EnvyUs underperformance sparks French roster revolution

One of Counter-Strike’s European greats is making giant roster changes amidst a poor showing at two of the year’s premiere events.

French Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squad EnvyUs is making significant changes, sources from one of the events told the Daily Dot. The team will be relieving stalwart Edouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux and star player Richard “shox” Papillon from their duties in the lineup. In their place comes two members of fellow French squad Titan, AWPer Kenny “KennyS” Schrub and entry-fragger Dan “apex” Madesclaire. It isn’t clear where Dubourdeaux or Papillon will end up, nor is it clear what the future is for Titan.

This news comes after the manager of the EnvyUs squad hinted at roster changes after the team’s loss versus American giant Cloud9 this morning at ESWC. The defeat was the second time the squad has fallen to Cloud9 in the past two weeks—both resulting in a 0-2 loss.

To the untrained CS:GO viewer, maybe it wasn’t obvious that the EnVy CS team has a change incoming. I’ll have plenty to say later.

— Mike Rufail (@hastr0) July 12, 2015

One source told us that the EnvyUs players found out in the middle of the tournament, when they stumbled upon a meeting between the new lineup. “They literally walked in to it by accident,” the source told the Daily Dot, “and that was as awkward as you can imagine.” This left an understandably negative atmosphere around the team, which was evident in their play, especially in the semifinal against Cloud9.

Many fans will be surprised at the decision to replace Papillon, who is considered one of the best players in the world, but sources close to the team say there is more to that decision than meets the eye. “He is best friends with SmithZz [Dubourdeaux],” they told us, “and he won’t want to keep playing in that lineup without him, especially as he could join any team he wants.” 

It’s also worth noting that in past teams, Papillon has famously been criticized for his attitude and lack of application, especially by Titan captain Kevin “ex6tenz” Droolans during their time together in VeryGames.