The chaotic scenes at Heroic with three players being benched within a couple of weeks have left the Organization with several issues to deal with in the coming weeks. 

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At Roobet Cup and at the Thunderpick World Championship, Heroic has fielded a team with René "TeSeS" Madsen and Rasmus "sjuush" Beck flanked by Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen as a temporary stand-in for the rest of the year. The two MOUX NXT players William "⁠sirah⁠" Kjærsgaard and Christoffer "⁠Chr1zN⁠" Storgaard have been loaned for the two tournaments to fill in the gap.

For the upcoming BLAST Fall Final LAN event in Copenhagen, Heroic has called in Casper "cadiaN" Møller for "one last dance", while Rasmus "Zyphon" Nordfoss was announced yesterday as the fifth player on the team.

The former Copenhagen Flames player has been loaned from Sprout for the BLAST Fall Final, which is set to take place later this month in the Royal Arena in Copenhagen.

How the 2024 edition of Heroic will look like is still up in the air. 

Zyphon

Heroic

Sprout

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

XELLOW

Renegades

EXTREMUM

100 Thieves

Sprout has announced the benching of their former in-game leader, refrezh. In a statement released on their official Twitter account, the organization revealed that they have made a mutual agreement with the player to put him on the transfer list due to different views on the project.

The statement reads, “It’s with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to refrezh from our active roster. Due to different views on the project, we have made a mutual agreement to put him on the transfer list. We’re grateful for his commitment and the memories, especially our run to the IEM Rio Major in Brazil.”

Refrezh had been a part of the Sprout roster since August 2022 when he took over as an unexperienced captain. However, the team’s recent performances have been below par, and it has been difficult for them to find consistency, which seems to be the reason for the organization to make some changes to the roster to improve their overall performance.

Sprout also revealed that Zyphon would be returning to the active lineup, resuming his role in the team. The statement further added, “As for the search for a new IGL, we’re actively testing candidates and will keep you updated on our progress as the week closes.”

The organization is now on the lookout for a new in-game leader to replace refrezh and lead the team forward.

refrezh

Earlier this month, Sprout announced that they have decided to remove the 19-year-old Rasmus “Zyphon” Nordfoss from the active roster after only five months on the team. 

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However, contrary to some people’s beliefs and how a player benching in CS:GO often pans out, it looks like Zyphon has got a second chance on the European squad.

When contacted by Pley.gg, Sprout Manager Daniel Paulus, confirms that the organization still see Zyphon as an option for active lineup despite his earlier demotion.

- At the moment we’re testing for the IGL position and it was for us always clear that we want to see Zyphon in this testing phase too, Paulus states.

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Sprout announced alongside the news of Zyphon’s benching that the fellow Dane Ismail “refrezh” Ali was set to step down as the in-game leader - why the German organization right away began a testing phase of potential candidates.  

Something Daniel Paulus also commented on in a statement to Pley.gg.

- At present, we are conducting a testing phase with a number of players, and we have concluded that it would not be appropriate to retain Berry as our IGL given his value as a coach. Although Berry is a highly skilled player for the role as an IGL, we believe he is better suited to coaching. We are optimistic about finding a suitable replacement by the deadline of 05.03, and we have contingencies in place should an emergency arise. In such cases, we are prepared for Berry to step in temporarily, Paulus stated. 

The Sprout Manager did not wish to comment publicly about the [link:{"url":"https://twitter.com/csgotalentscout/status/1628867987930329089","isNewTab":true,"text":"rumours "}]of refrezh being the one who's getting cut. 

{cflag:RO} Laurențiu "⁠lauNX⁠" Țârlea 

{cflag:DK} Rasmus "⁠Zyphon⁠" Nordfoss (inactive)

{cflag:DK} Danny "⁠BERRY⁠" Krüger (coach) 

A Danish rotation is happening on the Sprout roster after the Danish-majority team fell short at IEM Katowice 2023. 

Sprout will follow their guts and make way for the young Mikkel "Maze" Sparvath who recently has been on trial for the mixed European roster Let us cook. Maze will join the team as their new IGL which therefore moves Ismail "refresh" Ali to a permanent rifler role just like in Heroic. The former Copenhagen Flames player Rasmus "Zyphon" Nordfoss will be moved to the bench after spending five months on the active roster. The two Danes came to Sprout at the same time back in August and have since then played some decent CS on the biggest stage. However, with the lack of results that Sprout has witnessed, the talented roster is in need of making some changes to their team. 

Sprout will look as follows going forward with the 2023 season:

{cflag:RO} Laurențiu "⁠lauNX⁠" Țârlea

{cflag:DK} Danny "⁠BERRY⁠" Krüger (coach)

{cflag:DK} Rasmus "⁠Zyphon⁠" Nordfoss (benched)

Maze

Astralis have been a part and competed at every single Major championship since its birth back in 2016, winning four titles on their way. However, that streak might end sooner rather than later with the Danes currently fighting an uphill battle in the attempt to secure a ticket for the upcoming Rio Major.

But if you ask Janko "YNk" Paunović, CS:GO analyst and expert, he believes missing out on the Major would actually be the best possible outcome for Astralis.

- I think the best thing that could happen to Astralis is not making it to the Major. Then you just blow up the roster. You keep blameF, you keep gla1ve, and then you get device and potentially staehr and zyphon from Sprout. There’s a roster for you, YNk said on the desk before Astralis’ match against Eternal Fire.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/ninjas in pyjamas /Device_NIP_ov3y5q","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Ninjas in Pyjamas","alt":"device, dev1ce, CSGO, NIP, Denmark, Ninja in Pyjamas"}]

device is rumoured to join Astralis with the transfer price having been agreed reportedly

YNk clearly doesn’t believe in the current Astralis lineup, saying the problems already started right after they signed Benjamin “blameF” Bremer and Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke in a blockbuster transfer in November last year.

Following that Asger “farlig” Jensen also arrived replacing Phillip “Lucky” Ewald on the AWP.

- There have been issues with this roster ever since they added k0nfig and blameF, with the role overlap with gla1ve, which we have talked about time after time, YNk stated on the desk. I think it would be a great sort of excuse for them to start fresh - give the players some rest, to reset mentally. It has been a very draining process with someone like gla1ve and xyp9x who have won four Majors and been a part of the best team in the world for a couple of years. Now they can’t even make the Major.

You can watch the entire desk segment about Astralis in the video below. 

Astralis began their European RMR campaign at IEM Road to Rio yesterday, where they are hoping to secure a prestigious ticket to the Rio Major later this month. The Danes are currently on a 1-1 record after beating Eternal Fire today and losing to Ninjas in Pyjamas on Tuesday. They will play their next matchup tomorrow.

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device

Xyp9x

blameF

Farlig

Lucky

k0nfig

gla1ve

Astralis

The future of competitive Counter-Strike is looking bright – very bright. The increased focus and huge investment in talent and academy teams throughout the entire CS:GO circuit in recent times has made it much easier to not only discover the new up-and-coming players, but it has also made it much easier to climb the ranks as a youngster.  

In this article, we’ve taken a look at the best performing teenagers in top-tier CS:GO by listing the 10 highest-rated under-20 players in 2022 so far. And it comes with little surprise that NAVI's Valeriy 'b1t' Vakhovskiy is to be found at the very top, with the promising Ukrainian having made a lightning entry onto the scene after his debut last year. His former NAVI Junior teammate Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov is doing his best to catch up with him as the AWPer is placed right behind him.

1. {cflag:RU} m0nesy (G2) | 1.12 rating / 70.8 ADR / 1.10 Impact rating

2. {cflag:UA} b1t (NAVI) | 1.11 rating / 75.4 ADR / 1.11 Impact rating

3. {cflag:IL} flameZ (OG) | 1.11 rating / 77.5 ADR / 1.17 Impact rating

4. {cflag:RU} Patsi (Spirit) | 1.09 rating / 82.2 / 1.25 Impact rating

5. {cflag:RO} lauNX (Sprout) | 1.09 rating / 79.2 ADR / 1.17 Impact rating

6. {cflag:BR} dumau (00Nation) | 1.09 rating / 78.4 ADR / 1.09 ADR

7. {cflag:RU} fame (Outsiders) | 1.07 rating 73.5 ADR / 1.05 Impact rating

8. {cflag:DK} jabbi (Heroic) | 1.06 rating / 75.7 ADR / 1.08 Impact rating

9. {cflag:LT} bymas (MOUZ) | 1.04 rating / 71.9 ADR / 0.92 Impact rating

10. {cflag:DK} Zyphon (Sprout) | 1.03 rating / 72.5 ADR | 0.97 Impact rating

(Stats are from Top 30 matches - Minimum 30 maps played)

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B1tGOD

Jabbi

fame

m0NESY

Bymas

dumau

Patsi

flameZ

The roster changes are coming in hot this Monday afternoon!

This time it is Sprout, that is ready to announce its two new signings.

Former Copenhagen Flames player Rasmus "Zyphon" Nordfoss and Heroic's Ismail "refrezh" Ali will be the two new faces in the German Organization, where they join fellow Dane Victor "Staehr" Staehr in the lineup. At the same time, refrezh announced on his Twitter, that he would be the new in-game leader for the roster, which also counts Laurențiu "lauNX" Țârlea and Fritz "slaxz-" Dietrich.

The two players replace Rasmus "raalz" Steensborg (Copenhagen Flames), and Timo "Spiidi" Richter (Free Agent).

Yesterday Copenhagen Flames said goodbye to yet another rising star. Through Twitter, Copenhagen Flames announced that Zyphon is moving on to new adventures. The youngster came to Copenhagen Flames just a little over a year ago and has since done some impeccable results while playing for the Flames. The latest result from him and the Copenhagen Flames was in the PGL Major Antwerp 2022, where Copenhagen Flames ended up going all the way to the Quarter-final. 

Where Zyphon´s journey will continue is yet to be announced, but for now, the youngster is still a free agent. 

Watch these insane headshots by Zyphon aginst NIP:

Copenhagen Flames

With the transfer of both Nico "nicoodoz" Tamjid and Fredrik "roeJ" Jørgensen to Fnatic, the Danish team is looking to completely rebuild their roster once again.

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But maybe this is not a bad time at all to do it. There have probably never been so many available Danes on the bench or on the free agent's list as now. Let's take a look at some of the different ways, the roster could look.

Why not give some of the old guys a new chance? We've seen karrigan, Imperial, and lately Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski perform at a very high level despite their age. The biggest reason why this will probably never happen is the wage. Most of the players would expect to be paid quite a bit more than the Copenhagen Flames are capable of paying. And then they would also have to pay NIP to secure the service of device. Yeah, this will not happen...

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/ninjas in pyjamas /Device_NIP_1_nvt3n8","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Ninjas in Pyjamas","alt":"device, dev1ce, NIP, Ninjas in Pyjamas, CSGO"}]

Five players that have all been on top-tier teams before, but who would all benefit from taking a step down to kickstart their careers again. This could be a very interesting team with some strong MAD Lions vibes. The biggest problem here is, who should be the IGL?

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/kjaerbye_lnts8q","originalWidth":2048,"originalHeight":1152,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: StarLadder Igor Bezborodov"}]

While Copenhagen Flames have stated, that they are looking for a new home for the three remaining players, we could easily see them continue on the team. Frederik "Fessor" Sørensen is rumored to be leaving Astralis Talent, while Philip "Lucky" Ewald's contract with Astralis ended mid-May.

Have we missed anyone? Give us our guess on Twitter!

HooXi

Fessor

After losing the quarter-final against ENCE and getting eliminated from the Major, we had a talk with Rasmus "Zyphon" Nordfoss.

- Honestly, it feels horrible, at least for myself. After that Nuke, I felt like I could do so much more. F.x refragging or coming up with calls, with this that I know or things that I see.

The 18-year-old also goes in-depth about what went wrong in the match and comments on the future of the Copenhagen Flames in the full interview down below.

After seeing FaZe and Spirit secure their spots in the semis yesterday, ENCE and Copenhagen Flames now had to try to do the same. When the two faced each other earlier in the tournament the Flames took a dominant 16-8 victory in a Bo1, but things would not go as smoothly for the Danes this time.

The Bo3 kicked off on the Flames' pick of Vertigo, where the Danes looked solid to start. They were getting entries and had good spacing on the map, but at the scoreline 3-3 their T side started going down the drain. ENCE completely shut them down, and while "Spinx" was playing very well, the real story was the tremendous defensive work "dycha" did in difficult situations. This led ENCE on a nine-round streak, and to a 12-3 halftime lead.

It looked much better for the Flames as they turned to the CT side. The young duo of "Zyphon" and "jabbi" was doing some heavy lifting for the team, but the halftime deficit was too hard to overcome for the Danes and ENCE were now halfway there.

"roeJ" and "nicoodoz" who were surprisingly absent on Vertigo had a much better start to Nuke. They stepped up individually very early on and as the rest of the team soon followed suit the Flames took a 9-3 lead. ENCE found a bit of flow towards the end of the half and reduced the Danes' lead to three at halftime.

"hades", who had been the lowest-rated ENCE player at this tournament so far, woke up as his team took to the CT side. He was excellently holding down the fort in Yard and around the Garage. This was one of the major factors in what was a lockdown defensive half for ENCE where the Flames were only allowed three rounds before it was all said and done.

With the win, ENCE secure a spot in the semi-final where they will be facing the winner of the Na'Vi/Heroic matchup.

ENCE - Copenhagen Flames 2-0 | PGL Major Antwerp Legends Stage

16-10 (Vertigo) | {cflag:IL} Spinx - 1.52 Rating / 26-13 K-D / 95.8 ADR

16-12 (Nuke) | {cflag:IL} Spinx - 1.43 Rating / 24-15 K-D / 84.8 ADR

MVP: {cflag:IL} Lotan "Spinx" Giladi - 1.47 Rating / 50-28 K-D / 90.1 ADR

dycha

Spinx

hades

roeJ

nicoodoz

ENCE

The last game of the Legends Stage had Copenhagen Flames face Imperial. Copenhagen Flames and Imperial faced each other in the very last game of the Legends Stage. The Brazilians and the Danes battled for the eighth and final quarter-finals spot in Antwerp.

Imperial's go-to map of Inferno kicked off the series, and the Flames on the CT side took advantage of that. Every single Flames player was playing at a high level, and  "Zyphon" was at one point 14-1. On the other side, the individuals except for "VINI" were really struggling for the first fifteen rounds, which netted the Danes an enormous 13-2 lead.

The Copenhagen Flames unsurprisingly quickly ended the map, and Imperial now had to battle from a ginormous 16-2 loss.

Copenhagen Flames picked Vertigo as the second map. It is a map that has treated them well in the past, and it is one of the weakest maps, if not THE weakest map for Imperial.

As the percentages suggested, the Flames got off to the best start. The Danes took a 9-3 T side lead before giving up the last three rounds of the half to the Brazilians.

Imperial crucially won the second half pistol round and converted the following. The Flames tried to push back with some wins of their own, but after eleven second-half rounds the Brazilians had tied up the game. All thirty rounds of regulation and more were needed as Imperial failed to take advantage of map point and the map went to OT.

After failing to convert on two map points in the first overtime, the Flames kept it clean in the second where they won all four rounds to close out the game.

With the win, the Copenhagen Flames claim the last available quarter-finals spot and send Imperial home.

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Imperial - Copenhagen Flames 0-2 | PGL Major Antwerp Legends Stage

2-16 (Inferno) | {cflag:DK} Zyphon - 1.82 Rating / 20-3 K-D / 90.7 ADR

18-22 (Vertigo) | {cflag:DK} Zyphon - 1.41 Rating / 34-21 K-D / 90.1 ADR

MVP: {cflag:DK} Rasmus "Zyphon" Nordfoss - 1.54 Rating / 54-24 K-D / 90.3 ADR

VINI

Imperial

Copenhagen Flames took the CS:GO world by storm when the promising Danes participated at the PGL Major in Stockholm and IEM Fall, where the massive underdogs managed to upset superstar teams like Heroic, Astralis, and G2.

Going into this 2022 season, Copenhagen Flames' position and status in the CS:GO scene has changed - If you ask the team itself. 

- I think we see ourselves as a Top 10 team. And we also see ourselves as a team who never should lose to teams in Top 20, because I think we are smarter than that. It just feels like we have lost 2% that wins us the rounds, Zyphon said in an ESL press conference and continued:

- If we need to keep going and be able to stay as a Top 10 team, then we need to get these 2% back and do what we normally do.

In the press conference before IEM Katowice, we also spoke to CPH Flames’ in-game leader, Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen, who opened up about how it has been playing under heavy transfer and acquisition rumours.

One month ago nobody talked about Copenhagen Flames as a potential outsider for the PGL Major title in Stockholm. Some of the players on the roster did not even know, that they had the chance to qualify for the Major, when the team arrived for IEM Fall at the end of September. Just being there was a big thing for the Organization, which has always been grinding the lower tiers in the scene, where young Danish talents have had the opportunity to be nurtured before bigger teams came calling.

But the team surprised everyone at IEM Fall and qualified for the Major after a tough match against Fiend. At the Stockholm Major the positive results have just continued. Astralis, BIG, and Heroic all came short against the roster, which contains both experience in HooXi and roeJ, while nicoodoz, jabbi, and Zyphon are new faces on the scene.

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"teams/Copenhagen Flames/20211010_Helena-Kristiansson_IEM-Fall-2021_CopenhagenFlames_a1isw8","originalWidth":6151,"originalHeight":3459,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: Helena Kristiansson - ESL","alt":"Copenhagen Flames, CSGO"}]

Happy faces after the qualification for the PGL Major at IEM Fall

One of the key players on the Flames roster has been the experienced Fredrik "roeJ" Jørgensen, who we got to talk with on the phone Friday evening.

- We were super happy after we qualified for the Legends Stage. But quickly we started to move on and now we are fully focused on Saturday's matches.

The 27-year-old Dane has been the center of attention with his impressive performances, which has put him on top of the individual leaderboard with a 1.36 HLTV rating. Saturday roeJ and his teammates will face G2 in the opening round at the Legends Stage. A tough opponent but also a roster that Copenhagen Flames managed to beat at IEM Fall.

- We have built up great confidence right now. We have the mindset that we are not afraid of anyone. And I think that we are only getting stronger with this kind of mentality, which is pretty unreal to think about, when you consider, where we were before IEM Fall. 

It is hard not to compare the sudden rise of Copenhagen Flames with the one we saw last year from Gambit, who also have had success with combining an experienced player with young raw talents, that have had the right attitude towards the big grind through the ranks of lower-tier tournaments to break into the A-tier. Another comparison could also be made about the ways, that the two teams are playing. At least according to Fredrik "roeJ" Jørgensen.

- We are inspired by the way, that a team like Gambit is playing. We are not very structured, but we react more to what we see. It is more feeling-based decisions that we like to employ. We really like this way of playing, and I also think, that it makes it easier for the young players to fit in. We don't have a ton of strategies from the spawn, but that also makes us much more unpredictable. It's a way for us as a smaller team to try and equal the playing field against bigger teams, who have a lot of people to analyze the games and strats.

Copenhagen Flames have so far only been playing from their practice rooms at the PGL Major. From tomorrow all the matches will be played in a studio environment, but that should not be a big deal for the young roster.

- I can't speak for everyone on the team, but I don't think it will make a difference. We tried it at IEM Fall, so we already have a bit of experience playing in a studio. I do think, that it will make a difference if we make it to the Champions Stage in front of a crowd, but only time can tell, Fredrik "roeJ" Jørgensen says with a grin. 

Copenhagen Flames will face G2 tomorrow at 11.00 (CEST). Can they do it again?

G2 Esports

Yesterday at IEM Fall Europe, Copenhagen Flames fought a fierce head-to-head battle against Fiend for a spot in the upcoming Major. A matchup, the Danes managed to win meaning that they will travel to Stockholm alongside the CS:GO elite to attend the PGL Major later this month. 

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One of the deciding plays in the match was Rasmus "Zyphon" Nordfoss' vital 1v2 clutch on Inferno. The former Astralis Talent player was situated in a tough clutch scenario on the CT-side, with the bomb being planted on the A-side. Despite, a near-perfect double-peek by two Fiend players, Zyphon still succeeds in taking both enemy players down - just in time to make the defuse as well.

Watch the impressive clutch by Zyphon right here.

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Fiend

Copenhagen Flames will be the last team from Europe to qualify for the Major in Stockholm. The Danes grabbed the last spot with a win against Team Fiend in the 7th place decider match at IEM Fall Europe.

The win was secured after an extremely close match, where both maps went into overtime before Copenhagen Flames could seal the deal.

On Nuke it was the Danes who had a 15-10 lead but fumbled the lead. In OT Fredrik 'roeJ' Jørgensen and his younger teammates regained strength and finished off the Bulgarians.

The roles were switched on Inferno. Here it was Fiend who lost a 15-13 lead to give the Danes the opportunity to win the match in overtime after some incredible clutches from Rasmus 'Zyphon' Nordfoss and Rasmus 'HooXi' Nielsen. 

It was clear that there was something out of the ordinary at stake. None of the teams would give in, which gave way for a quadruple-overtime before the match would be decided. Perhaps the nerves kicked in for Kamen "bubble" Kostadinov, who suddenly bought the M249 rifle which left his economy in shambles without doing anything for his team. Copenhagen Flames won the match and secured qualification for the PGL Major in Stockholm after a marathon map on Inferno after another clutch play from Fredrik 'roeJ' Jørgensen. 

Team Fiend finish on the 12th place in the RMR standings, which is not enough to qualify.

Team Fiend – Copenhagen Flames (0-2) | IEM Fall 2021 Europe - 7th place decider

16-19 (Nuke) | {cflag:DK} roeJ – 1.48 Rating / 33-23 K-D / 94.9 ADR

25-28 (Inferno) | {cflag:DK} nicoodoz – 1.27 Rating / 45-35 K-D / 81.5 ADR

MVP: {cflag:DK} Fredrik 'roeJ' Jørgensen| 1.28 Rating / 73-60 K-D / 91.3 ADR

Last year Astralis announced their new Academy initiative, where they look to find the future stars of Astralis.

Today the team has made changes to its roster with the departure of Rasmus 'Zyphon' Nordfoss.

- We've been working for well over three months and taken necessary steps to maintain the development of our Talent-model and the culture. Rasmus is a good player who can achieve great things but we have come to terms with the fact that this is not the right time considering the expectations we have to each other. All the best to Rasmus who's been a vital part of the beginning of our Talent initiative, 

Dennis 'VNG' Vang, Head of Talent, Counter-Strike states.

Rasmus 'Zyphon' Nordfoss has been the highest-rated player during the 23 maps played, but due to differences in the goals for the future, the 17-year-old rifler is now no longer with the Danish Organization.

- First of all I would like to thank Astralis for an exciting time on the Talent-roster. Unfortunately it's cut short because we couldn't agree on the goals at the moment. I'd like to thank Dennis for the support all the way through and I wish the team all the best in the future.

Astralis Talent is now looking for a replacement.

	30 days	90 days
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Zyphon

Player stats

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