TSM is targeting a handful of European CS:GO players—including the five-time Major champion dupreeh—to build a lineup for CS2 and come back to Valve’s FPS franchise after more than six years away.
The North American organization is currently “scouting the market”, according to a report by 1pv.fr on June 26. The names of dupreeh, German AWPer Florian “syrsoN” Rische, and veteran French rifler Audric “JACKZ” Jug have come across during this phase. TSM is also chasing former G2 head coach Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam to lead the project, according to 1pv.fr.
TSM announced its intention to come back to CS esports with a European lineup in October 2022 and was looking for a general manager to oversee the operation in February. But we hadn’t heard news since then, and some fans were even doubtful TSM was still going to build a lineup in CS after the organization’s financial woes became public at the end of March.
Related: TSM may sell its LCS franchise spot amid financial struggles, according to report
The timing, however, to build a team for CS2‘s release this summer is better than ever. A lot of players are in restricted or unrestricted free agency as nearly every tier-one organization in the world is making roster changes during the summer off-season.
Dupreeh, for example, left Vitality’s active lineup on June 22 as a result of the French organization signing Shahar “flameZ” Shushan to replace him. The five-time Major champion is on the lookout for a new home, and he not only wants to play CS2 professionally, but also play for a team that could win the first CS2 Major in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2024. The Danish rifler has a history with TSM, having played for the NA organization in 2015 before joining Astralis in 2016.
All the other pieces TSM targeted are also free agents. JACKZ and XTQZZZ are not signed with any organization at the moment and syrsoN is on BIG’s bench. This is the perfect opportunity for TSM to try signing some experienced players without spending a boatload of money on buyout clauses.
Related: Former G2 and Vitality CS:GO coach announces return after 6 month hiatus
TSM has been out of the CS ecosystem since January 2017, when it parted ways with a NA lineup spearheaded by Sean Gares and Twistzz over a “player rights” dispute.
