Skadoodle steps down from competitive CS:GO

In a sudden move, Skadoodle has confirmed that he will be stepping down from playing CS:GO competitively. It’s a move we have seen all too often from star players in the Cloud9 lineup, so despite the surprise announcement, it’s not groundbreaking news. Here’s all we know about Skadoodle’s move and the potential future for Cloud9.

Skadoodle steps down, Cloud9 looks for fifth member

Skadoodle has played for Cloud9 since 2015, with the peak of his career being earlier in 2018 when Cloud9 won the ELEAGUE Boston Major. Quite honestly, there couldn’t be a better time for Skadoodle to step away from playing Counter Strike competitively. Not only did Skadoodle help to get his team the victory in the ELEAGUE Boston Major, but he was the man to get the tournament ending kill. On top of that, playing for and winning the trophy on home soil in front of thousands of North American fans must have been an excellent feeling. There’s no better way to end a career and it’ll certainly be a proud moment for Skadoodle to look back on.

Even Virtus.Pro player Pashabiceps stepped in to make a comment on this, supporting Skadoodle’s decision. “Someday I will do the same as Skadoodle. Win the major and in the same year stop CS, but what year is it gonna be?”

After Cloud9’s superb Boston Major victory, their performance has been shaky. The roster has slowly fallen apart and it’s clear that the team lacked the same direction they once had. During one of Shroud’s live streams, Shroud and his friend were commenting on how it has become a new rule for the Cloud9 players not to play any other FPS games with a mouse so that they don’t lose their muscle memory for Counter Strike. Shroud jokingly mentioned how it’s unlikely Skadoodle would be able to stick to that new rule.

We don’t know why Skadoodle decided to step down, but it would make sense that Skadoodle wants to take a break from the seriousness of it all and kick back and have some fun. If we’re lucky, we may even see Skadoodle start up his own streaming career just like Shroud did. It should be noted that for now, Skadoodles absence is being considered a ‘break’.

In a news post, Cloud9’s CEO, Jack Etienne, mentioned “I could talk about what Skadoodle has meant to Cloud9 for years and it still wouldn’t be enough. He is the embodiment of North American Counterstrike and his break is beyond well-deserved. We’re grateful to have him in the Cloud9 family and look forward to whatever comes next.” Whether or not Skadoodle comes back, Cloud9 are still in need of a fifth player for their team. The first choice in my mind would be FNS. He even tweeted to Cloud9 saying “Surely you bring me back, right?”

Another popular theory is that Cloud9 will bring over more Swedish players to renew hope in the organization. Golden has already joined the team so it wouldn’t be out of the question.

What are your thoughts on this news? Who do you think will replace Skadoodle?