The French “superteam” arrives: G2 Esports unveils new CS:GO roster

One of the biggest teams in French Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has made substantial changes to its roster.

G2 Esports will field a roster consisting of former EnVyUs-trio Kenny “kennyS” Schrub, Nathan “NBK” Schmitt and Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, as well as G2 mainstays Richard “shox” Papillon and Alexandre “bodyy” Pinaro. Additionally, G2’s long-standing AWPer Edouard “SmithZz” Dobourdeaux will be transitioning from his player role to that of a coach.

The unveiling of the new team comes roughly two months after Flickshot published a report on what has come to be known as “the French shuffle”—something today’s announcement from G2 confirms as the majority of the French team’s former CS:GO roster will not be continuing with the team in 2017. Only shox and bodyy remain from the team’s 2016 roster.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most significant roster moves in French CS:GO. KennyS, apEX and NBK are all Valve Major champions, and have won several other international LANs under the EnVyUs banner. Additionally, both kennyS and apEX are considered to be some of the best players in the game, primarily due to their individual, star-level performances.

The shuffle occurred only a few days after the conclusion of the ELEAGUE Major, where neither EnVyUs nor G2 survived the group stage. It’s unclear whether the performance at the ELEAGUE Major impacted the move, as rumors of a “French shuffle” have been frequent since December last year.