TSM reportedly set to make Counter-Strike return with EU CSGO team

North American esports giants TSM are reportedly on the verge of announcing their new CS:GO team. It marks the organization’s return to the scene after a six-year absence.

According to a report from Dust2.us, TSM’s new CS:GO team will make its first official appearance in the $200,000 CCT Online Finals 2, which will begin on August 2.

The team, which will be guided by former Vitality and G2 coach Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam, features players from five different European countries, selected after a long scouting process.

TSM announced in October 2022 that they were planning a return to Counter-Strike scene with a European roster, almost six years after withdrawing from the game. Shortly afterward, Dominic Kallas, TSM’s then VP of Esports, told Dexerto that the organization had its sights on “HLTV top 30 talent” and noted that the expansion into CS:GO was another step in the company’s strategy to “have a strong footprint within Europe.”

TSM poised to make Counter-Strike return

TSM’s new CS:GO team features three players with over a decade of tier-one experience between them. Valdemar ’valde’ Bjørn Vangså, who is expected to take over as in-game leader, has played for teams like Heroic, North, OG, and ENCE throughout his career.

French veteran Audric ’JACKZ’ Jug was last seen playing for Vitality in ESL Pro League Season 17, averaging an impressive 1.26 HLTV rating and 1.35 Impact during his stand-in stint. “I know that if I have my roles I can get the job done,” he would later tell Dexerto.

Timofey ‘interz’ Yakushin burst onto the CS:GO scene in 2019 as part of Gambit Youngsters, a roster that eventually became Gambit’s main team and was later sold to Cloud9. He was replaced by Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov in January and released by the organization two months later.

The final two pieces of the team might not be instantly recognizable names, but they have received a decent amount of hype in the European scene in recent times.

Cai ‘CYPHER’ Watson was instrumental in Into the Breach’s surprising quarter-final run at the BLAST.tv Paris Major, where he averaged a 1.11 HLTV rating. Mădălin-Andrei ‘MoDo’ Mirea, the team’s AWper, averaged a 1.09 HLTV rating during his seven-month spell with Romanian team Nexus. But questions remain about how MoDo will acquit himself at a tier-one level: he only has only eight maps against HLTV top 30 opponents on record and not a single map against a top 20 team.

TSM’s CS:GO return has created a level of excitement in the scene, but not everyone seems to be hyped up about the choice of players. “That’s really bad,” one fan said on TSM’s official subreddit. “Sh*t roster,” another comment read.

TSM was once a CS:GO powerhouse with players like Nicolai ‘device’ Reedtz, Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen, and Andreas ‘Xyp9x’ Højsleth, who went on to establish a dynasty with Astralis. dupreeh, who is currently on Vitality’s bench, was briefly linked with TSM last month, though it appears that talks broke down, which helps explain why fans might feel disappointed by the absence of star names from the rumored roster.

TSM’s new CSGO team:

• Valdemar ’valde’ Bjørn Vangså
• Audric ’JACKZ’ Jug
• Timofey ‘interz’ Yakushin
• Cai ‘CYPHER’ Watson
• Mădălin-Andrei ‘MoDo’ Mirea