The AWPtical Wizard: The Tale Of kennyS (Part 2)

The AWP had changed. The team filled with named stars drastically underperformed. kennyS was on par to pass his prime. The possibility of never making it to the big stage visibly loomed over the horizon.

After underwhelming performances in tournaments leading up to the Major, another French shuffle happened. A trade occurred in shox and SmithZz moving from EnVyUs to Titan and kennyS and apEX moving the other direction. 

This was a last-ditch attempt for both teams to bring glory back to France, a trade a mere month before ESL One: Cologne 2015. 

The Final Blow (but of sweet relief)

Despite playing and adapting unexpectedly well with the new rendition of the AWP, kennyS had never found that success reflect in team performances in Titan. But that changed in EnVyUs. The last S-Tier tournament before the Cologne Major saw EnVyUs beat TSM 4 times and mousesports thrice to win the league-type tournament. They seemed ready, going into the Major. 

Starting the tournament on a high note by obliterating FlipSid3 Tactics 16-3, they moved into the Playoffs after a hard-earned win over LG. After beating NaVi and TSM again, they progressed to the Grand Finals to play the most dominant team of the CS:GO world of the time: fnatic. 

And that is where they would succumb, losing 2-0 to a solid fnatic. 

It was another heartbreak for kennyS, and though it was not one to cry about, he admitted crying hard backstage after a terrible second map on Cobblestone, probably the worst of kennyS’ career (He got merely 4 kills). Nevertheless, it was still one to be encouraged about. 2015 was almost his breaking point until the very last month of Major, and a miracle had struck. He had found a team worthy of his talents and he had reached the finals of a Major. This was a result to be happy about, at the fine mental tuning of not being complacent. 

In the first S-Tier tournament after the Major, things went off balance for a little while as EnVyUs exited a group of NiP and eventual winners, Virtus.Pro. But it did not take long for the Frenchmen to find back their footing, as they roared to two straight tournament wins, sandwiched between the next Dreamhack Cluj-Napoca Major and their group-stage exit in ESEA after the Cologne Major. 

To what would turn out to be a sweet prophecy, ones that had never truly come to kennyS before, EnVyUs defeated fnatic in the Grand Finals of the very last tournament before the DH Major. They had slaughtered their worst enemy, and they were en route to eternal glory.

Being grouped up with NaVi in the group stage of Dreamhack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015, they finished first, beating Team Dignitas and more importantly, NaVi themselves, which would turn out to be a foresight of its own.

kennyS and co. would meet some familiar faces in the Quarterfinals: fnatic. The team that had won both the Majors of the year were up against EnVyUs. fnatic took the first map which made it all the more interesting to see how EnVyUs had prepared. kennyS’ team would win the second map with the same scoreline that fnatic beat them the first time. An expected tiebreaking third map would follow. 

And EnVyUs absolutely obliterated fnatic. 13-2 on the half, EnVyUs would not drop a single round in the second half as they would close the game out with a humiliating score of 16-2. 

In the semis, EnVyUs would face kennyS’ future team, G2. After losing the first map, they fought hard deep into the 3rd overtime to grind out the second map, despite being 3 maps down in the second overtime. The third map was relatively breezy as EnVyUs closed out the game with a deserved win.

In the second consecutive Major Grand Finals, EnVyUs would be challenged by another familiar team. Their group stage adversary, NaVi, were back to contest. And it wasn’t as easy this time on the first map. kennyS’ and kennyS’ heroics alone would win them the map. seized got 32 kills, followed by GuardiaN’s 25 and Zeus and flamie lingering around the 20 mark. On the other hand, there was the savant French AWPer who stood in the midst of the numbers on 26, whilst the rest of his teammates all failed to surpass the 20. A nail-biting encounter would see EnVyUs somehow being 1-0 up in the Grand Finals. 

The second map barely lived up to the expectations created by the first one, as EnVyUs would easily steamroll over NaVi with a flawless 6-0 second half, to close out the map 16-5.

EnVyUs had won the Grand Finals. They were the champions. The emotional French genius that the world would stomp on and put down repeatedly all his life, starting from age 9 all the way to his young age of 20, had won over the ghosts that haunted him. He had thrown away the banning of his teammate, the backstabbing from his friend, the terrible group stage exits, and most importantly, the nerf of not the AWP, but him, and he had risen through it all higher than anyone would imagine. Being the MVP, kennyS had won the Major.

The sixth tear had been shed, and to kennyS’ sweet relief, it was one of joy, unlike the rest.

Epilogue

At only 20 years of age, kennyS had conquered the world with the almighty Major win. But the tournament brought more to him than he would imagine. It brought him salvation, sure, but it also started drawing curtains on his career. 

In both the next Majors, i.e., in both the 2016 Majors, EnVyUs would shockingly crash out of the Group Stage as the last-placed team. The first Major of 2017 would not be kind, either. After three straight humiliations, it was time again for a French shuffle. 

shox and kennyS had always somehow been in different teams, most of the time switching teams directly. But a new French super-squad was to be formed in G2, where shox and kennyS would finally be in the same roster, along with NBK-, bodyy, and apEX, of course. 

This was a dream roster; one to be afraid of, one to be feared from. Though the likes of ScreaM were left behind, there was clearly a boatload of talent, more like a luxury cruise load of it.

But as fate would have it, the cruise would fare like Titanic, sinking to the horror of the French scene.

In the 5 majors since the team was formed, G2 crashed out in the New Legends’ Stage (which is basically Group Stage) in all Majors but one.

In the first Major of 2018 in Boston, G2 topped the New Legends’ Stage 3-0 and things looked good. But in the first match of playoffs, they were beaten by Cloud9, who would go on to win the Major. 

The 2020 Major was canceled and come 2021, kennyS would be benched from the G2 roster as Bosnian brothers NiKo and huNter-, along with nexa, JackZz, and AmaNEk would steer the wheel. 

shox and apEX took their partnership to Vitality, a 27-year-old NBK- moved to OG and a 24-year-old bodyy dissolved into obscurity as the French megateam vanished in front of our own eyes. 

G2 did have fair success keeping the Majors aside, but for a team with players of that caliber, that was a very low benchmark. 

G2 is in new hands now and their recent 2021 performances mean that the organization nametag may have a fair chance at glory, but the yesteryears would still remain a haunting memory.

It’s been 6 years since kennyS’ Major win and he’s turned 26 now. Having flirted with VALORANT, he surely has no way back into the top-tier professional CS:GO scene, but that unlikeliness resembles any of his insane clutches, where we wouldn’t expect holy magic.

CS:GO or not, kennyS definitely has forced his way into the history books of esports for his godly talent. 

From the land of us mortals, he is a faraway star, dying, but not without illuminating the universe with a light that would shine a bright hue for ages to come.