From Cloud 9 to SK, from SK to Liquid. Their Chapter Two: Stewie2k and TACO

The CS:GO season after the WESG tournament was a cataclysmic for NA. At the tournament both SK and Cloud 9 had bad results. After returning home, rumors of a roster change began to swirl when SK tried to recruit Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and when unsuccessful, they switched to Jake “Stewie2K” Yip. And to make room for Stewie2K, someone had to be replaced and that player was Epitacio “TACO” de Melo. Stewie2K has moved to SK and TACO has been recruited by Liquid. Both ended the first chapter of their careers and the second began.

The end and the beginning started at WESG 2018. In this tournament SK was eliminated from the group stage and Cloud 9 was defeated by the weaker team in a bo3 match, Team One, a Brazilian third place team. Those results were unacceptable for either team. SK is predicted to be an unstoppable force in 2018 after having unbelievable results at the end of 2017. Cloud 9 won the Major and the community expects them to become a top team. Neither team can live up to the fans’ expectations when both have poor results after each LAN.

The first big move was for SK. This is a team that is always ready to change the roster without hesitation to reach the top. This time the player at the forefront of the charge is TACO. He’s been an incredibly good support player and a great teammate since shaking hands with Fallen in late 2015. Since then, his and Marcelo “Coldzera” David’s synergies have been great. go down in history. While TACO has been criticized for his poor performances recently, it can be seen that he has brought something to the respect of his teammates. Together that roster has become one of the strongest in CS:GO history and has remained at the top for the past two years. But nothing lasts forever. With everything repeating itself, something had to change and it was TACO who had to go. TACO wrote, “Today I close the final chapter of the greatest book I have ever written.”

However, he still wants to write more books. Even though the old book has ended, the drive, passion and ambition are still burning. When TACO left SK, he started looking for new opportunities. He tweeted:

“The first thing I have decided to do and I will start right away: Learn English

Playing a lot of FPL will also help me learn how to call positions in English. Right now, FPL and watching demos are all I have to practice. I don’t think I need a lot of time to learn everything!”

Then he had a “ask me about everything” post on reddit. And the answer that really stood out was when TACO was asked about his thoughts on North America’s CS scene, “Great organizations. The best organizations. Really cares about the fans and now has good players. But in my opinion the biggest problem is that all players want to be the best NA star, player or something like that, and things don’t work that way, at least according to My point. First the team, then the players. But you have to really believe it. Some people just pretend to believe it.”

It was a cynical answer and a good advertisement for him. The North American teams are very skilled, but they don’t have players who believe in the team above all else. They don’t have players who are willing to sacrifice to improve the team and show their teammates that view. TACO is such a player and he has won the Major twice and has a career to prove it. And luckily for Liquid as Lucas “steel” Lopes decided to leave the roster for personal reasons. With TACO accepting offers, this is a great time to recruit him and start chapter two of TACO.

As for Stewie2K, he chose the opposite path. When TACO moved from Brazil to North America, Stewie2K moved from North America to Brazil. For a player, he seems to have the right mindset for SK’s roster. He went up even though no one gave him a chance. A management error by Cloud 9 put them in a roster change situation with no alternatives in early 2016 so they gave Stewie2K a chance. Stewie2K not only took this opportunity, he also took over the team. He became the star of the team, captain, entry-fragger and brought Timothy “autimatic” Ta to the team. Together they become the most formidable duo in North America because Autoimatic’s vision of the game resembles Stewie2K and this duo is what has kept Cloud 9 the best team in North America for the past two years.

Cloud 9 then had an important roster change at the end of 2017 to bring in Tarik “tarik” Celik and Will “RUSH” Wierzba. This brought the team up to the point where they won the ELeague Boston Major in early 2018. Many hoped they could cement their place on the list of the best teams in the world but the Boston Major is one. miraculously with them. Everything was on Cloud 9’s side at the tournament since they made it through the group stage and they were back to themselves not long after the tournament. While the team was facing many problems and an opportunity to play for SK, Stewie2K left the team and pursued his dream of becoming the best player he could be. He said, “I want to experience a different in-game environment with players who have reached the top…It is the end of a big chapter in my life and a new chapter awaits.”

SK has been one of the best teams for the past few years and now Stewie2K has left Cloud 9 to prove his worth with his Brazilian teammates. They have one of the best captains of all time Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, one of the best aggressive players Fernando “fer” Alvarenga, and one of the best CS:GO players ever had Marcelo “Coldzera” “David. When given the opportunity to play alongside the best players CS:GO has, how could you say no?

So for Stewie2K this is also the end of the first chapter of his career. It started with saving Cloud 9 and leading the team to the top of North America and ultimately winning the Major. He will now have a new challenge to face, learn from, and become an even better player on SK’s roster. For TACO, his time with SK is over, but he will now bring his own experience, expertise, and synergies to Liquid. Both Stewie2K and TACO are attached to their former teams. Stewie2K with Cloud 9 and TACO with his teammates. Both are part of formidable duos: Stewie2K and Autimatic, Coldzera and TACO. But that’s in the past and it’s over and now it’s time for us to see what they’ll write up in the next chapter of their careers.

Source: VPESports