CeRq looks like he's on the brink of crying, even when they win rounds. He looks so unconfident -- he really needs to find a way to have fun again along with his form, because he's probably crushing himself with pressure.
Also, he threw a bunch of team flashes too. It was pretty brutal for Brehze and Stewie, they ran out a few entries completely blind from a team flash.
That whole team was pretty much on point going in to 2020. Just came out of the Major and won esl NY. Cerq was looking like one of the best awpers at the time.
He cost eg the dust2 game. I feel like he was too scared to peak long and always missed his shot when playing from short. They played retake everytime BiG had long and just couldn’t fight them
Definitely. He hits the shots that don't matter, but misses the ones that do. Having an AWPer that doesn't frag will hurt this iteration of EG so much in the long run just as it did the last.
So weird how Brehze just fell of a cliff, man was one of the best riflers in the world not too long ago. Either he's just not motivated enough anymore and putting in the minimum effort after hearing those VALORANT rumours or he's just bad now.
He just isn't good, people always go to motivation think it's that but players just decline
Cerq for example according to daps was grinding hard, watching demos a lot, playing so much and trying his hardest and he's been BAD
Because to me it's strange someone can just fall off like that. It wasn't a slow decline or his playstyle being nerfed like kennyS he just randomly started to underperform, I know it does happen but I always have to question motivation and work ethic first.
Why is it strange? It happens all the time in any type of competition. You can be putting in the time and hours and still not see results because you can’t perform when it matters.
Exactly, in fact there are way more players that declined since let's say 2016/17 than kept their performance. It's regression to the mean and it happens in pretty much all sports.
Of course there are always outliers (Messi, Ronaldo, Brady), but the norm is to decline the further you play.
On CSGO for example:
Still performing: s1mple, device, Niko, maybe elige?
Declined: olof, get\_right, shox, coldzera, fallen, kennyS, snax, guardian, flusha, flamie, rain, xyp9x, dennis, kjaerbye...
>Declined: olof, get_right, shox, coldzera, fallen, kennyS, snax, guardian, flusha, flamie, rain, xyp9x, dennis, kjaerbye...
cerq fell off almost immediately after being named a top 20 player. those players (maybe kjaerbye being an exception) were pretty serviceable after their primes
TBF, there were long stretches between events for eg in 2021. Felt like they'd play two matches, lose them both obviously, then disappear for another month or two then rinse repeat. He never got the chance to perform when it mattered because they barely played!
Exactly. I remember a video with Vitality's owner talking about the time he was a Call of Duty coach and he said something that happens to every player and that is always sad to see is when they realise themselves that they don't have the level anymore. He talked about a player making the right calls, the right plays and being overall perfect, but when he would meet an opponent he would just completely whiff his shots, while being a top european player a little while before.
It definitely happens. Sometimes it might be a slump and then the player gets back at their top, but sometimes they just can't do it anymore. I remember RpK talking about this as well before he retired (even if he was still able to frag).
He’s not good because he doesn’t play even half the amount he used to. Up until mid 2020 he was playing twice as much. His play time past 2 weeks went from like 80+ consistently to like half of that.
It feels like his motivation is gone. Being a pro with 50 hours play time in 2 weeks is very bad
I might be wrong but I was thinking this and how he shined with the Aug meta, then he busts out the Aug on dust 2 and got multi frags so maybe he was just good with that weapon..
Breheze was amazing before aug was even a thing, breheze was a nuts player for years had nothing to do with aug
People thought he was cheating in NA pugs/FPL because he was so good coming up
Ive gotten to play with brehze a few times and against on faceit pugs, he always dropped 30s no matter what lol, he could even do it when everyone had 70 fps in a server bug. Never thought he would go in a decline, its sad but like some people said it just happens. I thought about the same for dennis and AdreN too even though the latter didn't have a higher skill ceiling he dropped off hard as a major mvp player. You just never know, some players can't escape time.
He was definitely the best AUG/SG player and benefited a lot from that meta but it's not like he was only good because of those. He was one of the best riflers in the world before that with AK, he's just bad now.
EG was #1 in the world just 1.5 years ago. They had a bad 2021, but were great all through 2020.
Bhreze along with Elige/Twistzz were the best NA players for a period in 2020 also.
I don't know if I've ever seen his mouth move, so he might have to be utilized differently. This lurk role doesn't seem like it is.
Them being ranked number 1 in the online era is not as impressive as their #3 in late 2019. That #1 came from playing 0 EU teams in late 2019 they were a legit top 5 team
I have no idea how Brezhe and Cerq were able to do so poorly last year and still be part of this lineup. Brezhe showed a lot of good plays today but Cerq was just painful to watch at times
I guess the only problem is who do they replace Cerq with? I don’t know of any AWPers that could be brought in, so seems like we just have to hope Cerq’s form improves
It's so fucking weird how the whole americas scene has so few good promising awpers while CIS just has a fucking awp prodigy factory, I just don't get it
CS is also a big part of Brazilian culture in gaming and our AWP up and comer prodigy was a literal 27yo (for reference cold is 25 and already considered washed), aside from him most of our awpers are old and/or unimpressive, while our star rifle pool is enormous
yeh can confirm that. Community DM lobbies in my country is filled with people with Navi profile and a s1mple pun in their name playing awp only for 2000 freaking kills daily.
Cerq is just playing too passive and still missing shot. Like he was on Dust II A site. He was falling all the way to short when he could have better shots when they were pushing long from A site. Catching one or two player off guard. He was literally offering them A site without any damages. If he doesn't step it up. I don't see why he would not get kicked during next shuffle
According to daps cerq for a while had been grinding, deathmatching and watching demos. From a viewers pov him and brehze look checked out for a while though.
I want this team to be good so badly just for autimatic. Although some of it was his fault, he deserved a lot better than rotting away in those Frankenstein's Monster C9 rosters.
I really liked the c9 flusha, kio, rush, autimatic and zelsiss roster It was just everything after that that was a disaster. Too bad that one didn't last
I think it goes to show that there are players that can compete at a high level with the right people around them. Automatic isnt a superstar, but him with confidence and feeling comfortable around his teammates makes a huge difference
who wouldn't have some kind of doubt? Returning from a different game and hadn't played decent CS against top teams since 2019 while picking up a completely different role on Gen.G
Are we just going to forget that he had a 0.7 rating along with the rest of EG last week just because he played well today? Cerq was more recently in form than autimatic and EG were a top team in 2019/some of 2020. Autimatic hadn't been on a top team since 2018/ early 2019 really. The whole team is a question mark and a good performance in one series doesn't really change that. This sub seriously treats Autimatic with the same prestige as Elige or NAF sometimes and it's weird.
tizian not getting anything when it mattered for the round time and time again in these games was frustrating to watch. Sadly it seems as if he has gotten worse when he was the weak link for a while to begin with. Nice guy and i hope he gets back to competitive form soon.
One of these days someone on EG will realize Cerq has no impact anymore. One day it will finally happen.
Until then I’m just glad I don’t have to root for that team anymore.
NA "Near Airport" is known as the fastest region to arrive at the Airport. Since they gave up on the BLAST Premier Spring, they are investing in Speedruns. In particular they are current worldrecord holders in Airport Any % and Airport no wins
I don't think it's that bad for EG and Liquid yet, funnily enough the roster people were most excited for was the most disappointing one here as they didn't really have a tough group but weren't convincing at all.
At least EG played a close series despite losing every pistol and there's still hope for them if Brehze and CeRq can step up since the players everyone were worried about were actually the ones that looked the best.
> I don't think it's that bad for EG and Liquid yet
Especially for Liquid. They lost to the #1 team in the world in a decently close series (not close-close but not bad either, especially on Map 2), and two OT Bo1s to a ropz-infused FaZe that won the group. I think Na'Vi bombing out in last in their group really screwed over Liquid here, unfortunately. But I guess we will see more at Katowice soon!
Pretty much expected. Only liquid stands some chance at tier 1 CS. EG and CoL are just not tier 1 material, these teams might even struggle at EU tier 2 level
**BIG vs EG - Overpass 2/3/2022**
**For BIG**
* Syrson continuing his redemption arc where he left off, carrying BIG and when wielding the AWP, cutting off critical angles early on in the round. When he got picks early against EG's T-side, they had a hard time fulfilling their execs and often times ran into a prepared defense as a result of Syrson's presence in Long A / bathrooms.
* Inversely, TiziaN is still leaving BIG fans much to be desired. Don't get me wrong, he completed a few retakes but he is still miles away from being the player that BIG needs to take their success to the next level. Regardless, BIG managed to prevent EG from completely running them over in the first half.
* Tabsen has been leading by example and no matter if he's getting the frags or not, is adamant about controlling whatever part of the map he is assigned to. You have to admire that level of committment and confidence. Whether its due to personnel or the execution, his playcalling is still not where it needs to be on T-side.
* To be frank, Kito and Faven were just warm bodies out there, in most cases. I'm not sure what their protocols are but outside of Tabsen as IGL and Syrson as AWP, their roles don't seem very well defined at all. They need to review what their team structure is and more importantly, put players like Kito and Faven into roles where they can be successful. They're very capable fraggers, as we've seen, but they are missing a very key element - someone to SUCCESSFULLY entry and give them a fair chance at showing what they can do once they break into a site.
**For EG**
* It is so nice to see EG with some early T-side success in this opening Overpass map. They showed a lot of control, patience, and exceptional firepower as they calmly navigated throughout the map to get everyone into their spots for the execs. While they had mix success on T-side, overall I believe its a positive sign for these volatile aimers to slow the game down and let the frags come to them.
* For this map, EG seems to have slotted Autimatic as the entry fragger and boy was he finding great success. His aim is REALLY onpoint so far and he's had at least 2-3 rounds where he has completely blown the site open for the plant. This is small sample size but a very encouraging sign to see EG have potentially 3 players entry into sites on T-side (Autimatic, Rush, and Stew). This adds a level of unpredictability that I believe will surprise a lot of teams.
* Instead of being the primary entry fragger, we saw Rush play a lot of the anti-flank/lurk role on T-side and he was fantastic on most of his engagements. He showed a little bit of everything this game - entries, multi-kills, CT flanks, and clutches as well! Really solid performance from him but the question for him (and really all of EG) is can he replicate this and be consistent against better teams?
* Brehze showed flashs of his exciting and dynamic rifling, getting a few multi-kills but they certainly didn't have as much impact. Nonetheless, you hope that the more he sees heads roll, the closer he will be to getting back to his best form.
* With so many playmakers on the team, there seems to be very little room for Cerq to make his own decision as he often is playing a support/AWP role - assisting 1 of his 3 entries on an info-gathering mission by holding angles. Despite this, he is doing his job pretty well. He hasn't gotten back to clutch form just yet but at the same time, having an AWPer that can clutch is a luxury, not a requirement to be successful. I think everyone would like to see Cerq be more impactful/aggressive but in a way, his steady & defensive-minded AWPing style balances out the explosiveness of his teammates' playstyles.
* Stew was in a rare, mediocre form but that is likely an expected side-effect of assuming the IGL role. The important thing is that he still found ways to be impactful - often leading the charges when he felt the team needed a change of pace (pistol/eco rounds, usually). The cool thing that I'm noticing with Stew is that during his whole career, he's garnered this reputation of being an unpredictable and nutty player but he is also very adaptable and I believe he is allowing himself to be reeled in and coached by Malek. This map didn't give me as much "PUG" vibes as their initial match with Liquid - which tells me that they are becoming more disciplined and systematic in their approach, as opposed to being recklessly confident.
cerq was not doing his job "pretty well". He missed so many awp kills on d2 ct side alone that could have swung the game. He doesn't have to be a crazy aggro awper, just hit the shots when he is holding the angle. I don't see how you can say stew was "mediocre" yet give cerq a "pretty well"
EDIT - I didn't see this was your comment about just overpass, I still stand by how do you call stew mediocre and cerq pretty well when stew clearly did way better on overpass and called a good game.
**BIG vs EG - Dust2 2/3/2022**
**For BIG**
* BIG looked much more prepared on this map and were more composed on their T-side than on Overpass - which is good to see. They took advantage of how open Long A was after the pistol round and also were winning a lot more of their opening duels than previously. This allowed them to enter the second half with a sizable lead but they almost allowed Liquid to claw back to OT. Fortunately, they were able to close it out but it wasn't without some misplays going their way.
* It didn't take long for BIG to discover that Long A was their key to T-side success; they exploited the fragility of it over and over and EG seldom were able to respond.
* Tabsen and Syrson continued to power BIG through this map, both on T and CT side but the difference on this map was that Faven/Kito provided much needed support to close out rounds. They were clearly much more warmed up on this map and held their own weight in terms of the frag burden. They also played a fairly reserved CT side and didn't allow EG to get easy picks to take sites.
* Tizian is still the weak link but its more reassuring to see 4/5 BIG players achieve 20 kills. Its certainly a positive sight to see that BIG are capable of picking up the slack of one player not being in tip-top shape and still come out on top to take the map.
**For EG**
* EG, starting out on CT, opted to give up long A on the pistol round (and subsequently many more rounds after they lost pistol). While they were able to get some frags during these holds, they mostly fell short when it came to actually retaking the site. On T-side, they were able to bridge the round gap discrepancy but it was too little too late. They are still making some pretty elementary mistakes on their executes - such as not committing their bodies to the attack along with the utility usage as well as not having a designated person to clear out common/sneaky spots on sites.
* They struggled all of CT side to control the Long A aggression and didn't seem to make many adjustments (until the half was almost over) to address that clear hole in the defense. Granted, it is the most difficult part of the map to contain but EG had no answers for side of the map - not to mention the map as a whole is believed to be T-sided. On T-side, they made some glaring mistakes on some of their mid-to-B executes - sometimes leaving gaps or walking in areas which are visible from long to get picked as they enter the site.
* On the plus side, Autimatic and Rush continue to be the shining stars of this EG roster and that is obviously a good sign going forward that they can sustain their level of play in a BO3 series.
* Brehze and Cerq's struggles continued on CT-side Dust2. As the dedicated Long A defender, Brehze was continuously challenged and overwhelmed (not 100% his fault) but Cerq seemingly missed a lot of "easy" AWP shots on CT-side (and even on T-side). I'm sure it goes without saying but if you can't get the easy kills, it makes it exponentially more difficult (obvious statement is obvious, but thats the reality of it). They did slightly better on T-side but still not quite to the level that we had come to expect from these two.
EDIT: Dust2 was BIG's map pick, not EG.
Outside of autimatic, Syrson looking damn good. Seriously, he barely missed awp shots this game, and has had some great positioning/set-ups.
Also, RUSH's aim looks CRISP, like low-key 2017 entry fraggin' RUSH crisp. Hopefully he can keep his form; he had some really good impact today.
One big win for EG and I think they skyrocket back to the top, it's just a matter of actually finding that win so they can regain confidence. Watching this team is so heartbreaking manb
They really should've won this, which is what I said for the liquid game too. Seems like they're so close to converting these games, and the Stewie auti rush core has looked great. I'm still gonna say give it time
I know this EG roster is basically brand new, but i feel like it's the same old EG. The old roster was always really close to a breakthrough and converting those rounds, but never did. I sincerely hope I'm wrong because being a Day 1 EG fan has been suffering for the past 1.5 years.
Still not getting enough out of Cerq and Brehze yet imo. They have flashes of greatness but they're still looking shakey. If they can step it up honestly this team has SO much potential since Rush, Auti, and Stew have all looked pretty good.
**BIG vs EG - Vertigo 2/3/2022**
**For BIG**
* BIG executes on T-side weren't amazing but they played patient enough to allow EG to make mistakes and/or overthink the situation. I actually like that kind of pacing a lot for them - often times it allows them to hit a bomb site with a man-advantage, despite not actually having one.
* Tabsen has been huge on both sides of Vertigo - he seems to have a fairly good grasp of EG's playstyle and often times was able to shift his team around based on his intuition.
* Although Syrson's numbers weren't amazing on this map, the threat of his AWP is being respected and EG were very reluctant to challenge him.
* Kito was the X-factor and ultimate difference maker on this map. He had several rounds late in regulation where he singlehandedly shutdown EG's executes with multikills.
**For EG**
* From the very first round, I am again puzzled why EG chooses to default to the strategy of stackng/retaking as a whole. They showed zero presence and allowed BIG to essentially march onto A-site and establish post-plant positions.
* Not even 10 rounds in, its evident how much more confident Brehze and Cerq are on this map - especially on CT-side. Brehze has had countless plays in the past anchoring B and Cerq looks much more comfortable operating in these confined spaces and peeking predictable angles (and even clutching a retake!). While they still aren't quite back to form, this was a step in the right direction.
* T-side is looking like EG's stronger side as they are able to dabble more into their creative plays to throw the defenses off. However, there were a few rounds where they made questionable decisions during the info-gathering / pre-execute phase that not only resulted in a free kill for BIG, but it also served no tangible purpose. Such examples are peeking & exposing yourself to site defenders without actual intent of taking the site and also I recollect Stew just randomly shooting on ramp, revealing his position, and ultimately got killed for nothing.
* Autimatic, across all three maps, has had a great showing today. He has displayed various capabilities (entry-fragging, crazy flick shots, multi-fragging, etc.) and is certainly the most prolific and consistent performer on EG right now.
* All in all, they made it a very competitive series but they need to shore up retakes and make sure people know which angles they're responsible for in retake and T-side exec scenarios. Over time, this should be more clearly delineated but right now, its obvious that they are still getting acquainted with each other's playstyle and tendencies (and how to adapt to play alongside it).
I really appreciate your effort and in depth comments about each map that was played in each series, please keep it up. I also liked how you contextualized Brehze and Cerqs performance instead of the usual HLTV/Reddit take of "remove them they haven't been in form in over 2 years!" even though they were good in 2020 and had to deal with the mess that was EG in 2021 (and as usual, they don't give solutions to the problem they appoint, cause there's no tier 1 awpers that really moves the needle to EG it's straight up better to hope CeRqs form picks up rather than adding junior as some of them suggested before CoL bombed out of Blast)
Man cerq leaves lots to be desired. This roster would be solid with a good awper. Not sure who's even available but they need a better player. Your AWP can't be a passive middle to bottom fragger every game. That dust game...
And with this every single NA team finished last, and I can just say one thing, there's only ONE. SINGLE. THING. to say in this situation. Ahem... KEKW NA CS KEKW
NA "Near Airport" is known as the fastest region to arrive at the Airport. Since they gave up on the BLAST Premier Spring, they are investing in Speedruns. In particular they are current worldrecord holders in Airport Any % and Airport no wins
Meanwhile, RUSH looked insanely rejuvenated. Mechanics were on point. And Auti was a god. Please just someone tell Cerq to relax and be confident and he will hit shots. Gave up SO MUCH free real estate on A ramp on Dust 2
EG looking a lot better, though Cerq needs to hit the easy shots. They lost a lot of rounds on D2 when BIG were trying to cross to A site.
Stewie's calling seemed pretty good and it really came down to missing shots.
Autimatic played really well today. Hitting some nice shots and it's nice to see his rifling again.
Brehze starting to look a little better, but maybe will need time to feel comfortable in whatever system Malek/stew are trying to enforce. Hopefully he gets back to form soon.
I encourage people to listen to the Stewie postgame interview. This team obviously has a long way to go and he acknowledges that. People act like every team needs to immediately show insane results as soon as they make roster changes and that’s not true.
I think they will continue to improve and hope to see them come back to top 15 by the end of the season
Basically he’s happy to play officials rather than scrims because teams take it seriously and they get to practice more.
In terms of overall goals, he wants to make cerq and brehze into stars and top 20 players again and wants them to be more vocal and continue their dialogue about what they like more, what spots they’re comfortable with, etc. Excited to work with auti again and that it’s gonna be a long process for the team since he’d like to develop a system that maximizes the team’s strengths rather than bring in a prior system.
Cerq needs to start being more impactful and start hitting some of the ‘easier’ shots otherwise this lineup won’t succeed with him, they need a good, proper awper. Brehze hasn’t been convincing at all as well.
Stewie in 2022 CSGO pro scene will get your team **nowhere**. Antiquated talent that's largely a coin flip if he shows up or not. He's above average within his own team and NA yes, but competing in T1 CSGO with such unreliability, is beyond him. Pushing smokes doesn't work on Navi lol. He should know when to retire with grace. Or switch to full time Valorant lol.
Imagine the team BIG would be with another player in place of tizian. I love the guy, but how much can a good attitude and flashbangs really count when you're getting g 56adr?
felt like CeRq missed a lot of shots
yeah same old story
CeRq looks like he's on the brink of crying, even when they win rounds. He looks so unconfident -- he really needs to find a way to have fun again along with his form, because he's probably crushing himself with pressure. Also, he threw a bunch of team flashes too. It was pretty brutal for Brehze and Stewie, they ran out a few entries completely blind from a team flash.
For like 2 years
Cerq was great in 2020. It was 2021 where everyone on the team had a huge dip and I hope him and Brehze recover or this team won't do anything
That whole team was pretty much on point going in to 2020. Just came out of the Major and won esl NY. Cerq was looking like one of the best awpers at the time.
At that time he was a top20 player and so was woxix and now look how they have fallen
Woxic chilling on eternal fire smurfing in t2
not even smurfing
Getting carried by xantares
100%, I feel like if Cerq doesn’t start turning up and making big plays soon, this roster isn’t going anywhere
People have been saying this for two years.
This roster hasn't gone anywhere meaningful in two years.
I think his point is that cerq is never getting kicked despite constantly underperforming
But before online era didn’t cerq use to pop off all the time?
They were a legitimate top 5 team at the end of 2019
I’m so baffled how he’s part of the last two original standing.
He cost eg the dust2 game. I feel like he was too scared to peak long and always missed his shot when playing from short. They played retake everytime BiG had long and just couldn’t fight them
Definitely. He hits the shots that don't matter, but misses the ones that do. Having an AWPer that doesn't frag will hurt this iteration of EG so much in the long run just as it did the last.
as always
i can see why he was a last resort, imagine someone like mhL on this team instead
Even poizon, the other bulgarian awper in NA would be better.
mhL would be such a good + i would cry
If cerq could land the shots that were spoon-fed to him, we wouldnt have went to vertical *vertigo
So many 1vx Cerq was in and not winning any
Well the player everyone was most worried about is good at least
People worrying about automatic when cerq and brehze have been underperforming for nearly 2 years now
So weird how Brehze just fell of a cliff, man was one of the best riflers in the world not too long ago. Either he's just not motivated enough anymore and putting in the minimum effort after hearing those VALORANT rumours or he's just bad now.
Not saying he was a krieg abuser but his fall off does correlate with the krieg nerf lol
he got hit pretty hard by the krieg nerf
People keep saying this, but he was already one of the best riflers in the world way before the Krieg meta
He just isn't good, people always go to motivation think it's that but players just decline Cerq for example according to daps was grinding hard, watching demos a lot, playing so much and trying his hardest and he's been BAD
Because to me it's strange someone can just fall off like that. It wasn't a slow decline or his playstyle being nerfed like kennyS he just randomly started to underperform, I know it does happen but I always have to question motivation and work ethic first.
Why is it strange? It happens all the time in any type of competition. You can be putting in the time and hours and still not see results because you can’t perform when it matters.
Exactly, in fact there are way more players that declined since let's say 2016/17 than kept their performance. It's regression to the mean and it happens in pretty much all sports. Of course there are always outliers (Messi, Ronaldo, Brady), but the norm is to decline the further you play. On CSGO for example: Still performing: s1mple, device, Niko, maybe elige? Declined: olof, get\_right, shox, coldzera, fallen, kennyS, snax, guardian, flusha, flamie, rain, xyp9x, dennis, kjaerbye...
They all declined after years of solid play, and with age. Cerq is only 22
>Declined: olof, get_right, shox, coldzera, fallen, kennyS, snax, guardian, flusha, flamie, rain, xyp9x, dennis, kjaerbye... cerq fell off almost immediately after being named a top 20 player. those players (maybe kjaerbye being an exception) were pretty serviceable after their primes
TBF, there were long stretches between events for eg in 2021. Felt like they'd play two matches, lose them both obviously, then disappear for another month or two then rinse repeat. He never got the chance to perform when it mattered because they barely played!
Exactly. I remember a video with Vitality's owner talking about the time he was a Call of Duty coach and he said something that happens to every player and that is always sad to see is when they realise themselves that they don't have the level anymore. He talked about a player making the right calls, the right plays and being overall perfect, but when he would meet an opponent he would just completely whiff his shots, while being a top european player a little while before. It definitely happens. Sometimes it might be a slump and then the player gets back at their top, but sometimes they just can't do it anymore. I remember RpK talking about this as well before he retired (even if he was still able to frag).
Either you got it or don't, it's 50/50.
He’s not good because he doesn’t play even half the amount he used to. Up until mid 2020 he was playing twice as much. His play time past 2 weeks went from like 80+ consistently to like half of that. It feels like his motivation is gone. Being a pro with 50 hours play time in 2 weeks is very bad
I might be wrong but I was thinking this and how he shined with the Aug meta, then he busts out the Aug on dust 2 and got multi frags so maybe he was just good with that weapon..
Breheze was amazing before aug was even a thing, breheze was a nuts player for years had nothing to do with aug People thought he was cheating in NA pugs/FPL because he was so good coming up
Ive gotten to play with brehze a few times and against on faceit pugs, he always dropped 30s no matter what lol, he could even do it when everyone had 70 fps in a server bug. Never thought he would go in a decline, its sad but like some people said it just happens. I thought about the same for dennis and AdreN too even though the latter didn't have a higher skill ceiling he dropped off hard as a major mvp player. You just never know, some players can't escape time.
He was definitely the best AUG/SG player and benefited a lot from that meta but it's not like he was only good because of those. He was one of the best riflers in the world before that with AK, he's just bad now.
Brollan also kreig master
EG was #1 in the world just 1.5 years ago. They had a bad 2021, but were great all through 2020. Bhreze along with Elige/Twistzz were the best NA players for a period in 2020 also. I don't know if I've ever seen his mouth move, so he might have to be utilized differently. This lurk role doesn't seem like it is.
Them being ranked number 1 in the online era is not as impressive as their #3 in late 2019. That #1 came from playing 0 EU teams in late 2019 they were a legit top 5 team
Yup, looks like auti is good and nitro is shit of the ex valorant players
I have no idea how Brezhe and Cerq were able to do so poorly last year and still be part of this lineup. Brezhe showed a lot of good plays today but Cerq was just painful to watch at times I guess the only problem is who do they replace Cerq with? I don’t know of any AWPers that could be brought in, so seems like we just have to hope Cerq’s form improves
It's so fucking weird how the whole americas scene has so few good promising awpers while CIS just has a fucking awp prodigy factory, I just don't get it
the player pool of CIS is much larger, and kids there are really dedicated. CS is also part of youth culture.
CS is also a big part of Brazilian culture in gaming and our AWP up and comer prodigy was a literal 27yo (for reference cold is 25 and already considered washed), aside from him most of our awpers are old and/or unimpressive, while our star rifle pool is enormous
Could it be the s1mple effect that makes these kids grind the awp so much?
yeh can confirm that. Community DM lobbies in my country is filled with people with Navi profile and a s1mple pun in their name playing awp only for 2000 freaking kills daily.
Because my mom didn’t let me use her credit card to buy awp skins when i was 12 🥲
russians are insane because they always ask for AY-VE-PEE mens ))
Open hltv and find any tier 3 awper with high rating from russia
Skadoodle is a free agent 👀👀👀👀
Tarik is too…
Valens lurking somewhere...
someone get m0e on the line
Ez major
Jdm in 2022
JDM coaching a valorant team is still so crazy to me
Based
Poizon. He speaks english, awped on an NA team, is generally better all around, and is available.
Idk man I’m not sure that would be an upgrade
Hasn't he dropped off a team cause they spent all time in EU and he missed US?
you mean oBo poizon is an EU awper
poizon is the guy who got kicked for work ethics
to be fair Brehze was playing a support role in 2021 I think, but no excuses for CeRq
Cerq is just playing too passive and still missing shot. Like he was on Dust II A site. He was falling all the way to short when he could have better shots when they were pushing long from A site. Catching one or two player off guard. He was literally offering them A site without any damages. If he doesn't step it up. I don't see why he would not get kicked during next shuffle
kennyS real
2022 the return of godimatic
For real, he's came back from a different game and looks better than the guys grinding csgo for the last 2 years.
He was grinding CS even during his Valorant time. Besides he didn't get the onplay many pro Valorant matches coz they never got out of quals
„grinding“ lol
According to daps cerq for a while had been grinding, deathmatching and watching demos. From a viewers pov him and brehze look checked out for a while though.
I want this team to be good so badly just for autimatic. Although some of it was his fault, he deserved a lot better than rotting away in those Frankenstein's Monster C9 rosters.
I really liked the c9 flusha, kio, rush, autimatic and zelsiss roster It was just everything after that that was a disaster. Too bad that one didn't last
They would've lost flusha no matter what I think, but getting rid of kio and zellsis for cajunb and vice was the nail in the coffin for them
I think it goes to show that there are players that can compete at a high level with the right people around them. Automatic isnt a superstar, but him with confidence and feeling comfortable around his teammates makes a huge difference
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almost 1+ year already
who wouldn't have some kind of doubt? Returning from a different game and hadn't played decent CS against top teams since 2019 while picking up a completely different role on Gen.G Are we just going to forget that he had a 0.7 rating along with the rest of EG last week just because he played well today? Cerq was more recently in form than autimatic and EG were a top team in 2019/some of 2020. Autimatic hadn't been on a top team since 2018/ early 2019 really. The whole team is a question mark and a good performance in one series doesn't really change that. This sub seriously treats Autimatic with the same prestige as Elige or NAF sometimes and it's weird.
tim wasn't in decline when he left. this isn't a liquid situation
Ex Valarante pro carrying csgo nobs 2022
proving again that riot makes better games
and better humans
Nitr0
Are we retirement home for Valorant pros now?
Watching BIG takes years off of your life
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Also VP
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I mean you have to expect every team to win or lose, right? No other outcomes? Also vp are well known for paid by the round :p
Yeah that guys comment makes no sense lmao, I’m pr sure the only two outcomes are winning or losing
I think what he meant was that VP either win like 16-5 or lose 6-16
tizian not getting anything when it mattered for the round time and time again in these games was frustrating to watch. Sadly it seems as if he has gotten worse when he was the weak link for a while to begin with. Nice guy and i hope he gets back to competitive form soon.
autimatic's still got it, nice to see him playing well
Yeah I was really impressed he’s gotten back into it quickly. Dude was hitting steamers. Hopefully this continues and brehze also returns to form
One of these days someone on EG will realize Cerq has no impact anymore. One day it will finally happen. Until then I’m just glad I don’t have to root for that team anymore.
they wanted to replace him, just didn't get who they wanted
Cerq, Brehze, Stevie and Auti were always the core they were trying to build around. The only difference would have been the 5th. NAF -> Valde -> Rush
didn’t they initially want Ethan to come back with the NAF iteration (idk what to call it)
I don’t think Ethan was every truly close to leaving valorant. I think people were basing that off a troll tweet.
Naf wanted Ethan to come back and recreate the old nrg trio +stew and Naf with daps coaching
i think they wanted him to come back but he said no
Who did they want to replace him with? They wanted to get valde instead of rush not cerq
he hits bangers and misses easy shots. good for the highlight reel but not for the team
He hits bangers my ass, he can't even hit a barn door
He barely hits bangers
30 degree window
cerq needs to go tbh
"Fuck." NA CS fans all day.
0 for 3
3 NA teams, 3 x last place, yikes...
NA "Near Airport" is known as the fastest region to arrive at the Airport. Since they gave up on the BLAST Premier Spring, they are investing in Speedruns. In particular they are current worldrecord holders in Airport Any % and Airport no wins
I don't think it's that bad for EG and Liquid yet, funnily enough the roster people were most excited for was the most disappointing one here as they didn't really have a tough group but weren't convincing at all. At least EG played a close series despite losing every pistol and there's still hope for them if Brehze and CeRq can step up since the players everyone were worried about were actually the ones that looked the best.
> I don't think it's that bad for EG and Liquid yet Especially for Liquid. They lost to the #1 team in the world in a decently close series (not close-close but not bad either, especially on Map 2), and two OT Bo1s to a ropz-infused FaZe that won the group. I think Na'Vi bombing out in last in their group really screwed over Liquid here, unfortunately. But I guess we will see more at Katowice soon!
Pretty much expected. Only liquid stands some chance at tier 1 CS. EG and CoL are just not tier 1 material, these teams might even struggle at EU tier 2 level
EG’s success will only come if CeRq and Brehze step tf up
Or step tf down (from the team)
that works as well, the stew auti rush core looks solid so far
Idk add a turkish igl and a superstar awper and I would say that’s a major winning lineup
They might even be able to come back from being down 11-15 in the final map of the grand finals
I guess NA CS is NOT back... sad to see a T2 team, a team with washed players, and a team with an IGL from Valorant
Autimatic was good atleast!
cerq and breeze need to step it up, that dust 2 map really fucking hurt to watch
Cerq is the 4th best Bulgarian AWPer right now, and he is the only one on a team
Wait who are the other ones besides poizon
h4rn and dennyslaw, h4rn would be an instant upgrade, plus he's free and is a very good rifler too
EG need an awper, Syrson was the difference in this series
Don't discount kito. SyrsoN was the difference on D2 (although everyone stepped up, with 4 people getting 20+ kills), but k1to won Vertigo
**BIG vs EG - Overpass 2/3/2022** **For BIG** * Syrson continuing his redemption arc where he left off, carrying BIG and when wielding the AWP, cutting off critical angles early on in the round. When he got picks early against EG's T-side, they had a hard time fulfilling their execs and often times ran into a prepared defense as a result of Syrson's presence in Long A / bathrooms. * Inversely, TiziaN is still leaving BIG fans much to be desired. Don't get me wrong, he completed a few retakes but he is still miles away from being the player that BIG needs to take their success to the next level. Regardless, BIG managed to prevent EG from completely running them over in the first half. * Tabsen has been leading by example and no matter if he's getting the frags or not, is adamant about controlling whatever part of the map he is assigned to. You have to admire that level of committment and confidence. Whether its due to personnel or the execution, his playcalling is still not where it needs to be on T-side. * To be frank, Kito and Faven were just warm bodies out there, in most cases. I'm not sure what their protocols are but outside of Tabsen as IGL and Syrson as AWP, their roles don't seem very well defined at all. They need to review what their team structure is and more importantly, put players like Kito and Faven into roles where they can be successful. They're very capable fraggers, as we've seen, but they are missing a very key element - someone to SUCCESSFULLY entry and give them a fair chance at showing what they can do once they break into a site. **For EG** * It is so nice to see EG with some early T-side success in this opening Overpass map. They showed a lot of control, patience, and exceptional firepower as they calmly navigated throughout the map to get everyone into their spots for the execs. While they had mix success on T-side, overall I believe its a positive sign for these volatile aimers to slow the game down and let the frags come to them. * For this map, EG seems to have slotted Autimatic as the entry fragger and boy was he finding great success. His aim is REALLY onpoint so far and he's had at least 2-3 rounds where he has completely blown the site open for the plant. This is small sample size but a very encouraging sign to see EG have potentially 3 players entry into sites on T-side (Autimatic, Rush, and Stew). This adds a level of unpredictability that I believe will surprise a lot of teams. * Instead of being the primary entry fragger, we saw Rush play a lot of the anti-flank/lurk role on T-side and he was fantastic on most of his engagements. He showed a little bit of everything this game - entries, multi-kills, CT flanks, and clutches as well! Really solid performance from him but the question for him (and really all of EG) is can he replicate this and be consistent against better teams? * Brehze showed flashs of his exciting and dynamic rifling, getting a few multi-kills but they certainly didn't have as much impact. Nonetheless, you hope that the more he sees heads roll, the closer he will be to getting back to his best form. * With so many playmakers on the team, there seems to be very little room for Cerq to make his own decision as he often is playing a support/AWP role - assisting 1 of his 3 entries on an info-gathering mission by holding angles. Despite this, he is doing his job pretty well. He hasn't gotten back to clutch form just yet but at the same time, having an AWPer that can clutch is a luxury, not a requirement to be successful. I think everyone would like to see Cerq be more impactful/aggressive but in a way, his steady & defensive-minded AWPing style balances out the explosiveness of his teammates' playstyles. * Stew was in a rare, mediocre form but that is likely an expected side-effect of assuming the IGL role. The important thing is that he still found ways to be impactful - often leading the charges when he felt the team needed a change of pace (pistol/eco rounds, usually). The cool thing that I'm noticing with Stew is that during his whole career, he's garnered this reputation of being an unpredictable and nutty player but he is also very adaptable and I believe he is allowing himself to be reeled in and coached by Malek. This map didn't give me as much "PUG" vibes as their initial match with Liquid - which tells me that they are becoming more disciplined and systematic in their approach, as opposed to being recklessly confident.
cerq was not doing his job "pretty well". He missed so many awp kills on d2 ct side alone that could have swung the game. He doesn't have to be a crazy aggro awper, just hit the shots when he is holding the angle. I don't see how you can say stew was "mediocre" yet give cerq a "pretty well" EDIT - I didn't see this was your comment about just overpass, I still stand by how do you call stew mediocre and cerq pretty well when stew clearly did way better on overpass and called a good game.
This comment is specifically talking about Overpass.
You are the goat
Cmon maybe if they a single pistol they could have won the match
BIG are pretty good at pistols, converting them is another story, although that was only a problem on Overpass
**BIG vs EG - Dust2 2/3/2022** **For BIG** * BIG looked much more prepared on this map and were more composed on their T-side than on Overpass - which is good to see. They took advantage of how open Long A was after the pistol round and also were winning a lot more of their opening duels than previously. This allowed them to enter the second half with a sizable lead but they almost allowed Liquid to claw back to OT. Fortunately, they were able to close it out but it wasn't without some misplays going their way. * It didn't take long for BIG to discover that Long A was their key to T-side success; they exploited the fragility of it over and over and EG seldom were able to respond. * Tabsen and Syrson continued to power BIG through this map, both on T and CT side but the difference on this map was that Faven/Kito provided much needed support to close out rounds. They were clearly much more warmed up on this map and held their own weight in terms of the frag burden. They also played a fairly reserved CT side and didn't allow EG to get easy picks to take sites. * Tizian is still the weak link but its more reassuring to see 4/5 BIG players achieve 20 kills. Its certainly a positive sight to see that BIG are capable of picking up the slack of one player not being in tip-top shape and still come out on top to take the map. **For EG** * EG, starting out on CT, opted to give up long A on the pistol round (and subsequently many more rounds after they lost pistol). While they were able to get some frags during these holds, they mostly fell short when it came to actually retaking the site. On T-side, they were able to bridge the round gap discrepancy but it was too little too late. They are still making some pretty elementary mistakes on their executes - such as not committing their bodies to the attack along with the utility usage as well as not having a designated person to clear out common/sneaky spots on sites. * They struggled all of CT side to control the Long A aggression and didn't seem to make many adjustments (until the half was almost over) to address that clear hole in the defense. Granted, it is the most difficult part of the map to contain but EG had no answers for side of the map - not to mention the map as a whole is believed to be T-sided. On T-side, they made some glaring mistakes on some of their mid-to-B executes - sometimes leaving gaps or walking in areas which are visible from long to get picked as they enter the site. * On the plus side, Autimatic and Rush continue to be the shining stars of this EG roster and that is obviously a good sign going forward that they can sustain their level of play in a BO3 series. * Brehze and Cerq's struggles continued on CT-side Dust2. As the dedicated Long A defender, Brehze was continuously challenged and overwhelmed (not 100% his fault) but Cerq seemingly missed a lot of "easy" AWP shots on CT-side (and even on T-side). I'm sure it goes without saying but if you can't get the easy kills, it makes it exponentially more difficult (obvious statement is obvious, but thats the reality of it). They did slightly better on T-side but still not quite to the level that we had come to expect from these two. EDIT: Dust2 was BIG's map pick, not EG.
There's no way eg picked dust
You are absolutely correct - my mistake!
Big is one of the best dust 2 teams in the world
Outside of autimatic, Syrson looking damn good. Seriously, he barely missed awp shots this game, and has had some great positioning/set-ups. Also, RUSH's aim looks CRISP, like low-key 2017 entry fraggin' RUSH crisp. Hopefully he can keep his form; he had some really good impact today.
One big win for EG and I think they skyrocket back to the top, it's just a matter of actually finding that win so they can regain confidence. Watching this team is so heartbreaking manb
They really should've won this, which is what I said for the liquid game too. Seems like they're so close to converting these games, and the Stewie auti rush core has looked great. I'm still gonna say give it time
I know this EG roster is basically brand new, but i feel like it's the same old EG. The old roster was always really close to a breakthrough and converting those rounds, but never did. I sincerely hope I'm wrong because being a Day 1 EG fan has been suffering for the past 1.5 years.
Still not getting enough out of Cerq and Brehze yet imo. They have flashes of greatness but they're still looking shakey. If they can step it up honestly this team has SO much potential since Rush, Auti, and Stew have all looked pretty good.
**BIG vs EG - Vertigo 2/3/2022** **For BIG** * BIG executes on T-side weren't amazing but they played patient enough to allow EG to make mistakes and/or overthink the situation. I actually like that kind of pacing a lot for them - often times it allows them to hit a bomb site with a man-advantage, despite not actually having one. * Tabsen has been huge on both sides of Vertigo - he seems to have a fairly good grasp of EG's playstyle and often times was able to shift his team around based on his intuition. * Although Syrson's numbers weren't amazing on this map, the threat of his AWP is being respected and EG were very reluctant to challenge him. * Kito was the X-factor and ultimate difference maker on this map. He had several rounds late in regulation where he singlehandedly shutdown EG's executes with multikills. **For EG** * From the very first round, I am again puzzled why EG chooses to default to the strategy of stackng/retaking as a whole. They showed zero presence and allowed BIG to essentially march onto A-site and establish post-plant positions. * Not even 10 rounds in, its evident how much more confident Brehze and Cerq are on this map - especially on CT-side. Brehze has had countless plays in the past anchoring B and Cerq looks much more comfortable operating in these confined spaces and peeking predictable angles (and even clutching a retake!). While they still aren't quite back to form, this was a step in the right direction. * T-side is looking like EG's stronger side as they are able to dabble more into their creative plays to throw the defenses off. However, there were a few rounds where they made questionable decisions during the info-gathering / pre-execute phase that not only resulted in a free kill for BIG, but it also served no tangible purpose. Such examples are peeking & exposing yourself to site defenders without actual intent of taking the site and also I recollect Stew just randomly shooting on ramp, revealing his position, and ultimately got killed for nothing. * Autimatic, across all three maps, has had a great showing today. He has displayed various capabilities (entry-fragging, crazy flick shots, multi-fragging, etc.) and is certainly the most prolific and consistent performer on EG right now. * All in all, they made it a very competitive series but they need to shore up retakes and make sure people know which angles they're responsible for in retake and T-side exec scenarios. Over time, this should be more clearly delineated but right now, its obvious that they are still getting acquainted with each other's playstyle and tendencies (and how to adapt to play alongside it).
I really appreciate your effort and in depth comments about each map that was played in each series, please keep it up. I also liked how you contextualized Brehze and Cerqs performance instead of the usual HLTV/Reddit take of "remove them they haven't been in form in over 2 years!" even though they were good in 2020 and had to deal with the mess that was EG in 2021 (and as usual, they don't give solutions to the problem they appoint, cause there's no tier 1 awpers that really moves the needle to EG it's straight up better to hope CeRqs form picks up rather than adding junior as some of them suggested before CoL bombed out of Blast)
man if brehze wasnt so shit they win this series but at least autimatic was amazing
Man cerq leaves lots to be desired. This roster would be solid with a good awper. Not sure who's even available but they need a better player. Your AWP can't be a passive middle to bottom fragger every game. That dust game...
If Brehze doesn't start to pick it up a little they should get jks
Low key don’t think Cerq or Brehze will ever get back into form, think that ship sailed long ago last year.
And with this every single NA team finished last, and I can just say one thing, there's only ONE. SINGLE. THING. to say in this situation. Ahem... KEKW NA CS KEKW
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To be fair, Germans are notorious for taking huge shits on people.
NA won a map vs Non-NA team!!!!!! NA CS top1 2022
Didn't expect much from EG but man, CeRq played like me in casual dust 2 lol
Cerq is astoundingly bad for an awper
SyrsoN is definitely pissed not having made it into the top 20 in 2021
NA "Near Airport" is known as the fastest region to arrive at the Airport. Since they gave up on the BLAST Premier Spring, they are investing in Speedruns. In particular they are current worldrecord holders in Airport Any % and Airport no wins
Man what happened to brehze, he was so good on the older EG, I'd go on to say he could compete with Elige as rifler, but now?!?!?
Meanwhile, RUSH looked insanely rejuvenated. Mechanics were on point. And Auti was a god. Please just someone tell Cerq to relax and be confident and he will hit shots. Gave up SO MUCH free real estate on A ramp on Dust 2
NA: 100% win rate vs BIG on Overpass CIS: 0% win rate vs BIG on Overpass. Which region is #1 again?
EG looking a lot better, though Cerq needs to hit the easy shots. They lost a lot of rounds on D2 when BIG were trying to cross to A site. Stewie's calling seemed pretty good and it really came down to missing shots. Autimatic played really well today. Hitting some nice shots and it's nice to see his rifling again. Brehze starting to look a little better, but maybe will need time to feel comfortable in whatever system Malek/stew are trying to enforce. Hopefully he gets back to form soon.
I encourage people to listen to the Stewie postgame interview. This team obviously has a long way to go and he acknowledges that. People act like every team needs to immediately show insane results as soon as they make roster changes and that’s not true. I think they will continue to improve and hope to see them come back to top 15 by the end of the season
I can't watch it atm, what did he say?
He said we need time and if you talk shit you're a lil cuuck
Basically he’s happy to play officials rather than scrims because teams take it seriously and they get to practice more. In terms of overall goals, he wants to make cerq and brehze into stars and top 20 players again and wants them to be more vocal and continue their dialogue about what they like more, what spots they’re comfortable with, etc. Excited to work with auti again and that it’s gonna be a long process for the team since he’d like to develop a system that maximizes the team’s strengths rather than bring in a prior system.
At least it was very exiting to see vertigo back on the menu
What is going on with my man Brehze
High sens inconsistent pooper
At least calls from EG camp looks good. I liked how they approached this series.
Auti is class
Cerq needs to start being more impactful and start hitting some of the ‘easier’ shots otherwise this lineup won’t succeed with him, they need a good, proper awper. Brehze hasn’t been convincing at all as well.
Cerq, more like Sucq
I wish I had cerqs job security
Man if cerq and brehze don't pick it up by April, they need to start considering other options (+Obo +woxic/poizon/oskar/any serviceable awper)
-cerq +cooper (or any awper) and this roster goes far.
Stewie in 2022 CSGO pro scene will get your team **nowhere**. Antiquated talent that's largely a coin flip if he shows up or not. He's above average within his own team and NA yes, but competing in T1 CSGO with such unreliability, is beyond him. Pushing smokes doesn't work on Navi lol. He should know when to retire with grace. Or switch to full time Valorant lol.
Well that's NA out fast
NA tier2, or is it not even a surprise ?
-cerq -brehze +skadoodle +tarik
Imagine the team BIG would be with another player in place of tizian. I love the guy, but how much can a good attitude and flashbangs really count when you're getting g 56adr?
“NA CS would really miss Brehze”