OG’s disappointing run at the BLAST Paris Major 2023 has set off an avalanche of roster moves, with two young CS:GO stars now reportedly allowed to explore other options.
Shahar “flameZ” Shushan and Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen are the two members being moved off the OG CS:GO roster, according to May 24 reports from Anonimotum via Blix.gg. The Israeli entry-fragger’s contract has expired, the report suggests, with the OG and flameZ failing to reach an agreement regarding its extension.
Niko had previously been a substitute for the squad, filling in for Nexa after the star IGL decided to take a break for “personal reasons” in late Feb. 2023. However, there’s currently no clear explanation for niko’s removal from the squad.
The Dane was also a part of the roster for a period of time after moving from Heroic in May 2021 but was benched a year later.
OG’s selection of talent has been plagued by substitutions involving integral core members, with the international CS:GO line-up failing to find footing at any event recently. This rising problem seeped into their gameplay too, heavily impacting their results along the way.
This month, the international roster suffered an early exit from the BLAST Paris Major. OG was battered by teams like ENCE, NiP, and GamerLegion and the struggling squad eventually placed 12-14th out of 16 other rosters in the Challengers Stage.
Losing flameZ will likely be a significant blow for the OG org. The Israeli rifler helped Degster keep the team afloat while their IGL was benched. FlameZ managed to maintain a 1.09 HLTV rating, despite his team’s failure to progress.
These same May 24 report claims several Counter-Strike rivals have already been in contact with flameZ, meaning we could see him on another roster in no time.
