G2 have surprised the Counter-Strike community by appointing a legendary player as their new head coach
G2 Esports have brought in their new head coach, who is all set to replace the outgoing Jan “Swani” Müller after the BLAST World Final 2023. Their new head coach doesn’t have any coaching experience, but he boasts an impressive resume regardless, having won multiple high-profile tournaments during the CS 1.6 and CSGO eras during his playing days. Whom did G2 appoint to spearhead their CS2 success? Read on to find out!
Who is the New G2 Head Coach?
Credit: G2 Esports
G2 have hired Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas as their new head coach. The Polish Counter-Strike legend, who capped off his storied 20-year player career in March, has penned a long-term deal with the team. Even though he will be joining the coaching staff right away, he will not officially succeed Swani before 2024. He will be flying to Dubai with G2 for the BLAST Premier World Final, but he will only be there as a coaching staff member.
Swani is set to oversee the IEM Cologne 2023 champions’ World Final mission and then step down from his role, as he had previously announced.
He knows how to win a Major 😏
Welcome @g5taz ❤️ pic.twitter.com/TBeWudezhL
— G2 CS (@G2CSGO) December 11, 2023
Eight months after retiring from professional gaming, TaZ steps into his inaugural coaching role to lead a team that is currently holding the fifth position in the HLTV rankings. The 37-year-old becomes the second member of the famed Virtus.pro core to transition into coaching post-retirement, following Filip “NEO” Kubski’s move to FaZe Clan in July.
TaZ will draw upon more than two decades of experience in the professional Counter-Strike scene as he plans to steer G2 to newer heights. While his last Major competition appearance was in 2018, his new role with G2 opens the door for a potential comeback to such grand stages in a few months.
The ESL Major Series One Katowice 2014 champion has a daunting challenge ahead of him, nonetheless, as he looks to begin a new chapter of his Counter-Strike career. Swani has inspired G2’s remarkable rise in the Counter-Strike scene in 2023, securing four S-Tier titles, including victories at IEM Katowice and Cologne. His departure coincides with a challenging period for G2 as they grapple with adjustments following the introduction of Nemanja “nexa” Isaković as the replacement for Justin “jks” Savage.
The recent decision to bench jks hasn’t paid off for the team. The German side has struggled against lower-ranked teams lately, suffering losses to Aurora Gaming and Guild Eagles at CCT Online Finals Five last week. Even though it was an offline event, G2’s below-par performance at the tournament was not ideal leading up to their BLAST World Final 2023 campaign.
G2 are set to make their LAN debut with nexa in the squad in the upcoming tournament. Their opening Group B match in Abu Dhabi will see them face off against a MOUZ squad that includes Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin as a stand-in. Group B also highlights the debut of a recently assembled FaZe roster featuring David “frozen” Čerňanský and a temporary Heroic lineup.
