Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam was released from TSM on October 7th after a challenging attempt to secure a Counter-Strike title for the organization. Despite announcing their return to Counter-Strike in late 2022, TSM has yet to participate in a top-tier event. The new CS roster for TSM was leaked in August 2023, and they won their debut series in an online cup on September 4th.
In summary, TSM‘s comeback in Counter-Strike has been less than impressive so far. The person leading the project unofficially left in July 2023, and the current roster doesn’t appear capable of competing at a higher level.
XTQZZZ is well-known for his coaching roles with the French Vitality roster and the mixed European G2 roster. He also had a history as a CS:GO player. With Danny “zonic” Sørensen leaving Vitality, there is speculation that XTQZZZ might return to his previous coaching role and guide the predominantly French team into CS2.
The roster changes before IEM Sydney have generated a lot of excitement. Zonic’s move to Falcons has led fans and analysts to speculate about significant buyouts, and several star players have been linked to the organization’s plans.
One significant change in CS2 that could impact roster construction is the switch to MR12. With fewer rounds to play and less time to build an economy, questions arise about player roles and positions. Statistically, having fewer AWPers per game might reduce the value of a standout AWPer unless they can also perform well with rifles at the highest level. Given the absence of professional match data to compare, it’s expected that CS2 roster strategies won’t be fully understood for at least a year. IEM Sydney, the first upper-tier CS2 competition, is scheduled to begin on October 15th.