French legend RpK retires from professional CSGO

Veteran Cédric “RpK” Guipouy has confirmed that his professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive career has come to an end.  At 32 years of age, RpK was one of the oldest players in the scene and has said he is leaving pro gaming to enter the automobile industry.

RpK was released from his Team Vitality contract back on August 26. This came four month after he was benched in favor of rising star Jayson “Kyojin” Nguyen Van. RpK leaves a lasting footprint on the CSGO scene, having been part of a major resurgence in French CSGO. 

Before joining Vitality, RpK was a member of several notable CSGO organizations including G2 Esports, Titan, and Team EnVy. Before playing in CSGO, he was a member of the wildly successful VeryGames Counter-Strike: Source team.

A long time coming

RpK talked about how much this announcement has been a long time coming. The player stated he has been wanting to step away for some time now, especially after being benched by Vitality. It was a good run at the top for RpK but he admits this has been a long time coming.

The 32-year-old talked about the lack of options that he had with his CSGO career moving forward.

“It is clear that it is something big because something that I’ve been doing for many years ends here today. But all this has taught me a lot and it was a real pleasure. I completely believed I could have continued a little longer because I still feel fresh and in shape. As long as you feel ready you can go on,” RpK said.

RpK started his pro career in Counter-Strike: Source.  He was one of the best players in the game’s history but Source was not as popular among the CS fanbase, which often left it playing second-fiddle to the original Counter-Strike. He made the move to CSGO when it was released and it worked out well, playing alongside the likes of Richard “shox” Papillon and Kenny “kennyS” Schrub.

RpK retires with a smile

While it’s sad that one of the best CSGO players of all time is retiring, RpK himself does not consider him stepping away as a big issue. He wants to reassure the fans that he is content with the decision. 

“Honestly, I’m quite happy with my career. Despite some difficult moments, I kept fighting, and I was always focused on what I had to do. To be honest, I could have continued to try to win a Major. I would have liked to have won one,” RpK said.

RpK is happy with his retirement and the fans at home should feel the same. For people who like to play bitcasinoio and watch CSGO in the background, this is still a tough loss though.