Karrigan is one of the few In-Game Leaders in Counter-Strike to have been at the helm of several tier one teams. He led the Danish scene to new highs before moving on to the International Project in Faze Clan. The rest is history as Karrigan played a pivotal role in the formation and development of Faze Clan as we know it.

However, his departure from Faze Clan provides so many similarities to his departure from Astralis. He is able to help the team reach the top and become a strong competitor. However, maintaining the team’s position at the is where he seems to falter repeatedly. Jarek “DeKay” Lewis reported on Dexerto that Karrigan is close to signing for Mousesports. We feel that this decision would be the correct choice for the Finn, as he looks forward to the next step in his illustrious career.

What makes Karrigan such a big asset to any team?

Karrigan’s performance has never been the strong point in any of his former teams. The player has an excellent understanding of each player’s limit and he respects their individual performances and decisions. Allowing individual players to focus on their own individual skill and decisions is one of the Karrigan’s trademark leadership style. It is this reason why he can build a cohesive unit out of multiple superstars on the team.

Over the years, Karrigan has developed a very loose style of In-Game Leadership. The team would have a broad idea on what to do with the round, but he would not control individual players and their movement. There is a sense of democracy and involvement by the players with the strategies and their implementation. This has led Karrigan to constantly evolve with new ideas, implement them at the highest level and help the team reach new heights.

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However, in two instances in his past; Karrigan was unable to reinvent new tactics and strategies beyond a point. He seemed to have reached an impasse, and that is when the teams turned on him and led to his ouster. He is one of the best when it comes to helping a team develop into a Top tier roster. Taking the team to the top and staying at the top are different tasks. Karrigan seems unable to deal with the pressure of helping his team to stay at the top. A stagnant team is the easiest to topple from the top of the CS: GO rankings. Other teams are constantly strategizing against the top teams and it does not take long for a team to lose its standing. Karrigan’s search for a new team will be important as he has proven to be the X-factor bringing chaotic lineups in order.

Karrigan – The Eye for Talent

Karrigan’s value to a team is his ability to spot the true value of a player. During his time on Faze Clan, he saw strength in players such as Niko, Kioshima and added them to the active roster. Some of these players were not even at their peak, yet Karrigan was able to see how they would make a perfect fit in the team. Kioshima’s addition was a bold move, one that Karrigan had the foresight for the team’s future. His conviction in the player’s potential and his contribution to the team is what ensured that Faze Clan became a top tier team.

Ofcourse the subsequent roster changes meant that the management went for multiple superstars on the roster. When the likes of Olofmeister, Guardian came together under the team name, it became imperative that Karrigan was able to control the emotions on the team. With such a star-studded roster, things could easily go south with a clash of the players’ egos coming true. And he managed to herd the team in the right direction for a long time. Faze Clan showed us glimpses of their potential and how they can be the team to challenge the Astralis’ dominance. However, with players failing to maintain their consistency, a roster change became imminent for the team.

Karrigan’s reported joining with Mousesports will be a return to the organisation for the player. He has had a history with Mousesports as he was a player for the team in early 2013. He was also a stand-in for the team in later years. Mousesports is a perfect fit for the Danish player in more ways than one.

Why is Mousesports one of the better opportunities for Karrigan?

Over the years, Karrigan has earned a name for himself by helping a team of talented individuals rise to the top. If the current Mousesports roster has one adjective associated with it, it is ‘talented’. The roster was one of the top tier teams in 2018 and had consistently good performances. However, a sudden management decision to bring in Snax to the team and replace Styko did not produce the desired results. The team suffered in their rankings and their gameplay took a dive for the worse. Mousespoirts eventually did try to correct their mistake by bringing back Styko to the team.

It seems like Mousesports has hit a wall when it comes to their current roster. They have the talent on the team and the potential to rise to the top. The organisation already announced their decision to bench ChrisJ and Styko in early February.

After the most successful season of our history, we already saw some issues within the team towards the end of the year and unfortunately, we couldn’t turn it around in Katowice. To secure competitive success in 2019 we feel it is necessary that the team gets a fresh start. It’s a sad day for our organisation, as Sergey, Martin and Chris have been highly valued members of our team for a long time but we have to look forward and work hard to keep our place among the worlds best Counter-Strike teams. Mousesports CEO Stefan Wendt.

With a young talented lineup and a fresh start, Karrigan will have the freedom to mould the team into a formidable lineup. Consistency will be key as the team prepares for the upcoming Berlin Major. It is an opportunity for Karrigan and many of the youngsters on Mouz to regain their ‘Legends status’.

Putting together different pieces of the puzzle

The former Faze IGL is the best when it comes to making sense of different scattered pieces. He has done it with Astralis in the past and more recently with Faze Clan. However, maintaining his position on the team after the initial successful period has been a problem for Karrigan. It will be important for the team to peak at the right moment in their preparation for the upcoming months. If the team peaks too early or doesn’t click well together, it could mean one less chance for Finn Andersen

Mousesports is a team that is hungry for success. They had achieved a lot in 2018 and were on the crisp of becoming the Top 3 team in the world. The untimely roster change definitely upset their plans and later threw the players off their momentum. With these changes, we hope that Karrigan can re-inspire the fire and the zeal within the players to reach the very top.

Karrigan can make sense out of a team within days. Putting together the team and changing their playstyle depending on an individual’s strengths the player’s selling point. With Mousesports, he has a very young team and he can mould them further into becoming a strong team. Right now, Mousesports has just three players on their active roster. With Styko and ChrisJ benched, we might see a return to the active lineup for either one of the players. Keep an eye out for Mousesports as this team has the potential to rise to the top five CS teams very soon.