Xizt retires from competitive Counter-Strike

Legendary CS:GO in-game leader Richard “Xizt” Landström has decided to hang up his mouse at the age of 30 and explore a new role as a coach, manager, or analyst, he announced today.

This puts an end to his vast 12-year career as a professional Counter-Strike player. Xizt competed in both CS 1.6 and CS:GO, representing a number of well-known organizations, such as Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic, FaZe, and Dignitas. He was a part of NiP’s lineup that set the first “era” in CS:GO, helping them establish an 87-map win streak on LAN between September 2012 to April 2013, when they were defeated by Virtus Pro. Xizt guided the Ninjas to over 20 LAN championships, including at the ESL One Cologne Major in August 2014.

After leaving NiP in 2018, he stood in for FaZe Clan during a brief period and went on to join Fnatic, an organization that he played for in CS 1.6. The Swedish shot caller was unable to help them win big events and was benched in 2019, which allowed him to join Dignitas in January 2020 and play with Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, and Adam Friberg, his ex-NiP teammates.

Dignitas benched Xizt in September 2020 and he was last seen playing for Gen.G at Flashpoint two in November 2020 as a stand-in. “My career has had its ups and downs, but looking back it’s been an amazing and unforgettable journey,” Xizt said in the official announcement, adding he isn’t walking away from Counter-Strike just yet.

Xizt said in an interview with HLTV that he’s been considering retirement for the last couple of years and the decision became clear during this period of inactivity. “Being as unsuccessful as we were in fnatic and Dignitas, compared to earlier years in my career, really took a dent in me and my confidence,” he said.

But he also has some good memories from his days as a professional player. The journey allowed him to transform his hobby into his work while travelling the world to compete and he’s satisfied with what he accomplished, especially with NiP.

Xizt’s fans can expect him to stick around the CS:GO scene and transition to a new role within an organization. “I am open to the opportunity to coach, do analytical work or team management, preferably in CS:GO where my expertise is,” the 30-year-old told HLTV.