Kjaerbye leaves North

North has parted ways with star CS:GO player Kjaerbye, the organization announced today.

Kjaerbye was temporarily moved to the bench in May after he took a break from competing to take care of his health. He said he was experiencing abdominal pains, breathing problems, and chest cramps.

North has been in contact with Kjaerbye during his break, though. The decision to part ways with the player was made following discussions between North and Kjaerbye’s management. “It is with heavy heart, that we say goodbye to Kjaerbye,” said Cristian Engell, North’s performance manager.

The 22-year-old said today that the break made him see things “more clearly.” “Currently, I still need some time, but I know I’m far from done with CS,” Kjaerbye said. “This is what I know, and I look forward to my next adventure.”

Kjaerbye had been one of North’s best players since he joined in February 2018 following a surprising departure from Astralis. He became North’s best player after valde left for OG in December 2019 and signed a new contract with North in January 2020. The 22-year-old helped North win a few LAN tournaments, most notably the DreamHack Masters Stockholm in September 2018, where North defeated Astralis in the grand finals.

North has been using Kristoffer “Kristou” Aamand to replace Kjaerbye since May. The 18-year-old joined on loan from AGF and had no experience in high-level CS:GO competitions upon joining North. Although North hasn’t announced it yet, Kristou has reportedly signed a permanent contract with the organization, according to HLTV.

North had mixed results in the first part of the CS:GO season and have been outside of HLTV’s top 20 all year. They’re a part of the top 10 in the European Regional Major Ranking (RMR) for the ESL One Rio Major in November, however, following their participation in cs_summit six this month, where they came in sixth.