Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s contract is due to end in March, and the veteran IGL has yet to make any commitments. He reportedly asked for “more time” from mousesports before making a decision on extending his contract or not.
mousesports explore options to replace karrigan https://t.co/LRBeorVj4B
— HLTVorg (@HLTVorg) January 11, 2021
Mousesports’ current struggles
As of February 2021, karrigan has been active on mousesports for 23 months.
The veteran, who many consider as one of the best to ever don the in-game leader role, brought mousesports success, shortly after signing with the team. He led the team from a top 15 side to being the number two in the world by the end of 2019 and well into 2020. Nurturing, and guiding the inexperienced prodigy (now number 7 in the world) Robin “ropz” Kool in the process. Before that, mousesports only ever reached number 2 in the world rankings in 2018 with Tomáš “oskar” Šťastný, Miikka “suNny” Kemppi, Martin “STYKO” Styk, Chris “chrisJ” de Jong and ropz in the lineup, where they held it for 3 weeks before dropping back down.
COVID 19 hit hard in 2020, and the resulting shift to a full online scene was not kind to mousesports. It took their promising start to the year and turned it into a series of roster changes, modifications, and adjustments after failing to perform at a top level in the first half of 2020. They ended 2020 at number 11 in the world but looked towards more changes after signing Frederik “acoR” Gyldstrand to be the main AWPer. Replacing Chris “chrisJ” de Jong who was the longest standing member of the lineup.
Mousesports had already been public about their interest of exploring options to replace karrigan as his departure is getting increasingly likely. Reports have shown FaZe Clan’s interest to sign their former player to IGL once again for the FaZe roster.
Will he return to his former organization, FaZe, and lead the young duo of Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken and Helvijs “broky” Saukants? Or will he stay with mouz and try to bring out the best of the new mousesports lineup?
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There is a question that mousesports fans would love to know the answer to:
“Can mousesports be a top team without karrigan?”
Mousesports before karrigan
To answer that question, we need to take a look back into the past. Ropz and chrisJ were part of the 2017 mousesports lineup that rose to reach a peak of number two in the world during the first quarter of 2018 and a top 10 team for a few months before slowing down in 2019. Ropz and chrisJ didn’t need karrigan to be among the very top. What did they need? An oskar and a STYKO led by suNny. They were a promising team that were playing at the highest levels. What happened to them?
After many inconsistent and disappointing tournament results from the team, the German organization planned to completely rebuild the roster around the young star rifler ropz. The nail in the coffin came during the Europe Minor for Katowice 2019. After being the favorites to win they failed to make it out of the group stage. It was the tragic story of this mousesports lineup: Inconsistent High’s that pit them against the very best, and unexpected lows that make you question, how?
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This is why mouz brought along karrigan, a leader known to improve his teammates as individuals and team players. Their new roster was focused on the young core of ropz, frozen and woxic. A young, promising core who were to be guided by the veteran IGL.
It was never karrigan’s mechanical skill, quick flicks, or crisp aim that gave his team success. That role would always fall to his teammates, ropz, bymas, David “frozen” Čerňanský, and AWPer Özgür “woxic” Eker. It was his ability to read the game, support his team and guide his teammates to become better than ever, that made him a legendary name in the CSGO Pro scene. It’s how ropz reached his highest ever player ranking of number 7 in the world. The Estonian rifler always trusted him, and ropz had this to say back in 2019 after IEM Sydney:
I haven’t played with a lot of people, but (Karrigan) is one of the best for sure
Would the departure of mouz’ veteran leader mean the end of mousesports, or has karrigan taught them enough?
Who will be karrigan’s replacement?
mousesports have shown interest in Renegades’ in-game leader Christopher “dexter” Nong as a possible replacement. This would reunite dexter with mousesports’ current coach Torbjørn “mithR” Nyborg, who coached Renegades for a brief period in 2020.
dexter has minimal experience in the tier one and tier two scene, with very few games against top 30 teams. Can he fill the shoes that karrigan wears? Can he lead the newest members bymas and acoR?
Can he bring mousesports to the very top like karrigan once did?
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None of us will know unless we see it, but for now we can always make an educated guess. If the roster change happens, it is likely that mousesports needs time to become comfortable. Bringing in a new In-game leader is always difficult as he will have to adjust for the team, or have the team adjust for him. ropz, the current longest standing member of the team will surely be a great help to dexter and mithR when they adjust or rebuild the mousesports system.
Is dexter even good enough?
This is the question everyone started asking when mousesports went public about it. Understandably, you’ve probably never heard of him if you only followed the North American, Europe, or CIS Region in 2019 and 2020. Specially if you only watch the major A and S tier Tournaments. You might be familiar with Renegades from their old roster that was acquired by North American organization 100 Thieves. dexter and Renegades play in the small and lesser known Australian/Oceania CSGO Pro scene. Renegades have finished 1st place in their last 9 tournaments from May to December 2020. All these tournaments are B – Tier tournaments that are regional exclusives of big events, one of the many changes to pro CSGO in 2020 brought by the global pandemic.
More CS:GO
With those nine straight 1st place finishes, they are enough to be considered the best of the Oceania region. dexter has great performances and ratings with Renegades, but against his competition in Oceania, it’s hard to tell how well they would do in North America or Europe. Their strongest rival is ORDER who they’ve beaten 3-0 twice in their last three finals appearances.
It’s hard to get a clear idea of where dexter ranks among the best in the world, or the top 30 teams.
He can definitely rule the Oceania Region, but is he prepared to take on the best of the best with mousesports as they rally their way to the top? Or is he just a big fish in a small pond? No matter what, it won’t hurt to gain some experience, and if the coach who helped mouz piece things back together in late 2020 thinks he can be a good fit, then maybe he is a good, if not the best choice to replace karrigan.
No karrigan or chrisJ? – It’s Ropz’ mousesports now
The 2019 lineup overhaul was always meant to revolve around ropz, but karrigan has been the one to develop and lead the team as the captain.
If mouz do pick up dexter, I believe he does not have to completely fill the Danish in-game leader’s role. ropz, who has learned countless things from both his team’s leader and for playing at the top tier for nearly 3 years now, has grown and matured as a player. He has been the most consistent player for mousesports and that is evident in nearly all their games from the past 2 years. The 21 year old Estonian is still getting started, but has already shown so much improvement and promise. One can say that much of this is owed to karrigan, but it is also owed to the raw talent of ropz.. The Estonian star can pass on to dexter all his experience from playing under one of the best IGLs, and it may be enough to push the promising young roster to new heights.
With ropz’s help, dexter or whoever the German organization signs, can find the best way to utilize their tactical and strategic thinking to propel mousesports back to the top once more.
About the author:
This article was written by our community writer Daniel Jan P. Medado, an esports lover from the Philippines. He likes watching video game characters shoot each other and writes about the games he loves to play and watch, mainly CS:GO. His mission is to stay up to date on the latest esports news and events so you won’t have to.
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