Cédric “RpK” Guipouy, a well-known player primarily recognized for his tenure with top French teams in both Counter-Strike: Source and CS:GO, has made a surprising announcement. He revealed on October 30 that he is coming out of retirement and entering the free agency pool.
RpK, often referred to as “Le Tank,” retired as a CS:GO professional player in September 2021, several months after being benched by Vitality. Following his retirement, he pursued a new venture by opening a garage shop named RpK Motorsport. Today’s news may come as a surprise to the gaming community, as RpK hasn’t participated in an official match for over two years and had already passed his prime during his final stint with Vitality.
The reasons behind RpK’s decision to return to competitive play remain unclear. However, it’s possible that he missed the experience of being a professional player, as he played in a showmatch during the BLAST Paris Major in May.
Throughout his career, RpK exclusively played for French teams and never explored international squads. If the 34-year-old player insists on communicating only in French, he may encounter difficulties in finding a team. The French CS scene has declined in recent years, and the country’s top players are now part of international, English-speaking rosters like Vitality, TSM, and Fnatic.
Nonetheless, even though RpK may not be the top choice for leading teams in the current CS landscape, he could consider forming a French squad with younger talent and share his experience to help them grasp the essentials of being a professional CS player.
If RpK secures a new team in CS2, he will have the opportunity to pursue championships in three different CS titles, having previously won trophies in both CS: Source and CS:GO. As of now, the only player who has achieved this feat of winning tournaments in three editions of CS is karrigan, the in-game leader of FaZe Clan. However, the CS2 competitive scene is just getting started.