Return of Shoxie Jesus: Shox Returns to CSGO Competitive with an all-French Roster
French CS superstar Richard "Shox" Papillon will return to CSGO's competitive scene with an unnamed all-French roster. The roster will prepare for the Blast.tv Paris Major. The roster will also feature Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux, three newcomers, and a part-time coach.
The Legacy of Shox:
Richard "Shox" Papillon is a French CS royalty who has been playing since 2006. Starting in CS:Source, Shoxie became the game's best player. Playing for multiple Tier 1 rosters, including VeryGames, Titans, LDLC etc. Shox made a name for himself and was dubbed shoxiejesus for how good he was at the game.
When CSGO rolled around, Shox switched to CSGO along with the French scene and was amongst the world's strongest CS players. After jumping on multiple rosters from 2012-2015, he joined Team LDLC.com in 2015. He went on to win the Dreamhack winter 2014 Major with the team over Ninjas in Pyjamas. Team ENVY picked the team, and he won another trophy with the team before making his way to Titans along with SmithZz.
The titans did not achieve significant results but were later picked by G2 esports. G2 Esports transferred Scream and Rpk and brought in apEX, Nbk and KennyS, creating the French Superteam. The French Superteam went on to win multiple tournaments but failed to get their hands on a Major. In 2018, Shox was temporarily out of the team due to his injury and returned after three months. After playing for six months with the team, Shox transferred to Team Vitality and won multiple trophies. He was later transferred to Team Liquid, but it did not work, and after a brief stint on Apeks, stepped away from competing in CSGO.
Spending 16 years in the scene, Shox is one of the game's brightest and most prominent stars. Shox also currently holds the record for the most clutches out of any players, with 783 leading the category by 33 clutches. At the age of 30, Shox is still a great game player.
Shox's new journey:
Talking about his team, shox mentions offers from the Falcons, but he doesn't wish to redo something French CS tried and failed. The falcons currently field KennyS and Nbk, Shox's previous teammates. Team LDLC also approached him, but Shox decided against it to lead the team as the centerpiece.
The roster also bolsters SmithZz, Shox's long-time friend and French CS's brightest minds. SmithZz said this is not his return to competitive play but a temporary stand-in role until the three youngsters are stabilized, and then SmithZz can take up a managerial role.
The team features Jeremy "Kursy" Gast, a hybrid Awper, Ryan "Neityu" Aubry and finally, Paul "day0s" Niel. Vitality's Boris "flex0r" Latry will join the team as a Part-Time Assistant Coach. The roster will be playing in the EU qualifiers for the Blast TV Paris Major, and It will be a pleasure to see the roster achieve success.
The Shox's CSGO lineup will be as follows:
- Richard "Shox" Papillon
- Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux
- Jeremy "Kursy" Gast
- Ryan "Neityu" Aubry
- Paul "day0s" Niel
- Boris "flex0r" Latry (Assistant Coach)
Image Credits: Stephanie Lieske//ESL Gaming