Masters of Their Craft

The most important and oft under-appreciated role in Counter-Strike is that of the in-game leader. The in-game leader ensures the team is properly prepared for their opponents, defines the overall strategies going into a match, and makes crucial tactical calls within each round. The job, in the absence of the availability of a team's comms to the public, is rarely flashy and often invisible to the untrained spectator.

A great in-game leader raises the performance of his/her teammates; a subpar one hinders them. The ultimate goal of an IGL is simple: To put their team in the best position to take the round, match and series. The rest is up to the players around them properly executing their roles.

There are three individuals who are currently above the pack—three players that have displayed a comparatively consistent stream of brilliance in their in-game leading to bring success to their team. Below we take a look at these players, their varied approaches to the game and the way they utilize their weapons to maximum potential.

DreamHack Winter 2013 marked the end of an era and the beginning of a new. In the eight big LAN tournaments preceding the event that year, seven were won by either Ninjas in Pyjamas or VeryGames, a rivalry now known as one of the fiercest in CS:GO history. The Major Era produced an uptick in competition that ended the dominant reign of the aforementioned teams, and the team to come out on top since the very first major is none other than Markus "pronax" Wallsten's Fnatic.

On November 12, 2013, merely two weeks before DreamHack Winter, pronax—then on n!faculty—was brought onto Fnatic to replace former 1.6 star Andreas "MODDII" Fridh. According to a statement made by Patrik "cArn" Sättermon at the time of the announcement, pronax was recruited to better mold the players' roles and to bring a form of in-game leading that his teammate, Robin "flusha" Rönnquist, was unable to provide. In a mere two weeks, he was able to do just that.

Fnatic topped arguably the toughest group of the tournament which included LGB eSports, ESWC champions Clan-Mystik and Natus Vincere. And in one fell swoop, they overcame Recursive eSports—a team that boasted the likes of current Team EnVyUs stars Vincent "Happy" Cervoni and Kenny "kennyS" Schrub—before handily defeating compLexity Gaming to make it to the grand finals.

The finals was the first of a trio of clashes between Fnatic and the favorites, Ninjas in Pyjamas, at a major tournament. In a long and arduous series featuring delays due to technical difficulties, Fnatic triumphed over the Ninjas 2-1 in the midst of the night. After a total of zero tournament victories in 2013, Fnatic would win the biggest of them all after only two weeks with their new leader.

In an AMA a month after the victory, a couple of statements by pronax could be seen to sum up his basic approach to the game. The first noted the pivotal element of asserting map control as it was comparably tougher in CS:GO than in 1.6 to wrestle it back once it's lost. The second was slowing down the pace of the game and fixing the team's previous habit of overextending after a single entry frag, preferring instead to back off and outplay the opponent with the advantage. These two facets of pronax's philosophy can be attributed to shaping him into the game's best mid-round caller.




The world watched in awe as pronax's dominance of the map—especially on his Counter-Terrorist halves—redefined the meta and ushered in a new age. While Fnatic did stumble throughout the first half of the new year, the team found the perfect duo to carry out pronax's tactics in Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer and Freddy "KRiMZ" Johansson, and the squad subsequently soared to new heights.

Fnatic is frequently cited to rely on a loose style of play, but be warned: The Swedes are more calculating than they're credited for. While pronax's biggest strength lies in his ability to read the flow of a round and put his team in an advantageous position in almost all situations, his early-round setups are often a thing of beauty. His Counter-Terrorist calls are already renowned for being some of the best, but the subtleties in his Terrorist formations are often overlooked.

One match that displayed pronax's meticulous disposition was a FACEIT match against Ninjas in Pyjamas earlier in the year. After an abysmal Counter-Terrorist half on Mirage that resulted in Fnatic struggling to secure a paltry five rounds, pronax's team eventually found themselves at 5-13 due to a morbid start to the second half. But where many teams would force-buy in desperation, the Swedish captain opted to save to give his squad the best chance to begin the grind for rounds. And grind they did. With good reads on the Ninjas, Fnatic took the match 21-18 in overtime.

One round in particular that stood out was Round 28. pronax elected to begin the round with a passive 2-1-2 default against an eco, but instead of simply having one in palace and one spotting for the aggression out of A ramp, KRiMZ and olof would both venture into palace together to ensure a trade on anyone who dared to push in. After securing the area, the two backed away just in time to spot the push out of A by a single CT and easily acquired the round's first kill. One of the key points here is that olof and KRiMZ stuck together the entire way to avoid getting caught out one at a time and to trade if needed.

With one man up, pronax decided to make full use of his numbers advantage. The passive default had done its job, but against an eco, one can never be too careful of running into stacks. pronax called for his teammates to gather in B apartments and left olof to play on the extremity at A. NiP, however, had their entire team situated at B already in a stack. Unbeknownst to many, this is exactly the kind of situation in which pronax leaves nothing to chance.

One thing Fnatic does better than any other team in the world is gather information. Where an average team may press an advantage blindfolded, pronax and his men opt for exploration. This has crafted Fnatic into a team that walks into a stacked site less than any other. And so went olofmeister straight into A—alone—a maneuver that can often be spotted by Fnatic members in their quest for info. If there is space on the map, Fnatic will take it; it is one of the core fundamentals that's sculpted the squad to be the most successful in the past year.



pronax's smile cures every disease known to man.

pronax acquired the knowledge he was patiently waiting for, and a moment later Fnatic captured the A site and the round. In hindsight, Fnatic had a high chance of winning the round even if they stuck together and pushed the B site, but what separates pronax from many in-game leaders is his refusal to push without acquiring the necessary info if there's a chance of a site being stacked. Five marching into an empty site will always be preferable to five executing into four CTs, even if they are equipped with nothing but pistols. A 0% risk trumps a 1% risk.

The principle notes to take down are thus: pronax highly values map control, information gathering and selecting the weaker defended position to attack. It seems obvious in retrospect, but the number of teams that continue to stroll into the more heavily defended (or stacked) site shows how difficult it is to pull off.

pronax is not a one-trick pony who relies solely on defaults and information gathering—far from it. His pacing, setups and modes of attack vary immensely. In the FACEIT match against NiP, we can see him opting for an early five-man walk into the A site for a surprise execute, a quick B split to isolate the man on cat and on site, and one round of patient mid control into an A split for a textbook site take. He is the most versatile caller in the world bar none.

If pronax senses a team's quick rotations, he will back off and hit the other site or wait for the rotate away. Otherwise, he will work the map as much as he needs to press his advantage. pronax knows exactly where he can attack and when, and that in itself is essential for any in-game leader.

If one wants to see just how prepared pronax can be for his opponents, a viewing of Fnatic's match versus Natus Vincere at ESL One Katowice is in order. In this specific match, it wasn't enough for the Swedes to conquer the map. Instead, they showed the world that little tricks would not be a cause for worry as they—on two occasions—naded down Na`Vi players through smoke.



Nade diggity!

It's true: Fnatic is blessed with a star-studded lineup, but pronax's role should not be overlooked. The team's consistency is in great part due to the in-game leader's ability to constantly put his players in positions to thrive. If there is a weakness, pronax will strike at it, whether it's with a gutsy push up middle as Counter-Terrorists or a three-man apartment stack on Inferno. He makes the best use of his players by allowing them to make plays and supporting them both tactically and actually. He is without a doubt the greatest tactician in the game; no one reads their opponent better than Fnatic's pronax.

But even he has his kryptonite.

In 2014, the Danish squad then known as Team Dignitas was deemed by many to be on the brink of greatness. Superb skill dotted the lineup and was backed by experienced leadership in Henrik "FeTiSh" Christensen. A plethora of admirable online results and semifinal appearances, coupled with an unbreachable Counter-Terrorist defense, left many spectators with high expectations.

The story is now a well-known tale. Subpar Terrorist play, constant roster changes and an inability to break past the semifinals of a LAN tournament led to the dispatchment of FeTiSh. In his place came a wandering and unproven in-game leader—at least in CS:GO—in Finn "karrigan" Andersen. In an interview with 1337 Magazine, karrigan describes his time before Team SoloMid as one full of different teams and shifting roles, thus explaining his lack of opportunities to shine.

On December 9, 2014, the team deprived of a suitable leader would discover a leader long in search of a stable home. Twelve days later, that team would defeat DreamHack Winter 2014 champions Team LDLC to secure a spot at MLG Aspen.

At the X Games, the previously disastrous Terrorist halves of then-Dignitas were markedly improved. The team managed to score seven rounds on their T side against NiP on Dust 2, eight rounds against then-LDLC on Inferno, nine rounds on Nuke against Fnatic and six rounds on Mirage against the Swedes before bringing the map to overtime, a huge improvement over what the squad accomplished under the guidance of FeTiSh. They were unable to overcome their semifinals curse, but they took the bronze over an opponent they struggled mightily against in months prior. Expectations revived for the Danes.

Under Team SoloMid, the squad has taken gold at four LANs and three online tournaments, defeating Fnatic in the finals of four of those tournaments and a few additional times. While the Swedes are still considered the best team in the world, karrigan and co. are miles ahead in the head-to-head department.

karrigan is the prime example of the degree of impact an in-game leader can have. In a bit over half a year, he's taken a squad unable to win a LAN tournament to one with already four under their belts. The skill was always there for the Danes; what they needed was the proper individual to harness it.

TSM's in-game leader has molded the team into one that exhibits fundamentally sound Counter-Strike. Contrary to pronax, karrigan's leading is slower paced and less varied. Though the Danish IGL has allowed his team to play more loosely in comparison to their time under FeTiSh, the team remains quite structured. Their Terrorist rounds generally start with set passive defaults (with the most glaring exception being the infamous B platform play on Cobblestone utilizing the so dubbed "TSM smoke"), holding angles and gradually working the map. karrigan will mix things up, at times opting for a quicker take of certain positions on the map (tunnels/mid/cat on Dust 2, banana/apartments on Inferno, etc.), but much more often than not the team will start with a default.

karrigan is no fool. He is fully aware of the deficiencies of relying too heavily on passive defaults, one being the inability to bait out smokes/flashes/etc. As such, TSM will take chances to peek and take control of unsmoked positions to keep teams honest.

What allows them to defeat Fnatic time and again? From a strategic/tactical standpoint, there are two main reasons. The first is karrigan's absolute patience in maintaining passive positioning and daring Fnatic to seek information as they're so known to do. TSM's setups bereave Fnatic of any opportunity to gain meaningful information and map control, which often forces Fnatic to play in standard positions if they do not take a hold of the round in the early stages. It sounds simple, but holding passively against Fnatic can be a grueling task as many teams have experienced. TSM manages it with magnificent team play and AWPing. It must be noted that TSM may very well have the best support players in the world.

On the back of this, the Danes' secret weapon on their Terrorist side takes full advantage of the information stranglehold: They walk into sites. A lot.



Watch TSM walk all day long.

Where most teams will be seen walking towards a site, setting up smokes/flashes/molotovs then executing behind them, TSM will often walk into a site and peek for a pick before they actually lay down smokes or throw a support flash. The benefits of this tactic are immense: Firstly, the deprivation of info almost always ensures delayed rotations, giving the team more time to clear the site and plant. Second, the lack of information also means that the chance of the site being stacked is slim. And third, a quiet entry into the site means the opposing team will rarely have time to counter-flash/molotov/etc., allowing for a smoother execution and trades.

While this is a tactic that many teams use and have used—including Fnatic themselves—no one does it nearly as often as TSM (though Cloud9 is getting close in recent times and one can only assume Sean "seangares" Gares has taken thorough notes on the Danes). (Side note: I hereby dub this tactic the "walk-in entry" and the overall strategy "choking," i.e., "TSM is choking Fnatic," or "They're going for the walk-in entry.")



dupreeh is not impressed, karrigan.

karrigan also excels at knowing when to commit and when not to fight a losing battle. In fact, this is a trend amongst all top IGLs and an absolute necessity for those aiming for the pinnacle. If an execute is taking too long or looks grim, karrigan will call for the cancel and pull his team out of the mud. From there, it's either more walking about or running straight to the other site.

Thanks to karrigan, the boys of TSM have taken their main strengths developed under FeTiSh and are now utilizing them on their Terrorist halves, something they were unable to muster before. They're extremely coordinated, pick duels intelligently and support each other well. The whole choking predicament that they were infamous for has all but disappeared, and one can only surmise that karrigan's style of leading has allowed the team to play with more confidence. As we have seen with many teams, a rigid, constricting system runs a high risk of lowering a player's mental fortitude as the fear of dying before the eventual execute can cause players to play meekly. TSM has managed to overcome that hurdle with a style that suits them extremely well.

But there are still holes in their game.

At ESL One Cologne 2014, Team LDLC made headlines with their electrifying play, topping their group over Na`Vi, defeating Virtus.pro 2-0 in the quarterfinals and nearly trumping the eventual champions, Ninjas in Pyjamas, in one of the best series of the year. The community's focus was largely set on Dan "apEX" Madesclaire and Hovik "KQLY" Tovmassian at the time.

The ensuing French shuffle of September 2014 saw the two stars jumping ship to Titan along with Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez, but one man stayed on LDLC with a fresh and hungry squad.

Before Happy, Nathan "NBK" Schmitt led the team as its IGL, and after NBK, Richard "shox" Papillon had his shot. It wasn't until Happy took the reins that the team really found its footing. Under his guidance, the roster went on to become the DreamHack Winter 2014 and MLG Aspen champions, and the French leader would be their most valuable player.

Last month, a second (but smaller) French shuffle witnessed the return of apEX and kennyS to their former leader after a prolonged period of unsatisfactory performances from Titan, nV and the players themselves. Two and a half weeks later, the team would win IEM Gamescom following a 4-0 spree over Team SoloMid.



Happy keeping apEX and kennyS close this time.

There is currently no in-game leader in the scene that can match Happy's ability as a player. He is currently the best player in France, the best lurker in the world and a top five player overall. His impact within the game cannot be overstated: He is an aggressive lurker and earns more initial kills round-to-round than any other player, applies immense pressure across the map and infrequently loses his duels (to put this in perspective, in 2015, Happy sports a 1.5 entry kill ratio, shox is at 1.03, kioShiMa at 1.15 and olofmeister at 1.22). He's a strong rifler, an insane CZ-75 practitioner and an impactful AWPer (on a good day). He is that good whilst doubling as the in-game leader.

Happy has forged nV into a team that is much like himself. They are unrelenting, force duels and proactively wrestle control of the map. Whereas TSM may work any space given to them, nV is similar to Fnatic but even more abrasive, forcing control from their opponents either with heavy coordinated aggression, individual gun battles or walking into extremely risky positions (and smokes) to surprise the other team. In North America, we call it playing pubby or scrimmy. In Happy's world, it's called grabbing your opponent by the loins and squeezing until they pass out.

Happy and karrigan have only played seven maps against one another on LAN, but Happy's teams hold a dominating 6-1 map record over the Danes. nV's playstyle pulls the Danes straight out of their comfort zone on both sides of the map. As Terrorists, TSM is unable to choke and walk-in entry as successfully against nV as with Fnatic. The Frenchmen boast the best flash-and-peek timings in the game which consistently take opponents off guard and additionally provide nV with a great deal of information.

It is nV's Terrorist side that is the scariest, however, and it seems to have further improved with the additions of apEX and kennyS. While the two players struggled immensely in recent months on Titan, both have already displayed some resurgence, especially the former. There is no team that plays as loose and aggressive as nV, and Happy's system bodes well for talented fraggers.



Maybe a little too close.

With Happy's assertive lurking and the rest of nV searching for picks across the rest of the map, teams are forced to spread themselves thin to react. With the exception of Dust 2 and Mirage, nV loves working the extremities more than any other team and does not always attempt to control mid early on. For teams like TSM who rely mainly on well-coordinated teamwork to hold sites, a team like nV that is able to force them into awkward one-on-one or one-on-two battles can be tough to repel.

nV's aggression has an added benefit: Teams are required to use up their smokes and nades early in the round or risk being traded out immediately. nV's players are never afraid to peek an unsmoked position—they aren't even afraid to run through smokes. It is one of Happy's trademarks and something his own teammates have picked up.

nV's propensity to insert themselves into sites with only one or two of their players makes any stack riskier than usual. Whereas TSM spreads Fnatic's defense by causing them to play in standard positions due to depriving them of information, nV opens up the Danes' defense by pressuring them at every end, and Happy takes full advantage of this fact with either late mid control into a split site take, a quick execute in the early portions of a round or a standard late execute as there will rarely ever be more than two stacking a site. That's only if nV do not pick off the entire team before an execute is needed.

When nV's players are on form, they are patently insane, similar to the Virtus Plow at full throttle. The map ends up in chaos, but somehow nV emerges victorious above the massacre. At times, Happy will have his team running back and forth across the map to confuse the enemy rotators (and spectators). If CS:GO was a marathon, nV would undoubtedly be the greatest team in the world.

Much like how TSM has been Fnatic's kryptonite and how nV has had the edge over TSM (though to a lesser extent), nV's record against Fnatic has been quite miserable this year. The underlying reason is that pronax is able to read nV's aggression quite impressively, especially their CT-side pushes. Fortunately for nV, the second French shuffle was to them what the earlier NA shuffle was to Cloud9. Happy seems to have more control of the team, and while they play loose they seem more disciplined. Going into Cologne, Happy and the gang will need to continue polishing their Counter-Terrorist play if they want a chance to topple the Swedes.

There is one huge intangible benefit of a looser system, and it's shown under Happy, pronax and karrigan: Players learn and grow at a quicker pace and play more confidently. Being able to make full use of their own judgment, players are exposed to lessons they otherwise may not learn. The growth of kioShiMa has been immense for nV, as well as olof's for Fnatic and cajunb's for TSM. And for fans of the game, it is certainly more fun to watch.

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AFTER NOTE: HOW ARE THE REST?

mouz.gob b: Fatih "gob b" Dayik looks like the real deal, which isn't surprising given his reputation. His strats and calls are pristine. His real test won't be until Cologne, but he could very well line up among the three above soon enough. His biggest issue is not having a top tier roster, but that can't be held against him as an IGL.

VP.TaZ: For some reason, Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas is the least talked about IGL ever. Maybe it's because he and Neo swap back and forth constantly, or maybe because no one actually knows what he's doing. Virtus.pro is one of the best mid control teams in the world and their coordinated aggressive plays are fatal. TaZ stands out as being a leader both inside and outside of the game. He is their mood maker, he keeps them grounded, and he gives the best interviews.

Okay, that last one doesn't really count, but he is a very solid IGL with polished strats and a good flow to his game. He does not read the game as well as the above three, however, and that can be costly.

C9.seangares: sean has made significant strides with the new roster, which was expected all things considered. He has full control of the team and they've been on a great streak. However, much like gob b, his real test will come in Cologne when all teams are prepared. sean's biggest deficiencies at the moment are his T-side anti-eco calls and his stale CT-side calls. Until he fixes those, it'll be hard to put him in the same tier as the above.

NiP.Xizt: In the first few months of the year, I would have considered Richard "Xizt" Landström a top caliber IGL. His reads were phenomenal and the amount of Terrorist rounds he racked up were absurd. However, he now needs more variety in his calling. His lineup is not as skilled as Fnatic's, TSM's or nV's. Unless his players step it up huge like in the past, NiP will be in a difficult position without improved strats from Xizt. Cologne will be a very interesting tournament for the Ninjas who were on vacation.

Na`Vi.Zeus: At times, Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko seems like a tier one caller. Other times, I have no idea what he or his team is doing. Na`Vi is equipped with all the tools and are in a good position to be a consistent formidable threat to all teams. The rest is up to Zeus.

Titan.Ex6TenZ: 2013's best IGL is now unfortunately mediocre. His mid-round calling is subpar, his teams have no redeeming features without a super carry and he's been knocked out in the group stages of three majors in a row with three different lineups. It's time Kévin "Ex6TenZ" Droolans gets the criticism he deserves, not his players. If he wants to be successful going forward, he needs to evolve.

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Writer: Souma
Graphics: KnivesCiao
GIFs: NihiLStarcraft
Photos: ESL, DreamHack