North Esports released a YouTube video today, Jan. 17, showcasing their new 2020 jersey. Surprisingly, the end of the video revealed a familiar face to the franchise. Joining North’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) roster is Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen.
North benches Jakob “JUGi” Hansen
Along with the news on MSL’s return, North also announced the release of Jakob “JUGi” Hansen. JUGi, who acted as AWP-er for North, could not find good form with the team. With MSL’s history of impactful AWP play previously, it can be said he will now be replacing JUGi.
Thank you, @JUGiOfficial!
Statement from Head of Esport Operations, Graham Pitt (@messioso):
"Jakob's departure from the starting roster is an unfortunate necessity to restore balance to a team that has been lacking strong and structured leadership." pic.twitter.com/nJLzwvEQnY
— North (@TheNorthIsHere) January 17, 2020
MSL’s return
MSL’s return to North will be his second appearance on the Danish roster. He has a long history with the organization, initially performing as in-game-leader for the Dignitas team that would eventually become North in January 2017.
North benched MSL in September 2018, instead signing Casper “cadiaN” Møller. During this time, it was confirmed that Nicklas “gade” Gade would also be joining the roster. His departure came after a period of inconsistency. MSL led North to triumph at DreamHack Masters Stockholm. HLTV.org and Betway then crowned MSL MVP for his strong performance. Unfortunately, the team’s success was cut short. A few days later at the FACEIT London Major, they were unable to live up to their previous performance.
After his release, MSL remained active. He joined Rogue in October 2018 and OpTic Gaming in March 2019. His run on OpTic brought a victory at DreamHack Open Summer 2019 in Sweden. After defeating Team Ancient at DreamHack in June 2019, OpTic disbanded, and MSL has not been playing.
During this time, North struggled to find the same success they achieved during MSL’s era. Additionally, the loss of star player Valdemar “valde” Bjørn VangsÃ¥ is a blow to the team as he has now joined OG.
North’s new CSGO roster debut
The popular in-game leader will make his debut against Sprout at the upcoming DreamHack Open Leipzig on Jan. 24, 2020. In February, the new roster will also be participating in DreamHack Open in Anaheim, CA.
North’s starting CSGO roster following the addition of MSL and benching of JUGi is:
- Philip “aizy” Aistrup
- Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjærbye
- Nicklas “gade” Gade
- René “cajunb” Borg
- Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen
- Torbjørn “mithR” Nyborg (coach)
- Jakob “JUGi” Hansen (bench)
