NRG comes full circle in Counter-Strike return by signing 3 ex-EG players

NRG has returned to the Counter-Strike scene with a newly built lineup, and a few familiar faces to bring them to the top of the North American scene.

After weeks of speculation and hints behind the scenes, NA CS2 fans finally have another top-tier roster to cheer for. The NA org celebrated the addition of Damian “daps” Steele, Justin “FaNg” Coakley, Vincent “Brehze” Cayonte, Jadan “HexT” Postma, and Josh “oSee” Ohm into its CS2 squad today on Twitter. 

In a full-circle signing, three of the aforementioned players previously donned the NRG jersey before moving on to Evil Geniuses in 2019, only to return four years later. The other members have been a part of North America’s top CS rosters over the past few years, including Complexity and Team Liquid. Daps’ time out of the CS2 scene was brief. The Canadian coach has been brought back as an IGL for NRG after being dropped from NA rival Liquid on Nov. 20. It’s been over a year since daps was a consistent member of the starting five-man lineup, with his previous stint in Orgless finishing in April 2022. This could be an issue considering the activity of the other members in NRG.

Brehze’s form plummeted during his final year at EG, leading to his eventual benching in June 2023. However, his return to the professional Counter-Strike scene has been building momentum for quite some time. The NA rifler’s been grinding CS2’s Premier matchmaking and appears ready to return to competition. Clearly, NRG thinks he’s a part of their Major qualification formula, as his dedication to CS2 hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Former Liquid AWPer oSee’s time on the bench was also short-lived. America’s best sniper was dropped from the TL lineup the day after daps’ removal earlier this month. HexT has been grinding through the NA scene under the EG banner. But, with the org’s recent woes, the NA rifler became an easy target for any other roster trying to build a squad. As for FaNg, he’s been missing in action since being benched by Complexity in place of EliGE in June.

Whether NRG can achieve their Major qualification goal is yet to be determined. But they’ve started off with some of the best talent the region has to offer.