New names on the ESport scene

G2's former Counter-Strike 2 head coach, Jan "Swani" Müller, has retired from competitive play on Wednesday 3rd April.

The announcement comes less than four months after the 29-year-old coach left G2's CS2 roster with the intention of looking after himself as the job took a huge toll on him. All of this news was then immediately reflected on the esports betting odds.

During his hiatus, many fans wondered where Swani would end up next, as he helped G2 win both IEM Katowice in February 2023 and IEM Cologne in June 2023. These were the biggest trophies the organisation has ever lifted since entering the professional scene in 2015. However, Swani has decided to retire from the game early and turn over a new leaf.

"It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from Counter-Strike," Swani wrote on 3 April via X. "During my extended hiatus, I've had a lot of time to think about my next steps, and while I've had several interesting opportunities, I've decided it's best for me to focus on other aspects of my life."

In the announcement, Swani emphasised that the routine of a professional CS2 head coach was super exhausting for him throughout 2023, which meant he was away from home for over 180 days a year. This was the main reason for Swani's early retirement from the game.

While Swani shined the most in his final year as G2 Head Coach, he worked for several teams such as Team Liquid, SK Gaming, MIBR, NRG and FURIA as a team analyst between 2015 and 2019. It wasn't until 2021 that he was given a chance as head coach at G2, only finally accepting the role in 2022.

While it is impossible to adequately assess Swani's importance in the prestigious championships G2 has won, the international team has yet to win any tournaments under the current head coach. G2 most recently failed to make the playoffs at the IEM Katowice in February and the PGL Copenhagen Major in March, remaining one of the most traditional organisations on the scene that has never won a Valve-sponsored tournament.

Debut of the young shooter

All eyes at the Copenhagen Major were on Danil "donk" Kryshkovets, Team Spirit's star shooter, and he put in a performance that defied expectations. Team Spirit made it through the elimination phase with victories over Cloud9, Imperial and Natus Vincere to guarantee a place in the top eight. However, the up-and-coming stars were beaten 2-1 by FaZe in the quarter-finals.

Despite the early but respectable elimination, Donk leaves the tournament as the fifth best player of the event with an HLTV rating of 1.35 on eight cards. The stats show him to be an absolute monster, with a phenomenal performance in almost all areas. However, the one area where he shows weaknesses may have cost Spirit a better placing.

Donk's standout statistic, however, is his multi-kill rate. The 17-year-old scored more than one frag in 26.7% of all rounds played, a statistical anomaly at the top level. Many of these kills came in quick succession, which is a testament to his incredible spray control. Donk's ability to fend off site-takes sets Spirit's CT side apart from the pack. The team averaged a 59.1% CT win rate on its four maps in Demark. The team's less successful T side contributes to Donk's only disappointing metric in all of this.

This is also reflected in his clutch numbers. It's incredibly rare for Donk to be the last man standing for Spirit, and that was especially the case in the Copenhagen Major. He only had four opportunities in the clutch. Donk is solid when he's in that position, but his skills may be underutilised. This was probably then a conscious decision to send Donk into the game first.