XTQZZZ released from TSM Counter-Strike coaching contract

Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam has been released from TSM on Ovt. 7. following a rocky attempt to bring the brand a title in Counter-Strike. After the esports org announced its intent to return to Counter-Strike in late 2022, the brand still has not featured in an upper-tier event. TSM’s new CS roster was initially leaked in Aug. 2023, winning their debut series in an online cup on Sep. 4.

Overall, the storied brand’s return to Counter-Strike has been underwhelming so far. The architect of the project semi-officially left the rebuild in July 2023, and the roster assembled doesn’t look like it can punch above its middleweight status.

XTQZZZ is known for his time as the coach of the French Vitality roster and the mixed European G2 roster. Formerly, he was a player in CS:GO as well. With Danny “zonic” Sørensen leaving Vitality, there’s a chance XTQZZZ could return to his old post and lead the French-majority squad into CS2.

The roster shuffle before IEM Sydney is rapidly reaching a fever pitch. Zonic’s departure for Falcons has fans and analysts wondering whether the Saudi Arabia-based team is angling for some huge buyouts, and multiple star players have been linked to the organization’s plans.

While many mechanics in CS2 are the same as CS:GO, one change stands above all as a potential change to how rosters are constructed: MR12. With fewer rounds to play with and, therefore, less time to build an economy, there’s a question about roles and positions. Statistically, fewer AWPs per game could make a standout AWPer less valuable, unless said sniper can also rifle at top tiers. With no data from professional matches to compare, you can rest assured that no one will have CS2 roster construction completely figured out for a year at least. IEM Sydney, the first upper-tier competition on CS2, begins on Oct. 15.