Steven R. March 29, 2019
OpTic Gaming has begun a heavy restructuring of its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team.
The organization announced the departure of René "cajunb" Borg after 13 months with the side. “Today we wish CajunB well as he makes his departure from our CSGO roster,” OpTic said on Twitter. “We look forward to seeing his continued success in Counter-Strike.”
Shortly thereafter, OpTic announced the signing of former Rogue players Mathias "MSL" Lauridsen and Nikolaj "niko" Kristensen.
CajunB has been a steady presence on the Danish Counter-Strike circuit dating back to the days of Counter-Strike: Source. He was a founding member of both Astralis and North, and was a part of OpTic’s transition from an international team competing in North America to an all-Danish lineup.
Though OpTic was competitive for much of 2018, the team fizzled at the FACEIT Major: London, washing out of the Challengers Stage with a 2-3 record. That forced OpTic into competing for a spot in the 2019 Katowice Major in a crowded Europe Minor. The team fell well short of that goal, exiting the event early in the group stages.
OpTic hasn’t rebounded since, with disappointing exits from both the World Electronic Sports Games 2018 and WePlay! Lock and Load. However, CajunB himself has performed ably during that stretch.
CajunB addressed his split from the team on Twitter and indicated that he plans on returning to action with a different squad soon.
“My time with OpTic has come to an end. I had a great time and I wish my former teammates the best of luck and I hope that they will bring home the trophies that OpTic deserves,” CajunB said. “The fans were truly amazing and I wanna thank you for always having our backs, no matter the circumstance.”
“My contract also expires [April 1], which means I’m a free agent so feel free to contact me if interested,” he added in another tweet.
The hole left by CajunB was very quickly filled by Niko, who rejoins OpTic following a short stint with the team in 2018. After signing with the team in September following a run with Heroic, he was removed from the active lineup just three months later. He was traded to Rogue and played alongside MSL for a month, but the pair found themselves teamless after the organization ceased its CS:GO operations in March.
With the addition of MSL and Niko, OpTic now finds itself with six players, which could mean another release or deactivation is imminent. As for CajunB, there is no shortage of possible landing spots for him with a number of prominent European organizations having holes in their lineups.