Damian “daps” Steele will no longer lead Gen.G’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squad, according to a post from the in-game leader on his official Twitter account.
The tweet was accompanied by a Twitlonger that pinned daps’ departure on a mixture of CSGO burnout as well as disagreement inside the squad over the direction of the team.
Moving on from Gen.Ghttps://t.co/O7dG3eJ2y7
Will still finish out EPL with the team until they find a 5th or standin
— daps (@daps) September 11, 2020
daps told fans that he came to the decision after considering the move for around three to four months. That timeframe places Gen.G smack in the middle of several rough losses at the end of May at BLAST Showdown to both 100 Thieves and Cloud9, two teams that have seen their own levels of play bottom out over the course of the summer.
Gen.G to compete with C9 for talent with daps departure
With daps at the helm, Gen.G catapulted up CSGO’s team rankings with a peak at number twelve overall on June 8. But after an impressive second-place finish at CS Summit 6 North America, Gen.G underperformed for the rest of the summer circuit. It dropped out of ESL One Cologne in seventh place and has split its opening two games in ESL’s ongoing Pro League Season 12. daps’ public statement was accompanied by an official word from Gen.G, thanking the player for his time while sending a clear message that its CSGO roster is open to any and all players who want to compete under its banner.
Damien was a huge part of our growth as Gen.G started our CSGO journey. We are lucky to have worked with him and wish him the best in the future.
We are actively trying out players to join Gen.G. If you are a CSGO Pro interested in winning, DM me or email us at gaming@geng.gg
— Stanz (@NathanStanz) September 11, 2020
The timing couldn’t be worse. The organization will now compete with North American organization Cloud9 who has also recently started its own rebuilding process by hiring former professional Counter-Strike player and caster Henry “HenryG” Greer as its general manager.
According to daps, he will continue to play with Gen.G until the organization is able to find his replacement. As for the in-game leader’s future in CSGO, daps said that he is open to any and all opportunities but left the door open for those that might come from outside Counter-Strike. It’s likely that daps could Such a move follow other former CSGO pros and transition to Valorant.
“As for the future, I still love CS and would ideally like to IGL [for] a team I feel is the right fit for me, but if moving on as a player or leaving CS is the route I have to take, then I will cross that bridge when I know more,” daps said.
