The Polish Scene In CS:GO Is Turning Heads
Europe is often recognised as the leading force throughout competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). Teams such as NAVI, Virtus.pro, and Astralis have become household names while others still have a long journey ahead of them. Poland has recently become known for its amateur scene consisting of young bucks with bright futures.
The Izako Boars, PACT, and AGO have gone through a ton of roster changes with hopes to revive their esports scene. A lot of these pros are extremely talented but can easily be overlooked due to their C-Tier events. Now that doesn’t mean they’re giving up on their dreams, but instead working hard every single day.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The first Polish roster that broke multiple barriers played under Virtus.pro for nearly three years. From 2014 to 2017, Virtus.pro was winning event after event including two Major titles. Virtus.pro’s legendary roster was beginning to put Poland on the map up until 2018. By then the Polish scene grew from three to ten well-known teams leading to the fall of Virtus.pro. This was when AGO began competing in all sorts of events earning some impressive placements. The same thing went for the Izako Boars at the time, after beating Team Maikelele in the ASUS ROG Finals.
NEW TEAMS
PACT is currently the top team in Poland and has been on a fast track to success since 2020. Founded in 2017, PACT only began to earn some notable achievements near the end of 2018. In 2020 they won four different events after dropping their academy rosters and focusing on a single team. PACT Black and White never became profitable, but that didn’t get in the way of PACT’s main crew. At one point, Wisla Kraków showed some potential after placing first in a Nine to Five event. After pocketing over thirty thousand dollars, Wisla Kraków began to struggle.
It’s been roughly three years since the Polish CS:GO scene has been acknowledged for its player base. Because of this situation, amateur organisations are working hard to find the perfect rosters. That’s why a majority of players have recently signed with Polish orgs within the past two weeks. The Izako Boars finally completed their roster for 2021 following the acquisition of Michal "mono" Gabszewicz and Daniel "STOMP" Plominski.
STOMP AND MONO ANALYSIS
Ex-Illuminar Gaming rifler mono is a rare pickup due to his role in competing. The Polish lurker was making money moves in 2019 after his team brought in over six figures from competing. That kind of money isn’t common for Polish orgs, especially ones that aren’t considered Tier 1 teams.
STOMP happened to team with mono in 2019 as an up and coming AWPer making some crazy shots. Both players look like promising choices for the Izako Boars due to their experience in competing. STOMP and mono have played in everything from small online events to massive LANs. The Izako Boars have been consistent for the past couple of years but are looking for bigger opportunities.
Their earnings have slightly dipped meaning STOMP and mono need to put on a performance for their competitive season. STOMP is a talented AWPer while mono shows a great amount of knowledge as a lurker. It looks like the Izako Boars might have what it takes to become a top tier team.
Click to enlargeTHE LEGENDARY COACH
One of the biggest icons in Polish CS:GO happens to be a coach known as Jakub "kuben" Gurczynski. His career as a coach has led numerous teams to victory including Virtus.pro at the ELEAGUE Major in 2017. Now he’s moved on to help out Team Envy as a manager which is bittersweet.
While he’s moving up in the competitive world, kuben’s knowledge will no longer be used to grow teams in Poland. Perhaps one day he’ll move back to coaching Polish rosters, but for now, kuben is working in North America. It looks like other regions are finally recognising Poland for what they have to offer in the world of esports.
FINAL SIGNING
The final addition to competitive CS:GO from Poland is Arek "Vegi" Nawojski. Vegi was the final player to sign with PACT following his departure from Illuminar Gaming. He’s been around the block including time spent with Virtus.pro back in 2019. At the age of twenty, Vegi has earned roughly fifty grand from tournament prizes in only three years. His skills as a rifler are often needed within a team like PACT, meaning he’ll be a good fit for the org.
PACT is taking zero chances with their first-place lead in Poland following their tournament results in 2020. Poland has a lot to offer when it comes to CS:GO, it just takes some digging to find a consistent team in the scene. Ever since Virtus.pro fell off after their honourable reputation, amateur orgs have been grinding to take their spot at the top.
Images via Izako Boars | Virtus.pro
