People often only remember the winners, the teams and players with the greatest achievements are the ones etched the record books. Following unfortunate circumstances and perplexing roster changes, these teams rarely emerged as victors. This is a tale of disregarded lineups, dying before their potential was realised, leaving the community to merely speculate on what would have been, should have been, and could have been.

Titan, September — November 2014

Following Ninjas in Pyjamas’ victory at ESL One Cologne, the French scene would witness a shakeup. Titan’s group stage elimination from the major had proved the final straw. NBK, Smithzz, and ScreaM would depart the Titan lineup, their replacements coming in the form of LDLC’s apEX, maniac, and KQLY.

With shox now aboard LDLC a rift had developed, as the community ebbed and flowed over who’d emerged superior from the shuffle. Fortunately, we wouldn’t be left speculating for long with both squads in attendance of DreamHack Stockholm, alongside some the world’s elite in Fnatic, Dignitas, and NiP. Online form cemented Fnatic and LDLC as tournament favourites, with Titan appearing as extremely unlikely winners.

After scraping through a group stage culminating in a nail biting 16–14 victory over the Ninjas, Titan would draw Fnatic in the semifinals. The Swedes online performances were imperious demolishing almost everyone, including their final in Cologne and title at StarSeries, it seemed Titan’s road had come to an end. The first map was an Ex6TenZ masterclass, showcasing an awesome Terrorist half utilising kennyS’ mind boggling AWPing Titan tore holes in the Swedish defence. Reared up by drilled executes, olof and company could offer little in response.

Photo credit: Abraham Engelmark, DreamHack

The second would have Fnatic opening up on the Terrorist side of Dust2, in search of an opportunity to even up the series. They were given no such chance, as Fnatic was dealt their most decisive loss ever on LAN. Following a monster display from KQLY’s passive CT AWPing Fnatic stood as feeble resistance. Even an incredible ace from JW was slim consolidation as the Swedes were eliminated 16–1. Ex6TenZ’s uncanny proficiency for calling versus pronax would later be highlighted, a skill allowing Titan to retain a favourable match-up, even with later lineups.

The final could scarcely have panned out any better following the French changes, as Titan would meet their fellow countrymen in LDLC. kennyS’ squad would prevail in the series, taking the first convincingly and the second in overtime. The critics had been silenced as Titan seized upon an impressive title. Thorin named Ex6TenZ the MVP of the tournament, an accolade claimed due to radical Terrorist side approaches and executes he had employed during the event. When reflecting with hindsight, their victory only increases in magnificence. Titan had bested the two teams that together would utterly dominate the scene for over six months.

Stockholm would bare out as the peak level of this lineup, spearheaded by an innovative style which would be better understood and more effectively countered in the subsequent events they’d attend. A quarterfinals elimination at ESWC and a top four placing at SLTV StarSeries X displayed Titan’s true level. They were not an elite team capable of consistently battling for titles, more a dangerous underdog and a potent threat to any unprepared squad.

Titan were a team unlike any other, their style was fairly one dimensional, yet no mean feat to counter. Titan held the strongest double AWP pairing on the planet, and likely the most effective we’ll ever witness in Global Offensive. kennyS as the aggressive playmaker combined with the passive style of KQLY worked perfectly, allowing the team to perform dual AWP setups on the CT side on virtually every map in the pool. This configuration would put tremendous pressure on Titan’s economy, regularly sacrificing precious rounds to acquire the optimal equipment. As a result their CT sides became very volatile, commonly finding themselves saving into irrecoverable deficits. Due to apEX’s inconsistency, Titan’s T side revolved heavily around kenny’s ability to seek out entries, hardly a poor choice considering he outclassed every other AWPer. Titan reliably produced world class Terrorist halves, however a fundamental lack of skill them condoned to weaker Counter-Terrorist showings, an unfortunate truth as the game advanced toward a CT dominated meta.

Fast approaching was the third major of the year; DreamHack Winter 2014. Fnatic were on a formidable streak, already having claimed a trio of titles their eyes were now firmly set on the fourth; a major trophy. LDLC were second to the Swedes, they’d easily dispatched the rest of the pack, yet had been beaten handedly by Fnatic across multiple occasions. Despite lacking the résumé of their French counterparts, a legitimate case could be made justifying Titan as the most likely candidate to deny Fnatic the championship, as mentioned previously Ex6TenZ often had pronax’s number, alongside Titan being the last team to triumph over Fnatic in an offline series. Following iBuyPower’s puzzling decision to make roster changes shortly before the event, the Frenchmen were strongly favoured to proceed onto the playoffs. Titan were an exciting dark horse coming into the tournament.

Photo credit: HLTV

KQLY’s ban struck shortly before Titan’s boot-camp ahead of the major. The Frenchman were disqualified from the tournament, forced to be solely spectators from the side-lines. This marked the end for this line-up, and the death of a style unreplicated to the same degree. During their following events Titan would field their analyst in ioRek, later signing RpK as KQLY’s ultimate replacement. KQLY’s ban within an instant destroyed the team and had aftershocks felt far beyond the competitive realm.

Titan’s subsequent tournaments saw kennyS ascend to the best on the planet, playing some of the highest calibre CS in Global Offensive history. Placing second at two events in the coming months, the Frenchmen were unable to capitalise on kenny’s incredible form. ioRek and RpK — shortly following his return to competitive Counter-Strike — were both significantly weaker players than KQLY. Had the ban never occurred, I suspect Titan would have snatched another title during this period.

This was a team that could’ve been further title contenders, who through the fault of one were denied the opportunity to do so. Many will dismiss this Titan as a line-up who’d offer little when encountered by the Fnatic’s and LDLC’s of the world, they couldn’t be more wrong.