Korean esports organization Gen.G is reportedly making moves to enter competitive Counter-Strike for the first time. A report from DBLTAP suggests the multi-esport organization will be signing players from Cloud9, along with Bulgarian talent Georgi “SHiPZ” Grigorov.
KSV Esports was founded in 2017, and rebranded to Gen.G in 2018. The organization quickly picked up teams in multiple popular esports titles, including the world championship-winning Samsung Galaxy League of Legends roster and Seoul Dynasty of the Overwatch League. They now appear to be entering Counter-Strike with an international roster.
In-game leader Damian “daps” Steele and Major-winning rifler Timothy “autimatic” Ta are the two Cloud9 names reportedly in talks with Gen.G. Daps joined Cloud9 in July of this year as part of the roster's complete overhaul. The Canadian in-game leader had just been removed from NRG prior to joining Cloud9. Autimatic has played under the Cloud9 banner since 2016. During his time with the organization, they have achieved victories at the ESL Pro League Season 4 Finals, DreamHack Open Denver 2017, and the Eleague Boston Major. He is the only remaining player from the Cloud9 roster that won the Eleague Boston Major - the first North American team to ever win a CS:GO Major.
Cloud9’s CS:GO division has experienced many roster changes in the almost two years since their Boston win. They returned to a North American core after their attempts to go international proved fruitless. The new, daps-led squad reached a top-four finish at BLAST Pro Series Los Angeles just days after the team’s announcement. Their minimal success faded quickly, as they struggled to compete against international opponents in the tournaments that followed. Tyson "TenZ" Ngo was released last month, with Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik coming in as replacement. The updated roster finished in last place at the recent BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen, their best result being a draw with Natus Vincere. Cloud9 were expected to compete at DreamHack Open Atlanta, which is slated to begin in two weeks. They instead withdrew from the event, reportedly due to internal issues. Cloud9 are currently not expected at any events for the rest of the year.
Potentially joining daps and autimatic under the Gen.G name is 19-year-old CR4ZY talent Georgi “SHiPZ” Grigorov. The Bulgarian player only joined his current organization a month ago. He previously represented Windigo, aiding them in their victory at the WESG 2018 World Finals with a performance that earned him an MVP award.
Two more players are needed for a complete CS:GO team, though no additional names have been rumored to be in talks with Gen.G. It is currently unclear when this move is expected to go through. Should it be confirmed, Gen.G will join many other organizations moving into CS:GO in recent months.