Overnight success stories are overrated. The hype around Renegades becoming legends and making top-eight at IEM Katowice 2019, however, is not.





Renegades have been a team in-transition for a long time. In their initial 2015 foray into North American play, they were pioneers for not only Australian CS:GO, but peripheral regions on the whole. Overtime though, that apologetic sheen of a plucky domestic team trying to “make it” abroad quickly wore off. They could qualify for LANs and stay afloat in online NA competition, but only ever flirted with levels of success beyond that.





Through adding international firepower in the form of Nemanja ‘nexa’ Isaković, Noah ‘Nifty’ Francis, then Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic, and Joakim ‘jkaem’ Myrbostad, they managed to bolster results and expectations. The Australian core scored a $150,000 win at 2017 StarLadder LAN over weaker tier two European names, and then they posted a big best-of-three upset over FaZe at IEM Sydney 2018. Rarely, though, would they ever find a pay-streak of international LAN success beyond that. There was never enough evidence to justify legitimate excitement around what Renegades could achieve.





After bombing out of the FACEIT London major qualifier in late 2018—their seventh failed major qualifier in a row—Renegades looked home to break through internationally. They swapped Karlo ‘USTILO’ Pivac and Nifty for the relatively unknown Jay ‘Liazz’ Tregillgas and less-so Sean ‘Gratisfaction’ Kaiwai. A month later, the team also saw the return of coach Aleksandar ‘kassad’ Trifunovićafter a stint away with Valiance.





Four months after these moves, and nearly four years since Renegades signed the initial roster, the ANZ line-up beat Vitality in a best-of-three to make the playoffs at IEM Katowice 2019. With the qualifier of “legends” next to their name, Renegades’ journey through last four months with Gratisfcation and liazz, as well as the years with Justin ‘jks’ Savage and Aaron ‘AZR’ Ward, takes on a whole new context.













Down and Out





Renegades have always strived to play toward an idyllic notion of textbook Counter-Strike. Living abroad and playing CS full-time forces a certain level of focus and logic to be folded into a team’s game. While they have been steeped in the depths of NA competition, there’s an unmistakable European aftertaste to watching their play.





In a 2017 interview, AZR outlined where this EU feel came from, saying that “with Kassad being in our team we are playing a lot more methodical and taking areas for passive compared to what we used to.”





This has not always been to their benefit. Against teams with tactical depth and individual firepower, the structure of Renegade’s game could look more stiff than supportive; their tactical logic more debilitating than enabling. There was a certain best-of-three brittleness and inability to grind back into rounds should the mid-round get messy. Against disrespectful, aggressive sides, many of which dominate tier two EU play, this has consistently been the downfall of Renegades. “I’ve seen Renegades crumble against so many teams, especially when games get close in Bo3 series” said seangares at the analyst desk in IEM Katowice 2019.





Long-time star of the side, jks, outlined where he thought Renegade’s weaknesses were saying, “as a team, I think we need to work on the mid-round. When it comes to the mid-round it feels like we get lost and don't know what to do. We obviously have strats but that only comes in at the start of the round.”





These fault-lines within Renegades game become more apparent the harder a team can pressure them in the mid-round. Jks elaborated on this point at the EPL S8 Finals saying “sometimes we’ll get pop-flashed by someone [in the mid-round] and they’ll take back a position and we’re not in a position on the other side of the map to get any control at all. So that’s kind-of one of our main issues we’ve been working on in practice.”





Coach Kassad looked to this mid-round issue and T-side crumbling as one of the biggest points to change heading into IEM Katowice. He echoed the sentiments of jks leading up to the Katowice major, saying that heading into the games their biggest problem “was mid-round. We had good openings, good early round, but after that, it looked like we didn't really communicate properly in those mid-rounds.”





In-spite of these issues though, the structure of Renegades fuels a cleaners CT game relative to their NA peers. On maps like Cache, Train, and Inferno, Renegades have historically been able to set themselves apart with a patient, defensive game. From this foundation, while they weren’t spectacular, they’ve at least been consistent with their online qualifier and league play in North America.





Renegades’ issues are most prominent on the T-side, specifically in the mid-round, and CT strength begins to frame the integration of Gratisfaction and Liazz in the lead-up to the major.













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Big Fish, Little Pond





Both Gratisfaction and Liazz have at varying points over the last three years been hailed as the best players in Australia, Gratisfaction more recently then Liazz. In this sense, of all the players to pick from domestically, it’s no surprise that they were chosen to be beamed up by the Renegades mothership. What was confusing, however, was how they would fit into the Renegades line-up itself.





Without Nifty and USTILO, Renegades were distinctly lacking an in-game leader and another member of their T-side entry pack. With this in mind, liazz, a more supportive, round-closing rifler, and Gratisfaction, a versatile but untested AWPer, were not necessarily the cleanest of fits for Renegades roster holes.





The swap saw AZR take-up leadership duties for this first time in his Renegades career while maintaining a forward posturing as the entry on T-side with jkaem. Jks and liazz would play on the wings and close rounds, feeding information and helping with mid-round decision making. Gratisfaction would, despite being in his rookie season as an international AWPer, become the vital bridge between these two arms of the Renegades strategy.





Renegades’ three-man core would be coming to its 10-month anniversary as they welcomed these two internationally inexperienced players. The team itself though, would be coming under a radically different type of leadership. Alongside Kassad re-joining the roster after his time with Valiance, Renegades would have an injection of fresh ideas without changing the fundamental bedrock of the team.





In their first few events together, most notably at the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals, both new additions proved capable of holding their own on big international stages. Gratisfaction posted big numbers against BIG in a best-of-three, with tabseN going as far to saying that he “is a really good addition. I must say, [Gratisfaction is] a really great AWPer. He's punishing a lot of mistakes, he's hitting his shots, and he's a great addition for them.”





With their rookies quickly finding their feet on the ever tumultuous surface of big stage play and a long bootcamp heading into Katowice, the stage was set for their first major run as a five-man side.













Top Eight for the Boys





Across the Challengers stage, Renegades didn’t drop a map. They beat-up AVANGAR and NiP, two firepower charged, dangerously explosive sides - in best-of-ones. Renegades then moved on to beat the princes of tier two play, ENCE, in a flawless 2:0 series to make the groups of their first major since Cologne 2015.





What makes these Challengers stage wins interesting is the manner in which Renegades earned them. The ANZ/Norwegian mix had the highest T-side round win percentage at 60.9 percent. From jks’ success in the late-round to Gratisfaction flourishing with a more aggressive approach and AZR’s tight calling, Renegades closed games with their offense. With many sides struggling under the changed pressures and parameters of AUG-ladenned CT-sides, Renegades stood apart. Unlike in previous line-ups, Renegades mid-round shone through, and their ability in the clutch clinched them many crucial rounds.





“This is the best a Australian team has ever looked. Their strategies, clutches, the fact they’re able to win late-round situations with individuals stepping up - their teamwork looks on-point - everything is looking polished,” said SPUNJ about Renegades. “It’s been a very long journey for AZR and jks, so props to them for making it. I’m more than impressed.”





A distinct depth and calm that only comes with experience came to the surface as Renegades continued to roll their form into the Legends stage. Here, they were able to beat ENCE again, and upset FaZe in best-of-ones. Then, they moved on to beat Astralis on Mirage before losing the series, and make top-eight with a convincing 2:1 victory over Vitality the fourth round of Swiss play.





Over their run to the top eight, Renegades switched gears and looked to their historically resolute CT-side. They posted the third highest CT win percentage in the group stage, above the likes of Liquid and Na`Vi. Both veterans and rookies alike stepped up individually again, with their late and mid-round play continuing to defy expectations.





Renegades effectively sourced and integrated domestic rookies while maintaining their historical strengths to write a new chapter for domestic teams around the world. They grinded through years of failure and rode the ebb and flow of taking chances when necessary.





They are no longer the peripheral plucky team at big events, but the trail-blazing representatives of rosters who are as such. Regardless of their results in the playoffs, the placing itself is enough to lay the groundwork and validate years of effort for one of CS:GO’s most important regional staples.





It took them four years, but in the span of a couple of weeks, Renegades managed to truly shock the world and make history.