‘Chiu on This’ is a short and regular opinion blast

I was of two minds when With Skadoodle stepped down today. The first and rational part of me, thought finally, it ends. As brilliant as Skadoodle was during the Major, he never again reached that level of form. For Cloud9 to move on, he had to be let go. The other part of me was saddened as he was the last connection to one of the most beloved lineups in CS:GO history, the Cloud9 lineup of the summer of 2015.

It is hard to describe the exact sentiment that surrounds that particular lineup, it is to this day one of the most beloved lineups to have played in CS:GO, but I shall endeavor to try anyway. The year of 2015 saw an explosive growth of fan interest in CS:GO. Off the back of skins, the Counter-Strike scene quickly grew and expanded to levels that no one could have imagined. It was also during that year that the IBP ban came in and eliminated what looked to be the NA super team.

So while the fans grew, expectations were dashed. It was the height of the NA CS LUL meme that was both criticism and disappointment from the fans railing against the NA teams during that period. It was one of those moments where if you were an NA CS fan, if you didn’t laugh you might cry.

In April 2015, Cloud9 decided to release Semphis and ShahZam from the lineup. In their place they got freakazoid and Skadoodle. This was to be the beginning of summer and I suspect for many fans, their first love affair with a CS:GO team. The lineup consisted of: Shroud, n0thing, Seangares, freakazoid, and Skadoodle.

Each of them had a special element about them that made each of them individually popular, but put together shot their popularity to the stratosphere. Shroud was a highly skilled player and beloved stream. N0thing is a legend of CS and has a special flair and charisma about him that makes him incredibly affable to both on camera and in person. Seangares was a solid in-game leader, but during this period his genius was on full display as Cloud9 was the top NA team and there were streams with their in-game communication on display. During those vods, you could literally hear Seangares call out every move and tactic that the enemy team or player was doing. It got to that point that Steel nicknamed the team “Counter-Strat 9” and a large part of their team’s success and identity came off the back of his ability to read the game. Skadoodle was the preeminent AWP of NA and this was back in his prime where he consistently showed up game in and game out to the devastation of the enemy teams. Finally, there was Freakazoid, the entry-fragger, enforcer, and talismanic figure of the team. He perfectly fit into the archetype of a Captain America. Someone who believed in the team, believed in seangares, and believed in America.

An example of this was an interview he did with ESL about making America believe again.

That particular team then went on a spree. I don’t know what attracted others to their play, but for me it was their ability to be greater than the sum of their parts. They weren’t the sickest lineup on paper in terms of skill, but they were a team that got the most out of each of their individual players. They were one of the first to truly understand the power of the molly and the fact that you got to hear them in play meant there was a far closer connection between them and their fans of that period.

As I said before, you got to hear the genius of seangares first hand, but you also got to hear some of the quips and jokes from someone like n0thing, or the hot-blooded feel good speeches from freakazoid.

They were a team that came at the right time and the right place. Skilled, exciting to watch, charismatic, funny, and they came at a time when NA needed hope the most. Perhaps most fitting of all is that they have always been connected to summer. Summer for the typical NA citizen is a time of play, a time of vacation, a time of laughter and joy. Many of the younger fans likely grew up watching their games during the summer vacations from school. And now those summer days have officially ended. Seangares has moved on to broadcasting. N0thing is still deciding what he wants to do whether that be talent, content creator, or player. Shroud is a stream. Skadoodle has stepped down. Freakazoid is the only active player left of that squad. But even then, it isn’t quite the same as he isn’t on the Cloud9 lineup.

The days of summer have ended, and though this is the right move for all parties involved, it can’t help but feel bittersweet for the fans of Summer 2015.

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