Led by coach Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunovi?, the new international Counter-Strike 2 line-up is now finalised and ready for the 2024 season.

BLEED Esports announced its first foray in Counter-Strike in late November 2023 with the addition of Serbian coach kassad, and has, over the next month, slowly started assembling the new roster.

First came the signing of ex-BIG rifler Josef “faveN” Baumann, preceding the addition of Hampus “hampus” Poser, Tsvetelin “CeRq” Dimitrov, and Lauren?iu “lauNX” ?arlea.

With time running out for BLEED Esports to find the fifth member ahead of the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 Major qualifiers, the Singaporean team didn’t need long to round up the five-man line-up.

CYPHER arrives at BLEED from TSM, whom he joined at the end of August but hasn’t accomplished much outside of winning ESEA Cash Cup: Europe – Autumn 2023 #3 and finishing ESEA Season 47: Advanced Division �C Europe in third place.

The final piece!

Please welcome @cyphercsgo_ to BLEED CS2#GOBLEED pic.twitter.com/g4YROGkeAd

— BLEED Esports (@ggBleed) January 3, 2024

Before signing for TSM, CYPHER played for Into the Breach, which he helped reach the quarterfinals of BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.

He has not found much success in bigger events, despite being one of the most consistent performers on the team.

As confirmed by kassad, BLEED initially intended to acquire Ninjas in Pyjamas’ Max “maxster” Jansson.

Unfortunately, the deal fell apart after PGL failed to confirm whether maxster, who is registered as NiP’s substitute, would be able to participate in the European open qualifiers for PGL Major Copenhagen.

BLEED’s approach for Justin “jks” Savage was also unsuccessful.

But despite all the hoops kassad had to jump through to assemble the new Counter-Strike roster, BLEED Esports now fields a promising lineup, which will debut in the upcoming European open qualifiers for PGL Major Copenhagen, set to kick off on January 8, 2024.

BLEED Esports Roster

• Hampus “hampus” Poser
• Tsvetelin “CeRq” Dimitrov
• Josef “faveN” Baumann
• Lauren?iu “lauNX” ?arlea
• Cai “CYPHER” Watson
• Coach: Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunovi?

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The North American franchise took to its Twitter page to make the development public. EG thanked the Bulgarian AWPer for his contributions to the team during his time with the franchise. The franchise acknowledged the 23-year old was crucial to the legacy built by Evil Geniuses in the CS:GO esports scene.

“Thank you @cerq for over three years with us��you were vital in building a legacy of Evil in CS:GO and will always have our support,” Evil Geniuses announced.

This confirms earlier reports that CeRq was benched and would not be a part of Evil Geniuses’s roster for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups event.

CeRq reacted to his exit from EG, thanking the team for the opportunity and support over the past three years. While he stated that it was time for a new beginning, he wished the franchise the best in its future endeavours.

“Time flies, 5 incredible years of being part of first NRG then EG,” CeRq said.

“Forever grateful for the emotions, support and all the things we achieved together. Wishing all the best to the whole team. It’s time for a new beginning.”

CeRq’s departure from Evil Geniuses marks the end of his five-year journey playing for a North American team. He first represented NRG for two years before transferring to Evil Geniuses in September 2019, where he spent the following three years of his career. The 23-year-old Bulgarian is now leaving the squad after clinching some regional and international championships.

Prior to joining NRG, he started out his career with WinFiction in 2016 and thereafter moved to the Bulgarian esports franchise Outlaws. He spent a year with the franchise and got into his strides with the franchise and caught the eye of the NRG and started out his journey in the North American CS:GO scene.

CeRq played a crucial role in Evil Geniuses’ early success, contributing to the team’s victories at the ESL One New York and StarSeries i-League Season 8 events in 2019. These performances earned him the 18th spot on HLTV’s top 20 list for that year.

CeRq’s individual performance significantly declined after 2020, as he averaged a 0.99 rating in 2021. This came after Evil Geniuses underwent several roster changes and struggled to find success on the international stage. Despite the team showing promising signs under the leadership of CIS import Sanzhar “neaLaN” Iskhakov, CeRq’s rating remained below 1.00 in 2022.

It is currently unclear who will replace CeRq on the active roster, with Evil Geniuses registering seven players for their first event of 2022 at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. The current roster includes Vincent “Brehze” Cayonte, Timothy “autimatic” Ta, Jadan “HexT” Postma, Jeorge “jeorgesnorts” Endicott. The team will be led by Danish head coach Daniel “Vorborg” Vorborg.

There are no reports at the moment as to where CeRq will be headed next. However, with such incredible impact achieved in the North American CS:GO scene in the past five years, he is certain to land himself a new home in the coming weeks.

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The Bulgarian AWPer who has been with the franchise for about three years may be on the chopping block heading into the new year. CeRq’s supposed inactive status is reportedly hinged on EG exploring the possibility of making changes to their main lineup.

Although Evil Geniuses are yet to announce his possible exit, it is unclear if CeRq will remain a part of the roster in the future. Multiple sources have corroborated the report of the 23-year old being removed from the EG roster for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups.

It is uncertain who will replace the Bulgarian at the event for Evil Geniuses, as Wesley “viz” Harris, Jerric “wiz” Jiang, and Jeorge “jeorgesnorts” Endicott from EG Black, White, and Nouns are all listed along with the other four members of the Evil Geniuses lineup. Among the three, reports suggest that wiz, who is the sniper of EG Black, is the more likely selection to fill that spot.

Since 2019, CeRq has been a member of Evil Geniuses as a result of the franchise acquiring the NRG roster. His skills as an AWPer have earned him the ranking of No. 18 player of 2019 by HLTV and have contributed to the victories of NRG and Evil Geniuses at tournaments such as ESL One New York 2019, StarSeries i-League Season 8, and IEM Shanghai 2018.

During his time with both franchises, the 23-year old sniper was awarded two MVP awards. However, his form has suffered since the EG roster underwent changes in 2021. Prior to this, he consistently had a rating above 1.10 in both online and offline outings from 2018 to 2020.

Unfortunately, his performances have significantly declined in the past two years, as he has averaged a rating below 1.00 in 2021 and 2022. These poor numbers are unacceptable for an AWPer competing at the highest level.

Timothy “autimatic” Ta could potentially take up the role of the snipper for Evil Geniuses if they decide to pick either viz or Triumph. Jeorgesnorts, on the other hand, had a strong performance at the IEM Road to Rio Americas RMR while playing for Nouns, with an average rating of 1.21, and has subsequently been a stand-in for EG Black.

Wiz’s average rating while a member of EG Black is 1.14, but he has faced weaker opponents compared to his Bulgarian teammate. If Evil Geniuses plan to include him in their BLAST Groups campaign, he will face a tough challenge as the event begins on January 19.

Ahead of the BLAST Spring Groups, Evil Geniuses CS:GO roster remains unchanged with Vincent “Brehze” Cayonte, Jadan “HexT” Postma, CeRq, autimatic, led by the in-game leader Sanjar “neaLaN” Ishakov. Daniel “Vorborg” Vorborg will also be heading into the new season as the franchise head coach.

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