Iconic Counter-Strike veteran Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas will be absent from a Valve Major for the first time.
Spearheaded by TaZ, rising Polish roster Team Kinguin was eliminated from contention in the FACEIT London Major earlier today. The team suffered losses to Sprout Esports and Red Reserve in the group stage of the European Minor, eliminating them from the 13th Valve Major cycle in history.
Related: TaZ: “These guys bring me a lot of joy and it’s almost like I can breathe”
This is a pivotal moment in CS:GO history because TaZ attended every single Major with the same lineup, Virtus Pro, before he was removed from the team last February. VP was previously the longest standing lineup in CS:GO by staying together for over four years, but a rapid decline in performance since the start of 2017 eventually broke their team spirit and chemistry. A swift 0-3 elimination at the last Major, ELEAGUE Boston, was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and team changes occurred shortly after.
Now only Filip “NEO” Kubski, Jaroslaw “pashaBiceps” Jarzabkowski, and Pawel “byali” Bielinski remain from the original VP lineup. Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski left the team last month for Mousesports, where his talents have yet to yield substantial results within the international European roster.
TaZ didn’t seem too distraught about the prospect of missing the London Major before Kinguin’s elimination. He acknowledged the tough team pool at the EU Minor and implicitly accepted the fact that he might not qualify for the Major, in an interview with Dot Esports prior to the event.
Below is a list of players that have attended every single CS:GO Valve Major in history. Their respective teams have changed over the years, so their most recent team is also listed.
- Virtus Pro: NEO, pashaBiceps, byali
- Mousesports: Snax
- Fnatic: Jesper “JW” Wecksell, Robin “flusha” Ronnquist, and Freddy “KRiMZ” Johansson
- FaZe Clan: Olof “olofmeister” Kjabjer
- Astralis: Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz, Peter “dupreeh” Rothmann, and Andreas “Xyp9x” Hojsleth
- Natus Vincere: Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko
- G2 Esports: Richard “shox” Papillon
TaZ isn’t the only player missing their first major, either—Denis “seized” Kostin and Nathan “NBK” Schmitt, who were benched from their teams (Gambit Esports and G2 Esports, respectively) in recent months, will also be sitting out the FACEIT London Major when it kicks off on Sept. 5.
