The Frenchmen have always been some of the top talents in the CS GO scene. Players such as KennyS, Shox, NBK, Ex6tenz have earned a name for themselves. However, the French scene still lacks the most important criteria, results. We have been witness to several French shuffles in the past few years. Their strife to find the best French team which can dominate the world rankings is not unfounded. They have some of the best players in the world, but the French just cannot seem to find the right combination.

As yet another era of French teams comes to an end, we are looking forward to the formation of two new teams. The two groups of players will have the chance to prove themselves in the upcoming London Major. But before we go through them, we need to have a look at what went wrong with the current teams, G2 and EnVyUs.

The two French teams

G2 – The French Super team which failed

Over the course of the past few years, there have been two teams with the potential to make it big in Counter-Strike. EnVyUs was the obvious favorite a couple of years ago but the spree of French shuffles saw G2 as the clear favorites. When the current G2 roster was formed, it was also known as the French Superteam. Looking at their roster, we can definitely see the reason for the nomenclature. But the G2 team has disappointed us all with the lack of actual results.

The above image shows their results post the PGL Krakow Major 2017. It’s close to 10 months of performances. The only result which is worth speaking about is their win at Dreamhack Masters Malmo 2017. It is a rare win, but the G2 roster has been downhill ever since. They have not been able to convincingly win qualifiers either. The French roster definitely is lacking in some department. The team is consistently leaving tournaments in the group stage. Eleague Boston Major was no different with a Group stage exit.

A first glance at the G2 roster might suggest that they should be amongst the top 3 of Counter-Strike rankings. But their results present a sorry picture indeed.

The G2 CS GO roster:

Body NBK KennyS Apex Mixwell

They also include Shox on their team, but he was moved to an inactive position in March 2018. Mixwell took his position on the roster.

I am sad because of joining mid season on ESL Pro League, it was tough to climb back from a 4-10 and we were 1 game away in the end. I think that our online results are really good considering the circumstances. — Oscar Cañellas (@Mixwell) May 11, 2018

Now, despite Mixwell’s opinion on the recent performances of the team; the roster has no good results to show for themselves. Recently, however, we have seen KennyS return to his old form and have some amazing individual results. The French roster has tried several iterations and changes. They have made changes to their leadership and now they have changed the roster. But nothing seems to be working for the super team.

EnVyUs – The other French team

When the French superteam, G2 came into existence the remaining players got together under the EnVyUs banner. But they have not found any success on their part either. This ‘secondary team’ is not really a Tier 2 roster. Their current roster boasts of some world class players, but they have also been open to making changes. Recently they brought in Kioshima to replace Xms on the roster. Ofcourse this has not really improved their results at all. But as a team, they are willing to make changes to improve their performance.

The EnVyUs performance is not that different from the G2 results sheet. The team boasts a strong lineup on paper. Their current CS GO lineup is as follows:

Happy Scream RpK Hadji KioShima

Despite having strong individual players such as Scream and Rpk on their roster, the team has not been able to use their skills to win tournaments. Their inability to win even smaller tournaments recently has caused alarm for the players.

Fans might have their opinion about a players’ performance, but the team performance is much more than a simple addition of every player. There are chemistries involved and the synergy and coordination come from all the players playing their part. Nothing can explain the situation better than KioShima’s recent tweet.

Everything I can read about what people think is funny. You can have insane players, the most skilled ones, you will still need team chemistry to be able to make them work together at their full potential. 🤙 — EnVy kioShiMa (@kiocsgoo) May 10, 2018

The French teams have always valued individual firepower over team chemistry. We saw the same in one of the most successful French teams, EnVyUs. Made up of some of the strongest players in the scene, the EnVyus roster was able to consistently challenge Fnatic. They won a CS GO major as well and could potentially have overtaken Fnatic if personal problems did not seep in. It is very unusual to see a French team stick around for long. We have seen multiple French shuffles and roster changes.

Maniac retires

One of the veterans in the French CS GO scene recently announced his retirement from Competitive Counter-Strike. Mathieu Quiquerez, or as he is known, Maniac had quit his job a few years ago to pursue a career in gaming. But with the recent failures, he has decided to quit playing competitively.

Today I close a chapter of my life by officially retiring as a CS: GO professional player. This has been a very emotional and well-thought decision but I feel at peace with it now. First of all, I want to thank LDLC and my teammates for these last 15 months. It was and has always been a pleasure representing this organization, playing with you guys <3. About 18 years ago I played CS Beta 6.5 for the first time at my cousin’s. I went to my first LAN event when I was 13 carrying my 250 kilos CRT monitor. Little did I know what this game would bring to my life. It is difficult for me to explain how much esport gave me, but I want to try. Thanks to CS, I have learned English and German. Thanks to CS, I have traveled the world. I’ve seen whole Europe, North America, and even Dubai. I’ve set foot in places I would have never visited otherwise and lived incredible experiences that will forever be engraved in my mem ory. Thanks to CS, I have met extraordinary people. Would it be as a player, as an analyst or as a coach? I’ve come across people who have inspired me to be a better person each and every day. Some of these people I am glad to consider my friends, maybe even my family. Thanks to CS, I have felt some of the strongest emotions in my life to this day; from the disappointment of heartbreaking losses to the hypnotizing thrill of winning on the stage, jumping from my chair to embrace my teammates. This journey was a cognitive challenge just as much as an emotional one. Most importantly, thanks to CS, I have grown as a person. I have learned to question myself continually, to experience failure and to bounce back, to set expectations and work hard for it. I have learned to be responsible when teammates, organizations, and fans count on you. CSGO has taught me to cooperate with people, handle conflicts and motivate my teammates. I believe these skills extend way beyond gaming and will help me for the rest of my life. I will be forever grateful for the opportunities that were given to me.Becoming a professional player was a dream come true. I’ve invested a lot of time in gaming but it gave back to me tenfolds. I wish I could thank every single person who’s had a positive impact on me along the way. To all of you, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU <3. To those I leave behind, I hope you enjoy the ride just as much as I did. I hope you make the most out of what I would describe as a once in a lifetime experience. I will miss it for sure… 🙂 Yours sincerely,

Mathieu ‘Maniac’ Quiquerez

The return of Ex6tenz and the French Hope

In all the recent commotion about French teams and their inability to find success, Ex6tenz has been a silent mover. The world-famous In Game Leader who led several strategic callouts in the past has seen his value and importance plummet. His inability to move out of the group stages in Majors for any team he led was one of the biggest factors for his downfall.

But over the past months, he has been working with Team LDLC. His input and leadership have helped the team climb through the rankings. They have been able to put out strong performances and achieve some notable results. His involvement with the new French players as well as constant practice makes him a valuable asset to the upcoming French shuffle.

Ex6tenz and Shox will be working together once more under the G2 banner. Some reports suggest that Smithzz will also be returning as a player alongside Shox. The trio, however, does not hold the cards to a Major spot. So NBK is given an option to join the new team or stay with Apex and Body to retain their Major spot. So while NBK holds the cards for which French team will be at the next Major, it is an opportunity for the French to put out their best performance. It will be really interesting to see Ex6tenz and Shox in action once again. It also brings back the Shox-Smithzz combination, which has a very rich history.

The future and the potential candidates for the new team remain very uncertain still. However, nothing can potentially be worse than the current lack of results in the French scene.