NBK and the French Scene
This period of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a strange one. Astralis is looking like the pinnacle of world CSGO. Every player is excelling in their role and they are employing some of the best utility usage ever seen by a top team. Every other team has problems ranging from moderate to significant which inhibit them from claiming the #1 spot and starting an era of their own. One of the most disapointing rosters as of late is G2.
There is no other way to put it, G2 is a downright catastrophe. Bringing in Mixwell for shox and allowing NBK to in game lead has led them to two direct group stage exits. And according to reports, G2 is already looking at rebuilding the team around Ex6tenZ, Shox and KennyS. This leaves NBK in a conundrum.
Due to his disagreements between him and Shox, there is strong chance he will not join the new G2 project. If he does not, what is left for him in France? He could join EnVyUs, who are currently in last place in ECS and look absolutely unsalvageable. Or, he could join LDLC...and never play on LAN again. He could join up with a mix of other French players from both of those teams, but chances are, it would be a flawed line-up due to the lack of leadership. And due to player politics in the French scene, match ups are not so s1mple as they might look on paper. It is in his best interest to go international. Perferably to a team which has a solid base and strong players, but is badly in need of some extra support and stability.
What team could that be?
Oui.
The Struggles
FaZe have looked shaky to say the least. At DH Marseille, they got utterly wrecked by Astralis 2-0 in the quarter finals. Even though they won the recent IEM Sydney, their win was one of the ugliest in recent history. Early on, they dropped a series to Renegades 1-2. Then, FaZe nearly got knocked out of the tournament by Oceanic unknowns Greyhound Gaming, winning a close 2-1 series over the other boys. They even dropped a map to Tyloo in the semi finals. Though they recovered and beat Astralis in one of the closest 3-0's in history (19-17, 22-20, 16-14) the win was not convincing towards long term success. It relied so much on ridiculous performances from star players Guardian, NiKo and Rain that it seems hardly replicable, especially considering overall Astralis' form as of now.
FaZe already have a need for a fifth, as Xizt has temporarily stepped in for Olofmeister, who is out for unknown personal reasons (of which I have a batshit insane theory about*). Even though they won IEM Sydeny with him, Xizt is not a long term solution. He is not skilled enough nor useful enough to be on what is vying to be the best team in the world. Even with Olof, the team was struggling, for they were trying to imitate a balanced team, with an imbalance of heavy star power. Olofmeister has to be dropped for them to reach the level of consistency expected from a #1 team in the world.
Truth be told, ever since their two tournament blitzkreig in late 2017 at both ESL New York 2017 and ELEAGUE Premier 2017, this whole FaZe core has been underwhelming in totality. FaZe have square pegs and need to fill circle holes, so they jam in the pegs anyway and try their best to ignore the gaps. What they need is a fluid player, one to fill those gaps. One who excels in setting up others while providing impact himself. What they need is a kingmaker.
NBK as the Missing Piece
The player to add that consistency is NBK. Throughout his time in the French scene, he has been known for his versatility. He has played under three different in-game leaders, and has won tournaments under all of them, adapting to their style and playing the roles he needs to allow his team to win.
He thrives in the "bitch" roles, but unlike other "supportive" players, he has the ability to be a solid star player as well. His skillset is wide and deep, capable of entry fragging, anchoring and generally anything an ingame leader needs to help his team win. A fairly clutch player with loads of international LAN experience, his presence would bring an element of mental stability to a team with a history of failing to clutch out the close series. Like how Kioshima was the French lynchpin in the 2017 NiKo/Allu lineup, NBK can do the same for this stacked 2018 line-up.
One underrated aspect of this player addition would be the benefits to Karrigan, the in-game leader of FaZe. Both Karrigan and NBK have a high in-game intellect, and thus, the addition of NBK to FaZe would be a great meshing of the minds between the two great players. Karrigan would finally have a swiss army knife capable of doing the supportive and supplementary tasks Olof and Xizt cannot. This could potentially elevate the game of NiKo, Rain and Guardian to new heights and better balance out the star player hierearchy.
Although this is pure theory, it would be interesting to see what NBK in a lineup outside of the toxic swamp of Parisian politics would look like.
*: Due to that weird Na'Vi buyout situation where the reports said the org was willing to transfer S1mple after July, a part of my psyche is telling me S1mple is going to FaZe. But that part of the psyche is probably ill.
Random shit I learned and thought of while writing this:
NBK and Rain are both only 23 years old, what the hell
The French scene in totality is terrible right now, politics really hold them back
Olof should go back to Fnatic and replace Lekr0 (oo, new article :>)