Following the demise of the ‘Juggernaut’ project, Complexity has officially announced its new CS:GO team, which will be based in North America.
Johnny ‘JT’ Theodosiou, Justin ‘FaNg’ Coakley, and Ricky ‘floppy’ Kemery, all of whom came over from Extra Salt, form the nucleus of the new Complexity team. The latter has only recently returned to CS:GO after a brief Valorant stint with Cloud9 Blue, whereas the other two have been with the team for a long time.
Michael ‘Grim’ Wince, fresh off a stint with Team Liquid, and AWPer Paytyn ‘junior’ Johnson, fresh off a disappointing stint with Brazilian side FURIA, will compete for the final two spots.
Following the demise of the ‘Juggernaut’ project — a period of heavy investment that saw the organization sign some of the best talents in the scene — the news ushers in a new era for Complexity in CS:GO.
Complexity soared to new heights after the additions of players like Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke, Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer, and Valentin ‘poizon’ Vasilev, but success was still sporadic in 2020 as the team struggled with consistency issues.
Things took a turn for the worse last year of 2021 and Complexity was unable to elicit the best performance from Justin ‘jks’ Savage, who was acquired in a high-profile deal from 100 Thieves, and also lost k0nfig to a wrist injury during the player break.
Luis ‘peacemaker’ Tadeu, the Brazilian coach, said the team was “falling apart” around him and that despite his best efforts, he couldn’t get the ship back on track.
The Juggernaut’s failure to qualify for PGL Major Stockholm was the final nail in the coffin: Complexity released k0nfig, blameF, poizon, and peacemaker before the end of the year, and sold es3tag to NIP as they began planning for the season of 2022.
Complexity did not intend to sign a North American team, as logical as it may seem. They were close to signing Copenhagen Flames, the surprise package of PGL Major Stockholm, in December, but negotiations broke down at the final stage.
The new Louvre Agreement signed by ESL’s partner teams until 2025 may have influenced Complexity’s decision to sign a North American roster. The new agreement includes “a tangible commitment and redoubling of efforts in the North American scene,” according to ESL, which has suffered a significant setback as a result of the exodus of players and organizations to Valorant.
In CS:GO, it’s the start of a new chapter for Complexity. Although the team is smaller than the Juggernaut, many believe that this signing will be a significant step toward restoring normalcy to the North American scene.