The Upcoming French Shuffle

[INDENT]The end of this year will mark the end of the contracts of the players on the two best french teams. This event will most likely trigger another "French Shuffle" with players leaving organizations.[/INDENT]My aim is to explain why the current teams are not sustainable and will not retain their current rosters. Furthermore, I will outline the biggest narratives and story lines that might arise during and after the shuffle and how they will hold a great influence upon the future failures and/or successes of the upcoming possible lineups.- EnvyUs -EnvyUs has quickly descended into the lower half of the Top Tier of the scene after their win in Dreamhack Cluj-Napocca. One would think that their success at the major would have started a new era for the lineup, fueled by new acquisitions Kenny "kennyS" Schrub and Dan "apEX" Madesclaire.However it was not meant to be and Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey was booted for LDLC's star lurker Timothée "DEVIL" Démolon.The rest of 2016 did not look any better, with the lineup switching the role of In-Game Leader and trying to reinvent itself all the while placing last at many of the events they aspired to win.While they have showed signs of resurgence at Dreamhack Bucharest, it is safe to say that EnvyUs' issues go beyond one player and that they are caused by the playstyles, roles assigned to each as well as the team's social environment, as evidenced by multiple interviews with the players as well as numerous streaming sessions.

NBK & Happy

These two players remain the solid core of the lineup, as they have not parted ways since the LDLC days. Furthermore, NBK has previously said that he and Happy share the same thoughts on how the game should be played and this seems to have played a part in why they have both decided to part ways with shox before their last Major win.It is highly probable that they will decide to stick together and, as evidenced from the ESL Pro League Finals roster change, any players joining their lineup will most likely be handpicked by the both of them.

kennyS & apEX

Paired up since the Titan days, this duo seems like a package deal. They've been playing on the same sites in most maps and seem to have a good relationship out of the game. Should they depart from their current organization, they will surely do so together.With these two narratives within EnvyUs, we can see that the most probable outcome would be that one of these two pairs will part ways with the organization. It does not seem to work anymore and the possibility of forming a French "Super Team" might be too tempting to some.- G2 -After going through some rough patches, such as the dissolution of the Titan Organization followed by the decision to lay off In-Game Leader Kévin "Ex6TenZ" Droolans for a younger talent from the LDLC roster in the form of Alexandre "bodyy" Pianaro, the G2 lineup finally started showing signs of dominance over their domestic rivals.Thanks to a series of individual prowess from Richard "shox" Papillon and Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom, the team managed to place themselves at a regular interval among the three best teams in the world and to take home a trophy at the ECS finals.Like EnvyUs however, they have now started to look weaker and weaker at every event they have participated in. It seems that the honeymoon period is over and that counting on both of their stars to consistently open up the sites is not going to be a viable strategy anymore.

shox

Having taken control of both the star player and the In-Game Leader role, shox seems to be in full control of the direction of this lineup and all seems to revolve around his will.It is interesting to note that shox is the one that noticed, at the time, young talent kioShiMa in Clan-Mystik and in Epsilon. In fact, shox is the one that pushed for kioShiMa's addition into the LDLC lineup that took the trophy home at Dreamhack Winter 2014.With kioShiMa's removal from the FaZe lineup, one could speculate that shox might want to bring back his former teammate in order to add some firepower to a team that, while not lacking, has not shown much of it in the recent months.

ScreaM

While ScreaM does not seem to lack the "many qualities" that seemed to hinder his addition to previous Titan rosters anymore, his performance has been tainted with his periodic stage of inconsistency. He is a massive influence on the outcome of his games, unfortunately this is not always positive as his role demands that he brings the score forward.However, it is interesting to note the lineups in which ScreaM has been a successful addition. After his run in Verygames he went on to Titan where he was booted off after the first French shuffle and was confined to Epsilon where he consistently put up big numbers. This ended after the cheating scandal as well as the matchfixing allegations held against his former teammates. He then went on to form Team Kinguin with Maikelele and put up big numbers there as well.ScreaM seems to greatly benefit from playing a less structured type of game where he is placed in a primary star role.Therefore, one could think that he will not be present in a lineup where players such as NBK be present.His relationship with shox however is similar to that of Happy and NBK, they both share the same views on the appropriate playstyles to adopt within matches. All seems to point to the fact that they will remain together.The Likely OutcomesBased on the current dynamics and player relations, it seems that the likely outcomes of the shuffle will be these two teams:G2 :- Richard 'shox' Pappillon- Adil 'ScreaM' Benrlitom- Kenny 'kennyS' Schrub- Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire- Fabien 'kioShiMa' FieyEnvyUs :- Vincent 'Happy' Schopenhauer- Nathan 'NBK-' Schmitt- Alexandre 'bodyy' Pianaro- Cédric 'RpK' Guipouy- Antoine 'to1nou' PirardThe wildcard here would be the fifth spot on EnvyUs. As they've previously shown interest in recruiting younger talents to fill in their ranks, it might be time to bring to1nou into the higher tier of the french scene and test his AWPing on LAN and under pressure.However, this is pure speculation and I am only trying to make sense of the social relationships between the players that might be circumventing a perfect lineup. Which brings me to...The French Super TeamTo my knowledge, it would be very hard to argue against the creation of the following lineup :- Richard 'shox' Pappillon- Nathan 'NBK-' Schmitt- Kenny 'kennyS' Schrub- Dan 'apEX' Madesclaire- Fabien 'kioShiMa' Fieyshox is widely considered as the best french player throughout all the iterations of CS:GO and he's shown that his experience and his leadership can make a superb team.NBK is the perfect support player. He places himself in situations that will win his team the game, even at the detriment of his own statistical performance, unlike many other players. He himself can also be placed in almost any other role. He is an incredibly versatile player, with great mechanical skill and also a player that brings structure into a team.kennyS needs no introduction, his AWPing skills placed him at the rank of "Best player in the World" during his run in ex6tenz' Titan lineup. With the right support and under the right leadership, he can truly become a superstar once again.apEX's infamous inconsistency does not come completely come from himself, but rather from the way EnvyUs has been playing all this time, as well as the lack of support he received while on Titan. apEX can be a force to be reckoned with if placed in the right situation and the entryfragger that a french super team absolutely needs. Furthermore, his CT Side duo with kennyS will be a valuable asset.Finally, kioShiMa was a monstrous addition to the entry duo on LDLC and even more so alongside apEX on EnvyUs. Furthermore, he is a solid CT Side site anchor. Dreamhack Winter 2014's last map comes to mind where his performance destroyed any hopes NiP had of reaching the A site unscathed.ConclusionIn order to create the best team possible, the french players must put aside their differences as well as their egos. One must therefore wonder, what will be the hardest challenge, to win titles, or to do so ?