In what has already been an amazing month for our CSGO squad, things just got even better!
With a clean sweep in the playoffs where we didn’t drop a single map we secured another trophy for the wall! And with a top heavy prize pool we also secure $80.000!!
The start of the tournament was a bit shaky as the guys came into it playing KOVA after a long time without breaks. However, they got a bit of rest and shaped back up just in time. From that point on the guys never looked back, shook off the first loss and never dropped another series.
Getting out of swiss stages with a solid 3 – 1 record, we came into the playoffs with a lot of confidence. In the playoffs the guys made short work of MOUZ NXT, Vitality (!!!) and Tricked esports, before making short work of Copenhagen Flames in the grand final.
2022 is shaping up to be a incredible year for SKADE and the CSGO squad is leading the charge! Make sure you stay tuned with all this crazyness in our social medias.
We conclude the last of the 4 Elisa invitational events from 2021 with a 2-0 dominant final win over HEET. That makes it 3 out of 4 final appearances in Elisa invitational, with 2 championships to boot!
Skade were blessed with a direct high seed invite for the tournament, starting directly deep in the playoff stages. From there we went on to 2-0 Eternal fire (#33 in the world) in confident manner. 2-0 Copenhagen Flames (#17 in the world) in an absolute slugfest of a series.
In the grand final we beat HEET (#21 in the world) 2-0, by dominating our own map pick in overpass, then throwing a wrench in to HEETs gameplan in dust2 with some big clutch rounds, especially by dream3r in the grand finals. This performance feels especially strong based on the recent form of HEET having won their RMR qualifier bracket less than a week ago.
With this win the boys from Skade CS line-up have really opened up the season with a bang, both winning the Bulgarian A1 Gaming league and now with the Elisa Invitational Winter 2021 win, the hunt is on for more and the dream of a major appearance is closer than ever! #LetsHunt
After a wild tournament that really showcased the incredible skill if the Bulgarian CSGO community, we are now officially the strongest lineup in Bulgaria!
It has been proven time and again that no Bulgarian CSGO squad can ever be underestimated and this tournament really showcased it.
We have said for years now that there’s incredible fragging power in the scene. So when going into this tournament we knew that every single match would be a brutal battle.
In the group stages we opened things up with a clean 2 – 0 win, but Endangered took us by surprise and we had to play a 3rd decisive match after a 0 – 2 loss. In the 3rd game Stoichkov Peek was waiting, and lead by former SKADE captain SPELLAN we had to go all 3 maps to close it out 2 – 1. With that win we secured our spot in the playoffs and shot at the title.
In the double elimination playoffs, we really did not get the start we had hoped for and ran into a 0 – 2 defeat against FATE esports in the first match. However, with double elimination we were still in the run with the lower bracket series. With a solid lower bracket run of 2 – 0, 2 – 1 and 2 – 0, we fought our way back and got to the grand final.
As we entered the grand final we once again came up against FATE esports and they had 1 map advantage. Just to make things even more exciting we started the series by dropping the first map. However, the guys turned their focus around and in a grueling battle fought their way back, turning 0 – 2 into a 3 – 2 victory!!
With that secured we can now officially name our boys the best CSGO squad in Bulgaria! As a added bonus from winning the guys secured a shot at the BLAST qualifiers later this year.
With a newly composed lineup it was key for us to start building on what we know we have. The first step was a bootcamp to get familiar with each other and setting a roadmap for the squad.
After close to two years of covid restrictions making it more than just a bit tricky to do bootcamps, it was finally time. In late January the CSGO squad and our head of esports packed up their hunting gear. Headed to Warsaw, and the Kinguin esports performance center to begin creating their master plan.
Even though most of our activity is digital, one must never underestimate the effect of human contact. This was the main reasoning for doing a bootcamp early on in the run of this squad. Learning to know your teammates, understanding them and watching their body language as well as listening. Key information for understanding your allies in an online situation.
In terms of what happens in-game we had a tight schedule for the entire bootcamp with a solid mix of scrims and official matches. When this team was launched the expectations from the community was immense, but no more so than the expectations of the players themselves.
We had some great scrims with a lot of new plays to put into effect. With all of our players switching up their roles, there’s also some growth pains. This resulted in results that the players were not happy with at all in our officials. However, being together is also a much better arena to talk these things out and make sure everyone sets their focus on what is to come.
The team is confident in their abilities and there is no doubt that the goals set will be attainable in the time span set. With confidence comes great results, and we are hunting for the biggest prey of them all!
“When working with people you have directly in front of you the effect of what i do is much faster than online. To do what i do i need a connection with the players and reading body language is a big part of it. Especially where there is an added barrier of language. It was great getting to know the guys and i am now more confident than ever before about this project” – Kim-Erik “ZarotaN” Aanes, Head of esports
“I am happy to meet all of the players and Zarotan . It was important to get to know each other. I am feeling confident to say that in long term with this lineup we can fight next to the top10 teams. There is a lot of work to get to this level, because all of us except dennyslaw is changing role, so it will take time. However, the mentality and hunger for success in the boys is strong. I wouldn’t be surprised if the team will grow faster than my expectations.” – Kamen “bubble” Kostadinov, IGL
As we announced changes in the lineup, it was also made clear that Viktor “Duplicate” Mitev was free to explore options.
His journey with SKADE now has come to an end and we want to thank one of last seasons strongest Bulgarian players for his services.
In his time with us he helped us grab 7 tournament wins, helped us get to IEM in Stockholm and many other incredible runs. He also delivered some of our most memorable plays in 2021 and will surely be a great addition wherever he ends up next.
Big thanks hunter! Keep building that trophy wall with bigger and bigger prey! #KeepHunting
We are happy to announce that Kamen “bubble” Kostadinov and Simeon “dream3r” Ganev have joined the pack!
As we are about to embark on a new season it is with great excitement that we can announce the complete hunting party! 2022 has been in the works for quite some time now and with these additions we are ready.
SKADE will be aiming for bigger prey than ever before and with the addition of a dedicated IGL in Kamen “bubble” Kostadinov and the fragging power of Simeon “dream3r” Ganev, there’s no stopping this squad! #LetsHunt2022
“I am excited to join SKADE. I believe that we have built a really strong lineup with a lot of firepower and motivation by the youngsters. Looking forward to reach new heights in 2022 #LetsHunt” – Kamen “bubble” Kostadinov
“We are on a journey to build a powerhouse in esports and CSGO is at the tip of the spear. With the addition of both experience and more firepower to what was already a really strong lineup in 2021, there truly is no limit to what 2022 might hold for us!” – Kim-Erik “ZarotaN” Aanes
This season starts with the following hunting party:
As the season comes to an end it is also a time to evaluate our roster and we have concluded that change is needed.
With this in mind we bid farewell to Kalin “KalubeR” Erenditsov and he is now free to explore his future with other teams.
He was the latest addition to our squad and has had some impressive results in a short time. With him in the squad we managed to claim victories in tournaments such as William Hill Cup, IronWar Grand Prix and many other impressive results. He was also with us at IEM Fall where we came as close as one can get against some of the biggest names in esports.
“When we brought KalubeR into the squad we knew there was a lot of raw potential there. And he has managed to show us on several occations that there is plenty of firepower in him. This time it came down to our lineup being in dire need of more experience and thus a change has to be done.” – Head of esports, Kim-Erik “ZarotaN” Aanes
We want to wish this hunter all the best of luck in his future endevours and we hope to see him find a fitting new home.
For us in SKADE the journey and evaluation now continues with updates to the lineup to follow shortly.
As everyone is already aware that OxygeN was benched from our active CS:GO roster a couple of months ago but today, we’ve mutually decided to part ways and release him from his contract. We would like to thank OxygeN for his unmatched commitment to the team & had a fantastic journey with him. Apart from winning several tournaments, he was also a part of the team that attained our peak world ranking #18!
“Blagoi has been an important role in our significant climbing on the ranks, especially over the recent year. We are grateful for his efforts, and wish him great luck in his development with another organization.” – Morten Skaland, CEO
SKADE and the fans will always cherish the memories and achievements we’ve had together! Good luck in what the future holds for you buddy, we know you’re gonna kill it. #LetsHunt 🏹
It has been a “not so well-kept secret”, but after standing in for our CSGO squad for a while now Kalin “KalubeR” Erenditsov has been made a permanent fixture!
In a move to find our rhythm in game and allow our players to play and perform at an optimal level in their preferred positions a change was needed. Thus, our youngest talent Blagoi “oxygeN” Dimitrov was benched, and trials began.
Kaluber has already left many in awe with his performances & winning multiple titles in the Tier 2 tournaments. A regular name in the Bulgarian scene, he is ready to showcase his talent and prove his mettle to the world now! Under our coach PnshR and IGL SHiPZ’s leadership combined with the help of the firepower of Duplicate, Rainwaker and KalubeR, we believe we have found a perfectly balanced team! A team that’s ruthless, risk taking and exciting to watch!
We already have achieved some high peaks in our journey so far but now it’s time we take it up a notch. While we welcome our new signing, we’d like to thank our star rifler ‘OxygeN’ for all the hard work and dedication he put in during his time at SKADE. We wish him all the best on his new journey, we will definitely see him on the servers soon. 😊
“Not too happy we have to part ways with Oxygen because he has great skills in game but there was too big difference between the game vision of him and the rest of the team. I’m sure we will see Blagoi very soon in the active CS scene and he will show everyone what he is able to do! KalubeR is well known young Bulgarian player, everyone in Bulgaria know about his potential and I’m very happy to have him in the team. He fit very well in our game and his point of view about the current meta and what to do in the team is almost same so its so easy to work with him.” – pNshr (Coach)
“I’m really excited to be joining SKADE. For me, it feels like a reunion because I’ve played with most of the guys in a team before, except SHiPZ and I’m glad SKADE trusted me and gave me that opportunity to play with them. I really believe we have everything to be considered as a top team in the near future and hope we can prove that.” – KalubeR
SKADE CS:GO 2021 will consist of:
Georgi “SHiPZ” Grigorov
Aleks “Rainwaker” Petrov
Denislav “Dennyslaw” Dimitrov
Viktor “Duplicate” Mitev
Kalin “KalubeR” Erenditsov
Coach: Nikolay “pNshr” Puanin
We can feel the excitement in the air and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for us! Make sure to turn on the IEM: EU Closed Qualifier stream tomorrow as we will compete for the spot in the $105,000 USD main event of Intel Extreme Masters Season XVI – Fall.
As we keep on evolving the time has come for another roster change in our CSGO squad.
The first action of our ongoing roster change means that Blagoi “oxygeN” Dimitrov has been benched. With that he is looking to explore potential offers out there and we will do our part to facilitate it.
“I personally think that any team out there looking for firepower and a young player that can be molded need to get tuned in on this opportunity. We had to prioritize a different role to take the next step in our squad, but that does not take away from the raw skill of oxygeN at all. Hopefully interested teams will not hesitate to reach out and find out what he has to offer.” – Head of esports, Kim-Erik “ZarotaN” Aanes
“I am looking to explore options from any team and any region. The future still has a lot in store for me and my journey is just getting started.” – Blagoi “oxygeN” Dimitrov
For anyone interested in exploring this opportunity, feel free to reach out to our head of esports Kim-Erik Aanes via email kim@skade.gg or for a more casual chat on discord Zarotan#2804.
