jkaem on Apeks’ collapse: We are in a big crisis

Apeks find themselves in the middle of a turbulent phase in their Counter-Strike endeavour. Something that shows not only on the server but also in their recent results. With 16 losses in their last 20 maps, the Norwegian team is grappling with a significant slump.

Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad, the team's star rifler and seasoned veteran, doesn't mince words when he admits that they are facing a "big crisis."

- Sorry to the fans and people that actually supports us. We are in a big crisis and we are not being a team in any shape or form, jkaem writes on X and continues:

- Shameful performances over and over again from us. I don’t know what is next exactly, but we are trying, but nothing is working right now. I hope we can turn it.

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“Straight up not playing good”

The tough words from jkaem came after Apeks’ 2-0 defeat (4-13, 9-13) against Monte yesterday. However, he's not alone in his assessment; the team's head coach, Torbjørn "mithR" Nyborg, echoes similar thoughts, acknowledging the challenging times they face.

- Not going to lie, it's really rough at the moment. Don't know what else to do than to keep working hard and trying to solve the problems. We are obviously trying our best to get back on track, but we are straight up not playing good enough at the moment, mithR stated on X yesterday.

Head coach "mithR" hopes the team can turn the ship around. Photo credit: PGL

Apeks’ losses in the last 30 days:

0-2 vs Monte (#22 world ranking)

0-2 vs Aurora (#28)

0-2 vs B8 (#56)

1-2 vs 3DMAX (#43)

0-2 vs FORZE (#41)

1-2 vs PARIVISION (#233)

0-2 vs Legacy (#30)

7-13 vs Imperial (#31)

8-13 vs paiN (#38)

1-2 vs Metizport (#30)

1-2 vs Virtus.pro (#7)

Major semifinal one year ago

Everyone knows that things can go really fast in competitive Counter-Strike. One moment, you're riding high at the pinnacle of success, and the next, you find yourself plummeting into insignificance, a fate Apeks unfortunately knows all too well.

Less than a year ago, Apeks made waves by reaching the semifinals at the BLAST Major in Paris, following an impressive showing in the French capital where they only fell to the eventual champions, Vitality, in the playoffs.

Now the reality for Apeks has been completely turned over, with jkaem and company currently failing to qualify for bigger events such as IEM Dallas, ESL Challenger Jönköping and the latter stages of PGL Major Copenhagen.

A decline that may be linked to the loss of their talented in-game leader Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski and rifle Justinas "jL" Lekavicius, who left the team last year.