California-based organization 100 Thieves will make its return to competitive Counter-Strike following the signing of the Renegades roster, the team has confirmed.
100 Thieves return to CS:GO by picking up the Renegades' roster. (Image via 100 Thieves)
Back in July, 100 Thieves Founder and Owner Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag stated the organization would come back to the Counter-Strike “in full force” after a nearly three-year hiatus. In December 2017, 100 Thieves had tried its hand at CS:GO by signing the talented Immortals roster; although, a number of complications including the removal of Vito “kNgV-” Giuseppe for offensive language led to the sale of its players in January 2018.
The Renegades core had spent the last year together, with the likes of Justin “jks” Savage and in-game leader Aaron “AZR” Ward having played under the banner since 2015. The team had occupied a top ten position on HLTV.org’s global rankings for quite some time following an explosive Major playoff appearance at IEM Katowice in February – a first for the organization. Last month, the team outdid its former achievement by reaching the semifinal at the StarLadder Major, guaranteeing them a slot in the Legends Stage of the first 2020 Major.
Nadeshot reinforced his decision to come back to Counter-Strike in a YouTube video, saying: “This is a long-term play. We want to support not only our players and this team, but we want to help to support the CS:GO ecosystem so that this game continues to have more success as it already has in the last two decades.
“We had a lot of teasers on Twitter over the last few months because I have just been so genuinely excited to be a part of this community once again.
“I think Counter-Strike is the most passionate esports fanbase that I have been around. There is so much history, so many storylines, players and organizations who have been here before us that have laid out the groundwork for an incredible esports game.”
The former Renegades core will debut as 100 Thieves for the first time at IEM Beijing November 7-10th. Nadeshot’s newest unit will clash against a star-studded cast including Astralis, Evil Geniuses, Team Vitality and ENCE for US$250,000 in prize winnings.
With the signing of Renegades’ roster, 100 Thieves will field the following members:
Justin “jks” Savage
Aaron “AZR” Ward
Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad
Sean “Gratisfaction” Kaiwai
Jay “Liazz” Tregillgas
Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunović (coach)
