G2 reportedly sets sights on North American CS2 star—but it’s not Stewie2K

You'd be surprised.

Stewie2K and G2 Esports lift the IEM Dallas 2024 trophy.
Photo by Stephanie Lindgren via ESL

G2 Esports stunned the CS2 community by winning IEM Dallas 2024 with a stand-in, Stewie2K. The organization is now eyeing a North American Counter-Strike 2 star, but it’s not the Smoke Criminal.

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G2 is reportedly in talks with a Guatemalan CS2 prodigy from M80, Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa, according to Dust2.us. But, at the time of writing, it’s unclear who the player would be replacing on the European roster.

Historically speaking, G2 hasn’t acquired many North American players in CS2. In fact, Stewie2K was the first one from the region to wear the black and white jersey. Nevertheless, malbsMd recent stats prove he’s certainly someone to keep an eye on.

Stewie2K looks into the IEM Dallas trophy.
G2 recently won a trophy with a North American star. Will they collect more with malbsMd? Photo by Stephanie Lindgren via ESL

Over the past six months, the Guatemalan 21-year-old has achieved a 1.32 rating, according to HLTV. He boasts this stat alongside 91.8 average damage per round, 0.84 average kills per round, and a jaw-dropping 1.59 impact.

While M80 are slowly on the rise in the Americas and have been a part of a few notable events as of late, they’re still far from scratching the surface of the top. At ESL Pro League Season 19, they came 17-20th and finished 13-16th at IEM Dallas 2024. However, malbsMd kept up his impressive form in many tournaments. In the last six months, he had a rating below one only twice, according to HLTV.

G2 are currently competing at BLAST Premier Spring Finals 2024, which began with a loss to Team Spirit. However, they were missing their best player in the form of m0NESY, who arrived late in London due to visa issues. A summer break in CS2 commences after the event, so we’ll likely hear more rumors and possible confirmations once it begins.

Author
Image of Mateusz Miter
Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.