TSM returns to Counter-Strike esports after 6 years with new European lineup

North American organization TSM officially rejoined CS:GO‘s competitive scene on Aug. 29 after weeks of uncertainty.

Unlike last time, though, TSM is investing in a European team rather than building an NA project. The lineup features star entry fragger Cai “CYPHER” Wilson, French veteran Audric “JACKZ” Jug, former Cloud9 support Timofey “⁠interz⁠” Yakushin, plus Danish veteran Valdemar “⁠valde⁠” Bjørn Vangså and Romanian newcomer Mădălin-Andrei “⁠MoDo⁠” Mirea. The quintet will be coached by former Vitality and G2 head coach Rémy “⁠XTQZZZ⁠” Quoniam.

TSM had been preparing to come back to Counter-Strike esports since 2022 and the roster was leaked on July 24. The team had contractual disagreements with the organization, though, according to a report by Blix on July 31, and head coach XTQZZZ even confirmed that he had pulled away from the project. It seems, however, that TSM and the squad talked over and solved whatever issues they had in the past few weeks.

Little is known about the actual roles the players will be filling under the TSM banner, other than MoDo, who is expected to be the primary AWPer, and CYPHER, who is expected to keep playing as an aggressive rifler who goes first in a lot of set executions. The in-game leadership will likely be taken on by valde as he filled this role on teams such as North and OG, but that is yet to be confirmed.

Related: Live Counter-Strike 2023 roster tracker: CS:GO signings and rumors ahead of CS2 release

It’s currently unclear when TSM will debut again in CS:GO as they aren’t qualified for any tier-one tournaments in the foreseeable future. Given the amount of tier-two online cups these days, though, TSM will likely be invited to one of those soon.

As we enter the final days of CS:GO due to CS2‘s impending release this summer, we expect to see more of TSM in the next game.