down four members of the ex-3DMAX team in this particular highlight. If he were to have positioned his crosshairs at head height, while the potential exists for quicker eliminations, there’s a very good chance that some of his shots would have missed altogether. The full Reddit post is an incredible piece of analysis with an abundance of similar examples, all touching on the notion that aiming for the chest rather than the head.might It just might be a superior play at the elite level of CSGO. Now in the history books with the most Major successes of any organization in history, if Astralis continues to dominate the entire competitive scene in such fashion expect competitors to be replicating their body shot tactics in the near future.

Various leaks confirm Coldzera’s transfer to FaZe Clan before ESL One NY ESLClues from various Instagram stories, including coldzera’s himself, indicate that the rumors of coldzera going to FaZe Clan are likely true. On the eve of the ESL One New York CS:GO tournament, two of its stars are dropping even more clues that the highly anticipated, heavily rumored roster move of coldzera joining FaZe Clan is indeed happening. In a now deleted Instagram story, forever captured by Twitter user @DonHaci, Astralis’ in-game leader gla1ve showed a notepad that had the seating order for the Astralis and FaZe squads. Coldzera confirmed playing for FaZe at NY Pro Instagram leaks best leaks pic.twitter.com/Ysy7Nmn1Xa — Haci (@DonHaci) September 25, 2019 The problem for gla1ve? Coldzera’s name appears twice next to all of the FaZe players, but he only crossed it out once. Coldzera’s short-hand name cold is listed next to FaZe players Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard, Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač, Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer and trial player Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants. Gla1ve has since deleted that story, but added a follow up one that he also posted on Twitter: “Guys its not cold” But other Instagram stories seem to suggest that it is. Team coach ynk posted a picture of the team getting Korean BBQ in Koreatown in New York, and coldzera posted a picture to IG Stories that indicates that he is there with them. In addition to that, a photographer at the ESL One NY media day posted a slideshow of player images to his IG story, that featured coldzera in a FaZe clan uniform. The story also shows NRG Esports players wearing Evil Geniuses jerseys, confirming a DeKay report from earlier in the day. The move of coldzera joining FaZe Clan has been so heavily reported and rumored since the conclusion of the Berlin major, that most fans and pro players and analysts are just sitting back and waiting for the official announcement at this point. According to DeKay’s sources, FaZe are in the very final stages of acquiring coldzera from the Immortals organization, and should have his services secured before ESL One NY begins. The Immortals organization owns the MiBR brand, and also acquired the Infinite Esports company earlier this year, thus acquiring the OpTic Gaming brand. OpTic will also be competing at ESL One NY. It’s unclear how much longer the roster will play under that banner. Immortals announced they would divest the OpTic CS:GO team when they made the acquisition, as they are only allowed to operate one roster under WESA and Valve rules for competitive integrity.

Leaked recording captures discussion of CSGO ESEA Premier match fixing ESEAOn April 2, North American Counter-Strike news site Dust2.us published an audio recording that captures three ESEA Premier players engaged in discussion to fix the outcome of two matches. The recording has been released after it was publicly revealed by the Commissioner of the Esports Integrity Commission, Ian Smith, that the FBI were also conducting their own investigation into North American CS:GO match fixing. The audio, recorded in October 2020, features three players from the organisation Rebirth, Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano, Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak, and Carson “nosraC” O’Reilly, openly discussing how to subvert the outcome of two of their matches in the ESEA Premier League. The two matches discussed were against Incognito and Russian Canadians. The former was postponed two times before it was resolved and the latter resulted in a forfeit. Sources over the course of Dexerto’s own investigation confirmed that these decisions surrounding these matches were taken after the players became aware of the possibility of the recording existing and wanted to ensure no-one was monitoring activity around those matches. Update, April 3: ESEA has now announced a suspension for all players from Team Rebirth from “all competitions until the investigation is concluded.” The players suspended are: Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano – Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak – Carson “nosraC” O’Reilly – Alex “vek” Voynov – David “J0LZ” Jolin – The recording also incriminates two of the Russian Canadian players, Alex “vek” Voynov and David “J0LZ” Jolin, as having agreed to participate in the scheme. On the recording, Tropiano states that Voynov, the team’s in-game leader, has agreed to use “on radar” to ensure the outcome of the match. “On radar” refers to a popular method match-fixers use of streaming their game via programs such as Discord to their opponents. This enables teams to have an advantage if they wish to win or to make their losing appear more natural with calculated “misreads” obfuscating the rigged nature of the game. Tropiano states that in exchange for their cooperation he will share profits from a couple of Bitcoin betting sites. Over the course of our own investigation, Dexerto interviewed Voynov about the allegations and he denied them categorically. He also released a vague Twitlonger in February where he called any suggestion he was involved as “conjecture.” An archive of that statement can be found here: https://archive.is/vr9Zu Dexerto also interviewed Jolin and he denied having made any agreement with Tropiano. The full transcript of the recording is as follows: Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: No it’d be sus if you played Incognito like the full game, but if you joined at half, it’d look real. Or not even at half, in the middle of the game while it’s going, you just join, “my internet’s back”, we get shrek out of the server and it looks normal. Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak: I’m not doing it bro. Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: As long as shrek [Spenser “Shrek” Adams] plays like four or five rounds, it’s gonna look good. Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak: and the fact that you didn’t even say anything about the Russian Canadians game, that’s even more fucked, but… Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: What? Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak: What do you mean what? You didn’t say anything about it. Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: What do you mean? Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak Okay, now you’re just acting dumb. Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: No, I’m serious, what are you talking about? Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak: What do you mean? I was just talking yesterday about winning a match so we can play Mythic in playoffs, you didn’t say anything. Now today you just come into the TeamSpeak and you’re like, “yeah, we’re just gonna lose the game.” Like what? *scoffs* what do you mean? Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: We’ve been planning to lose this game for the last five days; it makes the most sense out of every game in MDL. They need this win, we don’t need the win, and with their IGL on radar and you off the server, it looks guaranteed real. Carson “nosraC” O’Reilly: I don’t know if vek will agree to radar. Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: He does, he agrees to radar. On the condition that I’m letting him use two Bitcoin sites, and I’m going to share profit from those two sites. And J0LZ is okay with it too. And they’re not- I told them there’s no way you tell battery or Saturn, it needs to look like a legit tryhard game. Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak: Alright, whatever. But I’m not setting up the Incognito game, I told you. Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: I know, I don’t think you should, you should join in while shrek is playing, like three rounds in. Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak: No *laughs* Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: No, the main thing is that if it shows six people on HLTV, it’ll look so good. Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak: Well, you can set it up or something, I dunno. Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano: I’m going to restart for [ESEA Pro] client, hold on. The recording was sent to ESEA admins shortly after it was captured and it was then passed on to ESIC who already had an investigation underway. This recording corroborated other evidence that had already been unearthed by ESIC’s investigation. Months later, and with other lines of inquiry now being pursued, the release of the recording has been cleared. Dexerto will be bringing you a much more in-depth report into the match-fixing in the coming weeks.

Leaked draft of ESL’s CSGO LANXESS agreement, new version in the works ESLDexerto has obtained a copy of an early draft of the ESL Pro League agreement that was sent to Counter-Strike teams in 2019. The agreement is the one that caused a stir with Valve due to its “exclusivity” clause, prompting a blog post entitled “Keeping It Competitive” where they openly stated their distaste for exclusivity. “In addition to preventing other operators from competing, exclusivity prevents other events from keeping the CSGO ecosystem functioning if an individual event fails,” the developer said before adding, “At this time we are not interested in providing licenses for events that restrict participating teams from attending other events.” Since then ESL have been making changes to their ESL Pro League agreement to bring it into line with Valve’s expectations. Notably they are making a clear distinction between the member league, a newly structured version of the ESL Pro League, and the ESL Tour, which is the global circuit featuring ESL, DreamHack and Intel Extreme Masters events. With a meeting due to take place in a matter of days about a new version of the contract, that is currently with potential members, it seems worth looking at the contents of the draft that caused so much consternation within the scene. Award nominated journalist Jarek “Dekay” Lewis has done the bulk of the reporting in regards to the agreement. Earlier this month he reported that ESL was holding a meeting with potential members of the league in order to convince them to sign up. The meeting will include discussion about the new version of the contract that includes many notable changes implemented after Valve’s statement about exclusivity. Lewis also reported that while there will be significant changes around exclusivity to ensure that ESL will be issued with a license, many of the terms in the draft included here will remain the same, including the length of the agreement and proposed revenue shares. Sources familiar with the discussions surrounding this new ESL league, FACEIT’s project “B site,” and The Blast’s Premier circuit have stated that agreements across these leagues pushed for exclusivity in a bid to maximize revenue. However, in light of Valve’s statement these leagues are now instead offering incentives for commitment. The same sources have also intimated that it is likely there will be clashing dates at various points of the season to ensure commitment. Some notable sections of this draft, all of which may be subject to change: – The voting panel for league decisions will comprise of 17 members, 16 teams and ESL, with ESL having veto rights on matters “materially impacting finances.” – A candidate for league commissioner will be scouted by ESL and these members and then voted upon – ESL have a veto right when it comes to “exclusivity terms,” agreeing participation in other leagues and making changes to the league to ensure co-operation from Valve – Teams are to share 21.25% of gross revenue and 60% of profits in the first year. The share is selected by a “distribution matrix” so not all teams will receive an equal share. – Receiving this revenue share is contingent on member teams fielding a roster of three players deemed to be in the top 500 of the ESL world ranking – Failure to field such a team will see the team lose 50% of its share, to be distributed evenly among other member teams – ESL will assign invites to circuit events based on tour rankings. Teams are allowed to decline a maximum of three events per sixteen but no more than two in a calendar year. – Any member team that declines more than this for any reason will forfeit its entire revenue share for the year – ESL will also operate in the capacity of an agency for the member teams – Agency revenue, such as sales of collective sponsorships, will see 85% of it shared among member teams with the agency part of the ESL business retaining 15% The key stumbling block that triggered the Valve statement is still contained in this draft agreement and reads: “Beginning January 1st 2020 all member teams of the Pro League shall not play in other Counter-Strike leagues, this means non Valve sponsored competitions where the first day of competition (excluding qualifiers) and the grand final day are more than fourteen (14) days apart, besides Pro League. All member teams of Pro League shall limit their tournament participation days, meaning active competition days of a tournament they participate in regardless of if they play on that day or not, to not more than 60 days per calendar year… During the League Season (per jointly aligned schedule), teams shall not play in any other tournaments/leagues.” All sources contacted in regards to the details of this contract have stated that this clause will not be featured in future agreements. A list of member teams is also included in the draft. It divides teams into two sections, the “suggested” teams, which are ones who are desired to be in the league and likely to join and “application” teams, meaning teams that the inclusion of which will be assessed should they wish to join. The teams are as follows: Suggested: FaZe, Na’Vi, fnatic, NiP, Liquid, NRG, Vitality, mousesports, G2, compLexity, MiBR, ENCE, Astralis, Cloud9 Application: Envy, VP, BiG, North, Renegades, Furia Some of these teams have already been confirmed as participating in the “B-site” project, which raises questions about whether they will feature in the ESL Pro League, have chosen to be exclusive to the “B-site” league project while participating in components of the ESL Tour rather than the newly structured league. Lanxess Agreement by Richard on Scribd The Counter-Strike Professional Players Association (CSPPA) has also held talks with ESL ahead of this newly announced Pro League structure and seems to have had a positive reaction to the contents of those talks. A statement released by the CSPPA’s CEO Mads Øland said: “The life of a professional CS:GO player revolves around tournament participation all over the world. This makes the working conditions of players in connection with tournaments a key priority of the CSPPA. In the current tournament landscape, ESL sets the industry standard for such working conditions and with this partnership ESL has committed to maintain and develop such standards in close cooperation with the CSPPA. The agreement solidifies the working partnership between CSPPA, ESL and DreamHack and establishes the best possible basis for us to work together on elevating professional CS:GO to the benefit of all stakeholders involved and for the players to deliver a performance which meets the highest standards demanded by the global CS:GO community and the game and its 20 year legacy.” ESL provided Dexerto with the following statement: “As an important part of driving the CS:GO ecosystem forward, we have been working with multiple teams to improve and further establish a joint approach to funding the activities in the space. That process started years ago and has been continuing ever since, being adjusted multiple times along the way. In line with the spirit of the Valve blog post, any team playing in our tournaments will remain free to participate in any other tournaments they want. Regarding the ESL Ranking, we have developed it in the past years as a key tool for event invites and seeding and will continue to do so without preventing any team from referring to any other ranking. Overall, ESL Pro Tour events will remain open for everyone to play in regardless of if they want to engage in closer business relationships with us beyond their tournament participation.” While we acknowledge that this agreement will contain content that is to be changed we felt it was in the community interest and the interests of transparency to publish it in its entirety. We ask that readers be mindful of this fact while discussing its contents.

Leaked CSGO source code could lead to more hacks & cheats ValveExposure for leaked source code to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2 has experts concerned that it could possibly lead to cheats, exploits, and a fastrack to Valve’s Source 2. Though an outdated model, source code for Valve’s beloved FPS title has been getting shared online. This gives everyone from CSGO enthusiasts to malicious actors a way to “literally build the game,” according to ‘2Eggss,’ an ethical hacker and Steamworks developer. To be clear, everything that hackers and exploit makers needed to make cheats in CSGO was already out in the wild, which is why services like the Valve anti-cheat (VAC) system exist to try to thwart any potential hacks that may come out of them. While the source code has been dwelling around corners of the internet for some time, now it’s been made public. The information getting shared online works as sort of a beacon for anyone interested in creating harmful exploits, since they now have fairly recent and complete builds for two of Steam’s most popular titles. That might not be entirely exciting for those with prior knowledge of the situation, but people are already coming across things like a remote code execution (RCE) exploit for Team Fortress 2 that could potentially let someone make use of a player’s computer that is logged into the game. https://twitter.com/2Eggsss/status/1253009255608836097 “Do not play Team Fortress right now,” 2Eggss explained. “There’s some RCE exploits in the engine that could allow malicious code to run right now.” In less than a day of these leaks being made public, TF2 players are being advised by people like 2Eggss to refrain from opening their game, in case anyone is looking to gain remote access. CSGO historian and President of competitive club Dogmination, Nors3, said that Valve will almost certainly address the leaks in the coming days for what they could mean for the FPS title and developers of other games. “CSGO code to make cheats was already very public in many repositories,” he said. “This leak just gives more advertising to it. It means more to Valve as a whole. It involves a lot of people and projects, it’s a bad leak for them and gives to other devs an advantage.” Devs for similar games such as Valorant and the like can take a peek at this 2018 source code to see inside mechanisms for one of the longest thriving esports titles in the world. Nors3 expects the famously silent Valve developers, possibly Gabe Newell as well, to address the leak in the coming days. Others speculate that this leak could be a motivation for Valve to push out Source 2, the long-waited engine update for their titles. “This [leak] is awful, and I wish that it didn’t happen,” user ‘Vadographer’ said. “However, this does open the door for both games to potentially be ported to Source 2.” Valve has already been teasing refined features from the new engine like 2018’s Panorama UI update for CSGO. The source code leak would give eager eyes a look into the inner workings of Valve’s popular titles, a reality that the developers, who tend to like their privacy, would have a problem with. “Expect a Valve statement about the Source code leak. It can take days tho, and Gaben for sure will step in,” Nors3 said. “New internal rules could appear, and someone could be fired and maybe sued.” Update on April 22 4:54 P.M.: Valve has responded to the reemergence of the leaked code by notifying players there is no “reason for players to be alarmed or avoid the current builds.” We have reviewed the leaked code and believe it to be a reposting of a limited CS:GO engine code depot released to partners in late 2017, and originally leaked in 2018. From this review, we have not found any reason for players to be alarmed or avoid the current builds. — CS2 (@CounterStrike) April 22, 2020 They advised their player base to stick to the official CSGO servers where they’ll have the “greatest security” while playing.

Latest CS:GO Update introduces new character models and changes to Casual modes – October 3 patch notes Valve has introduced a host of minor changes with the latest update for CounterStrike: Global Offensive, including newly updated character models on certain maps and the ability to boost teammates in Casual game modes. While not as meaty as previous CS:GO updates, patch 1.36.5.4 has introduced a few features that have fans excited to dive in. One fairly big change is the updated FBI character models for use on Nuke, Agency, and Office. It might only be for a few maps, but the new designs will have players clamoring to play on the CT-side as soon as possible. ScreaM’s Fnatic future up in the air as CS:GO roster moves continueBoosting in CS:GO occurs when a player jumps on top of a teammate to gain access a sightline they would otherwise be unable to use. The trick is mainly used early on in rounds to scout rotations made by the enemy team or secure game-changing entry frags on unaware opponents. The trick used to be contained to Competitive modes, but this change will allow a greater amount of players to utilize the sneaky strategy. In addition to these changes, Valve also made some minor updates to Nuke, Train, and Office. Fans will surely be upset, however, to find they can no longer experience the so-called ‘hoverhat’ of the snowman on Office, as an issue where the hat wouldn’t fall off properly when shot has been patched. Read More: The most popular gear used by CS:GO pro players – Mouse, Mats, Keyboard, Monitor and Headsets – The full patch notes for version 1.36.5.4 can be found below: GAMEPLAY – Updated FBI character models have been deployed to Nuke, Agency, and Office. – Enabled MP5-SD in official Competitive Matchmaking. – Added a new setting “mp_solid_teammates 2” which enables standing on top of teammates while still allowing to walk through them. The feature is now enabled in official Casual, Demolition, and Flying Scoutsman game modes. SERVER – This update includes an updated version of steamclient.so for Linux dedicated servers which has multiple threading and integration fixes. For a limited time and old version of steamclient.so can still be used on CS:GO Linux dedicated servers. MISC – The 2018 Inferno collection and 2018 Nuke collection are now available as rank-up drops. – Updated alpha channels on the SSG 08 and Mac-10 in the new 2018 Inferno collection. – Fixed rare cases where audio device configuration will not save properly. – Fixed the Beartooth Music Kit to respect MVP music volume. PANORAMA – Fixed a VRAM leak in threaded Open GL contexts on OSX and Linux. – Fixed a rare mouse left-click issue on OSX. – Multiple performance improvements for OSX and Linux clients. – Added support for DDS files using DXT3 compression. – Added support for DDS encoded PNG files. MAPS Nuke: – Made corridor leading to ramp room from T side slightly wider – Moved doors connected to trophy room slightly – Changed CT team to FBI Train: – Removed angled pieces on bombtrain in A site – Improved player collision on bombtrain in A site – Added grenade collision to ceiling of heaven in A site Office: – Made windows fully breakable instead of partially – Fixed snowman’s hat not falling off when getting shot in the snow-head. – Smoothed out movement on stairs – Widened openings by CT spawn and truck in garage – Moved some furniture in T spawn – Fixed some minor graphical glitches – Tweaked lighting in CT spawn

Latest CSGO Deagle buffs has players questioning its insane accuracy ValveThe latest set of buffs to CS:GO’s Desert Eagle has left players questioning why it was even shipped, after the pistol now has incredible accuracy while jumping. The Deagle is a hard gun to master in Counter-Strike. Its unforgiving aim-punch and the long cooldown for accuracy resets makes it one of the hardest guns to handle. If you manage to master it, though, the hand cannon becomes incredibly strong, especially given it comes in at $700. So, when buffs to the Deagle were shipped in CS:GO’s April 10 update, players were stumped as to why the gun was given pin-point accuracy while jumping. The game’s April 10 patch notes stated the Deagle was buffed by “improving accuracy while jumping, lowering the time to recover accuracy after the player lands.” While it doesn’t sound massive, the buffs have proven to be a bit too much for most players. The Deagle is now pin-point accurate while in mid-air, making it a totally viable strategy to jump around the map with one in your hand to dink your enemies. The gun’s major drawbacks still apply while your two feet are firmly on the ground. In mid-air though? Anything flies. It has led to some pretty insane clips. Since nerfs to the Scout reduced its jumping accuracy a while ago, people have whipped out the Deagle instead to make some trickshots. Jumping from balconies and boxes and landing a sick kill has never been easier. E o @TACOCS já testou a nova atualização pic.twitter.com/yzH5jjKN6N — Conta abandonada (@RaulCesarO) April 12, 2020 On top of that, during a time where the R8 Revolver was starting to gain some popularity again, the Deagle may have just re-cemented itself as the hand cannon of choice in CS:GO. It was already pretty strong, but now some have labelled it flat-out overpowered. “I’m surprised at [the Deagle] getting a buff considering how strong it already was,” said Don Haci on Twitter. “The only punishment it had was becoming very inaccurate for 1.6 seconds after jumping, which is now gone, and you’re accurate while jumping now.” I spend most my time on CSGO playing with Deagle only and i’m surprised at it getting a buff considering how strong it already was, the only punishment it had was becoming very inaccurate for ~1.6 seconds after jumping, which is now gone AND you’re accurate while jumping now. https://t.co/ihByJMBZsc — Hac1 (@DonHaci) April 11, 2020 The Deagle was just one of six guns changed during CS:GO’s April 10 patch. The Krieg was finally nerfed after months at the top of the tier list, while the underutilized AUG and M4A1-S for CTs got much needed buffs. The Tec-9 and PP Bizon also received a leg-up.

Valve’s latest CSGO ban wave hits thousands of boosters and bot accounts ValveValve’s new ban wave has hit CS:GO boosters and botters hard, with over 10,000 accounts banned. However, the studio isn’t done yet, asking the community for help to track down more. The June 3 patch update made it a bit harder for cheaters to boost accounts by locking Prime Status behind a paywall. Soon after, an influx of bans in CS:GO started to be distributed. A day after the Prime update, CS:GO ban-rate was 52-times higher than average in the past month, according to Convars, a community database that logs bans from CS:GO’s Matchmaking. Most of these bans are believed to be boosters. People have been orchestrating CS:GO matches filled with bots to boost accounts for the purposes of reselling them once they hit level 21 – which used to award it Prime Status. can confirm 100% that it’s a boosting ban wave, was provided this image by a booster. seems like any account that was boosted up to prime (private rank 21) or partially levelled up via boosting xp is now gone. https://t.co/aLP1u7gccf pic.twitter.com/2lPL3bDf8G — killa (@killa) June 4, 2021 With the revamp to Prime, however, that scheme has been derailed and now Valve are setting their sights on the accounts involved. “Boosted accounts are getting in-game mass banned by the CS:GO team as we speak,” Twitter user ‘killa’ said. “All of this is in correlation with the update that came out earlier today. Seems like they are taking harsh actions against boosters who previously got to PR21 [Prime Rank 21] via boosting.” Read more: $250k IEM Summer 2021: Gambit sneak past Complexity CSGO’s ranked matchmaking has been suffering for a while, especially after the game went free-to-play in 2018. Valve’s endless battle against hackers or cheaters has made for an unpleasant experience when trying to queue up in the tactical shooter. It looks like the studio will start to crack down harder on the problem, going by Valve Senior Software Engineer John McDonald’s call to arms. Read more: CSGO caster infiltrates broadcast in disguise to troll organizers for “underpaying” talent – “Send more reports of botting players or matches you encounter our way at csgoteamfeedback@valvesoftware.com with the subject ‘bot accounts,’” McDonald advised players. Boosters are a never-ending battle for the CS:GO developers, but they seem resolved to finally stopping the plague once and for all.

Sources: ‘Last Dance’ eyes boltz as coldzera walks away from CSGO project ESLMIBR player Ricardo ‘boltz’ Prass is the latest player linked with the new Brazilian project that is in the making, dubbed ‘Last Dance’ in the CS:GO community, Dexerto has learned. Boltz has emerged as an option after Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David decided to walk away from the project, mainly because of a difference of opinion between the players, sources with knowledge of the situation have told Dexerto. Coldzera is currently living in Portugal and has already submitted the necessary paperwork to obtain a residence permit. He has made no secret of his wish to remain in Europe, where he has spent the last two years of his career. On his stream, coldzera had recently suggested that he would not be involved in the project, urging those who called for a reunion of the Brazilian Major-winning lineup to stop dreaming. Return to a winning formula Expectations for a Brazilian ‘Last Dance’ have been high since Jaxon reported earlier in November that Coldzera and Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo, two of the most revered and popular Brazilian players in the CS:GO scene, were looking to reunite after over two years apart. A subsequent report then also linked two other storied Brazilian players, Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga and Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau, with the team. The quartet won two CS:GO Majors in 2016 with Luminosity and SK Gaming, reaching heights that no other Brazilian team has since been able to match. The reunion project has been informally called ‘Last Dance’ in a reference to the 2020 documentary series that featured Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls. A coach enters the fray Boltz was not a part of the Major-winning lineup, only joining SK in October 2017. He helped the team to win three titles that year — ESL Pro League Season 6 Finals, BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen and EPICENTER — but a relative dip in form in 2018 saw him replaced by Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik that summer. He has been on MIBR’s books since January 2021, when the Immortals Gaming Club-owned organization signed the roster from BOOM. The team recently added three players following a series of mixed results that culminated in a failed qualification campaign for PGL Major Stockholm. Sources have also confirmed to Dexerto that Complexity coach Luis ‘peacemaker’ Tadeu is the favorite to take charge of the ‘Last Dance’ team, as first reported by The Enemy on November 22. Peacemaker’s future has been up in the air since Complexity decided to overhaul their lineup in the off-season, parting ways with three players and making the other two available for transfer. It remains unclear which organization the ‘Last Dance ’ lineup will represent. FalleN, who is at the helm of the project, will attend two more events with Liquid before the end of the year, so it’s likely that fans will have to wait several weeks for more updates about the team.

Kjaerbye reveals why he’s retiring from CSGO after career with Astralis, North, FaZe StarLadderDanish CS:GO star Markus ‘Kjaerbye’ Kjærbye has announced his retirement from competing professionally in the game, bringing to a close his 7 years as a top player. The 23-year-old most recently had an unsuccessful stint with FaZe Clan, before joining HYENAS in March, but has now called time on his career in CS:GO. “The time has come for me to say goodbye to gaming as a professional Counter-Strike player,” the Dane said in a statement on June 30. “It is with a heavy heart I am writing this, but as of right now, I have no longer the hunger and determination it requires to compete [at the] top level. This game has been a huge part of my life for the past 10 years, and I feel this is the time for me to look for new horizons and opportunities. Future work can be both inside and outside the game. Time will tell.” Thank you CS 💙 for all the opportunities & memories you have given me! pic.twitter.com/nFdpT4LqMp — KJAERBYE (@KjaerbyeCS) June 30, 2021 The HYENAS roster, which also featured Danish players Philip “‘aizy’ Aistrup and Nicklas ‘gade’ Gade, didn’t manage to reignite a spark in the undoubtedly talented squad. Kjaerbye will be best known for his time on Astralis and North, two Danish powerhouse organizations. He won the E-LEAGUE Major in 2017 with Astralis, and DreamHack Masters Stockholm in 2018 with North, among a series of other trophy lifts. In an effort to reignite his career once more, he joined FaZe Clan in 2020, and despite some promising signs early on, he was another member of the revolving-door-roster that has stricken FaZe in the past 12 months. After leaving Astralis, Kjaerbye was never able to climb back to the very pinnacle of CS, while his former teammates went on an era-defining run. Now, it remains to be seen if he will move to compete in another title. Many top CS pros have of course moved to Valorant.

Kjaerbye returns from CS:GO retirement: “I’m much stronger physically and mentally” Simon Ottesen/DayZeroIn an exclusive interview with Dexerto, ELEAGUE Major Atlanta winner Markus ‘Kjaerbye’ Kjærbye announces he is coming back to activity after almost a year on the sidelines. He talks at length about what has changed about him since his retirement and the personal issues that derailed his career after leaving Astralis in 2018. On December 28, Kjaerbye decided it was time to reopen a door he thought he had closed for good. That was the day he found out that his application to complete Denmark’s four-month military training had been turned down. It was the final item Kjaerbye wanted to cross off his list before giving Counter-Strike one more ride. Denied the chance to serve his conscription, known in Denmark as værnepligt, Kjaerbye began what he hopes to be the journey that will take him back to the top. Three months later, he is finally ready to announce that he is unretiring from Counter-Strike. He believes there are a few chapters left to write in a career that reached a breathtaking apogee when he helped Astralis to win ELEAGUE Major Atlanta in 2017. “I just couldn’t stop playing after that,” he says over a virtual call, the purpose of which is to discuss the changes he has been through since that June 30 tweet announcing his retirement from the game. Kjaerbye is trim, tanned and bearded, his hair carefully tucked behind his ears. He is the picture of health, which he attributes to a more balanced lifestyle after dealing with mental issues towards the back-end of his career. “I’m not a completely different person, but I’m much stronger physically and mentally.” Ver esta publicação no Instagram It was only in the summer of 2019, more than a year after his career had begun to spiral downwards, that Kjaerbye opened up about struggling with motivation problems. In May of the following year, amid the outbreak of the global health crisis, he took a leave of absence from his then team, North, to address health issues that included “abdominal pain, breathing problems and chest cramps.” When he returned two months later, suddenly there was no place for him in the North squad. Released from his contract by mutual agreement, he joined FaZe in an ill-fated spell before linking up with other Danish players in a short-lived project called HYENAS — his final team. In his retirement post, Kjaerbye revealed that he no longer had “the hunger and determination it requires to compete on a top level.” He seemed at peace with his decision. The following day, he began working at his father’s café, doing the dishes and preparing coffee for customers. He also landed a job as an intern in a psychology firm. Thank you CS 💙 for all the opportunities & memories you have given me! pic.twitter.com/nFdpT4LqMp — KJAERBYE (@KjaerbyeCS) June 30, 2021 He was looking for new ways to challenge himself and socialise more after feeling isolated during the early stages of the pandemic. “I never had the opportunity to meet my FaZe teammates,” he noted. But as he distanced himself from the game, the hunger to compete again began to grow inside of him. “I had a lot of talks with other professional sports athletes, who advised me to move on with my life,” Kjaerbye said. “They said, ‘It’s hard after doing something for so many years, but try to get a new identity or find out what you want to do next.’ “I really tried to do that. I also did a really long interview about why I had quit playing and what I had been doing. But after I had it [the article] in my hands, it felt wrong to quit playing Counter-Strike. I could just feel in my gut that I was not done. “I was just exhausted and I had not listened to my body. I had not respected my mental health. After I told them the article could not be released because I was not done playing, I transformed my life overnight.” New routine Now, Kjaerbye doesn’t go without his daily exercise routine, which includes stretching and running. He runs 60 to 70 kilometers per week on average, his workouts improving every aspect of his life, even his Counter-Strike ability. Left ankle is sprained and felt tired this morning. What is your excuse today? Overcome the excuses in your head and be rewarded with complete satisfaction. pic.twitter.com/hAjOgoHyNZ — KJAERBYE (@KjaerbyeCS) January 15, 2022 “I feel so calm in my game,” he explained. “I don’t overthink my decisions too much [anymore]. I can feel that I have created the perfect way for me to perform.” Before the turn of the year, he travelled to Spain to visit a friend and celebrate the New Year. While there, he would drive one hour every day to a local internet café, where he would play FACEIT pug games and deathmatch, undeterred by high ping. “It was a really good experience, but a part of me just wanted to go home so I could play more.” For months he resisted the urge to tell the world that he was back. He wanted to be sure that his rediscovered love for competition was not ephemeral and that his return to the game would not see him revert to old habits. Kjaerbye is happy to see daily improvements in his game, but he knows that there’s only so much that he can work on outside of a team environment. He’s focused on building himself back up, more concerned about the process than the end result. In the past, he had an obsession with being the best player in the world, which led to frustration and annoyance when things didn’t go his way. Surprisingly, he still hasn’t told some friends and family members about his decision to pick up Counter-Strike again. But it’s not because he’s worried about their reaction or afraid that they might try to talk him out of it. After years in which he relied too much on the opinion of others when it came to making big decisions, he is now taking “full responsibility for everything in my life.” “The way I do that is by not being too influenced by what other people think is a good or bad decision for me.” Struggling after leaving Astralis Kjaerbye’s more mature approach and ability to regulate impulsive behaviour are the result of the demons he battled for several years after a much-scrutinised decision that not only impacted his career and life, but also ended up changing the Counter-Strike landscape. In the aftermath of Astralis’ early exit at ELEAGUE Major Boston in 2018, Kjaerbye decided against signing a new contract with the organization and joined Danish rivals North, backed by football club FC Copenhagen. The decision caught everyone by surprise, including his Astralis teammates, with Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz revealing that Kjaerbye had ignored the team for days in the lead-up to his unveiling by North. The secrecy behind the move was part of FC Copenhagen’s plan to “humiliate” Astralis, then head coach Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen would later write in his book, The Brain Behind Astralis. “I think I punished myself for many years for burning a bridge with my former teammates, who were almost like family to me,” Kjaerbye says. “Signing with another team and not being able to say goodbye to them or look them in the eye and say, ‘OK, guys, I’m moving on.’ “Everyone had an opinion about me. ‘How can you leave your teammates without saying goodbye?’ And I totally agree. It took me four years to forgive myself. I always thought I needed people to forgive me for what I did, but what I realised is that I just needed to forgive myself. “People ask me a lot if I regret my decision to leave. I just regret the way that it happened. It was really immature. I’ve learned a lot from it.” Kjaerbye recalls breaking down into tears when he returned home after being announced as a North player. He regrets not pushing the North management to allow him to say goodbye to his Astralis teammates and explain himself. “It hurt me as a person for many years,” he says, adding that the episode “left a scar” in his relationship with the other players. With Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif in Kjaerbye’s place, Astralis embarked on their own era of success, while Kjaerbye’s career lost momentum. After becoming the youngest-ever player to win a CS:GO Major and be named Major MVP at 18 years and 277 days old, Kjaerbye saw his stock drop considerably with his new team. In his unveiling video, Kjaerbye spoke of his “dream” to win again with another team. But the reality was quite different. A surprise victory at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 was practically the only bright spot in an otherwise forgettable three-year tenure with North, who failed to challenge for the biggest honours and became somewhat of a meme in the Counter-Strike scene. “I’d wake up every day wanting to say sorry to my former teammates and get it out of my system,” he says. “I was not able to move on because I thought that going out and saying sorry was a sign that I was weak or that I didn’t believe in the North project. “I had to move on and try to do my best, even though it was mentally hard to see Astralis do so well. I was happy for them, but it was so demotivating for me. I felt like I had burned that bridge, so I could never come back to the best team in the world, no matter how well I was playing. “I was too much in my head and I also gained some weight. I was not in a good mental place and I was never able to reset and become a good version of myself.” Veteran in-game leader Mathias ‘MSL’ Lauridsen is one of the players in Denmark who knows Kjaerbye best. The pair first played together in 2015 and 2016 on a promising Dignitas team before Kjaerbye was signed by Astralis amid much fanfare. When they reunited on North almost two years later, MSL felt that something was not quite right with his teammate. “When he joined North, he got so much s**t in his face, and I think he couldn’t handle it,” MSL said in an interview with Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields. “I could feel that he was a bit distant and not in it. He wasn’t putting in 100 percent, in my opinion.” Kjaerbye agrees with that assessment and says that he was ill-equipped to handle all the attention his move generated. “The pressure broke me. I was not happy with life. I would play without being happy.” He grew suspicious of the media and fans, and there were times when he felt misunderstood. “But all that was because I was not mature enough to go out there and say what was necessary for me to get peace and move on. When you f**k up, you need to say, ‘Sorry, I f**ked up.’” Rushed choices One month after leaving North, Kjaerbye found himself a new home, joining FaZe — a team with a lot of underlying issues — as a replacement for Aurimas ‘Bymas’ Pipiras. Playing in new positions and communicating in English for the first time in his career, Kjaerbye showed only flashes of his talent — mostly in the team’s victory in IEM New York, one of Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač’s final events for FaZe before he signed with G2. “I could feel straight away that I was not really the priority,” he says. “I think they wanted an in-game leader at the time. NiKo was still calling, and he didn’t really want to do it. There was a weird dynamic on the team.” After NiKo left, FaZe went through a horrendous slump, winning only three of the 11 series that they played in the months that followed. On January 30, FaZe signed Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken as their new fifth player and moved Kjaerbye to the bench — a move he allegedly found out about through the media. “I feel I lacked transparency,” he says. “I like to get feedback. Just come to me and say, ‘You need to improve on this.’ But it was really tough not getting a warning or hearing anything. “One day I was reading on HLTV that I was benched. And I was really unhappy because I think we didn’t succeed as a team. We won IEM New York but we had a lot of problems and it was sad that we didn’t talk about them and worked ourselves out of them. It felt like people were talking a bit behind each other’s backs.” In an attempt to remain relevant and in form, Kjaerbye joined up with two of his former North teammates, Nicklas ‘gade’ Gade and Philip ‘aizy’ Aistrup. The team, known as HYENAS, had a highly coveted spot in Flashpoint 3 by virtue of having the core of the North roster. It ended up finishing last in the European qualifier for PGL Major Stockholm and disbanding a few months later, shortly after Kjaerbye announced his retirement. In hindsight, Kjaerbye thinks it was a mistake that the team was put together without clear objectives set beforehand. He later realised that something he thought was a temporary project had turned into a serious venture for the rest of the team. “All of a sudden we were approached by an organization, we had a manager and it was announced that we were a team,” he explains. “But I could just feel that I was not ready for that. That’s not what I thought was the plan with the HYENAS project. “It felt like a really sad way to quit my career. We weren’t on the same wavelength and didn’t communicate in a clear manner what the goal with the project was. We should have just sat down and asked, ‘What is actually the goal with this project?’” Rather than keep making impulsive choices that led nowhere or simply taking a break from competition, Kjaerbye figured it was best to have a hard reset. “I completely quit to get away from the game and change my lifestyle,” he says, adding that retiring was “an experience that gave me so many great real-life learnings.” Focus on daily self-improvement As Kjaerbye begins the search for the right team with which to begin this second act of his career, he’s keeping an open mind as to his next destination. Asked if he would accept a step back in a tier-two side to prove himself again, he says that he is not concerned about where his next team lies in the world rankings. He wants to find a place where he fits in well, with other players who share his ambition and hunger. “I know that I will need to earn people’s trust and prove my worth,” he says. “I’m not here to talk my way out of things. I’m here to work, to feed my desire to improve. I don’t have the need to achieve X, Y or Z, but I do have the need to compete at a top level and experience the adrenaline, the nerves and the roar of the crowd. But obviously, I need the right circumstances and a team to show how much I have improved.” Other CS:GO players in his position have turned to Valorant for a fresh start, but he didn’t find the prospect appealing. “I had some offers,” he says. “I opened the game and tried to play it. But it was not the same love as playing a third-map final on Inferno.” Kjaerbye has been listed as a substitute for Heroic in ESL Pro League Season 15 and the upcoming Regional Major Ranking (RMR) tournament. It’s a clear sign, he says, that he is in shape to play. At 23 years old, Kjaerbye is confident that he still has plenty of good years ahead of him. And while he clearly relishes the thought of competition again, he won’t be rushed into a decision. He is biding his time for the next chance to play, focused on the small gains that add up. “I’m striving to be the best I can every day. And I believe that with the right intentions, results will come.” Kjaerbye knows that there will always be those who will judge him on his unceremonious departure from Astralis and question his work ethic after the North fiasco. That does not faze him in the slightest. He’s even thinking about streaming — something he almost never did during his years in the spotlight —, unworried about opening himself up for criticism from Twitch chat. He also knows that people will look at his newfound balance between personal life and Counter-Strike with suspicion. Esports is, after all, an industry that is still coming to grips with burnout issues, where the grind is not only accepted but encouraged. Working out every day for at least three hours is non-negotiable for him; it has become a healthy habit as much as a ritual that helps him get into the zone. But he’s not looking to convert anyone; he has merely found a formula that works for him. “Just sitting down and only playing Counter-Strike is not what brings out the best version of myself.” MSL believes that Kjaerbye can still thrive under the right circumstances. “From his Instagram, it looks like he has worked a lot on that,” he said in that interview with Thorin, referring to Kjaerbye’s mental health issues. “I hope he will come back and put in 100 percent because then I think he can do something again. He has very good communication and understanding. He just needs to keep improving.” And that’s exactly what he aims to do. Kjaerbye is no longer the person for whom success came too quickly for his own good and who struggled to accept responsibility for his actions. He is stronger, happier, and more mature. Now that he has had time to reflect on what went wrong and the mistakes that he made, the weight that he was carrying all those years, bringing him down, is finally gone. “I’m not here to make people happy,” he says. “I have found a way where I can play Counter-Strike and be happy, where I can have goals, big ambitions, and dreams. “If I end up not performing in a tournament, I will look positively on it. I’ll go back home and use the knowledge I gained to get in better shape. I’ll just get back to work because I love my life and I just want to play Counter-Strike.”

Kjaerbye joins FaZe Clan CSGO team to replace Bymas StarLadderFaZe Clan have announced the signing of former North and Astralis CS:GO player Markus ‘Kjaerbye’ Kjærbye, replacing the outgoing Bymas, who joined mousesports on August 10. Kjaerbye left North earlier in July, with his next move unclear. It was then first reported by Polish site Cybersport that he was being lined up to replace the 16-year-old Aurimas ‘Bymas’ Pipiras on FaZe Clan. Lithuanian Bymas was given his big shot on FaZe Clan after impressive performances in FPL, but was unable to show the same level of individual prowess while surrounded by the other superstars on FaZe. On August 11, FaZe Clan confirmed the move, welcoming the Major winner to their already stacked roster. It’s official. Meet the new 5th member of FaZe Clan’s professional CS:GO Roster:@KjaerbyeCS #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/mtcMc1qKYd — FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) August 11, 2020 Kjaerbye will now be fragging alongside Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David, Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač, Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard, Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants. Although, the Dane will have big shoes to fill, since Bymas was originally a temporary stand-in for Counter-Strike legend, Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer. They don’t have long to settle in with their new teammate before diving right in at the deep-end for ESL One Cologne 2020, starting on August 18. In the tough EU division, FaZe will be put to the test immediately by the best teams in the world. FaZe Clan CSGO Roster Håvard ‘rain‘ Nygaard – Nikola ‘NiKo‘ Kovač – Marcelo ‘coldzera‘ David – Helvijs ‘broky‘ Saukants – Markus ‘Kjaerbye‘ Kjærbye – Janko ‘YNk‘ Paunović – coach – Bymas joins Mousesports Bymas, meanwhile, has joined mousesports as a ‘development’ player, being added to their roster as a sixth member. He does not replace anyone on their starting lineup, but presumably would be their first choice as a substitute. Welcome @bymascs as our new development player and official 6th man on our CS:GO roster.#ReadyWillingAble pic.twitter.com/eMiRXSIU9p — MOUZ (@mousesports) August 10, 2020 Mouz explained: “We experienced how sudden circumstances can change this year. Thus we decided to broaden our roster and bring in a sixth player to be prepared.” Mousesports will also be playing at ESL One Cologne, starting with Group Stage matches on August 23. Due to ongoing travel restrictions, the event is totally online, with each geographical region split into four divisions; EU, NA, Oceania and Asia.

Kjaerbye announces departure from North CSGO North[jwplayer o9fRcL4b]Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star Markus ‘Kjaerbye‘ Kjærbye has announced that he is departing North after taking a break from competing in May. After making his name as one of the rising stars in the Danish scene with Copenhagen Wolves and Dignitas, Kjaerbye joined forces with the high-powered Astralis lineup to kick off a period of dominance. He helped his countrymen win their first Major back in 2017 at the ELeague Atlanta Major, however, just over a year later, he departed to join North. His exit from Astralis represented a huge gamble seeing as he was leaving behind a dominant lineup. Despite winning a few events and gaining decent placements with North, Kjaerbye hasn’t hit the heights of his Astralis days. In May of 2020, he took a break to focus on his health and has now exited North. The organization confirmed that he would be departing on July 10, issuing a lengthy statement thanking Markus for his work under their banner. They also revealed that discussions around his future have been taking place for a few months since his break. “I’ve been really happy at North, but it has also been a bumpy road with many changes, and I feel that this break has made me see more clearly,” Kjærbye said, before noting that he isn’t ready to fade away into retirement yet. “Currently, I still need some time, but I know I’m far from done with CS. This is what I know, and I look forward to my next adventure.” Update on @KjaerbyeCS: Today Markus and North have decided to part ways. A true legend in and out of the game. We wish you nothing but the best! Read the full story here: https://t.co/jZN4GNwLZu *Disclaimer: No Kjaerbyes were harmed in the making of this fictional piece. pic.twitter.com/rY6TSS1ixI — North (@TheNorthIsHere) July 10, 2020 Departing from North means that Kjærbye is now a free agent and free to join whichever team he wants. Though, a major roster shuffle period hasn’t unfolded just yet and spots on teams are pretty limited. However, if the 22-year-old Major winner can get back into form, he won’t be without a team for all that long.

CS:GO star kioShiMa reveals which team he wants to join ESLProfessional CS:GO player Fabien ‘kioShiMa’ Fiey has revealed which top team he would ideally join next. The French star, who has previously competed for some of the most top organizations in CS:GO such as Cloud9 and FaZe Clan, has revealed which top team he has his sights on now. Despite recently playing for some of the top international teams in Counter-Strike, kioShiMa has confirmed that he would like to go back to his roots and reunite with some of his former teammates on G2 Esports. In a recent stream, kioShiMa made his new roster plans known despite having concerns about them coming to fruition with G2’s latest results, such as finishing second in the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals. “I don’t know if it’s going to be possible.” kioShiMa said, “they’re actually doing good at the moment so they have no reason to change a player.” After a disappointing run on Cloud9, kioShiMa departed the team on March 31 and would be available for G2 Esports to pick up if they saw fit, however, the former Major winner is pessimistic about his chances, saying, “its most likely not going to happen because they’re doing good, but we’ll see.” It appears that G2 is the only team in mind for kioShiMa at the moment, as he quickly shut down a viewer who suggested for the star to join another French roster in Vitality Esports. kioShiMa has not made it clear on which player in the G2 Esports roster he would ideally swap in for, however, it would make sense for him wanting to reunite with star AWPer, kennyS, as the pair have had much success together in the past under Team Envy.

KioShiMa has Tyler1 style food disaster during CS:GO stream: “f*** my life” L: DreamHack / R: ThedailymealCounter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Fabien ‘kioShiMa’ Fiey was left heartbroken as he spilled a whole plate of spaghetti during a match. KioshiMa is a veteran Counter-Strike player that has been playing since 2011. He has played for top teams like LDLC, EnVyUs, and FaZe Clan and won some of the biggest tournaments in the game. The Frenchman is currently teamless and is often found streaming CS:GO, and while he’s mastered the game, he clearly needs to work on the basics of eating. During his stream on August 21, the ex-FaZe player was enjoying a plate of spaghetti while playing a match. Read More: Fnatic bench Xizt and twist – We’ve all been there, playing an intense game when some food is suddenly ready so we try to sneak in a bite or two at every opportunity. However, things could not have gone worse for Kio, as he picked up his almost full plate and after just a couple of bites the plate slipped, and his heart broke as all of his spaghetti spilled on the floor. An eerily similar situation to League of Legends streamer Tylor1’s famous food spill. “Oh my god!” he shouted, as he put his hands on his head in utter disbelief and asked his team to pause the game, adding an annoyed “fuck my life” before going to clean up. Kio returned moments later with his housemates behind him, and the group quickly gathered up pasta, which had fallen all over the floor and his chair. “It was good as well” he said as he sighed, longingly. After the small clean-up operation, he rushed back to continue his game, with spots of sauce still dotted around his chair, floor, and desk. At least he had his priorities straight. Thanks to his dedication the Frenchman ended up winning the game but had to take a break afterward to clean up some more, and change out of his spaghetti-stained clothes.

KioShiMa cites ‘player power’ in first statement since Cloud9 release ESLFabien ‘kioShiMa’ Fiey has spoken out after his release from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squad, implying that the organization were not the driving force behind his shock departure, but rather “player power” was a deciding factor. The Frenchman was part of Cloud9’s roster for just six months, joining the American organization as a stand in for the BLAST Pro Series event in Copenhagen back in November. KioShiMa attended six LAN tournaments with Cloud9, reaching the final at the ELEAGUE Invitational and third at BLAST Pro Series: Lisbon, but his run with the organization is now finished. What did Cloud9 and kioShiMa say about his release? In a statement on the Cloud9 website, kioShiMa stated that he appreciated “Cloud9 giving me the opportunity to play professional CS:GO again,” while Cloud9 CEO Jack Etienne said the organization was “grateful to have had kioShiMa with the team during this time. “ On Twitter though, the Frenchman appeared to place the decision on his teammates rather than the organization, writing: “For people wondering, the org doesn’t always agree with the players choices. It’s a tough position to be in when the players have too much power. This isn’t to cause any drama. It’s hard to blame one party when you don’t know which one is taking decisions.” KioShiMa stated that he was revealing who made the decision as he sees a lot of frustration aimed at organizations and players, when it’s often unclear as to who made the choice as “every [organization] has different ways of managing their teams.” This isn’t to cause any drama, I see a lot of comments towards org/players, when every team as different ways of managing their teams. It’s hard to “blame” one party when you don’t know which one is taking decisions. The power of someone become always limited. — kioShiMa (@kiocsgoo) April 1, 2019 What is the reaction to kioShiMa’s Cloud9 exit? Many have expressed their surprise in the aftermath of the announcement. Caster Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill was one of the first to share his feelings about the move, revealing his shock by saying: “Hard to have forecasted kioShiMa no longer being a part of Cloud9.” Cloud 9 fans were unhappy with the announcement, replying to the official announcement with hopes that it was an early April Fool’s joke, while others stated that they believed the change would end their hopes of qualifying for the StarLadder Major in August. Some CS:GO fans on Twitter went as far as stating that the decision was one of the worst made by any organization, with questions regarding the regularity of Cloud9 roster moves also raised by Twitter users. Can c9 hold down a roster for a week? Its hard to like a team when the roster is constantly changing. I get that you want to spend less after the whole FNS thing, but at some point you gotta realize its not worth playing with free agents and stand ins if they aren’t good enough — potato (@Fat__Potato) March 31, 2019 i wonder when we will see a Cloud9 CSGO lineup for longer than a few months again. — soki34 (@realsoki34) April 1, 2019 What’s next for Cloud9? Cloud9 are already reported to be in talks with René “cajunb” Borg, who was recently removed from OpTic Gaming’s lineup amid a number of roster changes by the organization. It’s believed that cajunb will be part of the team that represents Cloud9 at BLAST Pro Series: Miami, although there has been no official word from the organization. As things stand, Cloud9 no longer have the majority of the lineup that competed at the IEM Katowice Major, meaning it’s likely that they will have to qualify for the Berlin major through the continental minor tournaments in the run-up to the event.

KioShiMa announces shock roster switch following G2 Esports cameo Kioshima, TwitterFrench star Fabien ‘Counter-Strike pro scene following his two-tournament spell on G2 Esports that culminated in the veteran securing a top-four finish at ESL One New York. He had not held a long-term roster position since departing Team Envy in mid-2018, but boasted stand-in stints with G2 and Cloud9 at tournaments like New York and Katowice. Now, he and Team Heretics have revealed the 25-year-old will be the newest addition to their French lineup, following the announcement Jérémy ‘jeyN’ Nguyen would be stepping down from the squad for a period to focus on his studies. “Another step in my career as I will be joining the adventure with Team Heretics, back to French CS,” kioShiMa said following the announcement. “The grind starts now.” Bienvenue @kiocsgoo! Con 2 Majors ganados y 11 disputados llega a Heretics para luchar por todo. La leyenda francesa defenderá nuestros colores durante los próximos 2 años.#HeretiCSGO pic.twitter.com/z3Wafm1jyr — Team Heretics (@TeamHeretics) October 6, 2019 Although Fiey’s mentality following his split from Envy was that he would only return to a team full-time if it was at the highest level, something seems to have changed for the French star behind the scenes in more recent times. Read more: Fnatic complete Cinderella run in Malmö – “I have to show myself again because I haven’t been playing for a while,” he told HLTV at New York while playing on G2’s French roster. “The thing now is that I just need to get back in and playing, I’ll just work my way up again the same way I did the first time. I came from 1.6 and none of the guys from the Source scene knew me, so I had to make my way up and I’ll do it again if I have to.” Heretics is not currently at the pinnacle of the scene right now, fitting into Fiey’s new mentality that he has to re-prove himself to the rest of CSGO’s competitors by shining in a potentially lower-ranked team than his previous rosters. The organization entered back into the professional circuit with the signing of the FrenchFrogs roster, a near-full French roster led by Belgian captain David ‘davidp’ Prins. Read more: DeKay’s Sources: North to sign cajunb – It seems they’re now making moves on the market following the signing of kioShiMa, with reports suggesting former G2 star Lucas ‘Lucky’ Chastang and ex-LDLC player David ‘devoduvek’ Dobrosavljević could be their next signings. These two incoming players would reportedly replace Gaetan ‘JiNKZ’ Jamin and Logan ‘LOGAN’ Corti according to 1pv.fr journalist neL, who also suggested the players set for the chop had not yet been told about the impending changes. Team Heretics has yet to qualify for any major events since their entry into the scene. The Spanish organization came closest during the Rotterdam qualifiers, missing their chance at DreamHack with a third-place finish behind HAVU Gaming and Team GamerLegion. The roster are currently fifth in the ESEA MDL Season 32 Europe with a 2-0 record. They defeated Illuminar Gaming 16-13, and downed Demise 16-12. They currently trail pacesetters AVANGAR and Rotterdam rivals HAVU. Dota 2 powerhouses OG Esports announced they would be entering the CSGO scene with a roster led by Aleksi ‘Aleksib‘ Virolainen, and drama has swirled around Team Liquid star Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic and his possible defection from the North American roster. Team Heretics roster (at this time) David ‘davidp’ Prins – Bryan ‘Maka’ Canda – Gaetan ‘JiNKS’ Jamin – Logan ‘LOGAN’ Corti – Fabien ‘kioShiMa’ Fiey –

Kephrii accuses others of cheating in CSGO event after backlash Twitch: KephriiTwitch streamer Brian ‘Kephrii’ St. Pierre has accused fellow CSGO players Nick Bunyun and Tiffae of cheating, after Kephrii himself was removed from the $100k ReadyUp Invitational tournament. The $100,000 CSGO tournament, ReadyUp Invitational, is well underway but has already garnered considerable controversy. Twitch streamers Brian ‘Kephrii’ St. Pierre and Gale Adelaide were accused of cheating, as other players claimed that despite playing on opposing teams, they were allowing each other to collect high point kills to climb up the rankings. After Kephrii and Adelaide were removed from the tournament, Kephrii is now alleging that fellow CSGO players Nick Bunyun and Tiffae were also “teaming” during the event. Kephrii claims there are “countless examples” of cheating After his dismissal from the ReadyUp Invitational, Kephrii began to study footage of other CSGO competitors amid his own cheating accusations. Full Squad Gaming co-founder Jake Lucky addressed the situation in a thread: “Kephrii has accused Nick Bunyun and Tiffae of also teaming. Pointing out several other flaws with the event.” Lucky added that Kephrii was alleging that “event staff even played in the tournament to fill in for him once he was removed.” Kephrii himself responded to Lucky’s tweet, elaborating that: “there are honestly countless examples but I’m not going to be taken seriously since they accused me & Gale first. “FACEIT already did an investigation on Gale & I & concluded there was no intentional foul play.” The Twitch streamer had scrutinized footage of CSGO player Tiffae, claiming that she exploited the point system by “teaming” during the event. Kephrii pointed out that Tiffae has “just disabled clips on her channel” amid the controversy. A statement has been released via Heaven Media, who are in affiliation with the ReadyUp tournament, which doesn’t reference any players directly. However, the statement does say that “this removal was not in direct relation to the accusations ‘cheating’, but was due to an increasing hostile environment incited by the accusations.” It remains to be seen whether action will be taken in regards to Tiffae and Bunyun specifically, though Jake Lucky is adamant that “the hosts of the event and the TO need to make a frikin response.” “Accusations being tossed around left and right with nobody being left looking good,” concluded Lucky.

KennyS’s Impossible Prime: A CSGO Story by Thorin KennyS’s prime as a player has transcended history and become legend at this point in time. More than four and a half years into the past, the French then 19-year-old French AWP prodigy displayed the highest skill ceiling and performance peak Counter-Strike: Global Offensive had ever witnessed. A seemingly impossible degree of excellence and consistency that spanned four offline tournaments and numerous online cups, leagues and qualifiers. Infamously, this peak came with kennyS’s Titan team hamstrung and thus he was the first “best player in the world” the game had seen who lacked the help to win trophies. Yet he dominated individually nonetheless. Given all the resources, he made magic with them and defied all expectations and principles of role balance. Nobody could play kennyS’ style to the effective level he manifested and nobody could play against kennyS at the time. The mighty pronax led FNATIC, now enshrined as one of the greatest teams ever and at the time the consensus best, took numerous losses as a result of outrageous kennyS performances. Not until NiKo’s emergence in mousesports in 2016 did another player work with as little and yet stake a claim to being the best. Not until s1mple’s prime in Na`Vi, three years later, was anyone able to hit a peak of skill and performance comparable or better. Read More: Thorin’s Take: device – The Coach’s Dream – This was a run of form that stretched the boundaries of what was possible from not just an AWPer but any player in any role on any team. A black hole of excellence that sucked all eyes in towards the singularity of one young man’s unquenchable fire to win no matter the odds. His flick shot was art. His movement poetic. His confidence unbreakable. For an almost four month span the answer to the question “what does it take to be the best Counter-Strike player” was simply and solely “kennyS”. Nobody else stood a chance. To this day, the echoes of this 19 year old sniping maestro’s impact ripples through the passing years of history. Before I can tell you the tale of kenny’s prime, though, it’s key to understand where he came from to ascend to such absurd heights of play. kennyS came into CS:Source late in the game’s competitive history, due to being only 16 when he was recruited by VeryGames, the best core in the game’s history. While he showed some potential in the waning days of Source, it would be the arrival of CS:GO and a new circuit of opponents that elevated him to super-star status. kennyS was already a strong player, easily among the best in the world, upon the game’s release and his VeryGames team famously lost only to NiP in the finals of the first four offline events they attended. Losing to NiP would continue to be a familiar pattern and months later VeryGames cut kennyS, replacing him with Source legend shox in May of 2013. Expectations for the young player had been too high, with Ex6TenZ and his VeryGames team not only used to winning tournaments constantly in Source, unable to get over the NiP hump and wanting to play an all-rifle game. The AWP was far less prominent in the early meta, with NiP famously winning seemingly everything without an elite sniper. “If I was surprised? Yes and no. I expected them to make this decision, to be honest, I was prepared for this. […] this was a huge slap in my face and a blow to my motivation.” – said kennyS to HLTV.org Another slap in the face was seeing shox and VeryGames win big trophies and, around five months later, conquer NiP and take the top spot from them. Read More: New NA CSGO league reportedly forming – In the mean-time, kennyS was grinding away in the other French teams of the time, working to prove VeryGames wrong and again earn a spot in the only French team capable of championship glory. As if to showcase his incredible skill, kennyS posted monster numbers as the Nostaglie mix won the Prague Challenge, beating top team Na’Vi in the final. This despite Nostaglie containing two French players who barely spoke English, two Polish players who didn’t speak French and a Russian with broken English. kennyS was that good even a year into his CS:GO career. kenny was granted his chance at redemption when shox left Titan, as VeryGames were now called, only a year after joining, in May of 2014. VeryGames had been the best team in the world and shox the best player, hitting his own marvelous peak, but both were burned out from experimenting with living in a gaming house and the burden of high expectations now they could beat NiP. There would be no major or era for VeryGames and so they built around another super-star. This edition of Titan was still a world-class squad, evidenced by defeating major champions Virtus.pro, playing returning world number ones NiP close in a number of series and reaching the final of the stacked Gfinity G3 event. kennyS was arguably the best individual star in the game from the Summer of 2014 onwards, but failure to progress from the group stage of the ESL One Cologne major triggered the first “French shuffle”, as it was dubbed. kennyS had never finished top four at a major to that point and had never even won a big international tournament featuring all the best teams. As individually excellent as he undeniably was, the validation of team accomplishments weighed upon him. His stats were in line with prime coldzera numbers, despite playing with the AWP and having to carry for his team to win. In the French shuffle, most of the talent collected in LDLC and kenny was offered a spot but declined it. His Titan line-up was good, with enormous highs and a unique double AWP setup – unthinkable at the time – but would see LDLC go on to become the superior side and eventually a major champion. kennyS’ peak during this period was an MVP level performance at the second Dreamhack Stockholm Invitational. In front of the Swedish crowd in the globen he trounced home favorites FNATIC, who were set to become the best team in the world and history, and took down LDLC to take his first big international title of note. Only three tournaments into the new line-ups tenure together, second star and fellow AWPer KQLY was VAC banned and subsequently banned indefinitely from competitive play. Titan were also punished by being disqualified from the upcoming Dreamhack Winter major. Worse still, LDLC’s super-team composition meant there was practically no talent to replace KQLY in their side. Ex6TenZ convinced old team-mate and Source GOAT candidate RpK to return from two years of inactivity. The former Source god had played the first four events of CS:GO with VeryGames, but quit after finishing runner-up to NiP all four times and surveying what was then a fairly desolate scene in terms of prize money and potential for growth. Hamstrung without KQLY and experiencing heavy teething problems reintegrating RpK, who had to be micromanaged by Ex6TenZ initially, kennyS was the only game in town if they hoped to grasp at even a faint glimmer of victory. Ex6TenZ composed a system that ran all resources through kenny and rather than buckle under the weight of being asked to do it all, kenny flourished like no player had ever before. The best player in the world accepted the challenge of playing with a hamstrung side and transcended Counter-Strike for a span of almost four months. Online he was unplayable, but counter-intuitively he was even more dominant offline. From November 2014 to March 2015, over five offline tournaments, he would post numbers only matched by s1mple’s deification in 2018. In the aftermath of KQLY’s ban and rivals LDLC winning the Dreamhack Winter major, Titan headed to the offline finals of ESEA Season 17 in Dallas, Texas. This came prior to RpK’s return from self-imposed exile and the team used coach ioRek as a stand-in. The French player had won a major with emuLate in CS 1.6 all the way back in 2007 and even been part of the shocking one-off run of Clan-Mystik to beat VeryGames and win ESWC 2013, before dropping off heavily and retiring from competitive play. Now, a year later, he would attempt to keep his head above water playing for Titan against some of the world’s best teams. In the second round of the upper bracket, Titan met FNATIC. The Swedes had only just experienced their first ever finish outside of the top four with this line-up, forfeiting the quarter-final of the major to LDLC, and sought to maintain their top spot in the world rankings. They had won three straight offline events prior to the major. FNATIC narrowly took the series in an overtime third map, but kenny’s 87 kills were the story of the match. If it was going to be this heavy a weight to carry, even the best player in the world would surely break in no time. Titan would drop to the lower bracket and be shocked by iBUYPOWER, with kennyS again posting huge numbers and Titan again losing an overtime deciding third map on inferno. The nature of these losses were to become a microcosm of kennyS’s plight: dominating individually under the most trying of circumstances, only to lose series and overtime inferno games, even if he was the best player in the server by a country mile. Recovering from playing MVP level Counter-Strike and still finishing 5th-6th, kenny got some respite by representing France in the offline Electronic Sports European Championship event. Playing with team-mate apEX and three members of the major champion LDLC, France won the event besting Sweden and twice taking down Poland, though admittedly Sweden did not send their best individual stars. In January of 2015, Titan attended the ASUS ROG Winter offline event and finished runners-up to NiP. The tournament was deceptively strong, with former major champions Virtus.pro there, a HellRaisers core that had been still a solid squad for most of the previous year and the same NiP who had taken new recruit Maikelele all the way to the major final in their first outing together. At his first event playing alongside RpK again, kenny posted huge numbers, even racking up 43 kills in the final against NiP, but saw his team unable to secure victory again. Tradition back then was that only a player from the winning team could be awarded MVP and so kenny had to watch as Maikelele’s NiP’s streaky sniper, took home said honours. The following month, Titan flew to Sweden for the IOS Pantamera tournament. Despite being the first edition of the competition, it held a very strong field of competition. Major champions and MLG X Games Invitational winners LDLC, now EnVyUs, were there, along with runners-up of both events NiP, the FNATIC side who had been world number ones until the major and the always elite tier Virtus.pro. The final spot was taken up by Norwegian side LGB, who admittedly were the odd men out, but featured future CS stars Rain and jkaem. Having not qualified for the aforementioned MLG tournament, the most important big event following the major, Titan had much to prove and a field that would make it nearly as difficult as possible. Titan’s group stage run was the stuff of a Hollywood movie script. Playing each of the top ranked teams on arguably their best map, Titan won their first four games, securing the top seed for the play-offs, before being blown out in the map Best-of-1 by VP on cache. kenny was a beast across all of the victories and no team came within three rounds of victory before the map ended. The top seed meant Titan would wait in the final to play the winner of the third place decider. As that match was the much anticipated revenge rematch of FNATIC and nV, their finals opponents were guaranteed to be a line-up that had occupied the world number one spot. FNATIC continued to hold an edge over nV and kenny would face the team he had almost single-handedly beaten at ESEA finals. In one of the most epic performances ever witnessed, kennyS put up 76 frags to only 48 deaths over two maps that his team lost. The latter a supernova event of 50 kills in an overtime loss on inferno. Students of antiquity will recall the myth of Sisyphus, cursed to push a boulder up a hill every day, only to see it roll down again and be forced to start over the following day. kenny found himself in the same positions, on the brink of beating the world’s best teams largely by virtue of his own force, only to lose the series and typically on inferno. In a controversial move never again witnessed until s1mple’s 2018 run, HLTV broke with their tradition and awarded kennyS the MVP medal, despite finishing in second place. Who could deny him such individual honours after that performance? It was an effort unrewarded by the outcome that could break a man. It’s a failing of highly competitive people that they are often unable to acknowledge they were out-performed or out-played if they manage to scrape the victory nonetheless. FNATIC reclaimed the top spot with their finals win at Pantamera and could easily have defaulted to saying “CS is a team game and it doesn’t matter how much or how little you win by”. Indeed, they had names like KRiMZ, JW and an emerging olofmeister, who were all players they could have put forth and proclaimed the best player in the world. Instead, a rare and entirely authentic moment of humility saw olofmeister explain to aftonbladet: “Let me put it like this: Even if I never was a hotshot in 1.6 I still played gatherings with some of the best players in the world and I wasnít afraid of anyone. I’ve never been scared of anybody in CS:GO, but Iím scared of KennyS. He is the only one Iíve ever been scared of. You can end up in a duel, where you have the upper hand but it doesnít matter because you know that he might ñ or even will ñ make the sickest shot ever so you donít have the courage to do anything. When you face any other player you feel much more confident. ñ In terms of individual skill he is the best, no doubt.” That interview was published on the 12th of March, 2015. Just over a month after the Pantamera final and mere days before ESL One Katowice, the 5th major, began. FNATIC would win said major, with olof taking MVP honours and spawning his own peak, taking the crown of best player from kenny. To again witness such a display of sportsmanship would take until s1mple’s peak in 2018, when his Na’Vi side rarely won tournaments but even the Astralis players, who were winning practically everything, acknowledged s1mple as the best player in the game. Before the major could begin, kenny’s Titan had to qualify, due to their inability to attend the previous major. At the first ever major offline qualifier, kennyS faced a familiar story-line, forced to carry his Titan squad with unreal numbers and in close games, but the much lower level of competition could not prevent him from qualifying for another major. Over 102 rounds played, kenny delivered 105 kills to only 66 deaths, averaging over a kill per round played – unthinkable numbers. Heading into the first major of the RpK-infused line-up, hopes were high for Titan to make an impact on the field. Their group seemed reasonable enough, with only fellow Frenchmen nV as a clear concern. After losing a close game to said rivals, Titan quickly bombed out with an embarrassing loss to the German PENTA. Most distressing of all was kenny’s own performance, which was far from the MVP calibre standard of play he had set. The man who’d had his aim stuck on automatic for four months hit a cold patch at the worst possible time. Those hoping for a bounce back would never get their wish, as this event marked the beginning of kenny’s sharp decline from the position of world’s best player. From the next event, a StarSeries S12 tournament where Titan managed fourth place, onwards, kenny would never again be the same force in the server. To make matters worse, shortly after StarSeries, the AWP, kenny’s weapon of choice, was had its movement speed nerfed. Coming on the 31st of March, almost hinting at it being a sick April Fool’s joke, kennyS found that not only had his form begun to desert him but now the game would clamp down more on his role’s impact anyway. The last vestiges of hope withered. Over the year, kenny would have one more flashback performance in Titan, at the Gfinity Spring Masters 2, but he was just another player again. A good player, but not the same unassailable giant. Shifting over to rivals nV in the second French shuffle, he had strong performances in their victories at Dreamhack London and Cluj-Napoca, the latter being the major and seeing kenny finally put one of history’s most important trophies into his cabinet, as well as earning MVP honours at last from HLTV. kennyS was the impossible sniper. Nobody had the strengths to pull of his style to the same degree of aptitude. No AWPer had ever been the best player in the world, but he soon cast aside that pattern to become the game’s greatest outlier. The one man carry. No, not a man, but a monster, worthy of Greek mythology. kenny’s skills were a revelation. His firing speed was incredibly rapid, second only to sniping rival GuardiaN’s debatably, but with an insane hit-rate that left his rival far from thought and his opponents speechless. Typically speed’s reward is a greater variance of possible shots that can be hit and its cost is consistency in hit-rate. In contrast, slower more traditional snipers tracked their opponents and sacrificed speed to up their success in landing the shot. kennyS’ impossible pairing of all of the strengths of both styles and none of their weakness recalled the prime of Na’Vi’s markeloff in the latter years of CS 1.6. When kennyS AWPed every shot was a flick, as his inimitable hand-eye coordination seemingly never found an angle or travel distance it could not accommodate and still land first. To say kenny was at the cutting edge of mechanical skill would be to down-play his impact with the weapon. Traditional principles of Counter-Strike play dictate that the tactic to neutralising a dominant sniper is to rush him with numbers, crowd him and force him to miss and switch to his pistol. kennyS again broke the game by showcasing some of the most ridiculous and unconscionable noscopes imaginable. As team-mate Maniac relayed to me: “when you rushed kenny the danger only increased”. This came in a game that was infamous for the inaccuracy of its noscopes, contrasted against CS 1.6’s perfect accuracy if not moving. Perhaps kennyS knew something we didn’t or was granted grace none of us shall ever receive, but his noscopes landed when they were supposed to miss. Only the likes of GuardiaN and s1mple have approached that level of power in close ranges fights. Stylistically, kennyS was the complete package, despite his role. The AWPer has traditionally be one of the most limited roles, tasked with holding an angle, cutting off a section of the map or creating picks from a pocket of entry protection. kennyS was the entry player at times in Titan, ever eager to find and create the first pick. So deadly was he as the tip of the spear that Titan would often save and drop him an AWP even if forced into half-buys or giving him glass cannons, playing a risky game without armour. The most extreme example of this was seeing such a buy on the T side of nuke, a map other AWPers feared due to its neutralising effect but which could not stop kennyS. Similarly, inferno is a map for sniping on the CT side, but so many big Titan performances had kenny displaying a masterclass of aggressive power sniping on both sides. kenny’s performance level was impossible. He seemingly never dropped off or levelled out. Whether it was online or offline, against the best in the world or the worst teams in the field, with help or without it, kenny was an unstoppable force. No elite player ever had less help, to that point in time, and performed at such a level, not least because no player had ever performed at such a level. kennyS never met a peek he didn’t like and his style was to impulsively repeek an angle over and over until he had decimated the opposition. Amateurs at home may not have realised such a style violated the fundamental principle of how to play out a numbers advantage, consolidating a kill into superior map coverage, as kenny was so effective such a style became the highest chance of winning a round regardless. So unpunished he was that where even other primary AWPers would put down the weapon when they were not hitting their shots, kenny seemingly never had the big green rifle out of his hands. Such a style not only did not work for most others, with even the fantastic GuardiaN a notoriously streaky player at the time, but it should not have worked. kennyS had transcended the accepted paradigm of sniping. Nobody could play at the level kenny could and nobody tried. Who else had struggled as he had to prove his worth? Toiled away with superlative match play only to lose so many games and in heart-breaking fashion? An uncertain but precocious boy had been forged into a near mythical creature, not crushed by the pressure but hardened into a diamond. kenny’s AWP was his pen and his play words which reshaped our world. The French sniper went on to win a major and has experienced individual resurgences and success over a number of years, tied for second most HLTV MVP medals to this day, but nothing can match or return us to his dazzling peak. Merci, kenny.

KennyS unsure of CSGO future: “If there’s no space for me in CS I’ll find it elsewhere” BLASTIn a candid interview with Dexerto, Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub, one of Counter-Strike’s all-time greats, opened up about his mental health problems and in-game struggles. He is looking to return to competition and does not rule out a switch to Valorant if the CS:GO doors are completely shut on him. KennyS can pinpoint exactly the moment when his career started to derail. It was September 2017, and his G2 Esports team had just lifted the DreamHack Masters Malmö trophy after beating North convincingly in a two-map affair. KennyS was named the MVP of the tournament, but he didn’t feel like celebrating. He was fighting internal demons at the time, retirement thoughts rattling around in his head. “Before the event, I gathered my team and told them I didn’t want to play the game anymore,” kennyS told Dexerto. “I told them that I was going to make a decision during the tournament. I wanted to retire at this point. “I had no fun winning the tournament or the MVP. I should have. I had a really weird mindset at this time. I won the tournament, I was the MVP and I was not happy. “Now that I look back, I should have opened two bottles of champagne and poured it all over me, but that wasn’t the case.” That was the last time kennyS won an MVP medal or a tier-one trophy. He kept on playing, not because he had a change of heart, but because he didn’t know what else to do. He also didn’t want his career to end on such a sour note, fearing that he might regret what would have been “an emotional decision.” But the problems didn’t go away, and his game began to suffer as he “fell into a depression”. “I had some good tournaments, some bad tournaments, some really good months, some bad months,” he admitted. “I became really inconsistent.” Once one of the game’s most reliable AWPers, kennyS started to quietly fade into the background. Rise and fall KennyS burst onto the Counter-Strike scene at the tail end of Source’s lifespan, transitioning to CS:GO in the summer of 2012 alongside the rest of the VeryGames squad. Between 2013 and 2017, he appeared on every HLTV Top 20 player ranking (three times inside the top 10) and racked up ten MVP medals, one of which from the DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 Major that he won with Envy. By late 2017, kennyS’ MVP tally was only matched by Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund, who had won ten medals between 2012 and 2014, nine of which were during NIP’s heyday, when the scene was still finding its feet. By virtually every metric, kennyS was among the very best in the history of the game. But as he entered a dark period in his life, years of bad habits finally caught up with him. “I always knew I had a special talent, and I always thought that would be enough,” he said. “But at some point, it wasn’t enough, because there were other players who had as much talent as me but were also working really hard. And as people say, talent without work is nothing.” In September 2020, after years of peaks and valleys, kennyS decided to buckle down and work hard following G2’s signing of Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač from FaZe in a mega deal. The arrival of the Bosnian superstar gave kennyS a great boost of motivation but also a sudden sense of insecurity. It’s a recurring theme in the scene how NiKo has taken up extra duties when his teams aren’t clicking, and he keeps everyone in check with his demanding ways. “I began working really hard, which I hadn’t done my whole career,” kennyS said. “I thought, ‘I’m not the face of G2 CS:GO anymore. I’m playing with NiKo, a really great and hard-working player. I need to step up.’” The prospect of seeing NiKo free of the in-game leadership shackles and playing alongside his cousin, Nemanja ‘huNter-‘ Kovač, and kennyS left fans salivating, but the team flopped woefully. A semi-final appearance in IEM Beijing-Haidian – a rather humdrum tournament – was G2’s best finish in the months that followed as the team suffered early exits at a series of big events. At the same time, kennyS started posting some of his worst career numbers, and his influence inside the server seemed to be on the wane. In March, just days after an IEM Katowice group stage exit, G2 announced that kennyS had been moved to the bench as the team brought support player Audric ‘JaCkz’ Jug back into the main roster, sacrificing firepower in the hopes of becoming a more stable and well-rounded unit. It was the first time in kennyS’ career that he had found himself on the bench. Any player in that situation would be devastated. Instead, though, he was relieved. “I think at some point it was not the right team for me,” kennyS explained. “With JaCkz on the bench, we had three players that needed someone taking space for them, and we had just AmaNEk doing that. “It was really hard having three star players together and making all of them happy. When you know that NiKo comes in for a big amount of money, well, they better put him in the best possible positions. I lost space, and so did huNter. “Despite the fact that I was working a lot, they decided to bench me, and I cannot blame them for that. Honestly, I was sad for an evening, but afterward, I was so relieved. It was a complicated situation for me. “You always see it coming. I was at a bootcamp with them just before I got benched, I can tell you that I felt it. I also wasn’t confident at all. I had bad performances. That is a fact. It was getting super hard for me.” Read more: PGL Major Stockholm coverage hub – According to him, the pressure, both external and internal, had become too great to withstand. After ten years at the highest level, he suddenly found no joy in the game, and competing became “a nightmare”. “At some point, it just changed me,” he said. “My girlfriend saw me, one day I just started crying because for six months I had been dealing with a lot of sh*t that had been thrown in my face. “And then, you have one bad game, two bad games, you have a problem in your life and you just release the pressure. And the way I do it is by crying. “It happened a lot in the last year, year and a half. I took the hits and at some point released everything at the same time. That was mostly why I felt relieved.” Life on the bench As much of a relief as taking a break was for kennyS, he did not hang up his mouse and keyboard after getting benched. Hopeful that the phone would ring, he kept working to stay in shape, and publicly stated his intention to continue to “grind CS” despite the appeal presented by Valorant. Yet as the weeks and months went by, he came to the painful realization that his services were no longer in high demand. With the rise of Valorant and the economic impact of the global health crisis, more and more organizations have moved their focus away from Counter-Strike. And for many of the teams that are still in it, strengthening their rosters often means waiting for contracts to expire or simply picking up lesser-known, cheaper options. As blockbuster transfers have become a bit of a rarity in CS:GO, big-name players have frequently found themselves withering away when they get benched. “COVID hasn’t been great to the game, and the fact that we are losing players is also making it really hard for organizations to invest, especially in a 26-year-old that is known for having a lazy mindset,” kennyS said. “It’s the truth, I’ve been lazy my entire career. Obviously, now that I am where I am, I can say that I would have done things differently. But it is what it is. Everybody makes mistakes. The situation I’m in right now is also because of those mistakes. “I didn’t have any interesting offers at all in CS. I got benched at a pretty bad time, I guess. My buyout is probably quite expensive, even though I’m probably losing value with time. I’m a big investment and I’m a 26-year-old player with a ten-year career. People might think I’m not the best investment, and I can understand that. “I was a bit disappointed because I don’t want CS to die, even if I’m not a big part of it. I don’t think it’s going to die, but it’s definitely not in the best shape.” As he put his esports aspirations on hold, kennyS found new ways to keep his mind occupied. He regularly streams his CS and Valorant pug matches, and produces new videos about both games to the more than 100,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. Discover more: CSGO pros reveal how good s1mple really is – Being a content creator, as refreshing as it is, presents a whole different set of challenges. “I thought I’d have more free time, but that’s not the case,” he said. “I haven’t had any holidays, I’d say I’m working even harder than when I was playing. But it’s been pretty fun. I’m working with the people I want to work with.” In September, he attended the VCT Stage 3 Masters event in Berlin with his girlfriend, capturing behind-the-scenes footage to release on Youtube. According to him, it was a valuable and humbling experience that only reinforced his desire to compete again. It also challenged some preconceived notions that he had about Valorant and its competitive scene. “I was a bit frustrated, seeing the stage, seeing people scream when they won a tough round,” kennyS said. “I miss the competition, for sure. “I definitely enjoy Valorant. The game is good. I’m a CS lover, but I’m not like, ‘I love CS so I hate Valorant’. No, that’s stupid. It doesn’t work that way, you’ve got to be objective, you’ve got to check the game and try it. “Going to VCT has also given me a different approach to the game. You come from CS and you might think, ‘Oh, Valorant is easy’. But that’s not the case. It’s not because you’re a super good player in CS that you’re going to win everything and that you’re going to be the best. That’s not how it works. That’s not true. If you think that, you’re going to fail. “I was like, ‘Maybe as a CS player I should respect the players that are performing well in this game’. Most of the players come from CS, but for example, I’ve been playing a lot with nAts, who is in my opinion the best player in Valorant. He comes from CS but he was not a pro. What makes the difference is that he’s working hard to be good.” Valorant has been suggested as a potential career option for kennyS since his benching, and his name was at one point linked with Alliance. Questioned about the rumors, kennyS denied having undergone a trial with the team, though he said that he has had “a lot of offers” in Valorant. This is hardly a surprise, given his impressive Counter-Strike résumé and the level of success that former tier-one CS:GO players have enjoyed since transitioning to Riot Games’ title. Future goals Though kennyS is enjoying his time as a content creator, he has no doubt that he wants to return to competition. The question now is whether he will do it in CS:GO – the game he fell in love with as a child but that doesn’t seem to love him back anymore – or in Valorant. He is putting any decision on hold until after PGL Major Stockholm, only the second Major that he will miss. That’s when he will be able to assess whether there’s still room for him in the scene as top CS:GO teams will start making roster changes for the new season. “Honestly, I don’t even know if my future is still in CS:GO,” kennyS said. “I love the game and I wish things could have been different. I wish I could change that, but I don’t know if I’ll have the opportunity.” If these words sound familiar, that’s because they echo the sentiments of Adil ‘ScreaM’ Benrlitom, who said in 2020 that he wished “things were different” as he walked away from CS and galloped off to new pastures in Valorant. KennyS is able to find some comfort in knowing that other players have gone through the same conflict of emotions. “What ScreaM said literally speaks to me,” he said, laughing. Reflecting on his career, kennyS said that he is “proud of what I’ve achieved, individually and trophy-wise”. Having become one of the faces of Counter-Strike, he admitted that it would pain him to leave the game through the back door. “I don’t want to retire [from CS] like that,” he said. “Maybe I will have to, but it’s not really a nice thing, to retire that way. “I want to show that my situation is the consequence of my mistakes, and I want to prove to myself and to everyone that I can learn from all those things and still be the player people want me to be and that I want to be as well. “Winning one last tier-one event in CS would be really, really great.” But just like ScreaM, who has kick-started his career in Valorant, kennyS won’t sit around sulking and waiting for the phone to ring. Having taken the time to take stock of his past mistakes and recover mentally, he’s ready to show that he still has a huge amount left to offer at the highest level. FINALLY, Welcome TEAM FRANCE 🇫🇷#SpikeFRA@G2kennyS @Sliicyy_@KaffWorld @NBK @Ninouu97 Group 3 #SpikeNations pic.twitter.com/v2gDiBfYXn — BLAST VALORANT (@BLASTVALORANT) October 4, 2021 On October 4, he was announced as one of Team France’s players for the Valorant charity event BLAST Spike Nations. And if the initial reception to the announcement means anything, he might find in the Valorant the kind of support that has been hard to come by in Counter-Strike. “I’m almost getting a bit salty, I saw people wanting me to get benched, and when I got benched, they wanted me to come back,” he said. “I’m like, ‘I was there, you didn’t want me!’ “At the end, I had a really better mindset, I was doing things right, it just didn’t work out because of many reasons. I would be sad [to leave CS] because I know I have what it takes to be a really good competitive player, but if there is no space for me in CS I’ll find it somewhere else. “For me, losing CS is a hard thing, and I think losing me is also not really nice for the game. But it is what it is. If people don’t want to give me the chance, they won’t, but some other people will give me that chance, and I’ll seize it. “My mental health was really bad in these last few years and now it’s really good. That makes a big difference. At the end of the day, what I want is to compete, to achieve stuff. Back then, I was not thinking about myself too much, I was just living day by day. Now, I have plans. The most important thing is to have plans. As long as I have objectives to reach, I’m fine.”

kennyS on G2’s roster, the best AWPer in CSGO, and evolving as a player ESLThe 2019 Counter-Strike season was a difficult one for Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub and his G2 teammates. However, with Group C action at the BLAST Premier Spring Series about to get underway, the French phenom is feeling confident, and that should scare everyone. kennyS is a legend of Counter-Strike. Some would still argue that his peak form with Titan in 2014 has never been matched by another player. The sniping sensation has been a star for so long, in fact, that it’s easy to forget that he’s still just 24 years old, with endless new challenges ahead of him. In the latter half of 2019, after a string of sub-par results, G2 made the decision to add Bosnian Nemanja ‘huNter-’ Kovač and Serbian Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković to their roster. For kennyS, this was one of those new challenges — for the first time in his professional career, the Frenchman is playing on an international roster. So, how was the transition? How confident are the G2 players about their chances in 2020? How has he adjusted his playstyle over the years? Does he believe he can ever reach the number one spot again, and who does he think is the best AWPer in the world right now? Kenny answered all of this and more ahead of G2’s first LAN event of the year. You’re playing in an international lineup for the first time in your career – with a non-French speaking IGL – have you found that difficult to adapt to and how has it affected your own play? kennyS: It’s been quite a transition! So yes, speaking a different language that isn’t the one you’ve been using your whole career is something to get used to, it took me a few weeks before being able to naturally communicate and feel comfortable, it affected my own play at the beginning when I had to think about the call outs or initiating a move on the map, there is that time lapse between what you want to say and your brain processing it. You have to think about it which makes everything mechanical also more difficult. But, you get used to it, I’m always really happy when I get to do or learn something new, it’s new experiences! The team has been together for a few months now but the switch to an international lineup must have been tricky to adapt to. Do you feel like G2 is reaching prime form yet or are you expecting it to take a while longer? kennyS: Well, we changed our roster mid-season and as I said before, it was quite a transition for all of us! We really wanted to focus on having visibility and LAN experience, which we did last year. We barely had time for practice, which led to a lack of freshness and training due to the large volume of events we had attended. But once again, we made that choice and we might have not made all the results we wanted but we’ve gone through a lot in a really short time and that’s really precious for us. We’ve had more time to practice now that the 2019 season is over and it was definitely needed. Read more: Stuchiu: What does impact mean in CS:GO? – Nowadays, it takes a lot of time for a team to find the perfect chemistry and work together in the most productive way. That’s what we are trying to achieve, I know what we are capable of, but did we reach our prime yet? No, we have to be a little bit more patient with ourselves first. What do you like about playing with huNter and and nexa? What have they added to the team? kennyS: We felt really good knowing that they would join the team, especially considering that a couple of teams were looking at them as well and they made the decision to join us. huNter is incredibly skilled, a great teammate and mentally strong. Beyond his impact in the server, he’s really disciplined and serious when it comes to CS and always ready to fix things really quickly. He’s always kind to everyone and he’s willing to help any member of the team, he wants everyone to feel comfortable, he’s really supportive. I don’t remember playing with someone like that in so many years. He’s not perfect, no one is, but pretty much like nexa, he’s made for the highest level and he’s surprisingly looking really experienced as well despite the fact that it’s only his second season as a professional player. Nexa is a really smart dude, really open minded as well, a trustworthy leader. He’s young but already seems really mature and experienced, the way he talks to us before games always gives me positive feelings. We have a great atmosphere within the team and we are really lucky to have them. When it comes to your own individual play, you seemed to be making some big improvements at the end of 2019. Do you think you can continue with this form and perhaps reach the level that you once showed in Titan? kennyS: I don’t know, I’m a different player and a different man. The way I approach the game is really different from the early days of my career. The beginning is always the easiest, especially when you start really young like I did. I’m not looking at the past, I’m working to find the best possible fit with the meta and to be as effective as possible with the player I’m constantly evolving into. I want to keep improving and reach the objectives I have. I fell down heavily and all I’ve been focusing on in 2019 was to climb. Well, right now, I just want to keep climbing. Sometimes you have to start over, realize you aren’t where you used to be or where you want to be. You’ve always had a unique AWPing style. When you were learning the game, did you study any other AWPers or did you learn your own style from day one? kennyS: To be honest, I didn’t really have idols back then, markeloff was the one I liked the most as a young guy but I have a really unique style and I think I’ve made it myself by having the experience of playing multiple games (FPS mostly) where I was handling the sniper really well such as DoD, TF2, CS 1.5/1.6 so I think I’ve learnt from all of those games to finally ending up with my own style. It’s always been kind of natural for me and it seems like I brought a new way to play that weapon on CS and that’s definitely something I’m really proud of. I see more and more people trying to play like that and I’m really happy about it. We often hear about players like dev1ce studying their opponents and adapting their AWPing for specific players and teams. How do you prepare for matches and are there any teams or players that you find it difficult to AWP against? kennyS: Mhm, yes absolutely, I’m watching everyone nowadays, I’m particularly interested in device because he has kind of the opposite gamestyle and I think it’s important for an AWPer to feel comfortable in any situation. I’m learning from the current AWPers of the scene in order to make myself a better and more impactful player, but not necessarily in order to counter them. I trust my abilities enough for that, even though it’s always interesting to know your opponent’s patterns and moves! I think the most annoying opponent for me to play against might be 100 Thieves, they’re really structured and hard to play against. Regarding AWPers I don’t know to be honest, it used to be hard to play against ENCE as well, but I think we are now more aware of their game style. They were really surprising at first. Who would you say is the best AWPer in the world right now? kennyS: Without any doubt, dev1ce. He’s always playing just and fits perfectly in his team style. In the modern game, the best players in the world are hybrid players like s1mple, ZyWoo, and dev1ce, who can dominate with a variety of weapons. Do you think it’s still possible for a classic dedicated AWPer to be the best player in the world like you were when you played on Titan? kennyS: I don’t know, but one thing for sure is that AWPers need to be able to master rifles as well or they might end up being limited. The AWP nerf is one of the most infamous updates in the history of CS:GO. How long did it take you to get used to the change? kennyS: Roughly, I would say 3 months or something like that, but to accept it, much longer haha! I’m not gonna lie, I felt a bit screwed when it happened, but it is what it is. Things change and the AWP isn’t the only thing that changed in CS and you have to adapt. It’s the same for everyone. What do you think would happen to the game if the nerf was reverted and the 2014/2015 AWP returned? kennyS: Don’t give me false hope 😉 No that doesn’t make me necessarily nostalgic, I believe it’s more balanced now anyways, but it was fun times still! Your loss against Mousesports at cs_summit must have been difficult to take, but your team bounced back and won the Champions Cup Finals. How did you manage to overcome the loss so quickly? kennyS: Yes, that loss could not have been worse. Thankfully, we bounced back and won the event convincingly right afterwards. It was a relief – that shows character and we were proud of ourselves. Such a defeat is hard, especially at this stage of the tournament, but it just reminds us that CS is above all a game where you play against yourself. If you’re not playing to your full capacity, you can easily lose, and the other way around, I think that’s part of the beauty of this game. What can we expect to see from kennyS and G2 in 2020? kennyS: Our preparation has been great, so far one of the best I’ve ever had, so I’m confident we can do a lot of damage. It will depend on how we make the switch to competitive mode. One thing’s for sure, it’s an exciting 2020 season ahead of us and we don’t want to miss it!

KennyS denies reports of Valorant switch after G2 CSGO benching BLAST PremierCounter-Strike legend Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub has denied reports of a switch to Valorant after being benched by G2 Esports. The Frenchman has long been a fan-favorite in CS:GO, representing Team Envy between 2015 and 2017 before his move to G2 in February 2017. His career has been a storied one, from his very peak as the DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 MVP to his eventual benching from G2’s active roster in March 2021. He’s been competing in CS since 2012 with Source, and has spent nearly a decade competing at the top level. But talks have emerged that signaled kennyS could be on the move to Riot’s tactical shooter. KennyS to stay in CS for now According to reliable leaker Arran ‘Halo‘ Spake, kennyS has been having a trial with Alliance, but isn’t fully committed to making the switch yet. Allegedly, he still has options in CSGO, though no more information is provided on that front. Valorant: According to sources former G2 CSGO player Kenny “”KennyS”” Schrub, has been having a trial with Alliance. As it seemed on an earlier accidental leak. Sources also believe that KennyS hasn’t fully committed on a switch to Valorant yet with options in CSGO. — Haloofthoughts (@haloofthoughts) March 8, 2021 Of course, this set off the CSGO and Valorant communities at the possibility of the French legend making a move to a new esport. But to quell expectations for now, kennyS has reassured people that he’ll be on the CS grind for now. In response to the Alliance ‘leak’ being fake, kenny said, “Yes it is, Valorant is a great game but I want to grind CS rn.” KennyS’ future has been heavily speculated on, as top teams look to bolster their lineups while there could be tempting opportunities over at the Valorant side of things. As for the team that Kenny was linked to, Alliance, they’re seeing relative success in Valorant so far and are due to play at Valorant Masters from March 12-21. If the CS legend was persuaded to join, the roster will be as follows: Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub – Enzo ‘Fearoth’ Mestari – Niels ‘luckeRRR’ Jasiek – Tautvydas ‘hype’ Paldavicius – Thomas ‘kAdavra’ Johner – Kenny doesn’t sound like he’s on the move just yet. But a number of top players from CSGO, Overwatch and other esports have moved over to Riot Games’ FPS, and there will certainly be more. No doubt, if he does move, the Valorant world will be seeing something exciting.

kennyS makes pro CSGO return with an eye on Paris Major: “I truly believe in myself” FalconsKenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub has expressed his joy at being able to play CS:GO competitively again after 18 months on the sidelines. “I know I’m still one of the best mechanical players in the world,” he told Dexerto. The French AWPer has signed with Saudi Arabia-based organization Team Falcons to complete their CS:GO lineup for 2023, putting an end to his nearly six-year association with G2 Esports. kennyS has spent the last 18 months out of action after being benched by G2 in March 2021. The decision came after a downturn in results and a series of uninspiring tournaments by kennyS, who for years had struggled with mental health issues. With a substantial buyout clause and his stock at its lowest ever, kennyS was in limbo. He used his time away from the game to recover mentally and scope out his options. He dabbled in content creation, growing his YouTube channel to over 160,000 subscribers. He also gave Valorant a shot. In the end, kennyS felt that he had another chapter left in his CS:GO career. “A few months ago, I decided that I really wanted to play CS competitively,” he told Dexerto. “I waited a little bit to see if it was just a feeling, an emotion, and I concluded that it was not. I am really stable in my life and well-surrounded. “I think I deserve one last chance to finish my career in a way that is not being on the bench. I’m grateful I have the opportunity to do things differently. It feels amazing to be back. I’m really happy.” kennyS said that he was attracted by the prospect of playing alongside French talent once again. Two years into his G2 career, he saw the team go the international route, with mixed results, despite the high-profile additions of Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković, Nemanja ‘huNter-’ Kovač and Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač. But perhaps the biggest factor in his decision to join Falcons was his reunion with former longtime teammate Nathan ‘NBK-’ Schmitt. They played together on some of the most successful French CS:GO teams, winning the DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca Major in 2015 during their time with EnVyUs (currently Envy). “I have always felt, even during my best times in France, that I haven’t been treated as I should by the French community,” kennyS said. “NBK is one of those who have always respected me as a player. I know he still does. “That was a big plus for me because I know the challenge I have ahead of me. A lot of people see this as a gamble, and I understand why. The only people I need to believe in me are myself and those around me, my organization, and my teammates.” Why does he think that his relationship with the French scene is so complicated? “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe it’s because I have a really big ego. Maybe they don’t like that, the competitive mindset that I have. They always tend to like more quiet players, which I can understand. I have never had a problem with that because my audience is mostly international. “It is what it is, everyone has a different mindset. I guess my mindset and personality do not sit well with people from France.” Competing in Paris kennyS exhibited maturity and professionalism in the way he talked about G2 Esports, but he admitted that the hefty price tag placed on him “stopped a lot of things” while he was on the bench. He had offers from “big organizations” and even came close to joining OG’s Valorant team on a loan basis before Riot Games blocked the move. “I actually think it was a good thing in the end,” he said about the deal falling through. The timing of his return to competition is not a coincidence. In the spring of 2023, France will host its first-ever CS:GO Major, in Paris, and kennyS has his sights set on playing in the tournament. “That would be the goal for everyone in France right now,” he said. “I have played so many Majors, and missing the Rio Major was already quite painful. At least trying to qualify for the BLAST Major is something I really want to do. The Paris Major is definitely the biggest objective and something I will grind for.” kennyS is aware of the size of the task facing him at Falcons. After almost two years on the sidelines, he has a lot of catching up to do as he aims to lead the team to the Major. But he has no doubt that he can still play at a high level. “If I don’t believe in myself, who will?” he asked. “It is quite difficult to get back at it after not being competitive for almost two years. I’m aware of the amount of work I have ahead of me, but I know that I’m still one of the best mechanical players in the world. My last season was really tough because of COVID. I’ve always performed well offline. Online, it’s a bit more difficult for me. “I’m not worried at all about my mechanical level. I know it’s going to come back really quickly, but I definitely need to catch up on stuff like the meta. There is a lot of work ahead, I’m aware of that. I’m aware of the challenge. This was not a light decision. I truly believe in myself.” Team Falcons CS:GO roster: Ali ‘hAdji’ Haïnouss – Jordan ‘Python’ Munck-Foehrle – Nathan ‘NBK-’ Schmitt – Kévin ‘misutaaa’ Rabier – Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub –

KennyS explains why returning to his 2014 form isn’t his focus on G2 ESLKenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub might not be at his explosive best all the time on G2 Esports compared to his peak in 2014 and 2015 with Titan and EnvyUs, but the French star believes he’s feeling “much better” as a player than he was back then. Cast your mind back to 2015. It’s the grand final of the DreamHack Cluj-Napoca Major. EnvyUs are playing Natus Vincere. While the CIS squad were overwhelming most of the Frenchmen, kennyS was pulling clutch-after-clutch to carry his squad. He finished the map 26-18, while the rest of his team went negative. EnvyUs won the map 16-14, despite seized and GuardiaN’s best efforts. They went on to win the series 2-0, and secure kennyS his first and only Major CS:GO title. The mantra of EnvyUs in 2015, and the Titan squad in 2014, was “in Kenny we trust.” He was a star player, but with that status comes ebbs and flows that affect your team. If kennyS wasn’t having a good day, then Titan would struggle. However, six years on, the same problems don’t exist within G2. Sometimes Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač pulls out a huge game, or his cousin Nemanja ‘huNter-’ Kovač does. The team is more well-rounded. While you can put it down to age, kennyS believes it’s an entirely different thing. He might not be playing at his absolute peak on G2, but he’s become a better player — a consistent player — and it’s paying off. “My objective is to — if we are going full transparency, what I’m doing right now — I’ve never done it in my whole career. I’ve never really worked in a constant way. Right now that’s what I want to do, that’s what I’m doing, and that’s what I intend to keep doing,” he told Dexerto. “For the first time in my life I actually feel like my performances are much better than they were a few weeks ago.” He was on fire in 2014… 🔥 But @G2kennyS says returning to that level is not his focus right now… pic.twitter.com/tgIxlJ4IEO — Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 10, 2020 kennyS admits his peak is “not where everyone and myself want [them] to be,” but he’s taking it in his stride as part of G2’s surge to the top of Counter-Strike. He has found a way to weaponize his talent into consistent results through hard work, and it’s rewarding. Read more: How to watch BLAST Premier CS:GO Fall Final – “I feel like everything I’m doing has been rewarded by work and that is a mindset I’ve never had before because I always felt that everything I was doing — all of my performance were related to the fact that I had a special talent,” he said. With NiKo now truly finding his footing in the squad, the pieces are falling in place for G2 to make another run at a Major in 2021 and maybe secure kennyS’ second title.

Karrigan’s CSGO legacy hinges on FaZe success: “We’ll finish with a Major” ELEAGUEEveryday, Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen wakes up to 14-hour days of CSGO. Now in his second stint with FaZe Clan, the veteran IGL has unfinished business with the org, and is determined to capture lasting glory. Karrigan’s hoisted more silverware than some orgs have to their name. Trophies are the goal, no matter where the Dane goes. However, he’s convinced a lasting legacy will only be supplemented with one thing: a Major. It’s, admittedly, a dream shared by many. But at this point in his 14-year career, he’s setting his sights on the “end goal as a player,” as he puts it; and it’s why he’s back in FaZe. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we could be the best team in the world,” he told Dexerto, confidently. FaZe has a wealth of talent already on the team but they need a good IGL to take them to the top — a situation that’s all too familiar. An awkward FaZe CSGO fans could look at this FaZe makeup and draw comparisons between now and the last time Karrigan wore the black-and-red shirt. At the time, in 2017, the team was packed with legends of the game. When they won, it looked great and the FaZe Army marched to multiple top-2 finishes. But when the team lost, it looked awkward. Set plays would be off, clutches ran dry, and rounds would start to mount against them. Voices on their team were loud and plenty. “In my first time with FaZe, I was too much of a ‘democracy-leader,’” he said. The team had its troubles, and it was even more apparent after Karrigan left. Read more: Na’Vi’s biggest flaw exposed again – Regardless, the lineup with Olof ‘olofmeister’ Gustafsson and Ladislav ‘GuardiaN’ Kovács was incredibly strong. They practically lived in the Grand Finals throughout 2017 and took home plenty of hardware to boot. If it wasn’t the unstoppable force of two-time Major winner olof’s rifle, then it was the immovable object of GuardiaN’s AWP that would shut teams down. FaZe’s success was remarkable, but it was just short of legendary. “I feel like I built a boat. I came over to cross the ocean, and right as we have to go into the harbor we fell down and drowned,” Karrigan said, proudly remembering the trophies with FaZe, but clearly thinking of one he doesn’t have: The 2018 Boston Major. GuardiaN and Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač didn’t maintain their form when FaZe needed it the most. Olof was making a strong case for best player at the event until the final, and Håvard ‘Rain’ Nygaard was the highest rated player in the first two maps — that’s not a good thing considering the other names mentioned. As for tactics, well Jake ‘Stewie2k’ Yip was bolstering C9 in a uniquely NA brand of CS. The soon-to-be-crowned MVP Tarik Celik and the rest of the rambunctious Americans would knock down any kind of sophisticated set up Karrigan & Co. made. Watch now: FaZe Clan’s Failed Era The Turkish-American’s 1.43 rating fueled C9 in Game 3. The frag on FaZe’s IGL sealed Tarik’s 4K in the 27th round and sparked the boys-in-blue to a 22-19 Double-OT win to take the Bo3 reverse-sweep. It was a memorable Major for Cloud9 and North America, but a learning experience for Karrigan. “After FaZe, I had to look inward to figure myself out. It was a tough period at the end of FaZe,” he recalled. The Dane fell one round short of glory. He doesn’t want his legacy defined by one trophy, but he knows a Major will lend itself to the “big legacy” he’s after. FaZe Clan 2021: Reborn Now it’s 2021 and Karrigan is running it back with Rain but with superstar Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David, American standout Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken, and rising talent Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants on the team. There’s a mix of seasoned veterans, explosive in-game fraggers, and some rising talent to foster. FaZe’s IGL approached the idea of his team’s prospects with humility. The 30-year-old Dane is stepping into a championship-caliber team built on inconsistent talent. Read more: Top 20 highest earning CSGO pros – If this project is going to work, he’s going to have to draw from what he learned in mousesports and FaZe Clan. “What I learned is that [I couldn’t bring the democracy-leader approach to] mousesports,” he said. On FaZe there were a ton of veterans with even more ideas on how to approach the game. On mousesports, however, he quickly learned that a “one-way street” approach would be more effective. Consider their team at the time, that included a hyper-aggressive AWPer in Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker, star-in-the-making Robin ‘ropz’ Kool, and 16-year-old David ‘frozen’ Čerňanský. But FaZe isn’t mousesports. He had to update his style the first time he “FaZed Up,” then adapt it even further on mouz. And there’ll have be another evolution in 2021. “I have to find the mix of them both, where I still have to keep the players in line, Make sure they understand the philosophy I’m trying to bring to the team, working together as a unit,” he explained. “I always make sure to talk individually with the players. What they like to do, what they don’t like to do. Try to push them in that direction, that I let them play however they want, to begin with. And then I try to force them outside of their comfort zone… In the end, I just have to be the strong voice in the middle of the round.” That’s why Karrigan is going to ask Rain to get comfy playing outside of his lurk position that he’s been doing for years. It’s why a coach and strong supporting cast behind FaZe is vital to his plans. And it’s why coldzera is going to be a strong voice on the team. “If the players work hard, well we can do better than the last FaZe… Having this team behind us, it feels like a completely new situation. It’s not as it used to be.” he said. “I would say [we’re] the reborn of FaZe Clan, or getting-that-Major-we-never-got type of FaZe Clan.” FaZe Clan plays Team Vitality to open their Group B climb in the ESL Pro League on March 13. This lineup is going to be a work-in-progress, but Karrigan has seven months until the 2021 PGL Stockholm Major where a legacy awaits. “I want to re-lift that boat,” he finished. “[I want to] sail it one more time, and this time finish it with a Major win. That’s the reason I am here.”

Karrigan taunts former FaZe teammate NiKo after mousesports Dreamhack Tours win ‘whiffing’ on an easy kill before pulling off a genius clutch to lead his team to glory. The youthful European squad ended up pulling out the event victory, defeating Valiance in the grand finals by a 2-0 scoreline – securing revenge for their group stage meeting. Despite the celebrations, Karrigan turned his attention to the future, and his former teammate NiKo. After taking down huNter, the former FaZe Clan in-game leader immediately wanted NiKo to pay up on a bet between the pair, seemingly based around the idea of Karrigan beating him. However, the CS:GO superstar stated that the win didn’t count because it was against huNter, and not against Niko himself. That prompted Karrigan to up the ante, telling NiKo to prepare for his arrival, as he was the next player on his radar. “That’s the first Kovac gone, coming for next,” he tweeted. While NiKo didn’t have a response, huNter himself chimed in – warning Karrigan about the dangers of taunting the Bosnian prodigy before they do battle in the CS:GO servers. However, considering they were teammates for nearly two years, the Dane knows all about what can happen if NiKo turns on the style. Instead of dropping an additional taunt, he offered his compliments to huNter for the tightly-contested match-up. Hahaha good we don’t have a match yet then :joyful: thank you, your team is not easy to play against and you pushed us really good! — karrigan (@karriganCSGO) May 19, 2019 When will FaZe play Mouz? Karrigan might just be chomping at the bit to get his virtual hands on his former teammate, but he’ll have to wait and hope for some luck, as the two find themselves on opposite sides of the ECS Season 5 Europe bracket. Bar that, the long-time pro will be able to bask in the success of his new team’s first victory at Dreamhack Open Tours – where they scooped up the $50,000 grand prize.

Karrigan insists olofmeister is a “permanent solution” for FaZe ELEAGUEFaZe in-game leader Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen has rejected the notion that Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer is a band-aid solution until the team figure out what to do. Olofmeister is currently in his fifth stint with FaZe after returning to the team in June to fill the slot of then benched player Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David. A two-time Major winner, olofmeister has occasionally struggled for form in recent years, but his reliability remains a constant. Former FaZe member Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač explained in January how olofmeister’s impact transcends mere numbers as the Swedish player has the ability to make those around him better. With olofmeister back on the roster, FaZe reached the semi-finals at IEM Cologne, cementing their status as a LAN team after a long period of online struggle. And karrigan, who returned to FaZe in February after two years with mousesports, has no doubt that olofmeister’s addition and the deep run in Cologne have given the team much-needed stability. “It’s hard, coming into a lineup, to know what’s missing to be number one in the world,” karrigan told Dexerto. “When I came in, Twistzz had just joined, the synergy had changed, and I could see olof’s return making sense, in that he could improve everyone and help other players to perform. “He is a permanent solution. When we took him in, we knew it wasn’t like a two-month thing, but rather something like, ‘Let’s see where we can go with this’. “We know olof, we know what he is capable of and what we can bring to the team. It was not the right time to make a huge gamble before we could see what we were missing. “We’ve been playing together for three months and being ranked top 4 [top 6 now] in the world is a pretty good showing from the team, which lacked confidence for a long time.” A ‘tough’ task FaZe are about to enter a crucial stage of the tournament season. At the end of September, they will attend IEM Fall, the final Regional Major Ranking (RMR) tournament in Europe. A lot is riding on the outcome of that event as FaZe are currently outside of the qualification zone for PGL Major Stockholm. Read more: CS:GO legend Xizt announces retirement – But before that tournament, FaZe will first have to play in the BLAST Premier Fall Groups. Complexity will be their first opponent in a group that also includes NAVI and OG, with question marks hanging all over the ‘Juggernaut’ as they make their first appearance with coldzera, who is replacing the injured Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke. “It’s going to be tough, for sure, we’re playing a team we cannot prepare for,” karrigan explained. “coldzera is a great player, he knows a lot about us and how I think about the game. “I think Complexity have had a tough time lately with stand-ins and now with this unfortunate situation with k0nfig, who is a really important player for the team. “I don’t really know what to expect from them. They have a few passive players now, they’re missing k0nfig, who is a really aggressive player.” Big setback Karrigan is one of the high-profile players who have commented on the alleged complicity of Heroic’s players in the spectator bug use by former team coach Nicolai ‘HUNDEN’ Petersen. On Twitter, the Danish tactician said that, if HUNDEN’s claims are confirmed, he will feel “disgusted” by the players’ role in the scandal and that it will be “a pure disgrace” to the game. If this true about players helping the coach get into the bug, then it is a pure disgrace to what I have been part of for 20 years. I feel so disgusted if all this is true. — karrigan (@karriganCSGO) September 3, 2021 Asked about the impact of this scandal on the Danish CS:GO scene, which for years has been at the highest level in the game, karrigan admitted to being worried. “I don’t want to talk too much about it before there’s a decision,” he said. “I just feel sad. A lot of people have been working hard for the team, have helped these players become what they are today, because they are great players. “It’s bad for Danish CS, which has been a top-three nation in CS:GO for the last seven or eight years. Heroic is the new generation, with young players, and they’ve been fighting to dethrone Astralis. “I’m just sad that this might be true. I feel sad for the players and for everybody in the Danish scene. Some might think I’m happy, but I just think it’s disrespectful that this might have been happening. “If this really is true, it’s a disgrace to what I’ve been a part of for 20 years.”

Karrigan has perfect response to YNk’s Mousesports prediction Counter-Strike: Global Offensive legend Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen took some time to strike back at FaZe Clan coach Janko ‘YNk’ Paunovic’s early season prediction about his new-look Mousesports line-up. In the back end of 2018, the CS:GO community had been expecting a change from the once-great all-star FaZe Clan CS:GO roster after a number of disappointing results and below-par finishes. In the end, it was long-time in-game leader Karrigan who made way – departing the team and taking some time away from the competitive scene. After a break, the legendary Dane returned to Mousesports – the organization he had represented between 2010 and 2013 in two stints – becoming a veteran presence on a team filled with young, rising talent that required a genius tactical mind. The mixed roster finally made their mark with a tournament at Dreamhack Open Tours in May, but not everyone showered them in praise – with YNk responding to a tweet about their potential by claiming that they’d keep winning if they only played in similar level events. Read More: Stuchiu: Top 10 CSGO Players from Oct-Dec – So, with the year coming to a close and Mousesports picking up four tournament wins and a few close top three finished, Karrigan finally responded to the coach of his former team. “Guess I will enjoy this fine aged wine over the Christmas holidays,” he said, quote tweeting YNk and dropping a handful of emojis for good measure. Guess I will enjoy this fine aged wine over the Christmas holidays 🍷👌 https://t.co/oZsCXv74x3 — karrigan (@karriganCSGO) December 23, 2019 Of course, fans love to see a bit of trash talk and playful banter between teams – especially ones like Mouz and FaZe where they get to play with a bit more regularity than others. However, it’s not just the trash talk and tournament wins that Karrigan can laud over his former teammates either. His current line-up sits second behind Astralis in the HLTV world rankings, showing how they’ve come since forming in early 2019. As for FaZe? Well, they currently sit six places below them in eighth spot. For now, the bragging rights belong to Karrigan but his retort might jus the something that YNk can use as motivation for FaZe in 2020.

Karrigan explains why Team Liquid is a ‘tougher challenge’ than Astralis Astralis may be regarded as one of the best CSGO rosters in history, but veteran star Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen has revealed mousesport have a tougher time against NA heroes Team Liquid than the Danish superteam. Liquid and Astralis were two of the hottest topics across most of 2019, as the orgs battled for Counter-Strike supremacy. The North American roster held sway for most of the first half of the year, but was thwarted by their Danish rivals when it mattered most at the Berlin Major. As the year came to a close, however, mousesport emerged as a genuine threat. The new contenders even ousted Astralis personally, delivering the Pro League favorites a 2–1 defeat in the semifinal, and going on to win the whole event. In part due to their success against them in Odense, karrigan explained on the DDK Show, Astralis isn’t the team mouz worries about in the bracket. Instead, that honor goes to NA’s leading team right now, Liquid. That’s not to say karrigan believes Liquid are simply a better team than Astralis – there’s few that would echo that belief right now. What makes Liquid so great against Mouz specifically, however, is their “explosive” individual prowess. “I think Liquid are a very explosive team, they’re really good in the scrappy rounds, and when it comes to us, we have an issue with these scrappy rounds, so they can really turn the momentum in the rounds because of that,” he explained. Read more: Stuchiu: The Two Holes in Na`Vi’s Death Star – “They win these small ecos, or have on AK and a few pistols. They’re really good at winning those games with their individual skill. Liquid’s play-style is based around their individual stars popping off, and I think they’re the strong individual team.” On the other side of the coin, Astralis are a known quantity. They may be near-unstoppable in their calculated, controlled playstyle, but you know what is coming. You can prepare for it, and build strategies against their plans. “Astralis, I feel, are different [to Liquid’s crazy style]… they’re a different team,” karrigan continued. “They don’t suddenly go off, and someone is pushing randomly and kills three people in the back. That’s why we might have issues with Liquid.” That struggle against their North American rivals has been quite apparent as mousesports have made the bid to return to the upper echelons of the circuit. Their last two meetings at major events, in Odense for the Pro League, and Berlin for the last Major, saw Liquid towel mouz up. Both times, the NA squad was able to win 2–0, though three of the four maps went to overtime. For mobile readers, the related segment in the video below begins at 29:52. Overall, however, mouz have stormed back into the discussion as a leading team heading into 2020, and victories over the likes of Astralis, Evil Geniuses, and Fnatic – including their 3–0 EPL final win over Fnatic – have proven they’re back. Mousesport’s next chance to reverse their unwanted scorecard against TL may have to wait a little while too, as they head in different directions. While Liquid is competing in the BLAST Premier series in two weeks, Mouz are bound for the GG.Bet ICE Challenge, meaning it may be a month before the two could potentially meet in Katowice for the first Major of the year.

Karrigan confirms FaZe return after leaving Mousesports CSGO ELeagueMousesports have confirmed the departure of legendary in-game leader Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen as he makes his return to FaZe Clan after two years away. Having a lineup of star players who can rip off headshots with ease is one way for Counter-Strike teams to go, but they rarely succeed without a real in-game leader (IGL). Someone to organize the troops is just as key. Karrigan has always been one of CS:GO’s premier IGL’s, leading star-studded lineups to multiple event wins and creating a system that is hard to beat. After a few years with FaZe’s all-star roster, the Danish Counter-Strike legend returned to Mousesports in 2019, leading a roster of young stars. But now, he has parted ways with the organization and returned to his previous home. Karrigan leaves Mouz’s CSGO roster The news came early in the morning on February 15, with Mouz tweeting their well wishes to Karrigan and reflecting on his multiple stints under their banner. “Time to say goodbye. Thank you Karrigan for captaining our CS:GO team in the past 23 months and all the best in your next endeavor,” they said. “Both parties mutually agreed on a contract termination in time before #IEM Katowice.” The Danish pro responded almost an hour later, saying he was “coming home” to FaZe after a spell away. Time to say goodbye. 🎶 Thank you @karriganCSGO for captaining our CS:GO team in the past 23 months and all the best in your next endeavor. Both parties mutually agreed on a contract termination in time before #IEM Katowice. 2010-2012, 2013, 2014, 2019-2021, ? F in chat pic.twitter.com/w7ouNjVK0T — MOUZ (@mousesports) February 15, 2021 I’m coming home #FaZeUp @FaZeClan pic.twitter.com/029v9Ns5JE — karrigan (@karriganCSGO) February 15, 2021 As for who will replace Karrigan on Mouz’s lineup, well, that’s already been confirmed as former Renegades player Christopher ‘Dexter’ Nong. Mousesports roster Ropz – Dexter – Bymas – Frozen – acoR – ChrisJ (Bench, loaned to FunPlus Phoenix) – In returning to FaZe, Karrigan will be filling the spot left by Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer Gustafsson after he departed the squad following a decent showing at BLAST Premier Springs group stage. FaZe roster Coldzera – Twistzz – Rain – Broky – Karrigan –

Kameto on Karmine Corp’s CSGO expansion: “It is being considered” Karmine CorpKarmine Corp president Kamel ‘Kameto’ Kebir has confirmed that the organization is looking into the possibility of expanding into CS:GO, potentially before the BLAST Paris Major. Over the past two years, Karmine Corp, or simply KCorp, has become one of the fastest-growing and most popular esports organizations in Europe, with sold-out events in France, marquee player signings and record-breaking viewership numbers. Earlier this week, Karmine Corp reached an important milestone as they made it into Riot Games’ international Valorant league in the EMEA region. This despite the fact that the organization has only been in the game since May and that its team, made up of French players, is not even the best in the country, finishing 3rd-4th in VRL: Revolution Stage 2. Karmine Corp’s entrance into the international league is a clear indication that Riot Games respects the tremendous growth that the French organization has experienced in its short existence. For many in France, Karmine Corp’s expansion into CS:GO would bring a level of excitement that has not been around in years. Once one of the greatest powers in the CS:GO scene, with two Major titles, France has faded into the background despite producing Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut, a two-time player of the year. Asked about a potential expansion into CS:GO, Kameto said that he is keeping a close eye on the scene. “CS is a real topic today,” the Karmine Corp president told 1pv. “It is being considered, I have said this on stream myself. We are talking about it inside the org, to see if we’ll do it. “There are a lot of things on the table right now. After that, we will have a lot of time to breathe, to reflect, and decide if KCorp will come to CS, how that will happen, and with whom.” Kameto acknowledged that he has been watching “a lot of CS these days” as he wants to know more about the space to be able to make an informed decision. “Before I potentially come to a game I am interested in, I try to watch the scene a lot just to understand what the stakes are, what’s important, what makes the audience tick and what’s going to make me want to watch for example KCorp in CS,” he explained. The Paris Major There might not be a better time for Karmine Corp to enter CS:GO, with BLAST set to organize in May 2023 a major in Paris — the first Valve-sponsored event hosted in France. For Kameto, having a Major in his backyard is “obviously a motivation” to get into the game. “We did a KCX [in-person event with 12,000 spectators] in a month, so why not get a CS roster in a month?” he asked, laughing. If Karmine Corp do expand into CS:GO, it will not be with the intention of dominating the game right out of the gate. Kameto says there are two possible routes that the could organization could follow: a Last Dance project with veterans, similar to the one Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo assembled this year, or a team that might be less headline-grabbing but that can grow over time. “Being top 1 right away is very complicated, I think, if you don’t have a lot of money, etc.” he said. “We don’t come from CS. It would be a bit unnatural to spend millions to get the best players left and right and be top 1. “Even if we are in LEC and in the Valorant league, I think we can still be in CS. You don’t need millions to be in CS, it depends on what you want. We will not come with a top 1 project, but with the goal of reaching the top.”

k0nfig weighs in on solutions for “messed up” ESL Pro League crowd drama Complexity Gaming star Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke has weighed in on the CSGO debate surrounding active fan participation, and suggested implementing player booths might solve the recent “messed up” ESL Pro League crowd drama. During mousesports’ shock upset over the era-defining Astralis roster at Odense, it appeared the Danish crowd was offering their hometown heroes extra help through cheers and yells, helping Andreas ‘Xyp9x’ Højsleth score a stunning wallbang. Of course, many were less than pleased with Astralis’ taking advantage of the noise, especially after Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen was involved the help after damning the same situation when it went against his team in New York. Now Counter-Strike veteran k0nfig has offered his own thoughts on the situation, suggesting closed-in player booths may be the best option for tournament organizers after admitting every player, including himself, uses the crowd at times. “I hope I don’t get banned, but even I sometimes use [the crowd]… if you’re flashing, you can hear in the speaker if the flash explodes, and you know they’re blind and you know someone is near you,” k0nfig explained on HLTV’s podcast. “You use it to your advantage all the time, and when you’re sitting at home you can’t use it, so I don’t think it should be a possible thing to use at tournaments. “You see shox [Vitality’s Richard ‘shox’ Papillon] and all these types of players shaking their aim at the wall as well, and if the crowd shouts “Yeah!” then you know he’s right there, and you’re going to shoot him. I don’t think that should be an option in Counter-Strike, that’s messed up.” According to the Complexity star, who spent the past two years representing OpTic Gaming at various majors before making the switch to the NA roster, the best solution for events would be silenced player booths with one-way mirrors. “If everyone had booths where the glass was black on [the player’s] side, but fans can see in, that would be the perfect solution, but that removes some kind of player involvement things, you don’t feel the crowd as much,” he said. “You can’t see every movement [with that], and the players would be completely boxed in. That’s the only problem I have with that idea really.” Wienecke admitted that there were some issues with booths that meant TOs weren’t always willing to look into the option, including US fire regulations, and the fact the players were locked away from participation at all. Considering many fans pay their money for tickets to see the game’s biggest stars up close, interacting with the crowd, celebrating their victories, and mourning their defeats, removing that element would kill a major part of LAN-event hype. Despite those counter-points, k0nfig concluded the integrity of the tournament, and the safety of players, were the two most important factors in the discussion. “I feel the booths are totally better because [without them] you can hear claps, and you can hear everything that is happening,” he added. “I was at Blast [Pro Series], and I was sitting next to the confetti explosion, and when we were playing it went off and I got the biggest shock of my life. I thought I got killed at the tournament, that’s how bad it was. “Same thing at Katowice, I was standing behind that fire sh*t and it f**cking blew up and I was touching my head because it smelled burned. I thought ‘this guy just burned my head off.’ I think booths are the safest choice, that’s my idea.” K0nfig’s soundproof booth idea has been echoed by other players too, including Astralis’ Xyp9x, who said if it was done “properly” then there wouldn’t be a problem with the crowd’s “undue outside sound” interfering with matches. While there’s many in the CSGO community that would likely fall on either side of the argument, there’s no clear solution straight off the bat — especially considering other esports have forgone soundproof booths in recent years. Starcraft was renowned for using soundproof booths, leading South Korea’s League of Legends competition to employ a similar setup. This was scrapped by Riot Games in the LCK recently, however, to promote crowd participation. For now, CSGO faces a waiting game: the player’s association and organizers will have to settle on a new course of action, hopefully before a massive tournament or Major is decided by one boisterous fan in the crowd.

k0nfig to make CSGO LAN return at BLAST Premier World Final Adela Sznajder/ESL Gaming via ESPATFormer Astralis pro Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke will play for Heroic as a stand-in at the BLAST Premier World Final, sources told Dexerto. The move has now been confirmed by the organization. The 25-year-old has been called in as a substitute for Heroic at the year-end event, replacing Martin ‘stavn’ Lund in Abu Dhabi. k0nfig has been without a team since October, when his contract was terminated by Astralis. The decision came as Astralis began to rebuild their squad in the off-season after it had failed to qualify for the IEM Rio Major — a huge blow for the winningest team at CS:GO Majors. k0nfig steps in for Heroic, replacing stavn The move was confirmed by the org itself on December 4, with k0nfig replacing stavn as expected. Their statement read: “Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke will be replacing Martin “stavn” Lund for the BLAST World Final 2022. The decision has been made a while ago to give Martin some rest after a long year and a 2023 season where we as a team wish to start our preparation for the year early. “We believe Kristian is the best possible replacement when exploring our options. Despite not having stavn with us for the World Final, we hope to continue our good form and Kristian is a great player that is hungry to show the world he has a place in the absolute top of CS:GO.” k0nfig played no part in the European qualifier for the Major after being involved in an altercation with a nightclub promoter in Malta during ESL Pro League Season 16. The incident left the player with a complicated ankle fracture. In a November 11 exclusive interview with Dexerto, k0nfig said that he felt ready to return to action and that he had been working on his personal problems with the help of a therapist. “I want to play,” he said. “I feel like my life, right now, is the perfect situation. I’ve messed up. I’ve forgiven [myself]. I definitely think that it’s the right call.” Heroic are one of the most in-form teams in the world right now and are in prime position to end the year as No.1 in the rankings after finishing runners-up at the IEM Rio Major and winning the BLAST Premier Fall Final. The BLAST Premier World Final will take place in Abu Dhabi from December 14 to 18, with eight teams in attendance and a $1 million prize pool. The tournament, which will bring the curtain down on the season, will be the first tier-one LAN event to feature Anubis, the community-created map that has been added to the Active Duty map pool instead of Dust2.

k0nfig reportedly set to join Astralis CS:GO squad from Complexity IEMA new report claims that Counter-Strike pro Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke could be joining Astralis after his contract with Complexity ends. k0nfig hasn’t played in a competitive CSGO match with Complexity since breaking his wrist in a freak accident in August 2021. Now, according to a new report from jaxon.gg, the Danish pro could be on a new team fairly soon. That team would be Astralis. According to jaxon, “multiple sources” told the site that k0nfig could be close to trading in his blue star in for a red one. When k0nfig was injured, Complexity quickly brought in coldzera to serve as a stand-in until the 24-year-old was ready to roll again. Now, according to this new report, it seems that the Brazilian might be more than just a stand-in. k0nfig definitely experienced a resurgence on Complexity, and the rifler’s skills would certainly be welcome on Astralis, but the lynchpin to this whole story is the fact his contract is reportedly set to expire in the near future. According to jaxon, multiple sources confirmed to them that the Danish pro’s contract with Complexity expires on January 1, 2022. This might seem like a long time off, but keep in mind k0nfig also has that wrist injury to rehab from before he can come back fully. This timing could make for a very lucrative deal — for both sides. Astralis would be able to sign k0nfig when he’s all healed up without buying out his contract, and Complexity could get plenty of playing and practice with coldzera in his spot in the meantime. MOBILITY IS GOOD, NO PAIN, REHAB NOW AND ABSOLUTE DOMINATION SOON. FUCK YES — Kristian Wienecke (@k0nfig) September 15, 2021 Astralis, Complexity, and k0nfig all have yet to comment on jaxon’s report, and we might not hear anything until the official announcement — if the deal ever happens, that is. Wienecke seems intent on coming back from this wrist injury guns a blazing, but the question of which team he’ll be competing for suddenly just got a whole lot more interesting.

k0nfig ready to restart pro CSGO career: “Astralis kick has ignited a fire in me” BLAST/PGLDanish CS:GO star Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke details his journey to recovery and self-improvement after being in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as he aims to find a new team for 2023. “I’m ready to return,” k0nfig says with assurance. He seems relaxed and content with where he is at this point, a sharp contrast to how he felt just two months ago after the traumatic experience that saw him fear for his life. The moon boot protecting his fractured right ankle — which he will still need to wear for another six weeks — is the only thing giving away that he was involved in a scuffle with a nightclub promoter in Malta, where he was competing with his then team, Astralis, in ESL Pro League Season 16. The incident cost him his spot on Astralis’ team, which missed him in the European RMR tournament and unsurprisingly failed to qualify for the IEM Rio Major. It also forced him to look inward and battle his demons. It is not the first time k0nfig has had to face up to such a battle. Earlier in his career, he was held back by his outsized personality and work ethic, unable to realize the potential that many had seen in him when he burst onto the scene in 2015. “The tragedy of k0nfig” was how Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields described his career in a 2019 article published on Dexerto, prompting an emotional response from the player. “I have been a bad professional and spent my hours wrong,” k0nfig wrote on Twitter at the time. “I have been an arrogant idiot thinking everything would come easy which it never will. It’s very sad that it has reached this point before I realized it. I won’t look the other way anymore and try to hide. This is my return.” On the surface, it may look like k0nfig has relapsed and gone back to bad habits, but he insists that’s not the case. “If you put those two periods next to each other, I guess it would feel a little bit of the same,” he says. “But I don’t think my mentality, my focus, or my drive to play the game are the way they were back then. I feel like the arrogance and the things that made me a bad teammate have disappeared from my life.” k0nfig says that he is turning his situation around with the help of a psychologist he sees two to three times a week. He is continuing the process of personal development that began years ago, during his time on Dignitas and North, as he looks to “tweak the little things that make me a worse person than I want to be.” He adds: “I want to be a perfectionist in being a good teammate and a good guy toward everyone. There are always things to work on, and that’s what I’m doing right now.” In that journey of introspection, he also dug deep into the root causes of another altercation that got him in trouble. At IEM Cologne, one month before the scuffle in Malta, he was reportedly intoxicated and behaved aggressively toward ESL broadcast talent and hotel staff, with police called to the scene. “Drinking definitely triggers something in me,” he says. “When I’m too drunk and I happen to end up in a situation where I feel embarrassed or I feel that someone has done something to me, I get really emotional. If I don’t drink hard liquor, like whiskey, I don’t get those feelings. “So I decided that the best solution is to stop drinking and being up super late. To be honest, you don’t get that much from drinking anyway. It’s just a safe haven to escape real life. And I need to face real life to evolve into a different person. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m going to take my life in a more professional way and think about the situations I am in and the people I am with.” For a while, k0nfig was one of the most talked-about players in the CS:GO scene for the wrong reasons as he saw some of his darkest moments dissected in public over multiple news stories, each one revealing just a little more about those episodes. k0nfig thinks that the way the media portrayed his behavior in those two incidents was not entirely correct, though he admits there is some regret in calling Jaxon’s report about the Malta altercation “mostly BS” without even explaining what wasn’t accurate about it. “I shouldn’t have written ‘mostly bulls**t’ but ‘a little misunderstanding,’” he says now. “It definitely felt like they tried to write me as the aggressor. I did something wrong, but it wasn’t like how they wrote in the article. So yeah, I regret it a little bit, honestly. I should have been a bit more open. I felt that it was unnecessary for me to come out and tell my side of the story because it was just so overwhelming for me as a person. “The incident that happened in Cologne was just me getting too drunk. It’s a weird situation because it felt like it could have easily been avoided and then it escalated into something it shouldn’t have, and the media is going to write it up like it’s some massive thing that happened. The other guy and I talked it out and agreed that we can still speak to each other, smile, and give each other fist bumps and stuff like that.” k0nfig is determined to move on from those episodes and be “a professional player at all times” as he looks to get his career back on track. “Everyone makes mistakes. Mine were just public. It definitely hurt. I just need to get back to focusing on Counter-Strike and not make mistakes in my own life.” Leaving Astralis “I mean-” k0nfig pauses for a few seconds as he thinks about how to respond. The question was whether he was surprised that he was dismissed by Astralis in the aftermath of the Malta scuffle. Reactions to his release fell into two camps. There were those who considered that k0nfig deserved to be shown the door after being involved in altercations, one of which potentially cost his team a spot at the Major. But at the same time, some argued that, by dismissing k0nfig, Astralis were not offering one of their most prized assets the support and rehabilitation he needed. In announcing k0nfig’s departure, Astralis said that both parties had “agreed on a cancellation” of the contract. Kasper Hvidt, Director of Sports at Astralis, explained that it was necessary to give k0nfig “space and time [to recover] without the constant pressure of having to get back and play.” In reality, however, k0nfig seemingly had little say in the matter. “I was a little bit surprised, to be honest,” he notes. “I really wanted to be part of the team after I got some help and my foot was healed. But I also understand their decision to let me go because it’s hard for me to get back into a team after I let them down like that, before the Major qualifier. “I definitely believe that the decision was made by the organization. I don’t think it was made by the players.” k0nfig says that he exchanged brief messages with his teammates after the incident and that they were all very supportive of him. “They wanted to wish me good luck with the surgeries,” he says. “I admire everyone on the team. I think they’re really good guys. They said they’re sorry that I’m not coming back to them.” k0nfig spent nearly a year with Astralis after signing with the organization in November 2021 alongside his Complexity teammate and compatriot Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer. They arrived during a transition period for a team that had lost Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz earlier that year and was trying to start a new era as Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen, Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif and Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen were also on their way out. The first impressions were impressive as Astralis placed third at the BLAST Premier Fall Final, in Copenhagen, but it went downhill from there. A semi-final run at IEM Cologne 2022 was one of the few elite tournaments where the team managed to reach the playoffs. At PGL Major Antwerp, they could not even go beyond the Challenger Stage. Individually, k0nfig’s form suffered from peaks and falls. In some tournaments, he was the team’s second star and the principal wingman to blameF; in others, he struggled to even post above-average numbers. This is the reason, k0nfig explains, that he revealed in the summer that he had been “mentally up and down”. He says that it was hard for him to find consistency in his game and build confidence in a team where he was constantly the one who had to find solutions to unlock games — pointing to the struggles experienced by the AWPers, Philip ‘Lucky’ Ewald and then Asger ‘Farlig’ Jensen. “I think there was a little bit of misunderstanding of roles within the team,” he says. “We had too many defensive players, so I had to do something aggressive all the time. And of course, our AWPers had a hard time, Farlig and also Lucky. “I felt like I had to do more stuff for the team than actually focusing on myself. I had to take chances. I felt like when I had bad games, opponents were just shutting me down to avoid me getting into good situations. And the rest of the team was a little bit too passive for me to get into good positions. So when I got shut down in games, it felt like it was just a passive team.” There was a certain sense of irony that Astralis re-signed Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz after k0nfig was gone. The Danish AWPer, who is returning from a year away from action due to mental health reasons, is exactly the sort of player k0nfig wished he had by his side during his time on the team to take some of the load off of him. It was the second time in k0nfig’s career that he had missed a potential career-defining moment. The first had been in 2018, when he was on Astralis’ shortlist to join the team after Markus ‘Kjaerbye’ Kjærbye’s sudden departure. In the end, zonic picked Magisk after being left unimpressed by k0nfig’s attitude during the interview process. That team went on to establish a dynasty. “It feels like I’m setting up tripwires to make things harder for me,” he says. “It feels like every single time I’m close to having success, I’m stumbling over something, making a mistake and doing something stupid. “I’ve been talking to my psychologist about changing my views and how I behave in situations where there’s the possibility that I mess up. We’ve been talking about how I should think more about my life, focus on feeling good and being happy, and remove the situations where I can make mistakes. And also share my honest opinion. That’s really important for me as well. “I’ve definitely been setting up tripwires for myself, but I’m slowly taking them down.” Despite the fact that his Astralis tenure ended on a sour note, k0nfig does not close the door on a return to the team, be it now or sometime in the future. He says that dev1ce’s return alone will not fix everything and that the team will still need someone just like him to return to the top. “It’s definitely sad that I missed out on that opportunity, but I think that there’s still a way for me to grind and maybe get the opportunity to once again,” he says. “I don’t think that the door is shut. I feel like the door is still open.” “I know it might sound a bit funny, but getting kicked by Astralis has ignited a fire in me. When you have the feeling in your body that you just want to let go and quit, and then you realize that is not what life is meant to be for you, then you definitely feel the motivation at its highest.” If they invited him back today, would he take the offer? “I think I would, to be honest,” he says. “I still think that Astralis is a good team. They’ve done so many good things for me as an individual and as a player. I definitely feel like I can forgive and they can forgive as well. We are all grown-ups. Sometimes mistakes happen, both from my end and theirs. “So yes, I’d be able to forgive and forget.” Returning to action Regardless of how much k0nfig would like to have another chance with Astralis, he won’t sit back and wait for the phone to ring. He’s already taking the steps to bounce back, playing FACEIT pugs, Deathmatch, surf maps and KZ daily to keep his skills sharp with a view to returning to competition when the new season starts in 2023. He has been approached by a number of teams and organizations, but he will wait some time before making a decision on his future as he waits for more offers to come. He says he has no preference between a Danish team or an international project, stating that his priority is to find a group of players with whom he can build a rapport — something that was a bit missing on Astralis, where he says he never truly felt at home. “I want to be part of a well-built team where I feel like I belong, with five players who are dynamic together,” he says. “I want to feel that there’s a friendship between teammates from the get-go and that it’s a home for me. You know, like when you join the server or when you’re in a tournament and you just want to achieve the same things. That’s what I want.” k0nfig says that he has the blessing of his psychologist to start looking for a team and compete again, but that doesn’t mean the end of the therapy sessions. “I’m still going to use her as a rock to get the rest out of my system,” he says, challenging any team that doubts his resolve and mental state to reach out. “I want to play,” he says. “I feel like my life, right now, is the perfect situation. I’ve messed up. I’ve forgiven [myself]. I definitely think that it’s the right call.” k0nfig is determined to show that he has navigated this obstacle in his life and is committed to self-improvement in his personal life. He wants his game to be the only thing he is known for and let the other stuff, the outside-the-game antics, the bad rap, and the distractions, in the past. Inside the server, he also believes that he is still evolving. Oozing his trademark confidence, he says that he still feels at the peak of his individual powers. “I don’t think I am past my prime,” he says. “I still think I can outplay everyone and dominate the server,” he says. “I feel like I have not yet become the player I want to be. Of course, being in the top 20 HLTV player ranking again would be really nice individually, but I also want to prove that I can improve teams and make them a better unit. I want to win tournaments, so there’s a lot that I want to achieve.”

K0nfig leaves Complexity CSGO amid Astralis reports ComplexityCSGO star k0nfig and Complexity have parted ways after nearly two years together, as the Danish star has been linked with a move to Astralis. Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke has been recovering from a broken wrist suffered in August 2021. The 24-year-old said he was progressing well in late September and was thrilled with his progress ahead of his return to pro play. When he does come back, however, it won’t be for the Dallas Cowboys partner org he’s been on since late 2019. On October 7, Complexity bid k0nfig a farewell after the CSGO pro decided to play elsewhere for the rest of 2021 and beyond. konfig joining Astralis CSGO? Today, we say goodbye to the SP34RM4N as he has chosen a different direction for 2022. We wish you the best of luck moving forward, @k0nfigCS. #WeAreCOL pic.twitter.com/0LJ2FNrYsP — Complexity ✭ (@Complexity) October 7, 2021 “Thanks Complexity for being a great home,” he said. “Thanks to the team blameF, es3tag, RUSH, poizon, and jks. “Great friendships and incredible teammates. I wish you guys the best and hopefully our paths will cross. I’ll regain strength for next year and show dominance.” This comes after reports linked k0nfig with a move to his native Denmark to play for Astralis. But his contract is said to end on January 1, 2022, making him a valuable target for Complexity to deal out. A talent like k0nfig would be able to fetch a handsome fee from loaded orgs or teams looking to compete for the upcoming Stockholm Major. As for the red-and-black, months after they lost star Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz to Ninjas in Pyjamas, the team hasn’t been able to regain their form. Astralis has been treading water, plugging in Lucas ‘Bubzkji’ Andersen and Philip ‘Lucky’ Ewald to fill the large void left by dev1ce. Thanks @Complexity for being a great home. Thanks to the team @blameFFFFF @es3tag @RUSH @poizonCSGO @COL_jks , great friendships and incredible teammates. I wish you guys the best and hopefully our paths will cross. I’ll regain strength for next year and show dominance ❤️— Kristian Wienecke (@k0nfig) October 7, 2021 If roster rumors turn out to be true, Astralis could be loading up for a deep run at the PGL Major Stockholm 2021. Losing a talent like dev1ce set the Danish org in a tumble that it’s yet to fully recover from and a healthy k0nfig could be the toll they need to reverse their fortunes. Astralis still have the majority of their core that led them to a historic hights in CSGO, and we’ll see if they make a move for k0nfig soon.

Juggernaut vs Colossus: How Cloud9 shocked Complexity @ Blast Fall Showdown The head-to-head between Complexity’s reformed Juggernaut and Cloud9’s Colossus was a matchup the CS:GO community were waiting to go down, and their clash at the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Showdown didn’t disappoint. The hype around HenryG’s C9 was just starting to take shape with matchday results. But many saw their match against a Complexity side who had already booked a trip to the Blast Global Finals in 2021 as the Colossus’ first real test. Backed by IGL Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer, Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke, and latest addition Justin ‘jks’ Savage, the Juggernauts were seen as favorites against the new Cloud9 roster. Complexity managed to take the first map off of impressive clutch moments and a more cohesive structure in navigating Cloud9’s Nuke pick. Something that is expected from a core lineup who’s been together for a year. C9 didn’t start the series with a win, but they did show an aggressive T-side that got them up to 10-5 after the first half. But Juggernauts hit back even harder when it was their turn to attack, only giving up three rounds on their way to a 16-13 win. The rest of the series saw the premier headlines shine: Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker’s AWP against his old team, IGL’s blameF and ‘Alex’ McMeekin masterminding plays, and star players Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen versus jks. The matchup resulted in a shocking upset win for C9, but the duel formed a new narrative around the two storied orgs who are embarking in their next eras.

Jks has been awful for Complexity | Richard Lewis reacts at BLAST Global Finals Richard Lewis reacts to Justin ‘jks’ Savage’s recent performances with Complexity after they were knocked out of BLAST Global Finals, even expressing his shock that Valentin ‘poizon’ Vasilev stand-in Jakob ‘JUGi’ Hansen was out-fragging the Australian. He also sits down to analyze the stats behind jks’s last 40 maps, stating that his showings aren’t good enough for someone playing at the highest level. Is there a way back for jks at Complexity? Richard isn’t sure. Complexity has a lot of problems right now, further amplified by the unfortunate emergency surgery of poizon that has led to a shake-up in the dynamics of the team’s performances in tournaments. Initially, there was a lot of hope for jks joining the team, especially with Owen ‘oBo’ Schlatter previously leaving play. Prior to day 3’s matches, though, it appeared as if the pick up could have been an upgrade with the addition of the Danish star, but the team, and especially jks’ performance, left much to be desired. According to Richard, he might very well be one of the most well-played pros within the scene currently, and at 25 years old, the experienced star player should have fit right in with the dynamic of the team. However, having played 40 maps with around only 16 positive scores for the player, something has got to give. With rumors of Australian team EXTREMUM picking up the star instead, and jks’ demeanor looking as if everyone knows the fit isn’t working, 2021 may continue to keep redefining the Counter-Strike scene. For all CS:GO news and event information, make sure to head over to our dedicated hub.

Jkaem reportedly set to relink with ex-100 Thieves teammates at Extremum ESLJoakim ‘jkaem’ Myrbostad is reportedly eyeing a reunion with his former 100 Thieves teammates AZR, Liazz, and Gratisfaction, as the Oceanic CSGO core prepares to ink a team deal with Russian org Extremum. The Norwegian veteran has been playing for Apeks since leaving 100 Thieves, but has reportedly been eager to re-link with his former teammates. The team, including its Oceanic core, was cut loose in November, after joining 100 Thieves from Renegades in late 2019. Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag’s esports organization made the call to depart CSGO again after just eight months across 2020, leaving the squad orgless. Many expected the 100 Thieves roster to go their separate ways following the split. Jkaem returned to Norway, while Jay “Liazz” Tregillgas has been heavily linked with a move to Gen.G. Four of the five roster members may be relinking at Extremum, however, according to new reports from DBLTap. Only Justin “jks” Savage, who joined Complexity, will not be rejoining the squad under the Russian org’s fledgling banner. The lineup’s Oceanic core and jkaem have played together with multiple organizations over the past two years. Renegades was their first home, with Sean “Gratisfaction” Kaiwai and Liazz joining from Grayhound Gaming and ORDER respectively in late 2018. The squad then made back-to-back Major finals in 2019, finishing 5th-8th in Katowice before an even loftier 3rd-4th finish — and a $70k payday — in Berlin six months later. 100 Thieves scooped up the OCE team soon after, and recorded a seventh-place run at the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals. Those same results couldn’t be replicated in the online era, however, with third at DreamHack their best finish. If the rumors prove true, this pickup will be a big win for Extremum. Little is known about the Russian org, which is helmed by business development manager Emir Udvincic. The roster is expected to compete in Europe starting from 2021. If all three OCE stars and jkaem join the lineup, they will need just one more player to round out the team — possibly a Russian player to keep with the organization’s eastern roots. Extremum is currently active in Dota 2 esports with a Baltic roster.

Jkaem “excited” about CSGO future: “I feel I’ve still got it” Igor Bezborodov/StarLadderIn an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Joakim ‘jkaem’ Myrbostad reflected on EXTREMUM’s failed qualification efforts for PGL Major Stockholm and the organization’s decision to bench the entire roster. The Norwegian player is currently exploring his options after EXTREMUM benched their CS:GO roster in the aftermath of the team’s failure to qualify for PGL Major. EXTREMUM were ranked third in North America’s Regional Major Rankings (RMR) ahead of IEM Fall with a rather comfortable lead over their closest suitors. However, they cut a frustrated figure in the tournament and finished in sixth place. In the end, they were leapfrogged by Evil Geniuses, paiN Gaming, and GODSENT in the RMR standings. It’s been quite the fall from grace for Oceania’s most storied CS:GO team. Just two years ago, playing under Renegades’ banner, they were leaving the StarLadder Major as heroes after reaching the semi-finals — the furthest that a team from the region had ever gone at a tournament of this stature. “Obviously, I’m gutted,” he told Dexerto. “It’s what we worked for and what kept the team together over the last year, I’d say. “Going to the semi-finals at the last Major and now not being able to attend this one is crazy. But it’s been two years, so it’s not like we deserve to automatically qualify for the Major. And we started [the RMR process] with some points, so we definitely had like a head start. “But the only thing that I could say is that this last RMR meant so much. The previous ones meant nothing in comparison. There are teams that didn’t even play the first one that placed top five and got the Major spot. We were third in the previous one and sixth in this one and we didn’t reach the Major. “It’s a bit of a bitter feeling, to be honest.” EXTREMUM’s issues As shocking as it is to see ‘The Boys’ miss out on the first Major in two years, the foreboding signs were there. The team had spent most of the year outside the top 30 in HLTV’s world ranking and, apart from competing in the RMRs, had made only sporadic appearances in tier-two European tournaments and quite often with mixed results. Discover more: Dexerto launches ‘Pop Flash’ CSGO show ahead of PGL Major – In March 2021, EXTREMUM captain Aaron ‘AZR’ Ward had already alerted that the players didn’t have the best mentality going into these grueling European tournaments, which often break unprepared teams, regardless of how accomplished they are. Jkaem admitted that, even though practice results were encouraging to some degree, he “definitely feared” that the team could falter at IEM Fall. In his opinion, the lack of proper planning over the course of the year hurt them in the end. “With 100 Thieves, we had all the event spots, we were partnered with ESL and BLAST,” he said. “Going into EXTREMUM, we ended up with no spots, so we were left to play lower-tier tournaments. “I think we had the wrong mindset at the start of the year. We should have just played these tournaments and grinded everything that was possible to grind. But instead, we were like, ‘Ah, we deserve better’, that type of feeling. If we could re-do the year, I think we would have played everything, honestly. “I think we expected things to be a bit easier. It was like, ‘we’re just going to bring back everything from 100 Thieves, we were doing well in the end, we were in many finals in a row in NA’. And things wouldn’t be that hard, but in a couple of months, CS developed, and now these teams were working hard and shooting hard. “And people had to adapt to some new roles. Liazz, for example, had a different role when jks was on the team. He took over jks’ role, but they’re not the same type of player. So it was a little bit about the roles and a little bit about underestimating the hard work that needed to be done at the start.” Counter-Strike future EXTREMUM are yet to announce their future plans, with a decision expected shortly. The Russian organization are currently entertaining offers for all members of the team. Jkaem said that he was somewhat surprised that EXTREMUM opted against rebuilding the roster for 2022. Besides spending big to keep their Oceanic trio and Indonesian star Hansel ‘BnTeT’ Ferdinand in Europe, EXTREMUM also made a serious effort to produce unique, original content around the squad all year long. “I think we all were aware that there was a chance that it might happen,” jkaem said when asked about EXTREMUM’s decision. “We knew that they had put a lot of resources into this project. And we didn’t have the hardest path to the Major, so we should have made it. “That was their main goal and our own. So when we failed to reach that goal, we knew there was a chance. “I thought that maybe they would cut some players, make some changes, and rebuild the team because they had invested so heavily into this first year of CS. So in some way, I was a little bit surprised, but we were aware that this could happen.” Quizzed on his future, jkaem stated he doesn’t know what he will do just yet, though he ruled out a transition to Valorant. “I’m too old to switch games,” he said, laughing. “All I can say is that a few teams have reached out,” he added, “so there could be something in the making.” Not done yet It is nearly a year to the day since jkaem left the Australian team and 100 Thieves, and signed for Norwegian organization Apeks with the goal of contributing to the development of his local scene. Two months later, he was out the door, bringing his short tenure with Apeks to a surprising end. The prospect of reuniting with his former Renegades and 100 Thieves teammates proved too tempting to pass up. This time around though, it’s a different story. “I don’t think the [EXTREMUM] group is going to stick together,” he said. “Maybe like a duo could stick together, but I think that people might go their separate ways.” Jkaem is confident that he still has plenty to offer teams in need of an experienced entry fragger, pointing to his EXTREMUM form as an indicator that he can “still deliver on a high level”. Despite EXTREMUM’s shortcomings, he was always a reliable performer for the team. He finished IEM Fall with a tournament-high 1.35 HLTV rating, also topping the event’s charts for ADR (95.9), kills per round (0.88), impact (1.49) and headshots per round (0.48). “I feel in good shape individually,” he said. “I believe I put in good numbers and I’m a role player. I play pretty hard entry and I’m also very aggressive on the CT side as well. So sometimes that might not be the easiest role to play. “When it comes to achieving things, I’ve been in a bunch of semi-finals and a couple of finals, but have never lifted a big trophy. It’s always been like a step or two short. “If there’s something I want to achieve, it’s to start lifting some trophies. I’m not getting younger, but I feel I’ve still got it. I’m excited about the future.”

JasonR claims he got “nothing but hate” on OpTic amid roster turmoil Joe Brady / OpTic GamingFormer Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star Jason ‘jasonR’ Ruchelski has opened up about his time at OpTic Gaming, revealing how tough things got for him there. OpTic is a team many CSGO fans will remember for their brief domination at the end of 2016 as they managed to defeat Major Champions Astralis at the ELEAGUE Season 2 finals, before challenging them yet again in the grand-final of ECS Season 2. However, things went downhill from there as in-game leader Peter ‘stanislaw’ Jarguz left and jasonR was brought in as a replacement. Many thought the team had the potential for a resurgence, but the Canadian has revealed how that could never happen as he got “nothing but hate” after joining. Jason released a video sharing his thoughts on the team on Feb 11, highlighting quite a few issues. “I was getting beat down playing with that team… I was only getting hit with negativity and toxicity, even when we won – the team wasn’t helping and I was getting constant hate about being a temp.” He began, before diving further into the subject. “People were like, oh you joined a pro team, [and] you made a name for yourself. [Well] no, I didn’t. I got nothing but f**king hate the whole f**king time.” Liquid RUSH and Mixwell? The Canadian also spoke about the team in general, revealing that they were looking to replace him the whole time he was there, and that “there was an inner turmoil and beef between the whole team” because other members wanted to leave as well. Read More: Stuchiu: What does Impact mean in CSGO? – Most notably, Will ‘RUSH’ Wierzba and Oscar ‘mixwell’ Cañellas Colocho received offers to join Team Liquid as a duo, but mixwell turned them down, leaving RUSH in an uncomfortable position. Not only that, but jasonR also felt like a scapegoat, claiming that “Yeah, 100% I was a scapegoat, every time. Whenever we would win I would never be part of the win… [but] when we lost I was 100% part of the reason we lost.” Of course, this is only one side of the story, but it does explain the team’s sudden collapse as they went from beating the best in the world to struggling at just about every event.

JasonR bombarded by infuriating new CS:GO spam attack L: Joe Brady. R: ValvePopular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive streamer Jason ‘JasonR’ Ruchelski was left well and truly puzzled by a new invite spam bug that almost deafened him and his viewers in the pre-game lobby. Getting spammed by in-game messages and invites from players who are searching for their elusive fifth and final teammate in CSGO isn’t at all new. Hearing the annoying clunking invite sound over and over may be enough to tilt some players before they’ve even been able to take part in a pistol round. However, it appears as if some players have discovered a way to utilize the messaging system as a means to disrupt a streamer’s broadcast and advertise their own social media channels in one of the most annoying ways possible. What happened to JasonR? During his steam on April 21, JasonR fell victim to the new spam attack as he waited for a game and chatted with his fans. Read More: DeKay Mailbag, Part 1: Conflict of interest in CS:GO, Will MIBR change, and What OpTic will do – The streamer sat with a puzzled look on his face as his viewers informed him that he was receiving spam invites to a pre-game lobby that he could be heard while alt-tabbed outside of the game. As JasonR returned back to CS:GO, he immediately saw the sheer volume of invites that he had received, and was still receiving. He sat, almost speechless, as the spam continued and the invite noise continued to pierce the ears of both himself and his viewers. The streamer could only offer up a confused “what the fuck,” as he tried to figure out what was going on. Will Valve fix the issue? Fans will be hoping that the spam problem doesn’t spread throughout the game before Valve is able to act and eradicate it. Read More: Top 20 highest earning CS:GO pro players – However, it remains to be seen if the game’s developers have some sort of fix to address the annoying issue sooner rather than later. Valve launched one of their usual patches on April 22, focusing on smaller problems such as errors while purchasing grenades and a number of graphical issues.

James Bardloph, ddk, and Pala Face Off in the Ultimate Geography Test at the ECS Season 5 Finals Daniel ‘ddk’ Kapadia, James Bardolph, and Pala Gilroy Sen competed for the coveted title of the best “geography-er” from the ECS Season 5 broadcast team. They are some of the best in the business when it comes to commentating and presenting high level CS:GO action, but just how good is the geographical knowledge of ddk, James Bardolph, and Pala? You would think that people that spend the majority of their lives travelling around the world for various Counter-Strike events would have a solid grasp on the subject, but our questions weren’t exactly friendly. The rules were simple: each contestant received the same list of five questions and the person that answered the most correctly would win…. Well, nothing really. Read More: Everything You Need to Know About the ECS Season 5 CS:GO Finals – Stream, Schedule, Results and More – However, we believe that knowing that you are, undeniably, the smartest CS:GO broadcaster on Earth is a big enough prize in itself, and the results of this test were rather definitive. First up to face the challenge was ddk and, although we hate to say it, things didn’t go brilliantly. The Brit scored just two out of five (even with a bit of outside assistance). Introducing, @ddkesports vs. Geography. We tested ddk’s geography knowledge with 5 mind boggling questions. Did he have the knowledge? Next up, Pala & James Bardolph. Bet on the ECS with @RivalryGLHF // FREE $1.50, no deposit: https://t.co/ozO9OzcrbG pic.twitter.com/c4Gsq3fjHk — Dexerto.com (@Dexerto) June 8, 2018 Next up was Pala and, despite not feeling particularly confident, the popular YouTuber surprised himself and posted a respectable score of three. :tv: @Pala vs. Geography :world_map: Bet on the ECS with @RivalryGLHF // FREE $1.50, no deposit: https://t.co/3dLMQwWZzT pic.twitter.com/r75FMXqGLM — Dexerto.com (@Dexerto) June 9, 2018 With everything still to play for, ddk’s partner in crime, James Bardolph, was the final man to face the gauntlet. The tallest man in Counter-Strike put maximum effort into the challenge but could only manage a score of two and a half. He still beat ddk, though, so he wasn’t too worried. Our own Chris Marsh even invented the word “geography-er”, which we think sounds much better than “geographer”. :tv: @jamesbardolph vs. Geography :world_map: Just how good is James’ geography? @Pala holds the record with 3/5. Bet on the ECS with @RivalryGLHF // FREE $1.50, no deposit: https://t.co/3dLMQwWZzT pic.twitter.com/r6yFQrK6mm — Dexerto.com (@Dexerto) June 9, 2018 With that said, Pala takes the victory and is officially the world’s best CS:GO broadcaster geography-er in attendance at the ECS Season 5 Finals. The final standings are as follows: 1st – Pala Gilroy Sen 2nd – Daniel ‘ddk’ Kapadia 3rd – James Bardolph

It’s Jame Time: From Meme God to Russia’s Most Lethal Marksman Russian CSGO pro Dzhami ‘Jame’ Ali is the face of what just might be a newly-resurgent Virtus.Pro lineup, and the 22-year-old is no stranger to handing out surprises against big teams. Jame most recently helped lead Virtus.Pro to a surprising second-place finish at IEM Katowice 2021, eventually losing to Gambit Esports in the grand final. However, this Swiss Army knife of a CSGO player’s story begins long before that. It was on Kazakhstani team Avangar that Jame, along with the base of players that make up VP right now like Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov and Alexey ‘qikert’ Golubev started turning heads. Not only would the team put up big wins against established orgs like Ninjas in Pyjamas and Complexity, but the “Jame Time” meme would also emerge thanks to his against-all-odds clutch plays. So, when the higher-ups at Virtus.Pro decided it was time for a facelift to the CSGO side of things, Jame and the gang were at the top of the list. Towards the end of 2020 and into 2021, things have looked like they just might be coming together. VP breezed through to win the IEM New York CIS event in October of 2020, dominated at Flashpoint 2, and most recently secured a surprising second-place finish at IEM Katowice 2021. Whether Jame and his associates can bring the org back to the “Virtus.Plow” glory days remains to be seen, but it will sure be fun to watch them try.