The end of a saga officially came today, as G2 Esports announced their lineup for ECS Season 5, and it’s as expected. In come Edouard ‘SmithZz’ Dubourdeaux, Kevin ‘Ex6TenZ’ Droolans and Richard ‘shox’ Papillon, at the expense of Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire and Nathan ‘NBK’ Schmitt. They will be joined by Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub and Alexandre ‘bodyy’ Pianaro to round out a five-main unit that will represent the European brand.
Fortunately for the company, three of the five played at the last major for G2, which will mean they do not count as a new team in Valve’s eyes. This may or may not have contributed to the decision to re-sign bodyy to the team, as he is not the most natural fit. That is due to the fact that for the last few months his role has been pretty much entirely that of a support player, while the new G2 team already looks to be lacking in firepower.
"This new composition with the return of shox and SmithZz and the addition of Ex6TenZ as stand-in, but also as team captain for this tournament, marks a new step in our decision-making process and I am excited to start working with all of them in London this weekend."
"In the meantime, apEX and NBK have joined the bench and I really want to thank them for the work produced and the energy deployed throughout the past few months. I would like to take this opportunity to point out the great professionalism shown by all of our players since the beginning of this process as our decisions were always made with the acceptance of all of them."
"A new step but not yet a conclusion, we are planning to announce our long term prospects before ESL One Cologne,” added Team Coach and Manager, Jérôme ‘NiaK’ Sudries.
This is due to the low fragging potential of in-game leader Ex6TenZ and former G2 coach SmithZz, with the former considered to be a ‘tactical leader’ which is code for ‘pretty useless with a rifle’. Alongside him, we have the two best players in French CSGO history, and possibly the most dangerous sniper ever to do it with the big green monster, making it very hard to judge just how this will go.
Their first outing will be in London this weekend, with shox having just returned from surgery and looking to show he is still a threat. With the level of complexity that Ex6TenZ that will bring to the table, it is unlikely that they are going to peak straight away, but we should be able to at least see shox’s level of play, and how kennyS will perform with such a plethora of support options.
It is unlikely they will win ECS Finals, but with LG and NRG in their group there is at least a chance to follow FaZe into the playoffs. If they can find success, the team has enough charm and potential to instantly win fans, which will also help their chances of securing long-term contracts with G2.
Image credit: G2 Esports
