Four years ago today, some virtual Swedes did a bit of Mario and the world of CSGO went mad. For those not aware, we’re talking about the famous ‘Olofboost’ employed by Fnatic in their Dreamhack Winter Quarter Final in 2014, against French team LDLC, one of the most famously controversial ‘cheats’ in the history of competitive gaming.
Fnatic's new view
First, we should set the scene. Going into the game, Fnatic were already considered one of, if not the best team in the world, having won four consecutive LAN titles. They weren’t the most beloved of teams in fairness, with flusha and JW having to fend off accusation of cheating on a regular basis, as well as being disliked for other incidents fans perceived them to be at fault for, such as their reaction to a recent win over NiP.
Going up against LDLC, the Swedes knew they had to do their very best, as the French team were arguably their closest rivals at that point. The team of NBK, kioShima, Smithzz, shox and Happy might not look much on paper today but, back in 2014, they were right up there with the best teams in the world, and had every chance of turning Fnatic over, meaning this was a game for which the Swedes had to pull out all the stops.
As part of their plan, Fnatic unveiled a new position on the map, a three-man boost that allowed them - specifically Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjer - a huge amount of visibility into sections of the map previously thought to be safe, and one that LDLC had no idea was even a possibility. Basically, it involved olofmeister standing on his team-mates heads to gain a vantage point where he could see both bomb sites. To make matters worse for LDLC, a bugged texture meant they could not see where the attack was coming from.
It completely disorientated the French side, who promptly lost the game, and went on to complain about what they deemed to be "unfair" tactics.
Facing the backlash
The fallout was ugly and in the end Fnatic turned down the offer to replay the game, instead choosing to forfeit amidst massive public hatred. In later interviews, players have even said the incident made them consider retirement, such was the public ire but, fortunately, for the future of the game they stuck around, and the rest is history.
Today, Olofboost is just one of many CSGO-related memes the greatest of all the Swedish faceclickers has created and the memory is a fond one for those who were around at the time. As Redeye said, it was also a moment of peak creativity, and the sort of move esports stars are famous for making, and one day we hope it will be immortalised as a legendary point in the evolution of a worldwide phenomenon. CSGO.
