Former Evil Geniuses player joins Bleed looking for Counter-Strike redemption

Rounding out 2023 with a bang, Bleed Esports has announced the signing of former NRG and Evil Geniuses AWPer CeRq to its Counter-Strike 2 roster, now two members short of completion.

Bleed has been working with head coach kassad to build a strong roster for the org’s competitive CS2 debut in 2024, signing former Ninjas in Pyjamas stalwart ⁠hampus⁠, ex-BIG player Josef “faveN⁠” Baumann, and now CeRq to wield the big green. It’d be interesting to see what their plan is for the remaining two spots on the roster now that it has got a veteran IGL, a rifler, and an AWPer on board.

Best known for the impeccable AWP displays he presented during most of his six-year CS:GO career, CeRq was a force to be reckoned with in his prime. He was first spotted making waves during his brief stint with the Outlaws, a former Bulgarian CS team. Having displayed such exceptional skills in several tournaments, it wasn’t long before NRG picked him up for its professional roster in 2017. In 2019, NRG’s roster was acquired by Evil Geniuses, and CeRq, alongside his then-teammates, was put under new management. 

While the talented Bulgarian continued to impress the crowd, winning tournaments and earning prestigious medals for a long time after the EG transfer, unfortunately, the fandom noticed a significant drop in his performance in 2021 after his team went through several roster changes as they continued to deteriorate.

According to HLTV, CeRq averaged a 0.98 rating and 0.89 impact rating between 2021 and 2022. Despite reports of him trying his best to recover from the slump, CeRq failed to return to his prime, and Evil Geniuses moved on from him ahead of the 2023 CS:GO season.

Now, after a gap of almost a year, CeRq is back, ready to pick up the torch for Bleed as the CS2 team’s primary AWPer. 

Head coach kassad also seems to have a lot of faith in CeRq, as was evident from his statements in the Dec. 21 episode of The Richard Lewis Show. Speaking of CeRq’s potential at age 24, kassad said, “Obviously, he has a lot more years in front of him if he’s willing to put in the time. We all know that he has the skill… He is farming quite a bit in CS2.” 

Well, fans definitely know what CeRq’s capable of, and if he does manage to bounce back, we might see an exciting Counter-Strike redemption arc in the 2024 season.