LowLandLions Dismiss Their Fourth CS:GO Roster After Returning To The Scene Three Years Later
Founded in 2007, LowLandLions have officially released their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) roster after a recent change in management. The Belgian organisation made a comeback this year after dropping their original roster in 2017. An org known as Defusekids merged with LowLandLions in an attempt to transfer their roster to a bigger team. While that didn’t work out, fans were still excited to see the team they watched back in Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Source.
C-Tier tournaments became the playing field for their latest roster, and it paid off for the most part. Either way, LowLandLions were able to reconnect with an outdated past and make something out of it. It’s hard to revive an organisation, but it’s even harder to let go of it.
LOWLANDLIONS DEBUT
In 2008, the up and coming org took notice of Counter-Strike; an action-packed team-based shooter that took the world by surprise. It was a game that relied on patience, trigger discipline, and a whole lot of game sense. LowLandLions invested in a team of casual players looking to make it big in the world of esports, but they participated at ESWC 2008 and IEM III with disappointing results. These were S-Tier tournaments against teams such as Virtus.pro, mousesports, Fnatic, and MiBR. Due to a massive decline in tournament points, LowLandLions signed two different rosters only a year later. They desperately needed a few wins to help bring on a possible fan base.
With a brand new lineup of independent players, the team was off to participate at Icy Box Lan and Multiplay Insomnia 36 - two popular events at the time that had the potential of growing any team that stepped on their stage. LowLandLions went up against Team ROCCAT, EnRo GRIFFINS, and Dignitas. They won their loser bracket matches and claimed a fourth-place finish with three hundred dollars. At Multiplay Insomnia 36, LowLandLions had the confidence to place in the top three of the event. They had just finished top five in a C-Tier tournament and were ready for the big leagues. After three days of trading brackets, the latest roster creation from LowLandLions finished in third place - a record placement for the team with eight hundred dollars in earnings.
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THE IMPACT OF SIGNING CHRISJ
Due to a lack of funding, the team with a suitable roster was forced to exit from Counter-Strike. Two years later, they attempted to rebrand their team after signing a brand new lineup. They participated in two events and were dropped from the team. In January of 2011, LowLandLions signed another roster to compete in their 2012 season of CS:GO. A new game in the Counter-Strike series that brought on a new generation of pro players and teams. They merged with an org known as ChillTeam which included a young and unknown version of Chris “chrisj” de Jong. This was before he was known as the legendary AWPer for mousesports.
Switching from Counter-Strike to CS:GO was hard on LowLandLions - they didn’t win a single event in 2012 before their run at C-Tier events in 2013. Razer happened to have formed their own tournament that year, which LowLandLions qualified for. With the help of chrisj, the team went on to win four out of five sets placing second overall. They also won a combined figure of four hundred dollars from multiple FACEIT and ESEA events before separating in May of 2013. After n!faculty acquired chrisj as their fifth player, LowLandLions were forced to leave Counter-Strike for a second time.
Click to enlargeLAST SHOT AT THE TITLE
After a few years of analysing the faults in their CS:GO division, LowLandLions made a comeback with ex-nerdRage players. They played for two years with peak earnings alongside a new group of staff members and sponsors. Their success included back to back ESL Benelux Championships earning a total of twelve thousand dollars. Not only did they finally start to win, but they also went undefeated in both events. That year became the best season for LowLandLions, even after an unexpected reunion. In 2017, the group of money-hungry players made an attempt at S-Tier qualifiers. After placing dead last and knowing C-Tier tournaments didn’t have enough cash prizes, LowLandLions left Counter-Strike for a third time.
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Despite years of losing and constant roster changes, LowLandLions decided to take one last shot at CS:GO. A team known as Defusekids had recently made a deal with Team Excellency and dismissed their entire lineup. Wanting to get back into esports, Defusekids merged with LowLandLions to form their final stance. The lineup only lasted for three months, but it was the most success each org had ever seen. They placed first at NumberOne LS3 after going 8-1 earning three thousand dollars, the ESL Benelux Winter Championship was their last event before transferring to Defusekids. With four thousand dollars and a seed spot in two events, LowLandLions finished off with a bang before retiring from CS:GO.
Images via LowLandLions | Defusekids
