French CS:GO Is Agonising: the Major In Paris Can Start Without Local Teams

French CS:GO Is Agonising: the Major In Paris Can Start Without Local Teams

Only one French team qualified for the European RMR.

The closed qualifiers at RMR have ended, and the list of participants in the event has been determined. Most of the attention was focused on the European qualification, namely the French teams. The Major will be held in Paris, so French clubs and players are most interested in qualifying.

Due to the announcement of the BLAST.tv Paris Major, there was a reshuffle on the French stage, and Richard shox Papillon even assembled a new team. However, the result could have been better - only one French team passed the qualification cycle. So what is happening on the French scene, and is there hope?

What French teams took part in the qualifiers?

A total of 5 French teams participated in the qualifiers, such as Nakama, LDLC, HEET, GenOne, Mixfits, and Falcons. Unfortunately, only the Falcons reached RMR. The rest of the results leave much to be desired. HEET remained one match from the last stage of the qualifiers, LDLC and Mixfits were eliminated from the qualifiers 1-3, GenOne, and Nakama didn't even pass the open qualifiers.

And this is only the qualification for RMR, and to pass the Major, you need to get into the top 8 of the more competitive and challenging RMR. Therefore, it is far from a fact that the Falcons will go to the Major, then not a single mono-national French team will go to Paris. What happened to the French scene?

Lack of leaders

French journalist Guillaume NeL Canelo, who has been following the local scene for several years, believes that the French lack leaders. At the moment, the "golden period" has passed on the stage. All the old players are no longer at their peak but are rather playing catch-up. That's why the scene is not just destroyed but doesn't exist.

I believe the French scene is sh*t simply because it is the end of the "golden generation": shox, kennyS, NBK, apEX, Ex6TenZ, Rpk, SmithZz, Happy, Scream... Now the French scene is where it was before them, like in CS 1.6 or at the beginning of Source: nowhere.
Guillaume neL Canelo

And neL noticed that the French scene is suffering. The old players are far from the level they were in 2014-2017. However, is this the only problem?

Lack of new talents

When was the last time we saw a talented newcomer from France? Most people will remember only Mathieu ZywOo Erbau, and they will not be mistaken: the last loud appearance of the Frenchman on the stage belongs to the sniper. And who is now on rosters of the local scene?

In addition to ZywOo, Kevin misutaa Rabier and Jordan Python Münch-Förle appeared on the scene in the last few years. Both had time to show themselves well, Misutaa even performed on the tier-1 stage for a long time, and both are now part of the Falcons. Perhaps, this is one of the main reasons the team passed the closed qualification.

ZywOo is one of the few young talents in France
ZywOo is one of the few young talents in France

Paul day0s Nil, who is at the top of the European FACEIT and was banned from ESEA at the end of last year, was one of the most famous players recently, which allowed him to participate in professional tournaments. However, it is worth mentioning that he was banned for cheating.

And everything would be fine, but we should consider the age of day0s. He is really talented, but not a young talent anymore. The player turned 25 years old, and he had very little time to make a name and get into the top team. He played qualifying for Nakama, whose roster is the main proof that there are no young players on the French scene.

Eduard SmithZz Dubordo, who is already 34 years old, joined the shox team. Didn't shox find anyone younger? Apparently, he is because it is especially striking if you look at the current lineups of all French teams. Out of 25 players in five teams, only three performers are under 20. While the global scene is rapidly getting younger, big clubs sign players under 20 and under 18. The average age of players among French teams is 24.2 years old, which kills the scene.

There are many old players on the French stage
There are many old players on the French stage

One of the reasons for the lack of talent on the French scene is VALORANT. During the quarantine and the release of the competitor CS:GO, many young and old players switched to the new discipline, so the scene lost a huge amount of talent, and its average age increased.

What to do to raise the scene?

Not a single French club has an academy that would develop players from a young age. And there lies the problem of lack of progress. There are talents, but no system would find them and develop their skills. Because of this, the scene stagnates.

To return to the world level, French clubs need to open academies for young players who would select talents on the local scene and bring their skills to the Tier-1 level.

And there is already a basis for this because there are at least three pretty large clubs in France: LDLC, Falcons, and HEET. Now Nakama and GenOne are added to the list. There are already organizations. Only the players that these clubs have to grow are left.

Which club can be competitive on the world tier-1 stage?

Apart from Vitality's international lineup with French players who are among the favorites for the Major, the only mono-national French team capable of competing for a place at the Paris event are the Falcons, with Kenny kennys Shrab in the lineup. At the beginning of the season, the team took advantage of the collapse of HEET and successfully signed Alexandre bodyy Pianaro, which strengthened the team. And the Falcons performed well in the closed qualification, finishing it with a 3-1 record.

KennyS is one of France's last hopes
KennyS is one of France's last hopes

The next test for them will be the European RMR, which the Falcons can easily pass. Then it will be a great success for the French stage, given its current state.

French CS is now really in a challenging position. There are no new players, and the old ones are gradually ending their careers. Therefore, clubs urgently need to take care of and build a system for developing young talents. Otherwise, nothing will be left of the scene in a couple of years.

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