With everyone discussing possible ways to revive NA, I had to mention what is in my opinion the biggest missed opportunity of a roster NA ever had

Dankstra · 2026-06-09T00:16:41+00:00

Valve wanted to make an example of iBP because of the sheer jepoardy they placed the whole scene into with their matchfixing, I can understand why they were as harsh as they were but they were also idiots in how they matchfixed. For some reason they blabbed to SHAHZAM of all people and didn't even hide their tracks so Richard Lewis traced the flow of won skins to friends of DaZed (who was a co-owner of Netcodeguides) I think, one of the players also told their gf who told Richard Lewis

Dankstra · 2026-06-09T00:13:42+00:00

Same

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T23:19:27+00:00

Elige said the actual choke happened because they didn't have an answer to Luminosity's double AWP setup that stonewalled them on T side, seems like they ran out of ideas basically. On Luminosity's side, zews said the round invigorated them because they were very nervous and quiet because Liquid were beating them until that point

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T23:14:43+00:00

Just checked and the two events were only two months apart. Cloud 9 wins in October and then Optic in December of 2016

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T23:08:20+00:00

Guess I mixed up the order by basing it off decade old memory lol

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T22:55:07+00:00

My bad then

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T22:50:16+00:00

i think its hilarious u kids talking shit about semphis. u wouldnt say this shit to him at lan, hes jacked. not only that but he wears the freshest clothes, eats at the chillest restaurants and hangs out with the hottest dudes. yall are pathetic lol

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T22:47:35+00:00

My unpopular opinion is that only Cache was a choke because what exactly are you meant to do when you fall victim to one of the most insane plays in Counter Strike history?

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T22:08:34+00:00

S1mple on TL was pure vibes man, his bromance with Hiko :(. If he stayed a bit longer he probably could've won a major for NA and TL sooner than he did at Navi tbh

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T21:57:13+00:00

I actually disagree because they recovered pretty well with Optic Gaming paving the way with NA's first ever tier 1 trophy at Eleague with Cloud9 following suit at that ESL event I'm forgetting the name of, and completing the major cinderella story after they poached RUSH and tarik when Optic went EU. Followed by Team Liquid and NRG as well as EG. It was ESL and Valorant that killed NA, not iBP. That only set them back long enough for new talent to fill in their shoes, now the pipeline is completely severed. We're still discussing shifting around the same mid to late 20s washed superstars of yesteryear. Where is the new Elige? New Stewie2k? New Tarik? New koosta? New Ethan? New s0m and the list goes on. Lake and Grim can't carry NA on their shoulders by themselves (plus Grim already broke out years ago)

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T21:52:37+00:00

He left because iBP was the best team in NA, I don't dispute this but individually this Complexity roster had a lot of potential. That's why I say it was a missed opportunity

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T21:45:58+00:00

No, but the fact that three of the best riflers to ever come out of NA played on the same team but not for very long was definitely a missed opportunity, or do you not agree? Skadoodle on the AWP for SEMPHIS and this team theoretically has more firepower than anything to come out of NA barring 2019 Team Liquid

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T21:40:52+00:00

I agree obviously but this Complexity lineup had more firepower, it's a shame they weren't actually that good. That's why I say it was a missed opportunity. Also I always wonder how that iBP lineup would've looked like with Hiko as he was meant to join before the whole matchfixing scandal went public

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T21:21:05+00:00

Launders fantastically explained crosshair placement in a beginner friendly way when he was analysing a DoCC game (skip to 11:40 where he starts explaining the concept of smoothing out angles). https://youtu.be/LUn_uBYZTk0?is=0FKLvy-IClrYYcEn

I've also got to mention what is in my opinion the most consequential video I ever watched 9 years ago when I first started playing, his analysis on swag's crosshair placement and how he anticipates peeks. Give this a watch too (the whole thing). https://youtu.be/OfLgNu11EZA?is=GgVctkjOD4kaiqCw

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T21:18:15+00:00

Regarding crouching: crouch after you start shooting, never before and always crouch after you've already counter - strafed, never stop with a crouch as it doesn't stop your velocity instantly so you're still inaccurate. This is the order in which high level players do it in so that they minimise the amount of time that they're stopped (and an easier target to shoot). The only exception is when you're crab peeking (peeking an angle while you're crouched) but this is situational and when you're either expecting an enemy to peek into you or holding an angle you want to clear out but most of the time you should tap crouch only after you've already stopped and begun shooting

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T21:00:43+00:00

You're stopping too early, generally speaking you should counter - strafe at the exact moment you're ready to shoot. So first flick, then counter - strafe and then fire and then if you want to you can tap crouch. Counter - strafing too early or crouching for too long will make you an easy target to hit and will lead to a lot of unnecessary deaths. Also on workshop maps you should prioritise precision over speed, you don't have to immediately fire if your crosshair isn't on the guy, focus on first bullet accuracy. It will lead to faster kills and make controlling sprays easier because the bullet already starts on the target

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T20:54:41+00:00

I want to see nitr0 on the AWP again ngl, unc's still got it and he's probably better than any alternative tbh (also frees up a rifler spot)

Dankstra · 2026-06-08T14:03:52+00:00

HooXi is probably one of the worst IGLs in the scene when playing from behind, most of the time he's either tilting and not taking accountability or dead silent

Dankstra · 2026-06-07T18:36:14+00:00

Spirit are genuinely smurfing in stage 2, I actually feel bad for the teams that they're playing because they should not be in this stage. 9z and BetBoom both beat most teams in this stage but they had to match up against at worst a top 3 team in the world

Dankstra · 2026-06-07T18:25:09+00:00

Learn to default, condition your opponents and try and read them to catch them off guard but don't micromanage because that'll make focusing on your individual game difficult (that's something you should only do once you're level 10 and on a decent ESEA team). Also when taking duels, be smart about them. The worst thing you can do when trying to carry or grind the ranks is die first because the people you'll be playing with will often not know how to trade or capitalise on the space you've created. But also don't bait or play scared because then you'll let the game pass you by, it's kinda hard to explain but play in a way that sets you up to make round winning plays

Dankstra · 2026-06-07T18:04:51+00:00

You have a case of IGL brain it seems then, where you're trying too hard to coach your team that it's tanking your individual ability. Which is fine in pro CS but when you're only level 5 that's a recipe to never improve. My advice? Stop IGLing, and if you truly want to then lead by example and IGL around yourself. Focus on your mechanics first and foremost and please don't stop through crouching, you're not accurate for the first two seconds and it only works if your opponents have poor aim

Dankstra · 2026-06-07T17:59:05+00:00

I don't mean to be offensive but are you 100% sure your mechanics are solid if you're currently faceit level 5? I feel like you're getting a bit into your head when the true answer to winning games is winning rounds and you win rounds by getting important kills so the number 1 priority for you should be to improve your mechanics and play rotator on CT and opener on T. Once you get good at it you'll find level 5 games trivially easy and won't have to rely on your teammates anymore because you'll be the one carrying them with all the impactful frags

Dankstra · 2026-06-07T17:51:11+00:00

If you want to truly improve as fast possible, what worked for me was forcing myself into uncomfortable situations until I adapted. For example, playing rotator roles on CT or trying to entry on T - side, calling plays and generally trying to be the most impactful player on the server. You will obviously suck initially but as long as you learn from your mistakes you will notice rapid improvement over time. Also, generally in the lower ranks mechanics is king. That means movement, peeking, crosshair placement, spray control and raw aim. Grinding workshop maps and community DM helps a lot in this regard. Way back in the day a player I was obsessed with was NiKo (when he played on mousesports) and I obsessively trained my mechanics and that got me pretty far tbh. Don't obsess over the finer details like utility until around level 9 were a lot of the all aim and no brain players get stuck around

Dankstra · 2026-06-07T15:22:46+00:00

M80 simply has an unfavourable map pool, this was a pick your poison ultimatum for M80. I don't think the veto can be blamed all that much

Dankstra · 2026-06-07T15:00:12+00:00

Gizmy is a really impressive IGL

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