For those who spent any a part of 2018 screaming at your monitor whereas Cloud9 made their miracle run in Boston, put together for an enormous dose of nostalgia. Throughout a co-stream of IEM Atlanta 2026, Austin “Cooper” Abadir let the cat out of the bag relating to a brand new North American undertaking.
And it might shake up the complete scene. We’re taking a look at a reunion of the legendary trio: Jake “Stewie2K” Yip, Timothy “autimatic” Ta, and Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham.
The “leak” was truly blessed by Stewie2K himself. He appeared in Cooper’s Twitch chat to substantiate the names and supply some context. Rounding out this blast from the previous are Vincent “Brehze” Cayonte and Victor “Victor” Wong.
It’s a roster that appears like a fever dream for followers of “Outdated NA” Counter-Strike.
Taking part in for Delight
Probably the most attention-grabbing element from Stewie’s chat look is the monetary motivation — or lack thereof. He explicitly said that the roster is forming as an orgless stack. His message to the followers was clear: they’re doing this to point out everybody they aren’t taking part in for the cash.
This transfer comes at a time when North American CS2 is in an odd spot. Whereas just a few prime orgs are holding the road, the tier-two scene has been a little bit of a wilderness. Seeing three Main winners and two high-level veterans determine to simply “play for the love of the sport” is precisely the sort of power the area wants proper now.
The Inactive Issue
Whereas the hype is actual, the rust is likely to be too. Skadoodle has been famously quiet on the aggressive entrance for years. Victor hasn’t performed professionally in Counter-Strike since leaving the VALORANT circuit again in 2020. Even Stewie and autimatic have had fluctuating ranges of exercise lately.
Nonetheless, Brehze and autimatic have reportedly been grinding Faceit matches for months, and Stewie’s current stints as a stand-in for groups like G2 confirmed he nonetheless has that “Smoke Prison” spark. They may not be the favorites for a Main trophy subsequent week, however they are going to actually be the most-watched crew in any qualifier they enter.
What Comes Subsequent?
As a result of they’re presently orgless, the crew will probably need to take the lengthy highway by open qualifiers. This “VRS grind” is a ceremony of passage for any new stack, irrespective of what number of trophies are on their mantle.
The neighborhood is already speculating about which group may finally choose them up in the event that they present indicators of life, however for now, they appear content material to simply be “the boys” once more.
We is likely to be eight years faraway from the Boston Main, however the sight of Skadoodle with a inexperienced gun and Stewie pushing by a flashbang continues to be sufficient to make any NA fan hopeful. Let’s see if the previous guard nonetheless has some magic left within the mousepad.
