Loading…
GUIDES
Simple Radar
© 2026 TLDR Media, All Rights Reserved.
Perhaps more literally than one might think.
Edition #397 | sep 8th, 2023
Heroic’s era (cut the giggling) might just be coming to a slow and painful end, while the Into the Breach era (stop laughing!) is coming to a swift and painless end.
Also turns out skin gambling and teenagers don't mesh well - even if you're a pro.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Heroic
0
2
BIG
ENCE
2
1
MIBR
Monte
Today
MIBR
Heroic
Today
MOUZ
ITB COMPLETE ROSTER
Another newsletter, another ITB story. In our last edition, we talked about Thomas leaving the team “temporarily” but had no clue who’d replace him.
Well, it’s quite a kicker(t). We regret nothing.
In case it wasn’t already obvious, Qikert’s finally moved on from his ex-team and found a new home in ITB. He'll also take on the IGL role, picking up where he left off in his early AVANGAR days. You know, before Jame ruined them.
It’s weird how fast the UK core vanished. The only standing member is CRUC1AL, who also isn’t from the UK. As much as our two Dutch writers love to see a Dutch king winning, it’s quite the development. For context, the ESL UK premiership is going on, right now, where Team Endpoint has dominated most seasons except the last one, which was won by ITB.
Just three months later and now they’re not even participating. The Knights knocked the kings off their throne, only to disappear never to be seen again.
Well, that’s overdramatic, clearly the roster is still around and it’s definitely far from bad. It’s just not the identity most of the ITB fans had previously related to. Esports already lacks fan loyalty outside of the top tier 1 teams, and losing this connection to their British roots can’t help.
On the bright side, a Major winner can only be a good addition to a team.Even if he wasn’t the IGL of the team at the time, we’re certain Qikert will bring something new to ITB. Which is exactly what they need to properly move on into this new phase.
Into the Breach fans, you got a solid player, and if you’re still feeling down just remember that it could be worse. You could’ve resigned draken.
ITB now consists of:
🇰🇿 Qikert
🇵🇱 rallen
🇳🇱 CRUC1AL
🇫🇷 misutaaa
🇱🇹 Bymas
SKIN FRAUD
It’s always hard to know what’s going on with TheMongolz.
Half their games don’t make it to HLTV due to rampant match-fixing in online Asian cups, they don’t give interviews, and as a whole, we’re all rather well insulated from the goings-on in Mongolian CS:GO.
sk0R, one of their best players statistically, was removed in March. His replacement, hasteka, has not fared as well: His 0.86 rating in the last three months is about as low as you get. And, change is afoot again.
The new kid on the block if Senzu, a kid with a… murky history already.
In team NKT, where he played with BnTeT, nin9, and erkaSt, he was removed in June after being found guilty of a “fraud scheme,” where he ‘borrowed’ skins from his teammates, and then lost them on gambling sites.
Six years since CSGOLotto, and CSGOWild, we still have these underage gambling sites around… and honestly, do we talk about it enough? Everyone is quick to talk about the positives that skins brought to Counter-Strike but there are plenty of negatives too.
In-game, Senzu is a solid, if unproven, prospect. He averages a 1.09 LAN rating but has only played six maps against top-50 teams in his life.
His second chance in a big org has come very quickly, just three months after his removal from NKT.
But, and this is important, he’s still just 17 years old. s1mple has served an ESEA ban for cheating, and he turned out alright. Ish.
Let’s just hope Senzu takes this shot at tier one a bit more seriously.
Podcast
Roll up, roll up! Get your newest ear-snacks from your favourite podcast dispensaries, with news on Into the Breach’s betrayal, Ninjas in Pyjamas’ familiar disappointment and no more words on EG than is absolutely necessary.
LISTEN NOW
ESL Pro League Group B
Heroic are falling apart.
That’s a dramatic lede, but one at least grounded in reality, slightly. Their form in playoffs has always been patchy, but in group stages, it’s always been sparkling. Perhaps those have now switched; alas, we might not ever know.
Because they keep losing in group stages.
That’s, once more, perhaps overdramatic. They’re not out of Pro League, nor are they really likely to dip out any time soon, but it’s troubling that the one thing that never seemed to go wrong for them has begun to go pear-shaped.
Heroic were famously good at beating underdogs and imposing their will on the weak, but now they’re losing to BIG. 2-0, too - this wasn’t a close series in some ways, this was a neon red flag.
Alright, okay, both maps individually were close - Heroic fought back from a massive disadvantage to take BIG to triple OT on map one - but this didn’t happen before. Krimbo was far and away the best player in the server, allowed to roam and romp through the Danes in ways unforeseen.
It’s too early to be complete doommongers around Heroic, but early signs are there that their ‘era’ will be over before they’ve ever really got the silverware to prove how good they were.
Mind you, it is just one series at ESL Pro League. We might be overreacting.
Still, at least Heroic destroyed Rooster, in one of the most one-sided games of all time. All is well.
Elsewhere, we saw an absolute masterclass from NertZ as ENCE inched past a resilient an impressive MIBR, who had previously manhandled a lacklustre MOUZ.
MOUZ bounced back by two-zipping EG, albeit in two maps that were far closer than they would have liked, while Rooster took a map off of Monte but couldn’t forge anything more.
Group B continues today and through the weekend. Here's an overview of the bracket. We'll be back Monday with a recap and a follow-up on Heroic's (potential) demise.
Everything Else
🔫 Counter-Strike bleedin’ 2
🔮 Miscellaneous stuff
😔 Genuinely heart-breaking news