Aaron “AZR” Ward is finally back in competitive CS:GO following a lengthy break on the sideline. With the transfer to Sprout, the Aussie veteran once again got the chance to lead a team to lead as we have seen him do at Renegades, 100 Thieves and EXTREMUM.

510 days to be exact had passed before we again saw him again compete in the higher tiers of Counter-Strike. A hiatus he’s used to visiting relatives and family down under and preparing for his long-awaited comeback.

- While it was nice to have a breather and reground myself, I’m really happy to be playing again, AZR says to Pley and continues:

- The break gave me a lot of opportunities to visit family in Australia for a longer period of time compared to the usual 1-2 weeks back home. I also spent quite a bit of time working on my mental health which was rewarding. So, after all this time, I’m definitely feeling motivated and ready to get back into the game.

On Sprout, AZR joins a super young squad embodied in the promising teenage trio of lauNX (17), Staehr (18), and Zyphon (18) with the Romanian AWPer XELLOW (22) rounding off the roster. Despite the age difference for the 30-year-old IGL, he still believes he has a thing or two to learn.

- It's a breath of fresh air that's for sure. They are all young, skilled and highly motivated which motivates me even more. I definitely think the potential is great within the team and with hard work and motivation I think we can take it very far… I almost feel like a youthful student of the game again which is quite reinvigorating.

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AZR explains in the interview with us that the deal between him and Sprout was decided after only a couple of practice days and a meeting with the team. Here all parties felt a good connection and “luckily we all wanted to move forward together”, he describes.

But he also notes that it’s a different task that awaits him now compared to his previous tenures at Renegades, 100 Thieves, and EXTREMUM.

- I first stepped into the role of IGL when I played on Renegades - A team that I had been playing with for years at that time. So, when I started in- game leading I had the advantage of knowing the players very well. I knew their strengths and weaknesses which is a key to being a good IGL in my book. This is the first time in my career that I’m faced with a new challenge of leading a new team who I need to get to know. I need to know how they play in order to lead most efficiently.

- This is also the first time I’m on an international team so I need to get used to the communication. All in all, excited to see what the future holds.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/staehr_Sprout_klicrr","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: PGL"}]

Where he previously has had the comfort of leading a majority of Oceanic players, AZR now has to navigate between having a couple of Danes and Romanians each in his arsenal (Staehr at PGL Major Antwerp RMR)

We also asked him about his own individual level and how he has kept an eye on the CS:GO meta while being back.

- Watching cs and playing cs are two vastly different things. While I have been able to watch and learn about the meta now, I need to be able to play it. I'm currently putting in a lot of hours playing and watching Counter-Strike. Also getting a lot of input from BERRY who is catching me up on the meta a lot. I definitely think I can learn a lot from the team and its players… it’s been interesting to see how the meta has shifted in just the last 18 months.

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lauNX

Staehr

Zyphon

XELLOW

Sprout

Renegades

EXTREMUM

100 Thieves

Yesterday Aaron “AZR” Ward was revealed as Sprout’s new in-game leader marking a long-awaited comeback to competitive CS:GO for the Australian veteran who have been on the sideline since October 2021.

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We have spoken with the renowned CS:GO expert and analyst Aleksandar "kassad" Trifunović who believes Sprout has made a great pick up signing AZR among other candidates in their trial period.

- Sprout made the correct decision picking AZR. He has been a free agent for some time, and he seems to enjoy being the in-game leader, kassad says although the 30-year-old coach may need some time to adapt, he explains.

- It’s going to take some time for him to come back for sure. I don’t think it’s going to be too long as Aaron tends to be very switched on when he is motivated. 

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"Gamle billeder/kassad_csgo_uhfw3e","originalWidth":1920,"originalHeight":1080,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Igor Bezborodov and StarLadder"}]

kassad has a deep knowledge of AZR after having worked together on several teams

As earlier mentioned, AZR has been away from the scene for quite some time following his benching on EXTREMUM. Something kassad explains like this.

- His issue was that he wasn't very engaged on social media, which made people somewhat forget about him. He certainly has another 2-3 years as IGL in him, so I'm very happy to see him back in action.

kassad then goes on to discuss AZR’s way of thinking Counter-Strike and how he sees this new look Sprout team.

- We have worked together for more than a few years and I think he has a very good understanding of the game and the meta - whatever the meta might be. He likes combining loose style with structure and that’s why we had a good thing going on.

- This Sprout roster has kind of grown on me in time and I think there is some potential there in those youngsters where Aaron's experience only helps that, kassad concludes.

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Sprout has found a new captain after a thorough trial period having decided to go with the Australian veteran Aaron “AZR” Ward, the German organization confirms on Twitter.

The 30-year-old Aussie is set to take over reigns from Ismail “refrezh” Ali who was benched earlier this week. 

In the announcement, Sprout points towards AZR’s experiences as a leader as one of the key reasons for picking him.

- After much deliberation and testing, we're proud to announce that AZR will be our new in-game leader! It was a tough decision, but with his proven leadership abilities, we are confident that AZR will be a valuable asset to our team. Thanks for the patience and as always, Sprout stated.

The transfer to Sprout marks a long-awaited return to the server for AZR with the former Renegades and 100 Thieves having been without a team for more than 500 days.

His last CS:GO endeavour was with EXTREMUM back in 2021 alongside the former 100 Thieves core of Liazz, Gratisfaction, and Jkaem, where the Oceanic quartet was joined by BnTeT from Gen.G to round off the roster. Despite a decent track record and past results, the lineup failed miserably tournament after tournament.

The AZR-led squad didn't manage to find any consistency or acceptable level, with the failed qualification for PGL Major Stockholm towards the end of the year, being the last nail in the coffin for the team.

{cflag:RO} Laurențiu "⁠lauNX⁠" Țârlea 

{cflag:DK} Rasmus "⁠Zyphon⁠" Nordfoss 

Encore Esports Club, formerly known as LookingForOrg, has announced that Aaron “AZR” Ward and Sean "Gratisfaction" Kaiwai will be standing in for the Aussies at the Oceanic RMR for the Rio Major.

The profiled duo is therefore set to return to the pro scene after not having played a single official match since October last year.

AZR and Gratisfaction have gathered a lot of tier-1 experience so far in their career with the two having represented teams like Renegades, 100 Thieves, and most recently EXTREMUM. At the latter, they were released from their duties back in October together with Hansel "BnTeT" Ferdinand, Joakim "jkaem" Myrbostad and Jay "Liazz" Tregillgas after failing to qualify for the PGL Major in Stockholm. 

The roster eventually decided to split up with AZR and Gratisfaction being the only players to not have found a new team. 

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Encore Esports Club will field the following players at the upcoming Oceanic RMR:

{cflag:AU} Aaron “AZR” Ward (stand-in)

{cflag:NZ} Sean "Gratisfaction" Kaiwai (stand-in)

Gratisfaction

Encore

LookingForOrg

Aaron “AZR” Ward is no longer tied with the Russian organization EXTREMUM, which means he’s now a free agent. The Australian in-game leader and former Renegades captain have been away from competitive CS:GO since October last year when he and the entire EXTREMUM roster were benched.

- As of today and finding a mutual agreement with Extremum, I am now officially a free agent. It was nice to have a small break and work on myself outside of the game, but I still want to compete and play CS at the highest level. My competitive spirit is still at a very high and I am more hungry than ever to lead a team as IGL to reach new heights, AZR wrote on Twitter.

AZR moved to EXTREMUM in January 2021 alongside the former 100 Thieves core of Liazz, Gratisfaction, and Jkaem, where the Oceanic quartet was joined by BnTeT from Gen.G to round off the roster. Despite a decent track record and past results, the lineup failed miserably tournament after tournament. 

The AZR-led squad didn't manage to find any consistency or acceptable level, with the failed qualification for PGL Major Stockholm towards the end of the year, being the last nail in the coffin for the team. 

Following the disbandment, the majority of players have found a new CS:GO home with BnTeT going to TYLOO, Jkaem to Apeks and Liazz heading down under to join forces with Renegades once again. 

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Professional Counter-Strike, and especially as of recently, is always evolving and becoming more and more competitive. This has meant many roster changes in recent years, with many different combinations of talented individuals and strategic masterminds. Players fit different roles and whilst some contribute with a crazy high skill-ceiling when it comes to their individual performances, others fill the role of the strategic mastermind. 

RivalryCSGO sat down with various pros and asked them what kind of a professional player they would want to play with if they had the chance. Whilst you would probably expect a lot of answers involving the likes of "s1mple" and "ZywOo" it wasn't the fragging superstars that got mentioned the most. Instead the Danish mastermind behind Astralis' incredible achievements "gla1ve" was picked by many as their dream teammate. Australian "AZR" explained the following when choosing "gla1ve" as the player he wished he could play with:  

To hear more about which player is the pros dream teammate, you can watch the series of interviews in the video down below: 

gla1ve

There are plenty of pros out there who had a lot of good ideas about what could change in the game, maybe something they are dissatisfied with, or just or whatever something they think is missing.

RivalryCSGO asked different pro players like EliGE, mantuu and GuardiaN what they would add to CS: GO if they could.

[youtube:www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmRI4UHkl_E]

EliGE

mantuu

smooya

jkaem

BnTeT

GuardiaN

NaToSaphiX

There will always be discussions within the Counter-Strike community about different players and their level of skill, experience, and impact. A question that has been raised multiple times is who the best Brazilian player of all time is and why. RivalryCSGO sat down with various CS:GO pros and asked them who they would put as their number one Brazilian player of all time. 

Whilst many different factors can be weighed very differently when choosing the better player, for Australian "AZR" the answer to the question was quite straightforward: 

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Whilst many pros seem to agree with "AZR" there are also a few who argue that the incredible impact "FalleN" has had, both within the Brazilian and international scene, should grant him the respect of being the best Brazilian player of all time. Whilst it is clear that both "coldzera" and "FalleN" will go down as legends of the Counter-Strike scene it is still up to debate what weighs heavier, the individual skill or general impact in its entirety. 

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To hear what the other pros had to say about the debate you can watch the series of interviews in the video linked down below: 

coldzera

FalleN

Whilst hours of playing CS:GO doesn't always add up to performances at the big events, seeing that there are many other factors than just mechanical skill and experience that play into being a great CS:GO pro. However, it is something to look at and it should indicate just how many hours of grinding and hard work that goes into being at the highest level in the professional scene of Counter Strike: Global Offensive. 

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"tournaments/Arena /Copyright_-_Helena-Kristiansson_-_Arena_fuldt_hus_IEM_yidkfe","originalWidth":3840,"originalHeight":2160,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: ESL - Helena Kristiansson","alt":"CSGO, Counter Strike"}]

RivalryCSGO asked different top-tier pros within the Counter-Strike scene how many hours they have on the game. Whilst the answers may not surprise you it is crazy to think just how many hours it takes to reach the top. We have collected all the answers down below so that you can get an idea of the difference between each pro player. 

Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski {cflag:US}- Team Liquid (23 years old) 

Richard "shox" Papillon {cflag:FR} - Team Vitality (29 years old)

Fernando "fer" Alvarenga {cflag:BR} - Imperial (29 years old) 

Owen "smooya" Butterfield {cflag:GB} - Movistar Riders (21 years old) 

Aaron "AZR" Ward - EXTREMUM {cflag:AU} (28 years old) 

Mathias "MSL" Lauridsen {cflag:DK} - No current team (26 years old) 

Joakim "jkaem" Myrbostad {cflag:NO} - EXTREMUM (27 years old) 

When looking at the crazy amount of hours that these players have put into the game and their professional careers it becomes clear that whilst talent and luck definitely plays a role in becoming a CS:GO pro, it also takes an incredible amount of hard work and hours to reach the top. If you want to hear more about the players and whether or not they think that their hours within the game is a lot or not, you can watch the following video containing all the interviews: 

shox

The official map pool in CS:GO is one of the many things that has defined the game and especially the professional scene. Each professional player within different teams has their own opinion on the map pool and what maps they like and dislike. When asked about what he would remove from CS:GO if he had the possibility, "AZR" from EXTREMUM didn't hesitate to answer: 

"If I could remove one thing I would probably remove Overpass, I fucking hate the map bro. In my previous teams and even now we fucking hate the map. Take away Overpass and I would be a happy man for sure." 

Do you agree that Overpass needs to be taken away from the official map pool or is there perhaps something you would rather remove from the current state of CS:GO? Take a look at the various answers from different pros and find out what they hate most about Counter-Strike Global Offensive: 

Thursday night/morning featured two fierce playoff matches at cs_summit 8, where we saw EXTREMUM take on the dominant Extra Salt in the early match and O PLANO vs. paiN in the later matchup.

Extra Salt came into the matchup against a star-studded EXTREMUM-side as favourites, owing to their great form lately. However, the dominance was put on a halt, as Aaron “AZR” Ward and his soldiers managed to grab a much-needed 2-1 win.

EXTREMUM – Extra Salt (2-1) | cs_summit 8

13-16 (Vertigo) | {cflag:ZA} Sonic – 1.40 Rating / 26-18 K-D / 91.0 ADR

19-17 (Nuke) | {cflag:NO} jkaem - 1.43 Rating / 35-24 K-D / 101.6 ADR

16-8 (Dust2) | {cflag:AU} Liazz – 1.77 Rating / 26-11 K-D / 107.3 ADR

The later matchup was a true Brazilian derby with the two promising and powerful sides in O PLANO and paiN clashing together at the lower bracket as well. A fight, which the former MIBR roster led by Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe ended up winning, where the IGL himself was the highlight player for O PLANO. 

9-16 (Nuke) | {cflag:BR} PKL – 1.71 Rating / 28-18 K-D / 120.0 ADR

16-10 (Train) | {cflag:BR} vsm - 1.46 Rating / 24-16 K-D / 102.6 ADR

16-11 (Dust2) | {cflag:BR} kNgV – 1.26 Rating / 24-18 K-D / 87.7 ADR

02:30: EXTREMUM – O PLANO (Lower Final)

02:30 (Sunday): Extra Salt – paiN (5th place decider)

kNgV-

O PLANO

Extra Salt

paiN

The much-awaited playoff stage at Spring Sweet Spring 1 is about to start, with the exciting event presenting its first four matchups after the Group Stage was concluded this weekend. One of the matchups will be the former 100-Thieves core in EXTREMUM taking on the Poles from AGO. Yo

Finished: Sinners – Lyngby Vikings (2-1)

HLTV.org caught up with Aaron “AZR” Ward to talk about EXTREMUM’s poor results, struggles, mistakes in-game, and the criticism that they have received from fans. The EXTREMUM captain doesn’t run away from his responsibilities in this tough situation that they currently are facing and acknowledges the criticism that is coming his squad’s way, saying is fair and natural.

“I definitely don’t think we are playing up to our standard. When we come into our official games we make a sh*t ton of mistakes, ridiculous stuff. Mistakes, miscommunication, whatever, there is definitely a lot to improve on.”

“In general, we’ve been playing pretty sh*tty, to put it like that, and we are going through a big adjustment period with BnTeT and Liazz, we are still trying to figure out the best way to put them in better positions for themselves, with communication and stuff with BnTeT, it’s been a little bit rough, but it is just stuff we need to fix.”

The second round of in the Group Stage at Snow Sweet Snow 3 is underway! This Tuesday presents two profiled matchups in forZe vs Dignitas and OFFSET vs EXTREMUM. Two fierce battles, which will feature superstars like f0rest, friberg AZR, jkaem, and BnTeT. 

Dignitas and forZe come into the second round with a win in the baggage, while OFFSET and EXTREMUM, on the other hand, suffered two 1-2 defeats. 

You can watch the two matches right here.

f0rest

friberg

VP.Prodigy

forZe

OFFSET

The CS:GO scene has featured countless strong in-game leaders in the past, who all has brought their own individual style to the game. 

Betway Esports has sat down with the very elite of Counter-Strike to hear which IGL is the best they have played with.

valde

RUSH

The star-studded ex-100 Thieves core suffered their first loss under the new EXTREMUM banner on Tuesday, after losing 2-1 to Winstrike at the Snow Sweet Snow 1 event.

Read more: “EXTREMUM defeated by young Russians” 

[link:{"url":"https://pley.gg/news/extremum-defeated-young-russians/"}]

EXTREMUM is an organization backed by private investors, with the two leading figures of the project being Emir “sngz” Udvincic as Head of Business Development and Evgeniy “aBi” Kuzmin as Sports Director.

The team consist of the Oceanic trio Jay “Liazz” Tregillgas, Aaron “AZR” Ward, and Sean “Gratisfaction” Kaiwai, as well as Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad from Norway, and former TYLOO player Hansel “BnTeT” Ferdinand.

You have the opportunity to learn more about the players and coach Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunovic in a short interview. The players and coach have to answer on 25 questions and pick between some tough topics for us to meet them.

Liazz

After months of speculation it is finally revealed that the former four players from 100 Thieves in Aaron "AZR" Ward, Joakim "jkaem" Myrbostad, Jay "Liazz" Tregillgas, and Sean "Gratisfaction" Kaiwai once again are going to be reunited, only this time with the addition of Hansel "BnTeT" Ferdinand who replaces Justin "jks" Savage's place. 

Alongside the acquisition of a new roster, Extremum have also announced that the players' former Head Coach Aleksandar "kassad" Trifunović will be joining the organization. In-game, however, it is going to be "AZR" who is calling the shots. The 28-year-old is not without any experience as he was also the in-game leader of the 100 Thieves roster. 

"AZR" explains in a statement regarding the news, how moving to Europe is part of the upcoming plans for the new roster: 

"They offered me the chance to help them put together a team and I accepted the offer. It has already been a great joy working with them and seeing what their vision for the brand is great." 

He furthermore expresses his eagerness to get back into the professional Counter-Strike scene as well as now competing against some of the best teams in the world in Europe: 

"I am so excited to play CS with my good old teammates Liazz, Grats, Jkaem, and kassad, and with our new teammate BnTeT, who will be a great addition to the team. We're looking forward to playing in Europe and grinding against the best in the world. The boys are back!"

Aleksandar "kassad" Trifunović (Head Coach) 

The Russian esports organization Extremum is according to Jarek “DeKay” Lewis and DBLTAP in talks with Aaron "⁠AZR⁠" Ward, Sean "⁠Gratisfaction⁠" Kaiwai, and Jay "⁠Liazz⁠" Tregillgas. The Australian trio has since 100 Thieves’ exit from CS:GO stood without a team.

Extremum is owned by private investors, and do currently not own a CS:GO team, but competes in BNS and Dota 2. The Russian organization is according to sources seeking two European players to round up their roster if they succeed to sign AZRm, Liazz and Gratisfaction.

The Australian trio is at the moment still qualified for the next major event due to prior results, even though the transfer of jks and jkaem has resulted in a 40% reduction of their RMR points. 

	30 days	90 days
Fixture count	0	0
Maps count	0	0

AZR

Player stats

Articles mentioning AZR

AZR after joining Sprout: I almost feel like a youthful student

kassad on the return of AZR: It’s going to take some time for him to come back for sure

Sprout reveal AZR as their new in-game leader

AZR and Gratisfaction are back in action!

AZR enters free agency

AZR: "gla1ve is one of the best in-game leaders of all time"

CS:GO PROS ANSWER: If you could add one thing, what would it be?

AZR: "The amount of impact coldzera had was absolutely ridiculous"

Which pro has the most in-game hours?

AZR: "I fucking hate the map"

EXTREMUM and O PLANO survive another day in the lower bracket

FINISHED: EXTREMUM vs AGO (2-0)

EXTREMUM captain: We make a sh*t ton of mistakes

Live: forZe vs Dignitas / OFFSET vs EXTREMUM

Video: Pros Answer - Who is the best IGL you've played under?

Video: Meet EXTREMUM CS:GO team – 25 questions

Extremum announces roster featuring former 100 Thieves core and "BnTeT"

Russian esports organization rumoured to sign prominent Australian trio

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