An Independent Team That Earned Seven Figures In Two Years: Alpha Gaming
After their debut in 2016, Alpha Gaming took the European scene by storm in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). They signed on multiple independent players and earned twenty-four thousand dollars in just two years. Alpha Gaming took two years off after their 2017 season, but made a swift comeback in 2020 before dropping their roster one last time. They dominated C-Tier events and were able to provide their players with jerseys and basic contracts for local events in Denmark. An org known as Team123 was the first roster to play under Alpha Gaming during their heyday of CS:GO. Players such as Jakob “JUGi” Hansen and Niels Christian “NaToSaphiX” Sillassen got their start with Alpha Gaming before making it big.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
In 2016, Alpha Gaming signed Team123 which included a brand new roster and a fresh start. The players were unknown at the time and were looking for their own journey in competitive CS:GO. Team123 had zero earnings and were hoping to merge with another independent team. Things started off slower than expected, resulting in two players leaving the roster. Daniel “mertz" Mertz and Rasmus “SandeN” Sanden were the first to go after playing with the team for only three months. JUGi, Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen, and Mathias “Maziaz” Hansen joined the team as replacements, but it didn’t last very long.
Before joining Tricked Esports, the trio placed second at the Game On June Invitational. A small online event which included a two thousand dollar prize pool and bragging rights. JUGi did the best on the team, which is what led to Tricked Esports sending him a contract. Danny “BERRY” Krüger followed his teammates and left Alpha Gaming; BERRY was the last man standing from the original roster which meant another change in players. A former Eastern Vikings roster was signed in desperation for the remaining season. For three months straight, the newest faces at Alpha Gaming won multiple events with lots of earnings.
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EX-EASTERN VIKINGS ROSTER
They finished first at NL-Party going undefeated against five other teams - a record finish for the org after just losing their original roster. Alpha Gaming moved to online events and continued to crush their opponents. ESEA Season 22 earned them a third place finish after losing to Team AGG. Alpha Gaming went back to competing in LAN tournaments after qualifying for NetParty. They once again went undefeated after going 14-0 with a perfect win streak earning the team three thousand dollars. If that wasn’t enough, they won their last tournament placing first at eOddset Cup. The ex-Eastern Vikings roster was the best roster Alpha Gaming has ever acquired in their two years of playing.
Like most good things, Alpha Gaming’s high performing roster came to an end following multiple departures. Lucas “Lukki” Pilheden and Thomas “Ryxxo” Nielsen left the team making room for NaToSaphiX and Dennis “sycrone” Nielsen. The newest roster had terrible performances with six last place finishes. QuickShot Arena was their only hope earning the team five hundred dollars in the weekly event. Alpha Gaming announced that they would not be continuing with their roster in the following year.
Click to enlargeNEW LINEUP
In 2017, Alpha Gaming signed with five new players before dropping the team in June. They went onto earn four outstanding finishes including placing third at ROG Masters. The year started off with an event called Sorring LAN located in Denmark, and after two back to back wins and a 16-0 map decider, Alpha Gaming finished in first. It seemed like every roster under the org always did best in local events compared to online tournaments. Perhaps it was the row of fans or excitement from playing in front of a live audience on stage. Either way, they clearly continued their winning streak offline at CS:GO Danmark 10. They beat out Eastern Vikings which included players from their previous roster.
ALPHA GAMING STARTS TO CRUMBLE
After a couple of offline tournaments, Alpha Gaming started to struggle outside of the game. While their performance was immaculate, players had disagreements over the actual roster. They ended the year off with a last-place finish in an ESEA event and called it quits. Alpha Gaming packed up their bags and released their roster after two years of playing. In 2018, a group of randoms played with the team in an attempt to restart the org. It didn’t exactly work out too well, so they called it quits for a second time.
A couple of months ago, Alpha Gaming announced their return to CS:GO with a brand new roster. They were invited to a couple of events due to their status back in 2016. Everyone wanted to see a comeback from the once-dominant all Danish roster. Alpha Gaming lost most of their matches and realised it was best they officially leave CS:GO for good. Their roster left for a team called Gwind hoping to get a new start in esports.
While they struggled later in life, Alpha Gaming were one of the most dominant independent teams in 2016.
Images via Alpha Gaming
