Team Profile: SK Gaming Are The Preeminent Force In CS:GO Play
Published: Aug 3, 2017 - Last Updated: Jul 4, 2024
Those who follow Counter-Strike: Global Offensive even a little will associate one name with recent tournament dominance. Indeed, few teams have ever experienced the success SK Gaming has tasted as of late.
What is it that makes them so difficult to beat? In the following profile, we’ll dive into the history of the team and analyze their amazing convergence of players and talents.
The birth of SK Gaming
Although now primarily based in the North and South America qualifying zone, SK Gaming were founded in 1997 as a German Quake team. The team, then comprising four brothers and three of their friends, was originally from Oberhausen, Germany, and adopted the name SK Gaming as an abbreviation of “Schroet Kommando.”
The founding members were Griff, Godlike, Burke, Kane, Speed, Storch, and Ramses. The term “Schroet” came from one of their team members continually shouting the German word for “shrapnel” whenever they fired a double-barreled shotgun.
In their early years, SK Gaming underwent several iterations, including being one of the first clans to select an all-female team. After starting their quest for fame playing Quake, the team soon moved on to Counter-Strike and soon established themselves as one of the best teams in Germany.
After several years of performing well in tournaments, SK signed the SK Sweden Counter-Strike squad to contracts. This made them the first team in esports history to offer contracts to players.
Over the years, the SK CS:GO team has taken on players from a wide range of countries. But it’s the current crop of Brazilian players (signed in 2016) that is a force in the sport.
The current roster
- FalleN – Gabriel Toledo (Brz)
- Fer – Fernando Alvarenga (Brz)
- Coldzera – Marcelo David (Brz)
- TACO – Epitacio Pessoa (Brz)
- Felps – Joao Vasoncellos (Brz)
Performance in recent major tournaments
Ever since SK Gaming signed their Brazilian squad last year, their results have been among the most consistent in all of CS:GO history.
2016
- Esports Champions Series Season 1 Finals – Second place – ($125,000)
- ESL One – Cologne 2016 – First place – ($500,000)
- ESL One – New York 2016 – Third/fourth place – ($25,000)
- Epicenter 2016 – Third/fourth place – ($40,000)
- ESL Pro League Season 4 Finals – Second place – ($90,000)
- Intel Extreme Masters Oakland – Second place – ($53,000)
2017
- ELEAGUE Season 2 – Third/fourth place – ($60,000)
- Esports Championship Series Season 2 Finals – Third/fourth place – ($65,000)
- ELEAGUE Major 2017 – Third/fourth place – ($70,000)
- DreamHack Masters Las Vegas 2017 – Second place – ($100,000)
- CS_Summit – First place – ($63,750)
- Intel Extreme Masters XII Sydney – First place – ($100,000)
- Subaru Invitational – Second place – ($5,000)
- ESL Pro League Season 5 Finals – Third/fourth place – ($60,000)
- DreamHack Summer 2017 – First place – ($50,000)
- Esports Championship Series Season 3 Finals – First place – ($250,000)
- ESL One Cologne 2017 – First place – ($100,000)
Across the team’s existence, SK Gaming players have earned $2,590,624 from tournaments. Since February, the SK Gaming CS:GO team has won more than $600,000 in prize money.
Other notable facts
- In 2003, SK Gaming played in nine different events, winning seven and finishing third in the ClikArena and Electronic Sports World Cup events.
- SK Gaming are the first team to have won two ESL One Cologne events. Plus, they accomplished the feat in consecutive years, winning the first event against Team Liquid in 2016 and repeating that success against Cloud9 a few weeks ago.
What makes SK such a force?
So what is it about this mix of Brazilian players that makes them so difficult team to beat? First, the team possesses a couple superstars in the technical thinking of Fallen and the brilliance of Coldzera. The latter is considered one of the finest CS:GO players in the world, if not of all time.
Behind those two players is a group that has adapted their skills to each other. Fer is a great example. Once the star of the team, he now provides vital support that allows Coldzera to flourish. This willingness to sacrifice for the team is another hallmark of SK Gaming’s greatness.
SK is also terrific at adapting to changing circumstances. In February, the team let founding member fnx move to Immortals, so it could bring in Felps.
SK Gaming is simply greater than the sum of its parts, and they show no signs of faltering.
Since: August 10, 2015
