CS:GO legend Xizt announces retirement: “An amazing and unforgettable journey”

Richard ‘⁠Xizt⁠’ Landström, who was part of the iconic 87-0 NIP CS:GO squad, has officially put an end to his career as an esports player, though he still hopes to remain involved in the scene.

The Swedish veteran, 30, has called time on his playing career after almost a year on the sidelines, having played his last competitive match in November 2020.

“My career has had its ups and downs,” he wrote on Twitter. “But looking back, it’s been an amazing and unforgettable journey.”

Xizt added that he is excited about the future and stressed that he is not “walking away from CS yet”.

In an interview with HLTV.org, he revealed that he is open to a variety of roles in the scene, including coaching, analytical and managerial positions.

A rich career

Xizt came through the CS 1.6 scene and played for a number of Swedish top teams, including H2k Gaming and Fnatic, before CS:GO was released, in August 2012.

His career took a significant upturn following the new game’s release as he took charge of the new NIP squad alongside 1.6 superstars Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund and Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg, and two players coming from the CS:Source scene, Adam ‘friberg’ Friberg and Robin ‘Fifflaren’ Johansson.

That team dominated the scene during CS:GO’s infancy and achieved an impressive 87-0 map win streak on LAN — which still stands as one of the most impressive team records in all of esports.

NIP went on to win the ESL One Cologne 2014 Major in a triumphant swan song. Later that year, the iconic roster officially broke up as Fifflaren retired, and the team struggled for consistency as teams like Fnatic, Envy and Luminosity/SK Gaming took center stage.

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After stepping down from NIP in February 2018, Xizt had a brief but successful stand-in spell with FaZe before returning to Fnatic in May of that year for a second tenure.

In January 2020, he reunited with his former NIP 87-0 teammates in Dignitas, with Fifflaren now occupying a head coach role. But after a spate of underwhelming online results, he and GeT_RiGhT were moved to the bench later that year.

Xizt made only one more tournament appearance, as a stand-in for Gen.G in Flashpoint 2.