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GUIDES
Simple Radar
© 2026 TLDR Media, All Rights Reserved.
karrigan finally speaks.
Atlanta. Astana. Two tournaments are happening simultaneously. So much Counter-Strike. We’re aroused. We’re also giving you the TLDR of karrigan’s first interview since leaving FaZe, and trust us, it’s a spicy one.
Boy, Kazakhstan is very quickly becoming one of our favorite Counter-Strike destinations.
The weekend kicked off with all our favorite players receiving one of the best welcomes we’ve ever seen in CS. It’s quite crazy how Astana, a little city most people couldn’t pin to a map, is able to create a better ambiance than most of the cities the tier one circus usually visit.
At least when the crowds aren’t killing our players.
Speaking of killing, the top story of rounds one and two has to be the new Terminator in town. Those of you who remember IEM Dallas 2024 were maybe wondering where 9z went after such a strong performance, but they were just waiting for the right moment to say the line:
I’ll be back.
PARIVISION didn’t stand a chance against 9z, as luchov put together the best first half in CS2 history on Inferno. No really, we mean it.
That being said, knocking Jame and co. down a peg doesn’t make a you a giant killer, though, so 9z made sure to put all doubt to rest by punching their way into the 2-0 pool by going through Falcons, with a thrashing on the final map. In style, we’ll add, and we can’t wait to see all the FACEIT-warriors try out this one new trick.
Spirit and MOUZ both had statement wins on their way to the 2-0 pool by knocking down The MongolZ and G2, respectively, with close fought victories. xertioN was an unexpected stand-out in his debut as IGL, once again disproving the myth that in-game-leaders frag poorly because they’re “not looking at their crosshair as much” - just admit it, you’re sh-t.
FURIA round out the 2-0 pool, returning to form as the prodigal son returns to his hometown, and the place where he first made his tier one debut. Today they face Spirit for a playoff spot, and folks, this is a game you don’t want to miss.
The remainder of the Swiss bracket is, more or less, par for the course. NA’s favorite underdog (with four European players) has their best chance yet of bagging a win as they face The Huns, while K27 and magic - two Russian teams practically dripping in future tier one stars - will play for elimination, and, let’s face it, bragging rights.
In the 1-1 pool, we’re liking how this is shaping up. With the exception of Gentle Mates and Monte, everyone here has a very realistic shot at a playoff spot - and given the weaknesses 9z have exposed earlier, we wouldn’t even fully count those two out.
Today we have some bangers, folks, and we can’t wait to see who makes it to the arena.
Is 12 hours of CS in Astana not enough to quench your thirst? Well don’t worry - there’ll be another 12 hours every day thanks to IEM Atlanta.
ESL’s interestingly attended tournament is set to kick off today, and although the field in Astana might be slightly more impressive, there are some teams we’re really excited to see.
Chief of all, of course, is BC.Game. It’s their first event with Senzu, and we have absolutely no clue what to expect. They have a tough opener against Vitality, but could they pull off an upset? Probably not. Really, it just depends on what they do in the loser’s bracket, and it’s got to click for them at some point, right?
We’ll also have our eyes on FaZe, after an impressive showing at BLAST Rivals Fort Worth. There are some concerns given the large percentage of rounds they won via clutch, but if Twistzz and enkay J have cooked up some more bullsh-t, another playoffs run isn’t impossible.
Speaking of teams going on unlikely playoff runs, GamerLegion will also be in attendance after similarly impressing in Fort Worth. They have a pretty nice opener in SINNERS, but in a tough side of the bracket that contains NAVI, Liquid, M80, Legacy, and Astralis, making playoffs here would be very impressive.
And yes, we did include Liquid, M80, and Legacy in that group.
And yes, we do think Liquid was the most egregious inclusion.
Astralis themselves will make for interesting viewing. They’re so good at points, but their ability to throw away games is a real concern. They should never have lost to GamerLegion in the manner they did, but if they can actually learn from it, a semi-finals berth could be very achievable.
Most of all, though, we’ll be on the lookout for Passion UA. Not because we like them, but because we find them really f-cking funny.
There’s at least some interest in them this time, given that they’ll be playing with sdy, but let’s face it - this is nothing more than a hate watch.
And we love a hate watch.
We get to watch s1mple vs ZywOo today and listen - we know ZywOo has probably done enough to be considered the GOAT now, but we still believe in s1mple.
In fact, we believe in him so much that at 10.0 against Vitality, we’re happy to back BCG in their Atlanta opener. Even if it’s just for the sh-ts and giggles.
Place your bets at Razed.
Note: Odds at time of writing.
karrigan left FaZe in a hurry immediately after missing the Cologne Major, the skipper leaving the sinking ship as his crewmates drown in the sea of tier two Counter-Strike. He’d broken the trust of all his teammates, taken a short-term big money move, going to butt heads with NiKo and leaving FaZe to rot under Twistzz’s leadership.
That’s what the community would have you believe, anyway.
In his first interview since joining Falcons, karrigan spoke to HLTV about all of these things, and it looks like things went down a lot differently.
The move was done very quickly, as he describes it as being signed just hours before the roster lock for the Major. Negotiations were intense, where a move first looked unlikely, but in a matter of days turned into a done deal.
Here a grain of truth actually fell to the community - the deal was inked before the rest of FaZe knew about it. karrigan did not want it to be like this, however, as management had simply informed the team of the move before the captain himself had a chance.
It seems there’s no bad blood, though. He describes Twistzz’s move to the IGL role as a natural evolution that was eventually going to happen, one way or another, and he’d be happy if they succeeded without him.
But why even make the move? Well, aside from the giant pile of money staring you in the face, it is a really exciting roster he’s joining. He describes the opportunity as a fire lit inside him that he could not ignore, in his stomach, that this would be a chance to do something unique.
To some, that’s just the consequences of a hot curry the night before. To Counter-Strike legends… that’s how you win Majors.
In any case, it was very clear he had to get out of FaZe, so when Falcons came knocking he couldn’t say no. The way he puts it:
“I woke up every day in FaZe happy. I ended every day of practice a little more upset.”
We’re sure every FaZe fan can relate to that.
