Oliver "orcl" Stubley takes a look at the few breakthrough players in the last couple of years, in a three part feature.

This article is the sole opinion of the author and does not represent that of Heaven Media or any other affiliates. Despite it being a few months later than the other two articles in the series, I have finally managed to finish off my list of "breakout" players from the game's history. I was not easy to decide who would make it into the last three names, and with a lot of talent emerging in the game recently I'm sure we will see many potential all star players that will be on these sorts of list in the future. Though many of you may think other names would be more worthy, I think you will acknowledge that they are all breakout talents in some form or another.

Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander

Nationality: Danish
Age: 16
Former Team(s): QwF, Cashville, Speedgaming, Dynamic-Gaming
Current Team: unu.AiN

Lukas began his Counter-Strike career about 3 years ago, initially in Counter-Strike: Source however he moved to its predecessor as that is where the competition was bigger at the time. After a few unsuccessful local Danish LANs in 1.6, gla1ve decided maybe the source engine would be his forte. After a short period of time, he found himself playing along side some of his associates from before his move to 1.6, Nille and MSL. This quickly turned into team Cashville, the team that saw Lukas' recognition increase dramatically. They went on to participate in one of their organisations Cashville Cups, which saw them take down the giants of mTw at the time, with gla1ve leading the charge pulling off some top quality performances. After this success, gla1ve was contacted by Rejin to be a part of QwF along side muffeb, whammy and mbe. This team went on to attend The Blast #2 where they took the silver medal for their efforts.

Lukas in action (Image courtesy of Arctic Nova)

In a very short space of time, Lukas had gone from an unknown Danish kid to a rising star due to his repeat performances both online and at TheBlast. His next test was to be at DSRack #2 which proved to be somewhat of a disappointment for him. Despite the attendance of a handful of top international talent, there were high hopes for his team PENTIA to make a mark and push for one of the higher positions however despite their narrows losses to both VERYGAMES and CKRAS, their efforts were overshadowed by the performances of team DSRack and flux` who went on to finish above them, leaving gla1ve with a 7/8th finish.

The disappointing finish didn't prove too costly for Lukas in the grand scheme of things and it wasn't long before he found himself alongside some of Denmark's more prominent names with team Dynamic Gaming - although it's widely reported that he was being considered for a spot in Reason Gaming, arguably the best team in the country shortly before linking up with D&G. After impressing most of the European scene online they headed into DSRack LAN 3 with a lot to prove. Despite yet another disappointing finish Lukas managed to turn more heads with some great performances and shortly afterwards formed Team Speedgaming, linking up with some of his old Cashville teammates.

The team headed into CPH Games as complete underdogs and shocked the scene with some excellent results, seeing them finish 5-8th overall at arguably the most competitive event of the year. Despite an excellent final placing the team parted ways not long after the event and Lukas was left to find a new home once more. This time around the search took longer than expected but after a few months on the sidelines he recently returned with team unu.AiN, alongside kev1n, hunden, JOKERN and frozt, a team who have already began to turn some heads.

I caught up with his teammate hunden to ask a few questions about Lukas and the Danish scene in general:

When did you first realise that Lukas was a player who had the ability to play at the top level?:

I realised he was something special at TheBlast #1 in 2010, where he won against my team pretty much single handedly. I think he made 20-30 frags on 3 maps on each side, he really destroyed us. It's Not funny to play against a player like him, that's one of the reasons we picked him up for our own team!

It seems to have taken him some time to finally break into the very top level of the Danish scene despite being a fantastic talent. Did he just lack the experience needed or do you think there are other reasons for that?:

Nah Lukas is one of the few good people in the CS:S scene. He didn't want to leave his teams in the past when a better offer came along and instead chose to stick by them and help them improve, that's why he didn't leave SpeedGaming or D&G until after they decided to fold. After TheBlast #1 it was too early for him to make the step up, and I think that's why both uG and us decided not to risk it.

What is it that sets Lukas apart from other players?:

He his ridiculous aim and his gamesense is very good - he brings a lot of new strats to the table. It also helps that he wants to spend about 40 hours per week playing the game!

Achievements to date:
TheBlast #2
13-16th DSRACK #1
13-16th CPH Games #1
HKLAN #4
TheBlast #3
5-8th CPH Games #2
7-8th DSRack LAN #2
13-16th DSRack LAN #3

Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom

Nationality: Belgian
Age: 18
Former Team(s): Lord, eLogic, RedLine, 3DMAX
Current Team: LDLC

One of the latest hot talents to come from that region in Europe is Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom. He is one of the few players capable of single handedly winning games and comes from the same school of CS:S as his former teammate shoxie. With arguably the best aim in Europe when on form and a brain that goes well beyond his years it's little wonder French teams have been queuing up to give this starlet another shot at the big time, of course it helps that he's one of the only people to actually beat VeryGames at LAN in the past year - that's a pretty exclusive club.

Having broke into the French scene with team RedLine many players and spectators began to question the legitimacy of Adil. After all, he had come from pretty much nowhere and was going toe to toe with some of the most respected and decorated players in the country. At his first major LAN event he managed to silence his critics with a dazzling performance, seeing off team redface and putting up a solid fight against VeryGames to earn second place at the French EPS Finals. Shortly afterwards the team folded and Adil decided to link up with mix team Lord - who would later go on to become eLogic.

ScreaM picking up his cheque (Image courtesy of Vakarm.net)

With eLogic he managed a highly respectable 3rd place finish at PXL 28 and yet another second place at the season nine EPS Finals. Once more though his team failed to keep it together long enough to challenge VeryGames and he was left looking for a new team, eventually finding a home in 3DMAX. As one of the up and coming French teams many were tipping 3DMAX for greatness, however nobody saw them getting off to the start they did at MaxLAN earlier this year. At their first major event the team stormed to first place over the mighty VeryGames with both ScreaM and shoxie proving to be the difference between the teams.

The success from that event seemed to get to the heads of the players though and as with most of his previous teams they parted ways soon after a third place finish at the Copenhagen Games. Since then ScreaM has linked up with team LDLC and on paper they should prove another stern test for the European elite.

I spoke to his competitor Nathan 'NBK' Schmitt about what makes him the player he is:

As a player who's also broke into the top level recently, what qualities do you need to have to make the step up from 'good player' to 'top player' in a scene that is considered one of the strongest in the world?:

When you want to break into the top top level, you have to be confident without being cocky. You have to listen carefully to the experienced players whilst keeping your own ideas and play-style, this is especially vital in a strong scene where lots of players can teach interesting things about the game.

How big a part did ScreaM play in 3DMAX's win over you guys at MaxLAN? Was he difficult to cope with?:

ScreaM did his job, he wasn't exceptional and I know he can play better! He proved that during the ESWC qualifiers where he was very good. Almost every player has good aim during a LAN-party. It's always difficult to play against the skilled players in a LAN environment.

What do you think it is about ScreaM that makes players fear him?:

I personally don't know, you should ask people who are afraid of him! :P People are probably fearing his aim which is sometimes insane; that's makes him difficult to play against sometimes :)

Achievements to date:
EPS VIII (redLine)
PXL 28 (LORD/eLogic)
EPS IX (LORD/eLogic)
CenturyLAN3 (mix)
MaxLan 2k11 (3DMAX)
Copenhagen Games 2011 (3DMAX)

Dan "Re1ease" Mullan

Nationality: English
Age: 18
Former Team(s): FuK, RTL, mousetek, intex, FMToxic, Team Dignitas, Power Gaming, mTw
Current Team: cotch

Dan 'Re1ease' Mullan has long since been the answer to 90% of the UK scene's moaning that players aren't given chances to shine. Having been plucked from the wilderness of Enemy Down and given a shot to show what he could do against the best Britain had to offer he has gone on to become one of the best players in Europe, and arguably the best Britain has produced. His first real breakout performance was at CLUK21 where his performance helped his team push the Zboard mix - featuring the likes of Luuk 'darky' Verink, David 'jafro' Davidson and Ollie 'crazycat' Netherton when he was still good - all the way in the grand final.

Re1ease in action in the final of i41

After that event he took the limelight once more with a fantastic performance against London Mint at the following i-series, picking up 30 frags against the CGS Franchise on de_nuke. Not long after his display at i-series he was picked up by Fragmasters Toxic, a team then considered the third best in the country behind the two CGS sides. It was with FMToxic and under the guidance of Luke 'KritikaL' Green that Dan blossomed from up and coming star to one of the best players in the country, with enough in his arsenal to defeat any team he came up against.

Him and his mentor were eventually picked up by Team Dignitas in the hope of rekindling the fire within the former CGS side, and after a solid performance at The eXperience it looked like a great decision from the team. The feel-good vibe didn't last too long though and after a disappointing 4th place finish at i37 they chose to go their separate ways. Shortly after Team Dignitas broke up Dan found himself alongside a who's who of UK CS:S in Power Gaming, with many questioning whether the rag-tag collection of players would gel.

After one event it was clear that they would as they breezed into a grand final at i38 - one of the most hotly contested events in some time - where they lost out to Reason Gaming after an intense 2-map battle. From there the team only improved and after winning the third season of the ESL Pro Series they flew out to Denmark to take part in the Copenhagen Games, an event which they should have won having made their way into the grand final undefeated. Only an inspired Imperial could stop their surge to the title and the Brits had to settle for second place.

His first major event win came at the ESL Nations Cup alongside team UK, where they overcame the challenge of both Germany and Denmark to secure first place. Shortly afterwards the titles came flying in for the youngster, winning two i-series in a row with FMToxic either side of a solid 4th place finish at 30P LAN with mTw. He is currently playing alongside his team FMToxic team under the name cotch, and if his recent performances are anything to go by he's still every bit the player he's shown he can be in the past.

I managed to ask Elliot 'wez' Walsh a few questions about Dan and how he has progressed through the years:

As someone who has played both with and against Dan on more than one occassion, would you rate him as one of the best players you've come up against?:

Yeah he's definitely one of the best I've come up against, thankfully I won't have to play against him much more though with his subway franchise opening soon!

Do you think it takes something special to become a top level player? Or can it be taught to more or less anyone who is willing to put in the time and effort?:

I think there's a certain amount of talent needed to reach the top but it's mainly just being willing to learn off other people and putting the time in to fix the flaws in your game.

Over the past year or so we've began to see Dan come into his own as a player, fragging, calling and doing the dirty work - how big an impact has he had on Toxic's performances in the past few months? Do you think they'd have been able to overcome you at i42 had he stuck with mTw?:

It's hard to really say as it would obviously depend on who they got to replace him. I must say though he was definitely one of their best players both times we played them, he always gets important picks and wins clutches when needed to.

Achievements to date:
4th: Multiplay's i34 (FMToxic)
EPS UK Season One (FMToxic)
4th: EPS UK Season Two (FMToxic)
Multiplay's i37 (Team Dignitas)
The eXperience 09' (Team Dignitas)
Multiplay's i38 (Power Gaming)
EMS Season V (Power Gaming)
EPS UK Season Three (Power Gaming)
CPH Games (Power Gaming)
EMS Season VI (Power Gaming
ESL Nations Cup 2011 (Team UK)
Multiplay's i41 (FMToxic)
EMS Season VII (FMToxic)
4th: 30P LAN (mTw)
Multiplay's i42 (FMToxic)