Can they do it again? Copenhagen Flames has been a fairytale story with their two impressive runs at PGL Stockholm and Antwerp, where the Danish underdogs made it all the way to the playoffs at the latest Major in Belgium. Since then the team has been picked apart by the likes of Heroic and Fnatic, while in-game leader Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen is the favorite to take over the reigns at G2. But can the Flames manage to gather another team and take them to the top?

CEO and co-owner of Copenhagen Flames, Steffen Thomsen finds himself in familiar territory, where a new roster has to be put together from scratch. But unlike before, the starting point is not anything near zero.

“We are at another place than before. Our success in the past year has elevated us to a new place both in terms of economy and reputation”.

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The signing of Iulian "regali" Harjău underlines the statement.

“We have found a player, that we believe we can turn into a superstar,” Steffen Thomsen explains and calls the transfer “the perhaps biggest in the history of Copenhagen Flames”.

With the addition of Rasmus "raalz" Steensborg, Thomas "birdfromsky" Due Frederiksen, Johannes "b0RUP" Borup, and Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk, the experience of the roster is definitely far beyond any previous Copenhagen Flames lineups.

Professionalization on and off the server

Version 3 of Copenhagen Flames will also mark the beginning of a new era for the Organization. Money will be invested into creating the perfect setup for the team to succeed in the future.

“We will make sure, that all the players have the right plan made for them to be able to perform the best way possible. We will also have a bigger focus on data, and how we can utilize this. We will also look to improve our tech department, where we aim to be among the best.”

There will also be changes in the coaching staff. Daniel "Vorborg" Vorborg switched to Evil Geniuses earlier this summer, and while Steffen Thomsen initially thought, that he would take over the position as head coach, he quickly felt it necessary to find a replacement.

“We have signed Benjamin "Cube" Stabell from Fnatic Rising as a coach for the team. He is one of the most exciting prospects on the Danish coaching scene, so we see this as a very good solution”.

With the improved setup and the promising lineup in mind, the expectations from the management of Copenhagen Flames could be sky high. But like in the past, Steffen Thomsen and the rest of Copenhagen Flames have patience with the project.

“We don’t have any deadlines of when the team is supposed to peak. We hope to qualify for IEM Rio, but it might be a little bit too soon. In general, the most important thing is, that we work according to the plan that we made.”

{cflag:DK} Thomas "birdfromsky" Due Frederiksen

regali

raalz

b0RUP

birdfromsky

Copenhagen Flames

After a year of great success, Copenhagen Flames is now ready to announce their new lineup for the future.

To replace the likes of roeJ, Jabbi, and nicoodoz, Copenhagen Flames has once again set their eyes on the Danish CS:GO scene. This time though with a little twist. As we here on Pley.gg could reveal yesterday, 19-year-old Iulian "regali" Harjău will also feature in the new lineup. The Romanian has lived in Denmark since 2015 and will be able to communicate with his new teammates in Danish.

Alongside him Rasmus "raalz" Steensborg, Thomas "birdfromsky" Due Frederiksen, Johannes "b0RUP" Borup, and Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk were also announced as part of the new Copenhagen Flames project. Consistent for all of them is that they have gathered experience from other teams such as Sprout, Mad Lions, Heroic, and ECSTATIC before joining Copenhagen Flames.

Later today you can read an interview with CEO and co-owner of Copenhagen Flames Steffen Thomsen, who talks about the new lineup, and what version 3 of Copenhagen Flames will entail.

Johannes "b0RUP" Borup is a fresh face on MAD Lions after he joined the team two months ago. Since then MAD Lions have shown a glimpse of their potential with wins against G2, OG, EG and Entropiq. The new in-game leader Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk touched upon the importance for him to have a secondary caller like Johannes "b0RUP" Borup on the team after today's win against MAD Lions.

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The Danish duo will be back in action tomorrow at DreamHack Open November when they face Fnatic in the Semi-Finals.

MAD Lions

MOUZ got off to a rough start at DreamHack Open November with Aurimas "Bymas" Pipiras missing the opening day with sickness. In his place, MOUZ had called in Chris "chrisJ" de Jong from the bench to help out the team. 

The match began on MAD Lions’ pick of Dust2, where MOUZ started off things on the right foot as they quickly grabbed a 5-0 lead on the defense. MAD Lions responded well by stringing together six rounds of their own to go up 5-6, with the whole team stepping up huge. MOUZ managed to add a single round to the scoreboard before Woro2k and company finished off the first half with a 6-9 advantage. Even though MOUZ came out looking strong on the offense by stringing together five rounds in a row once again, MAD Lions still managed to come back to life and close out the map 12-16.

Starting out on the Terrorist side, MOUZ picked up a strong 3-7 lead showcasing why they picked Nuke as their map. However, unfortunately for them, MAD Lions found their footing at the end of the half and climbed their way back on the scoreboard, picking up an 8-7 advantage right before halftime. In the second half, MOUZ took control of the map and shut down any chances of MAD Lions. The starplayer of MOUZ, Robin "ropz" Kool was instrumental on Nuke, where he dominated the MAD Lions players hard.

With the Estonian activated, it was interesting to see, if MAD Lions could handle MOUZ on Mirage. The Lions had an ace in the sleeve though. Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk had been quiet in the match, but on the decider map, the Dane went crazy! In the first half alone, TMB accounted for 26 kills and an ADR of 192.7, and a staggering 8-0 in opening kills! MAD Lions took a 9-6 lead with them to the second half, while Chris "chrisJ" de Jong had a terrible time being crushed on the map going 4-21 in K-D. MOUZ won the pistol round in the second half, but that was the only good news for the roster, who had to succumb to the continuing pressure from TMB and MAD Lions, who won 16-8.

With the result, MOUZ will play an early elimination match against the loser of BIG vs GamerLegion. MAD Lions is now one win away from reaching the playoffs.

MAD Lions – MOUZ 2-1| DreamHack Open November

16-12 (Dust2) | {cflag:LT} jL – 1.58 Rating / 29-16 K-D / 102.4 ADR

10-16 (Nuke) | {cflag:EE} ropz - 1.83 Rating / 32-14 K-D / 118.1 ADR

16-8 (Mirage) | {cflag:DK} TMB - 2.31 Rating / 33-14 K-D / 152.9 ADR

MVP: {cflag:DK} Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk - 1.42 Rating / 69-52 K-D / 103.9 ADR

ropz

MOUZ

In a best-of-one match against ENCE, MAD Lions got off to a flying start with their new roster.

On Train, the new mix of Europeans handed ENCE a big 16-7 defeat. With 26 AWP kills during the map for MAD Lions, there was no doubt about who had map control on Train. Both Filip 'tudsoN' Tudev and Thomas 'TMB' Bundsbæk wielded the sniper rifle in the match.

MAD Lions will now face Dignitas, while ENCE faces Singularity in an early elimination match.

tudsoN

ENCE

All the players who made it into HLTV’s Top 20 players of the year had to answer that question on who they think will be the next superstar in CS:GO. Most players predict a bright future for FURIA’s new AWPer “junior” as he was mentioned the most.

These players were mentioned most times: 

Junior

flameZ

The transfers are supposed to be ignited by mousesports, who want to sign Frederik "acoR" Gyldstrand as their new AWP'er, which leaves MAD Lions without a sniper. 

According to dbltap.com, The Danes has instead laid their eyes on Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk from AGF Esports. TMB has been with AGF Esports since March.

You can watch more of both the Danish AWP'ers here.

acoR

mousesports

According to the Finnish media Yle Sport, the former Heroic and Optic player Snappi will be the only Dane who will join ENCE this time around. 

The 30-year-old was been linked with a transfer to ENCE with the upcoming superstar TMB, who according to sources will not be joining the Finnish organization. Many teams have shown interested in TMB, but a move from AGF Esports has not yet been finalized. 

The new line-up for Finland’s largest organization will consist of Snappi, Lotan “Spinx” Giladi from Israel, Pawel “dycha” Dycha from Poland, veteran Aleksi “allu” Jalli, Joonas “doto” Forss, and last but not least Tuomas “SADDYX” Louhimaa, who will be in the role as a substitute player. 

dycha who was one of Sprout’s best players and averaged a 1.13 rating since joining the team in back in January 2020, helped Sprout to reach their highest rank of 16th in September but got benched, alongside Michal “snatchie” Rudzki after some poor results and failed promotion to ESL Pro League, the German organization decided to return to a full-German roster.  

ENCE didn’t want to comment on the situation to Yle Sport, but confirms that the new line-up will be revealed this week. 

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Snappi

According to dbltap.com the Finnish Organization is in contact with the two Danish players Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer and Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk about joining the active roster.

Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer has spent time as a in-game leader at Heroic, FunPlus Phoenix, Tiger and latest c0ntact Gaming. He has also spent time on loan at Astralis. TMB is currently contracted with AGF Esport.

The two players are to replace Jere "sergej" Salo and Miikka "suNny" Kemppi, who were moved to the inactive list at the end of 2020. If the two Danes join ENCE, it would be the first time in the Organizations history, that non-Finns are playing for the team.

You can see some highlights of the "Snappi" here.

AGF Esports is fielding offers for Thomas “TMB” Bundsbæk from several professional Counter-Strike teams, according to dbltap.com. Those organizations who have at least inquired on his availability and transfer fee include but are not limited to Apeks and North. 

The 18-year-old Dane has been a part of the organization since March, after being acquired from Copenhagen Flames following a six-month stint. TMB is currently on his second tenure with AGF after already playing for them for nearly two years between 2018 and 2019. He is considered one of the top younger talents in Denmark. 

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TMB

Player stats

Articles mentioning TMB

Flames version 3: We are on another level than before

Copenhagen Flames announce new roster

TMB: b0RUP has been the perfect suit for us

MAD Lions take down MOUZ in opening round at DreamHack Open November

New MAD Lions roster debuts with impressive win

Who will be the next big star in CS:GO?

Media: Danish AWP'ers on the move

Media: Only one Dane will join ENCE

Media: ENCE in contact with two Danes

AGF Esport is fielding offers for their star player

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