Tugay "TuGuX" Keskin has stepped down from Space Soldiers' active lineup, the player has confirmed to HLTV.org.

The 25-year-old had been part of Space Soldiers since January 2015, when he created a team with some of the best Turkish players after playing for a number of German sides, including logiX, Wild Fire and CPLAY.

During this period, Tugay "⁠TuGuX⁠" Keskin helped the team to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with in Europe, winning the CS:GO Champions League Season 3 and ASUS ROG Summer 2016.



TuGuX will take a break from gaming

In a statement to HLTV.org, TuGuX revealed that his relationship with a teammate broke down following the team's fourth place at the European Minor, which cost them a place at the ELEAGUE Major qualifier.

"After we could not get into the Major qualifier, I had some disagreements with one of the other players and, after that, I decided to leave the team," he said. "I had a meeting with our management, they understood my request and accepted it. "This has nothing to do with my individual performances as I sacrificed myself for the team and did many things for our young players to be able to play the way they wanted to. As such, it was, in my opinion, normal that I had worse numbers than I used to have. "I am happy that we have achieved so many things for the Turkish scene as we started from zero, and I am sure that we will be able to achieve much more. There are only small things missing for the team to become even better. "I will take a little break and then decide what to do. I would like to thank our CEO and founder, Bünyamin Aydin, for all his support, belief and vision. And I would also like to thank the management for their great job and our team manager and coach Canpolat "hardstyle" Yildiran, who kept the team together in tough situations and is a mentor. "Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has been supporting me. I had great moments during my time on Space Soldiers."

Engin "⁠MAJ3R⁠" Küpeli, who has played for Space Soldiers as a stand-in in Turkish league Euro Cups, is expected to be formally unveiled by the organisation in the coming days.

The Turkish team currently have: