Evgeny “Norwi” Ermolin and Aleksandr “KENSI” Gurkin have been benched from forZe and will no longer be a part of the team, the organization announced on Sunday. The roster changes come following forZe’s failure to secure a Major ticket to Brasil, after suffering a tough loss to Bad News Eagles in the qualifying match.

The 20-year-old Russian has been on the roster for a year and eight months. During his time on the forZe roster, KENSi averaged a 1.06 rating and gained plenty of experience in both online and LAN tournaments. Just like the other benched member, Norwi, who has been on the roster for a year, averaging a 1.03. The 21-year-old also gained a lot of experience and shared in recent triumphs with the rest of the team, such as qualifying for the Major in Belgium (PGL Antwerp Major).

KENSI

Norwi

forZe

It was a CIS clash when forZe and Outsiders went head-to-head for a Legends Stage spot. forZe missed out on their opportunity to secure a spot yesterday when they faltered against Vitality, but now have another chance versus "Jame"s troops who came from the 1-1 pool.

forZe had a formidable start to the Bo3. On Dust2, Outsiders' pick, "Jerry" and co. started with 11 rounds in a row on the CT side. This was an excellent start on a map where Outsiders are considered one of the best in the world. After a devastating 12-3 half, the "Jame"-led squad quickly got after it. Out of the break, they won eight straight and were suddenly back in contention. Unfortunately for them, they could not drive it all the way home, which gave forZe a 1-0 lead in the series.

Coming into the second map of Mirage, it looked like forZe might have another phenomenal start, but the Outsiders were able to shut it down early and give themselves a one-round advantage at the end of their CT side.

The Outsiders turned up the heat after the break and started rolling over the opposition. forZe only managed three rounds on the CT side as a deadly "Qikert" was all over them from start to finish.

The final map of Inferno saw a lot of ties and lead changes at the beginning of the map. The two teams were excitingly close, and neither was able to establish an economical lead, which led to a very marginal halftime lead of 8-7 for forZe.

The second half was far from as close as the first. "YEKINDAR" and the Outsiders squashed forZe six rounds in a row and suddenly had a substantial lead. forZe made a small dent in the Outsiders' lead but ultimately could not stand up to the giants of Outsiders.

Outsiders win the series 2-1 and capitalize on their first chance to go through to the Legends Stage. forZe on the other hand wasted their second chance in a row and will have to try for a third and last time tomorrow.

[twitchClip:pgl/clip/ProductiveSuaveStrawberryPJSugar-bBA_voiQMIfdStgJ]

forZe - Outsiders 1-2 | PGL Major Antwerp Challengers Stage

16-12 (Dust2) | {cflag:RU} KENSI - 1.40 Rating / 23-13 K-D / 90.3 ADR

10-16 (Mirage) | {cflag:KZ} Qikert - 1.51 Rating / 24-14 K-D / 100.3 ADR

11-16 (Inferno) | {cflag:LV} YEKINDAR - 1.54 Rating / 20-16 K-D / 116.4 ADR

MVP: {cflag:LV} Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis - 1.33 Rating / 63-50 K-D / 92.5 ADR

YEKINDAR

qikert

Outsiders

After two big defeats to North American teams at the Challenger Stage at PGL Antwerp, it was time for Oceania’s finest to give it a try. Renegades had to deal with forZe in their first match at the Belgium Major.

On Nuke it quickly became evident, that forZe was on another level. It was pure domination for the CIS roster, who won 10 rounds in a row before the Australians were able to answer back. forZe even brought in the Auto-Sniper to further rub salt into the open wound.

The first half ended with a huge 13-2 lead to forZe, who locked in the victory in the second half despite Renegades taking a shot at a comeback. Another big win for the European teams, who so far at the event are flawless against the rest of the world. 

Both teams will play their second-round match later today.

forZe – Renegades 1-0 | PGL Major Antwerp Challengers Stage

16-9 (Nuke) | {cflag:RU} Aleksandr "KENSI" Gurkin  – 1.62 Rating / 26-12 K-D / 96.6 ADR

Renegades

DreamHack November 2021 is slowly but surely nearing its end as only four teams are left competing for a spot in the Grand Final. The first Semi-Final of the event saw fnatic defeat MAD Lions and earn their spot in the Grand Final. The second and last Semi-Final was set to be a brawl between BIG and forZe. Both teams showed up and it was a close affair. Going all three maps it was as intense as possible. Ultimately, however, it became clear that BIG had a slight edge over their opponents in forZe. The CIS roster had to see themselves bested when BIG closed out the Bo3-series on Nuke. The 2-1 victory means that BIG will be facing fnatic in the Grand Final of DreamHack November 2021.

The first map was the choice of forZe and saw the Bo3-series start on Inferno. The map of Inferno is notorious for being the home ground of close and intense brawls. Once again this was the case when BIG locked horns with forZe. Despite very little separating the two teams in terms of the scoreline, it seemed as if BIG had the upper hand and a chance of running away with-it multiple times throughout the match. This was never the case, however, as forZe managed to remain calm, claw themselves back, and force overtime. Having strung together 3 successful rounds prior to the overtime it was a forZe roster with momentum that went into OT. Whilst BIG managed to avoid the complete sweep in OT, they would have to see themselves bested by their CIS opponents at the scoreline of 19-16.

The second map of the series was to be played on Dust 2 and was, of course, picked by BIG. Many teams are hesitant to pick maps such as Dust 2 or Mirage as their own map pick because Dust 2 can be a great map for any team if they are feeling themselves. This, however, doesn’t seem to apply to BIG as they have been consistent on Dust 2, largely thanks to “syrsoN” being a beast on the map. Once again BIG proved that Dust 2 is their home ground and seemed way more confident than they did on Inferno, securing a 10-5 lead going into the second half of Dust 2. Things were slightly more competitive in the second half of Dust 2, but ultimately it was too late for forZe and BIG claimed the victory at the scoreline of 16-10.

The third and final map of the series was set to be played on Nuke, a map that both teams are familiar with. After the victory on Dust 2, it was a confident BIG roster that came flying out of the gate and posted an impressive T-sided half. Leaving their opponents always guessing about their whereabouts, it proved difficult for forZe to contain the BIG roster, however, they managed to regain control somewhat going into the second half, at the scoreline of 8-7. Whilst the first half was somewhat close, the second half of Nuke was all BIG. Only allowing forZe a single round, the German-based roster of BIG took home Nuke at the scoreline of 16-8 and earned their spot in the Grand Final.

BIG – forZe (2-1) | DreamHack November 2021 (Semi-Finals)

KENSI {cflag:RU} – 1.39 Rating / 32-22 K-D / 93.7 ADR

syrsoN {cflag:DE} – 1.49 Rating / 25-15 K-D / 97.6 ADR

tabseN {cflag:DE} – 1.44 Rating / 22-14 K-D / 97.0 ADR

Florian "syrsoN" Rische | 1.23 Rating / 67-51 K-D / 83.2 ADR

[image:{"source":"cloudinary","publicId":"players/syrson_big_zzqlzl","originalWidth":1024,"originalHeight":576,"customWidth":"100%","customHeight":"100%","cloudinaryAssetData":true,"cloudName":"pley-gg","format":"jpg","caption":"Credit: BIG"}]

syrsoN

The art of consistently tapping enemies head is as old as the genre of tactical, first-person shooter itself. Over the years, many FPS games have seen some impressive headshot machines, and no esports has seen such gods rise up more than Valve’s very own Counter-Strike.

In our list, we’ll be taking a look at the players who tapped the most heads in the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 14, and also the players with the highest headshot percentage. Did any of your favorites make the list?

1.  {cflag:RU}   Aleksandr “KENSI” Gurkin (forZe) | 164

2.  {cflag:LV}   YEKINDAR (Virtus.pro) | 152

3.  {cflag:CZ}   SHOCK (Sinners) | 138

4.  {cflag:US}   EliGE (Liquid) | 138

1.  {cflag:UA}   Valeriy “B1T” Vakhovskiy (NAVI) | 0.48

2.  {cflag:GT}   malbsMd (TeamOne) | 0.48

3.  {cflag:LV}   YEKINDAR (Virtus.pro) | 0.44

5.  {cflag:KZ}   Hobbit (Gambit) | 0.43

1.  {cflag:FR}   Audric “JaCkz” Jug (G2) | 73.1%

3.  {cflag:GT}   malbsMd (TeamOne) | 68.0%

4.  {cflag:US}   Spongey (Bad News Bears) | 65.1%

5.  {cflag:LV}   YEKINDAR (Virtus.pro) | 63.1%

B1tGOD

JaCkz

It has not exactly been a straightforward year for Complexity. Starting with an injury for their Bulgarian AWP player to a roster change in the summer break to another injury. With Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke being sidelined due to an injury shortly before Complexity's opening match at ESL Pro League, the expectations for "The Juggernaut" were once again lowered. Not because his stand-in Niels Christian "NaToSaphiX" Sillassen is a bad match for Complexity, but because they once again would have to perform under difficult circumstances.

Their match against forZe was symptomatic for their year - filled with ups and mostly downs. It started on Mirage, where forZe proved too hard to manage. The Russians won their own map pick and got a good start to their ESL Pro League, where they are participating instead of Renegades, who could not travel to Europe due to Covid-19 restrictions.

On Nuke Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer guided his team to 16-12 victory after a very strong CT-side in the second half. 

The match decider was set on Ancient. The new map in the competitive map pool revealed some of the cracks in the ceiling for the new Complexity roster, who got steamrolled in the first half. Down 3-12 it was only a question of time before forZe would find the necessary four rounds to seal the deal. 

On the positive side, "The Juggernaut" could see their new player Patrick 'es3tag' Hansen deliver an impressive debut. Both teams will be back in action tomorrow. 

Complexity - forZe 1-2 | ESL Pro League Season 14

Mirage (12-16) | {cflag:RU} KENSI 24-15 K-D / 88.9 ADR / 1.45 rating

Nuke (16-12) | {cflag:DK} blameF 25-18 K-D / 109.6 ADR / 1.50 rating

Ancient (16-8) | {cflag:RU} FL1T 22-12 K-D / 95.6 ADR / 1.46 rating

MVP: {cflag:RU} Aleksandr 'zorte' Zagodyrenko 66-45 K-D / 77.9 ADR / 1.28 rating

es3tag

blameF

zorte

compLexity Gaming

It is up to forZe to stop EPG Family's run at Spring Sweet Spring. The Russians defeated FURIA after three maps in the Semi-Final to book their ticket to the Grand Final later this evening.

[slugRMA:epg-family-secure-grand-final-spot-spring-sweet-spring]

The victory was established on Inferno. A perfect first half gave forZe a 12-3 lead at the break. But in a nervous ending to the map, FURIA came dangerously close to take the map to overtime. For the third day in a row it was Aleksandr 'KENSI' Gurkin who made the difference in the end with a solid 29-15 in K-D.

[twitchVideo:tebtv/clip/AdventurousGleamingSeahorseBatChest-a5k-c5Vac3S99-a6]

The comeback from FURIA was not enough to win their map pick, but on Nuke they continued their great CT-side from Inferno winning 11 rounds in the first half. The Brazilians also won the second half, which paved the way for a third and final map to decide, who should face EPG Family in the Grand Final.

On Mirage it was essentially one-way action. FURIA quickly lost the momentum they had built up on Nuke. Instead in-game leader Andrey 'Jerry' Mekhryakov drove his team forward by winning his individual duels 5-0 with the in-game leader from FURIA, arT. A dominant first half was replaced by an even more impressive CT-side from the CIS team, who almost made it look easy in the end.

FURIA - forZe (1-2) | Spring Sweet Spring 1

14-16 (Inferno) | {cflag:RU} KENSI – 1.50 Rating / 29-15 K-D / 87.9 ADR

16-7 (Nuke) | {cflag:BR} yuurih – 1.74 Rating / 22-10 K-D / 108.3 ADR

6-16 (Mirage) | {cflag:RU} Jerry – 1.66 Rating / 23-12 K-D / 102.4 ADR

{cflag:RU} Aleksandr 'KENSI' Gurkin - 1.23 rating / 58-42 K-D / 74.8 ADR

forZe faces EPG Family in the Grand Final later today.

Jerry

yuurih

FURIA

Last month it was Virtus.pro, this month it is Team Spirit. Both teams have now experienced the forZe meatgrinder.

At Spring Sweet Spring Team Spirit was seeded into the Quarter-Finals, where fellow CIS team forZe had made their way into after some difficulties in the Group Phase.

[slugRMA:fnatic-live-another-day-after-strong-comeback-against-extremum]

Against Team Spirit Andrey 'Jerry' Mekhryakov and his men had their work cut out. On Mirage forZe was trailing behind Spirit, but in a fantastic ending to the map, Aleksandr 'KENSI' Gurkin stepped up with some important kills to swing over the scoreboard in favor of the underdogs, who won Mirage 16-14.

Nuke was again very even in the beginning, but all of the time forZe had an upper hand. In the second half, they managed to completely break Team Spirit, who looked like a team, who had lost their.. spirit? forZe won the last seven rounds to eliminated Team Spirit from the tournament. 

[slugRMA:strong-russians-batter-ence-spring-sweet-spring-1]

forZe - Team Spirit (2-0) | Spring Sweet Spring 1

16-14 (Mirage) | {cflag:RU} Jerry – 1.25 Rating / 22-18 K-D / 87.3 ADR

16- 8 (Nuke) | {cflag:RU} KENSI – 1.48 Rating / 26-17 K-D / 100.2 ADR

{cflag:RU} Aleksandr 'KENSI' Gurkin – 1.31 Rating / 47-32 K-D / 87.3 ADR

forZe advance to the Semi-Finals, where they will face the winner of Furia vs Sinners.

Spirit

As expected, we saw a tight start in the Upper Semi-Final at Funspark ULTI, where the team's were 5-5, but than something shifted for forZe. They outplayed Complexity, who was short on the money for the rest of the first half at Inferno and at half time forZe was leading 10 to 5. 

At the start of the second half, Complexity came out best as it looked like they could possibly make the comeback. A strong team performance by forZe made it impossible for Complexity to make the comeback in the map, and they went on to win Inferno 16-10. 

A strong team performance by forZe, where especially KENSI, FL1T and zorte played at the top of their game to secure a victory in their map pick. 

On Mirage the roles were reversed. After an initial close start, Complexity turned up the pace a notch. poison delivered an ace with his AWP, while k0nfig got fired up and was by a big margin the top fragger on the server helping his team to a 16-9 win.

The Danish Rifler continued his dominance on Dust2. After five rounds he was responsible for 11 kills and an ADR above 200! Once again the two teams were completely even at 5-5 before one of them got the upperhand. Like on Mirage it was Complexity who took control. k0nfig simply did not stop the killing spree and ended first half 22-8 in K-D and 10-5 on the scoreboard. 

Complexity was feeling good after the first half, but forZe was not done yet. Having beaten Virtus.pro on Monday, the Russian team had their eyes set on another upset. From 5-12 forZe managed to equalize at 12-12 and take the lead 14-12. Here Complexity had their chance in a 2vs1 situation to finally break the silence. But Aleksandr 'KENSI' Gurkin wanted it different.

[twitchVideo:Funspark_CSGO/clip/VictoriousBloodyTruffleJebaited-BnKQ7xmaG8awc2AX]

Complexity then went on to win two rounds out of nothing, but in the end, forZe managed to make the last push and win the game.

10-16 (Inferno) | {cflag:RU} KENSI – 1.43 Rating / 22-17 K-D / 94.3 ADR

16-9 (Mirage) |{cflag:DK} k0nfig – 1.52 Rating / 25-19 K-D / 105.1 ADR

14-16 (Dust2) | {cflag:DK} k0nfig - 1.60 Rating / 34-21 K-D / 110.2 ADR

MVP: {cflag:DK}  Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke - 1.35 Rating / 74-57 K-D / 92.4 ADR

Complexity continues their journey at Funspark ULTI Europe in the lower bracket, while forZe is ready for the Upper Final.

k0nfig

forZe has announced the acquisition of Aleksandr "⁠KENSI⁠" Gurkin and Aleksandr "⁠zorte⁠" Zagodyrenko, who immediately join the active line-up. The two players transfer from ex-ETHEREAL, however, both Zorte and KENSI have played official matches for forZe on trial or as stand-ins. 

The CEO at forZe, Sergey “MegioN” Ignatko has this to say about the signings.

“Changes have been brewing for a long time. This year, we started gradually recruiting new players, including forZe School alumni, rebuilding the game and trying different lineups, depending on the tournaments.

Zorte and KENSI are strong, motivated, young players who are eager to play and train hard. I wish the guys good luck and hope that we will have many victories in the future”

	30 days	90 days
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KENSI

Player stats

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forZe behind another upset in Group B

forZe ready for CIS Grand Final at Spring Sweet Spring

forZe eliminates Team Spirit at Spring Sweet Spring

forZe delivers another upset as the "Juggernaut" falls

forZe sign young Russian duo

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