FaZe Clan was recently eliminated from the running at the Esports World Cup, losing 0 – 2 against Natus Vincere and falling out of the tournament. The team left the competition with a $40,000 prize, but the loss threw extra concern in Robin ‘ropz’ Kool’s corner, with fans questioning where his mind was at as he landed his first negative event rating ever while flying the FaZe Clan banner.
Ropz Flops?
Ropz is one of the most recognisable players in the Counter-Strike space. He’s an accomplished competitor with more than $1.4 million in the bank from CS winnings, and in the last year alone, he has claimed the top spot at several prestigious events:
- IEM Chengdu ($100,000)
- CS Asia Championships 2023 ($250,000)
- Thunderpick World Championship 2023 ($250,000)
- IEM Sydney ($100,000)
- ESL Pro League S17 ($200,000)
- Intel Grand Slam Season 4 ($1,000,000)
During the Esports World Cup, ropz failed to go big, securing an HLTV rating of just 0.95, which is the lowest score he’s received in more than three years. In a breakdown, it was highlighted that in the last three months, ropz has managed to claw together an average rating of 1.07, which is quite a drop from his career average (1.15).
One major concern is that ropz has been slipping since Counter-Strike 2 was released. He has been outspoken on several occasions about the state of CS2, going so far as to say it sucks and he prefers CSGO, which was taken offline late last year to make room for the new version. As he’s getting increasingly frustrated, he seems to be losing motivation, and some fans have noted that he ‘still plays like it’s CSGO’.
Ropz was known as a solid movement-focused player, and it’s no big secret that Valve nerfed some of the more acquired movement tactics in CS2 – perhaps that has a lot to do with the downward trend.
For more Insider Gaming Esports, check out the news about Valorant’s Agent 26
