Team EnVyUs recently announced its decision to let go of all it’s CS GO players. They will be looking for an NA roster. The famed organization has a history in Counter-Strike Global Offensive and have also won a CS GO Major. This is a title that is owned by only a handful of organizations. We still see big organizations such as Faze Clan and Na’Vi deprived of a Major title.

A message from @hastr0 about the release of our current CS:GO roster and opportunities in NA. Look forward to more info about future Envy teams, coming soon! pic.twitter.com/6IFe9MtYCD — Team Envy (@TeamEnVyUs) June 20, 2018

But EnVyUs’ possible departure from the French scene should not come as a huge surprise. When they first announced their entry into Counterstrike, they picked up one of the most promising teams in the scene. The former LDLC roster was probably the only team at the time which could challenge the Fnatic supremacy. Their high individual skill level and the loose playstyle saw Fnatic often confused and undone by LDLC.

The first roster for EnVyUs comprised of the following players:

Happy

Shox

Kioshima

NBK

Smithzz

The roster, led by Happy was probably the most talented roster at the time, some would argue even more than Fnatic. Their individual skill definitely puts them as big contenders for most tournament finals.

They were the winners of Dreamhack Cluj-Napoca 2015, a tournament notorious for the Olofboost. Regardless of the controversies surrounding the tournament, EnVyUs was one of the best teams in the world at the time.

However, as we move forth to 2016, we see internal issues cropping up within the team. The original roster had been together for quite some time already. Kioshima was removed from the active lineup. Soon after his departure, he blamed communication issues within the roster. This pretty much sealed the fate for the player in the French roster. The Organisation honored his contract till the end of the term.

But once the roster change was effective, the team itself started dwindling in results. Maniac served as the coach on the team for a six month period from January 2016 till June of the same year. This was when he decided to return to becoming a player.

Replacing Kioshima on the roster was Devil, an upcoming French player. Timothée “DEVIL” Démolon is a rifler who was formerly in LDLC.White one of the two LDLC teams at the time. His inclusion into the EnVyUs team began a search for the right Combination of French players.

French CS GO has always faced problems between various players and factions of players. Differences between various French players have resulted in obstacles for the creation of the perfect team. The French scene probably is amongst the top 5 regions in Counter-Strike right now.

But the formation of a successful French roster has always been a problem, no matter the name of the organization. Teams such as G2 and EnVyUs have been striving towards making the world-class team. But they have all failed repeatedly.

The French Super Team: A lost opportunity

No talk of the French scene is complete without a mention of the French Superteam. Created out of a need to become the World’s best team, the French Superteam sadly did not live up to expectations. Part of it was the lack of performance on an individual level as well as the absence of a deep map pool.

The French Super team brought about a temporary workaround for the Shox and Smithzz duo. The two players have been together in all their previous teams. Shox has become a superstar, fuelled by his own performance. But Smithzz, like several IGL’s before him, suffered on an individual level. In the G2 roster, Smithzz was put on the Coaching position, which taps into his excellent tactics, while not suffering from the player’s lack of performance.

G2’s performance definitely sparked hopes of a French supremacy in Counter-Strike. But the past few months have only confirmed the problem with the French Scene. Their ratings have taken a nosedive, one that seems impossible to recover from. With the upcoming French shuffle slated to take place, hopes are high once again for the resurgence of French Counter-Strike. There are very few people who doubt the potential of the French players and teams, but the actual implementation and synergy within the teams seem to always fall way short of the finish line.

What is next for the French Scene?

For now, it seems highly unlikely that EnVyUs will return to the French scene after having released all of their players. The French scene’s problems are a headache for any organization looking to gain a foothold in the scene. They can do this, but for aspirations of becoming a world beater, the organization will face repeated hurdles.

We have written about the possible next roster for EnVyUs, a dream that seems quite distant right now. While a new French team will undoubtedly come into existence from the scraps of the players left behind, EnVyUs as an organization will mostly not be associated with French players anymore.

There are Eleven Free agents due to EnVyUs releasing its roster. All of them, except one, Scream, is French. The next chapter in the French story will unveil itself in a few weeks. Till then here is the list of the eleven talented players in search of a team.

Adil “ ScreaM ” Benrlitom

Fabien “ kioShiMa ” Fiey

Ali “ hAdji ” Haïnouss

Alexandre “ xms ” Forté

Christophe “ SIXER ” Xia

Vincent “ Happy ” Schopenhauer

Cédric “ RpK ” Guipouy

Lambert “ Lambert ” Prigent

Audric “ JaCkz ” Jug

Valentin “ VKLL ” Bartolomei

Julien “ PetitSkel ” Marcantoni

Scream

Scream, the Headshot Machine, as he is popularly known has always been unlucky when it comes to the French shuffles. At his peak, Scream’s performance would have earned a spot in any of the top teams in the scene. But his performance has followed the same trajectory as the French teams, down.

Scream will be a valuable asset to any combination of French players in the future. However, his personal relationship does come into play with other players and that might prove to be a hindrance towards the player’s position. On an individual level, Scream has shown us glimpses of his amazing talent in the previous tournament. With Happy not part of the EnVyUs roster at CS GO Asia Championships, it seemed scream really came alive at the tournament.

The above image shows how the player led the team on the scoreboard. His performance was equally impressive in their matches against Natus Vincere, often surpassing S1mple’s final tally. Scream has potential and while his peak skill level might match the industry superstars, his consistency has always been a problem. Whether that was due to Happy’s limitations or a personal failure is up for debate.

Kioshima

Kioshima has been through so many teams in the past few years. He was the first to be removed from the original Major winning Team EnVyUs. However, he has since moved to Faze Clan and then back to EnVyUs, albeit a different roster.

His ability to adapt his playstyle according to the needs of the team provides a versatility not seen often in the French scene. Kioshima has the experience and the skill to play at the top level. He just needs the right team with the right players and then hopefully he can prove to be much more useful. However, it seems trouble follows him wherever he goes. His recent tweet chronicling the problems within the EnVyUs roster definitely shines a light on the reasons for their failures.

Excerpts from Kio’s tweet

The atmosphere inside the team (player wise) was already weird, it wasn’t healthy for building a great team play.

It was always a fight for the decisions (in game etc…) between the IGL and the players.

More than 50% of the players didn’t agree with the playstyle we were using and how the players were used.

We are now playing with XMS and Sixer for Asia Championships Shanghai for few reasons :

The players decided to remove Happy from this roster for being part at some degree to the reasons mentioned above.

RpK didn’t want to play with us for this tournament and wanted to have a small break, after all, this fighting within the team to try to fix everything.

You can read the entire statement on his Twitlonger post. He mentions how the team was already falling apart when he joined and there were different opinions on their play-style. The respect for the In-Game Leader was absent and that as the reason why they decided to bench Happy for their latest tournament.

Happy

Happy is included in this list, but it has nothing to do with his current performance. As a player Happy has remained stagnant over the years. This is a good thing since In Game Leaders are not always the most flashy individual performers on the server. However, as an In-Game Leader, which is his selling point, he has not produced any results. The lack of results from the team definitely falls on Happy’s shoulders. Individually Scream and others have shown themselves to be able to stand up to the best in the world. But under Happy’s leadership, it seems that there is a lack of direction for the team and the players are not utilized in the most optimum positions.

Happy will probably have to settle for any team that is willing to acknowledge him as a player. But right now it seems unlikely that he will be a part of a strong French team.

Should French players stop trying to stick together?

We have repeatedly spoken about the high individual skill level on the French players. However, one important thing that is persistent throughout the French rosters is the fact that they are French. The importance of having an all-French Speaking roster is crucial to the players. However, after various combinations and permutations, none of them have worked. So is it time to go International and try to form more successful teams?

The Language barrier will be a reality, but the more well-known French players are not averse to English. It might not be as fluent as others, but International teams definitely seem to be the flavor of the season. Faze Clan is extremely successful and SK Gaming incorporated Stewie2k into their ranks.

With Happy being as ineffective in his leadership role and NBK already looking abroad for opportunities, it seems only viable that the French scene will not really have a strong second French roster. The Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams will continue to exist under various organizations. However, we will most likely see the current crop of players released from EnVyUs migrate to teams with players of various nationalities.

Problems facing the French Scene

Lack of results

No viable In Game Leader apart from Ex6tenz

Reluctance to play on non-French speaking teams ( as history is evidence)

Personal problems between players

Do you think it’s time for the French players to diversify throughout the rest of Europe and try to form teams? Or should they stick together and form a French team once more? Let us know in comments.