Tarik set to join NRG Esports’ CS:GO roster after disappointing IEM Katowice Major exit

NRG had a disappointing performance at CS:GO‘s IEM Katowice Major and they are wasting no time trying to correct their roster as reports claim that they have made a swoop for former Cloud9 and MIBR star, Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik.

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After finishing in 16th place at the Major with a shock 0-3 record in the New Legends Stage, VP Esports is reporting that NRG are looking to swap Jacob ‘FugLy’ Medina for Tarik, who is currently an inactive member of Made in Brazil.

The latter half of 2018 and the start of 2019 has been rough for tarik, who was benched on MIBR after their international experiment failed to yield the desired results. However, the 23-year-old’s Major winning performance with Cloud9 back in January of 2018 means that his stock is still high.

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FugLy failed to stand out in Katowice, but was by no means NRG’s weakest player, outperforming both Damien ‘daps’ Steele and Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov in terms of raw statistics in the New Legends Stage.

• Read More: DeKay Debrief: IEM Katowice CS:GO Major New Legends Stage takeaways

However, daps is the team’s in-game leader and CeRq is the main AWPer and one of the star players despite his poor form in the Major – FugLy is, perhaps, the easiest member of the team to replace.

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NRG dropped all three matches in the New Legends Stage, losing to NiP and AVANGAR in best-of-one matches before falling in 2-0 fashion to their fellow North Americans, compLexity. 

• Read More: Belgian CS:GO star ScreaM headlines new international roster

This was in stark contrast to their 3-0 record in the New Challengers stage, where they appeared to be in cruise control. 

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Should the move come to fruition, there will be some rust for tarik to shake off as he returns from an inactive position, last appearing in an official match back in December 2018.

The clear talent is there however, with tarik being a key piece in the successful Cloud9 team that won 2018 ELEAGUE Boston Major. 

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In fact, the veteran was the in-game leader for Cloud9’s Major run, and his loose calling style and experience could be something that daps calls upon when NRG are struggling like they did in Katowice.

For the time being, this move is unconfirmed.