The art of the pre-Major Hail Mary

The Majors are the pinnacle of the Counter-Strike world, the mountain peak that every single player spends their career trying to conquer. They are the most-watched events of the year, the tournaments offering the most enticing financial incentives, and most importantly the trophies that carry the most prestige.

So of course it makes sense that you want to make sure your roster is settled and stable ahead of these all-important tournaments, that the teamplay is rock solid as a result of hours of practice and officials, and that every player has had time to fully embed themselves within your structure and their roles.

On rare occasions, this generally accepted wisdom doesn’t quite fit the situation. Your roster is a mess, the team is one loss away from mentally imploding, or a player or two have seen their form fall off a cliff. So what do you do? Do you soldier on hoping you can somehow bring it all together when it matters, or do you pull the trigger on a risky move, go for a Hail Mary manoeuvre that will shake up the team and potentially revitalize your form for the Major?

Falcons turned to karrigan to bolster their hopes for the Cologne Major

Falcons opted for the latter ahead of IEM Cologne Major 2026, cracking apart a five-man roster that played together for almost a year to bring in one of the IGL greats, Finn “⁠karrigan⁠” Andersen, ahead of the marquee event in Germany.

The ‘Hail Mary’ label applies so fittingly to this move: there is risk, not only in changing up the roster less than two months from the Major’s opening game, but also in taking on karrigan after a steady multi-year decline in FaZe that ended in utter disaster. There is also a deliciously tempting potential payoff; that karrigan can reactivate his DNA as a caller and rally an immensely talented roster that could never quite make it work in the big games, turning them from chokers into clutch performers.

History only has a few examples of this type of risk being taken so close to the last moment, but we can dive into those examples to get a feel for the drama and spectacle that awaits us as Falcons try to ensure their Hail Mary makes it all the way to the end zone and delivers the result the organization are so desperately chasing.

FaZe s1mple – BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025

Let’s kick things off with one we all remember, and one karrigan certainly remembers well — Oleksandr “⁠s1mple⁠” Kostyliev’s stand-in stint for FaZe at the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025. If you’re looking for a super sub, someone who can come in and plaster some band-aids over the wounds in an ailing side, there are few better options than a player like s1mple. Not only is the Ukrainian superstar one of the greatest players to ever touch the game, both in terms of his peak but also his natural raw talent, he is also a mercurial type of AWPer. Instead of solidity, you get explosive potential that can turn a game on its head with a single piece of individual brilliance.

We recently saw the conclusion of the FaZe downfall, the team missing out on attendance at the upcoming Cologne Major, but the slide was already very apparent mid-way through 2025. The alchemical magic with which FaZe would claw their way out of tough situations, that they would use to conjure up answers to the most difficult questions in the most important games, had left them.

karrigan’s calling was no longer getting the job done, his players now seemingly unable to utilize the agency given to them, unable to create the right kind of chaos that he could mould into round wins. The addition of Jonathan “⁠EliGE⁠” Jablonowski wasn’t working out, the “growing pains” the American rifler spoke of feeling more and more like they would never go away. Perhaps most importantly, Helvijs “⁠broky⁠” Saukants’s form had dived off a cliff, the formerly clutch player now simply a liability more often than not.

As such, FaZe turned to a dormant superstar, swapping broky out for CS:GO’s GOAT s1mple. karrigan would admit FaZe was going “all in” ahead of their Major appearance, a bold maneuver that is truly fitting of the Hail Mary label. s1mple had been out of the professional game since the start of CS2, bar a couple of short loan stints with a woefully dysfunctional Falcons side, and there was no guarantee he would perform. It is also well known that the Ukrainian star is a demanding presence within the team, and can be difficult for some players to work with.

After a false start at IEM Dallas, where FaZe were forced to play with Felipe “⁠skullz⁠” Medeiros as a sub in place of Håvard “⁠rain⁠” Nygaard, s1mple and his new, temporary teammates turned up in Austin ready to see how far the Hail Mary was going to get them. The initial signs were mixed.

FaZe smashed HEROIC and TYLOO in BO1s, and considering the calibre FaZe had been losing to up to that point in the year, the likes of Complexity and GamerLegion, those were positive results. The team were, however, relatively soundly beaten by Legacy and 3DMAX in series play, and needed to squeak by MIBR to make Stage 3, putting a dampener on any positive vibes to be taken from their games.

s1mple triple turns key 2v5 in progression game against MIBR

How did s1mple play? It was a mixed bag. There were a number of signature high-impact moments, and it should perhaps come as little surprise that s1mple’s best game came against HEROIC. The two teams had faced off prior to the Major at IEM Dallas, where HEROIC claimed victory, but s1mple was unimpressed with his opponents, calling them “fucking bots” in a post-game vlog. Simon “⁠yxngstxr⁠” Boije said in a later interview he wanted to face FaZe at the Major to settle the beef. As the old adage goes, be careful what you wish for: s1mple posted an all-headshot 3K in the pistol round and never looked back, racking up a 1.89 rating by the end of the match.

s1mple also had some stinkers, it must be said, the worst coming in the progression series against 3DMAX. Considering the relatively close scorelines, 13-9 and 13-8, one can’t help but feel FaZe would have had a chance to win that series had s1mple managed better than a 0.75 rating. Regardless, FaZe made it into Stage 3 and achieved what was necessary for an organization of their calibre. Anything from here on out would be a bonus, proof that the Hail Mary was well and truly worth it.

FaZe found themselves smashed by Aurora in their opening BO1 as the result of a Ismailcan “⁠XANTARES⁠” Dörtkardeş masterclass, but bounced back with aplomb, powered by none other than s1mple himself. The legendary AWPer was excellent in a hard-fought win over MOUZ and was head and shoulders above anyone else on the server in a revenge victory over Legacy, getting his team to series play. Against The MongolZ he started slowly, 0-6 on the opening map, but powered up when FaZe needed him the most, posting clutches and impactful kills aplenty to guide the team into the playoffs of the Major.

Whilst The MongolZ would go on to qualify for the playoffs and knock FaZe out in the quarter-finals in Austin, the Hail Mary had been a rousing success. Plenty in the community were questioning whether FaZe would get out of Stage 2, let alone make the playoffs, and s1mple proved to be a key difference maker in the equation. The Ukrainian AWPer wasn’t always the dominator of old, but he showed flashes of his superlative level, and was a consistent force across the big moments FaZe needed to exceed their pre-tournament expectations.

Liquid s1mple – ESL One Cologne 2016

s1mple’s success with FaZe in Austin in 2025 was not the first time he had been called up to a team for a Hail Mary ahead of a Major. It wasn’t even his most rousing success in such a scenario. Rewind the clocks back to mid-2016, and s1mple is sitting on Liquid’s bench, his time in North America seemingly drawing to a close. Liquid’s status in NA was in question late in 2015 after a string of poor results, and they turned to Europe to rejuvenate their squad, courting Aleksi “⁠allu⁠” Jalli before turning their sights on one of the hottest prospects in the world, s1mple.

Liquid had taken a gamble bringing in s1mple, a player of obvious talent who struggled with a toxic image, having been immediately removed from his previous team, FlipSid3, for publicly refusing to play with some of his teammates after an ignominious exit in his last tournament with the squad.

The gamble had seemingly not paid off. s1mple’s time in North America was turbulent, think category five hurricane turbulent, with the Ukrainian grabbing headlines for his antics off the server as much as for his domination on it. He was caught in the middle of a bullying controversy that saw Ryan “⁠freakazoid⁠” Abadir fined a month of wages and sent to a bullying seminar, and eventually benched by the team due to homesickness and “internal issues.”

s1mple’s issues were so pronounced that his benching happened despite carrying the team to a Major semi-final in one of his last events on the main roster, where they choked two huge leads against Luminosity and were undone by Marcelo “⁠coldzera⁠” David’s legendary jumping AWP highlight on Mirage.

A fascinating chapter in the superstar’s history was drawing to a close, but there was still one final twist left to unfold. Liquid were once again reshuffling the roster after s1mple’s imminent departure, ditching Eric “⁠adreN⁠” Hoag for Jacob “⁠Pimp⁠” Winneche and swapping Kenneth “⁠koosta⁠” Suen for Josh “⁠jdm64⁠” Marzano, but they couldn’t finalize everything ahead of ESL One Cologne 2016. Thus they were forced to recall s1mple ahead of said Major and expectations were understandably low, given the team’s roster was in flux and s1mple was set to head out the door in the near future.

This was a different kind of Hail Mary, less a focused effort to win and more a lazy pass hurled towards the end zone out of necessity, rather than any expectation of a reception.

Instead of crashing out of the tournament, as many expected them to, Liquid somehow found a way to rise to the occasion, despite being dealt a tough group. An Envy side featuring the likes of Kenny “⁠kennyS⁠” Schrub and Dan “⁠apEX⁠” Madesclaire were cast aside in Liquid’s opener, and s1mple almost carried his team to a win over Virtus.pro in the following game, a VP sporting the legendary Polish squad. Liquid eventually secured their playoff berth, taking down a MOUZ squad headline by Nikola “⁠NiKo⁠” Kovač, and an unlikely deep run beckoned.

Liquid and s1mple would go on to concoct a playoff run that was the stuff of legends. First up were Natus Vincere, the iconic team from s1mple’s home region, a team he idolized and one he would go on to represent. After a strugglesome Train s1mple came alive, posting a whopping 15 frags on the notoriously difficult T side of Nuke to drag his team to a 1-1 series score, before utterly annihilating Natus Vincere on Cobblestone with 28 frags across 22 rounds of play.

Next came fnatic, who were then the third-ranked team in the world but had begun 2016 with four tournament wins on the bounce, and were a feared lineup in any match. s1mple etched his name in the history books with this series, not only topping the scoreboards across two hard-fought 16-13 maps, but pulling off the unforgettable falling no-scope 1v2 clutch on Cache, a play that would immortalize him in CS:GO with a graffiti under Heaven.

Somehow this cobbled-together Liquid lineup had done the unthinkable: fight their way to a Major grand final with victories over some of the best teams in the world and outright legendary lineups.

SK proved a step too far for Liquid, and ultimately there was no shame in losing to the Brazilians, who were the best team in the world and meta pioneers, powered by an all-conquering coldzera. The fairytale ending wasn’t to be, but regardless s1mple had thoroughly proven his worth and cemented himself as one of the world’s very best CS players, putting up an incredible performance in the style that would go on to define him, explosive and otherworldly in the plays he could pull off. The Hail Mary, thrown without a single expectation of success, had very nearly landed.

Virtus.pro FL1T – PGL Major Stockholm 2021

This was an underrated move, but one that certainly deserves mentioning. At the end of 2020 Virtus.pro’s Dzhami “⁠Jame⁠” Ali-led roster had truly cemented themselves on the world stage, building on the potential they had shown as AVANGAR in 2019 with their underdog run to the final of StarLadder Major Berlin. The squad won a string of tournaments including IEM New York CIS and Flashpoint 2 to close the year, affirming themselves as one of the best sides in their region and a force to be reckoned with in the Counter-Strike world.

Jame’s AVANGAR side, later signed by Virtus.pro, put themselves on the map with a historic underdog run to the final of StarLadder Major Berlin

Virtus.pro continued to build upon their success initially in 2021, winning cs_summit 7 to kick off the year before garnering their best result in VP colors yet, coming second at IEM Katowice 2021 whilst beating Vitality, Astralis and Liquid in the process, three of the world’s top-five teams. Unfortunately for Jame and his troops, they couldn’t capitalize on their position.

Underwhelming tournament results followed for the remainder of the online era, the only highlight coming in a second-place finish in EPIC League CIS to the ascendant Gambit, although that tournament run featured no win over truly top-tier opposition. The team struggled for playoff appearances, fell to teams that it seemed they should surely beat, and the consensus was growing that their early-year form was merely a flash in the pan.

After nearly a full year of patiently trying to make the roster work Virtus.pro pulled the trigger on a change with a Major only just around the corner, and it was Sanjar “⁠SANJI⁠” Kuliev who made way. Newer enjoyers of the CS pro scene will probably not know who SANJI is, and that’s completely reasonable because he was not a good performer statistically. He played all the worst roles, often serving as a piggy bank for Jame to delve into when he needed an AWP, a classic soldier who would run in first with no utility knowing he was simply fodder to be traded.

FL1T knocked Virtus.pro out of EPICENTER 2019, their debut tournament under their new tag

In came Evgenii “⁠FL1T⁠” Lebedev in a move that the organization’s CEO called a “temporary change,” one that was simply intended to “achieve the best possible result” at the Major. Quite literally a self-proclaimed Major Hail Mary, an attempt to arrest Virtus.pro’s slide to 12th in the HLTV world ranking ahead of the biggest tournament of the year.

FL1T was actually a player Virtus.pro were familiar with, as he had been part of a FORZE side that had upset Jame and company more than once in recent memory. FL1T eliminated Jame’s squad in their debut under the Virtus.pro banner, topping the scoreboard to send them packing from EPICENTER 2019, and was part of a couple more upset wins over the team in the years that followed.

Virtus.pro opted to grab their old nemesis and add him to their ranks ahead of one of the most important Majors of all time, PGL Stockholm 2021. The event carried with it an added weight, an even thicker air of importance than would usually be filling the arena of a CS Major, as it was the first Major since the return of LAN play.

The COVID-induced online era had finally ended mid-way through the year at IEM Cologne, and after over two years without a Major, Counter-Strike’s marquee event was finally back. The viewership was set to explode, the earnings from sticker capsules were set to explode, and getting deep into the Major was set to be more lucrative than ever before.

Virtus.pro’s Major began in relatively inauspicious fashion in the Challengers Stage, and FL1T was not having the best time. Virtus.paid-by-the-round laboured past paiN and Movistar Riders in their opening matches, two teams that were not expected to get much done in Sweden, and FL1T languished towards the bottom of the scoreboard in both instances.

In their first attempt at progression Virtus.pro would find themselves unable to overcome FaZe, but importantly FL1T looked far more comfortable, top-fragging for his side in a narrow loss on Mirage. Virtus.pro would get the job done and move on to the next stage with a 2-1 win over Spirit, and FL1T looked even better, finding himself right in the thick of things to help clinch his team’s map wins.

Considering their form up to this point, and their overall shape at the time, it seemed unlikely Virtus.pro would go any further: they’d struggled to get wins over underdog sides in the BO1s, and needed a regional matchup where they were the favorite to get into the next stage. Instead of exiting the tournament as was expected, they embarked upon a rollercoaster run to the playoffs of the event.

Virtus.pro kicked off the Legends Stage with a shock victory over world No. 3 Vitality, before finding themselves utterly trounced by eventual tournament winners Natus Vincere in their next game. FL1T’s fortunes reflected that of his team, as he posted a strong performance in the first game, before struggling badly in the second.

FL1T’s game-changing 4K flank vs. FaZe

Gambit eked out a 16-14 win over Virtus.pro in the next matchup, in a game where you looked at the scoreboard and wondered how VP made it so close. Fortunately for Virtus.pro they got the kindest draw possible in their first elimination bout and got over the line against MOUZ, albeit whilst needing multiple overtimes in the decider to do so.

With FaZe up against them in the final, do-or-die game of the stage, a team that had already beaten Virtus.pro at the event, the run was set to end. Virtus.pro instead emerged triumphant, beating out FaZe in classic Virtus.pro fashion, a drawn-out slog of a game.

FL1T had not been a superstar performer for Virtus.pro, but he had grown across the tournament into a relatively solid piece who would produce a standout map here or there, just enough to push his team over the edge and certainly an improvement on SANJI. In the intense series that had gotten Virtus.pro to the playoffs, against MOUZ and MOUZ, FL1T’s improvement over his predecessor was enough to make a difference.

Thus, PGL Major Stockholm was a rousing success for Virtus.pro, even if HEROIC ended their run in the quarter-finals. An unlikely top-eight finish was secured, FL1T’s addition proved worthwhile, and a strong foundation had been laid for the future. Such a strong foundation, in fact, that the core of this team would go on to win the IEM Rio Major a year later, with FL1T earning himself an EVP award at the tournament. A successful Hail Mary, wouldn’t you say?

MIBR zews – StarLadder Major Berlin 2019

By 2019, MIBR and the legendary Brazilian core of Fernando “⁠fer⁠” Alvarenga, Gabriel “⁠FalleN⁠” Toledo and coldzera were a waning force in the Counter-Strike world. The days of 2016 and 2017, when the Brazilians had been the best team in the world over the two years, won two Majors in 2016 and picked up a litany of further trophies, were long gone.

The drop off from 2017 to 2018 was fairly dramatic, the team going from winning the majority of Big Events they attended to not making a single Big Event grand final, and from there the slide continued gradually downwards. They tried different Brazilian constellations, experimented with an injection of North American talent in the form of Jake “⁠Stewie2K⁠” Yip and Tarik “⁠tarik⁠” Celik, but nothing seemed to work.

The consensus in the community was that something needed to change within the core, that the trio of FalleN, fer, and coldzera was stale and needed freshening up. It was no secret that coldzera had considered leaving his brothers in arms before 2019, the legendary rifler having pondered a move to Liquid to join his former teammate Epitacio “⁠TACO⁠” de Melo, but coldzera’s massive buyout proved an insurmountable stumbling block.

MIBR’s internal issues came to a head mid-way through 2019, when it came to light that coldzera had made the shocking request to be benched. The source told HLTV that he had become increasingly frustrated with the team’s poor results, and when combined with the reports in 2018 that he considered leaving due to differences with FalleN and fer in the vision for the team, the writing was very much on the wall.

coldzera became increasingly frustrated with MIBR’s struggles

What makes this a Hail Mary move from the point of view of MIBR, and more specifically FalleN and fer, is the fact that it was they who chose to play the Major without coldzera. The team’s coach at the time, Wilton “⁠zews⁠” Prado, confirmed that coldzera had offered to play out the season, including the Major, but that the team decided to move on to life without him right away. Instead of being a Hail Mary for the Major itself per se, it was aimed at lifting the team up in the long term, a choice they hoped would pay off further down the line.

At first, it seemed MIBR might have been onto something. With coach zews in the lineup they were surprisingly competitive in their first tournament sans-coldzera, picking up a win over Renegades and a draw with Cloud9 at BLAST Pro Series LA, and playing close games with the likes of FaZe and Liquid, the latter of which were the best team in the world at the time. They even made top four at IEM Chicago in the following event, albeit only via wins over a poor Envy squad and an all-French G2.

FalleN told HLTV of the excitement for the future bubbling within the team, the “great feeling” of “starting something fresh.” The team were surprisingly upbeat considering the departure of their star player, and it seemed the decision to play without coldzera might pay off far sooner than expected; the fresh air swept in with the change of personnel could herald something special at StarLadder Major Berlin.

Instead, MIBR flopped the Major badly. They picked up a single win over an equally waning Ninjas in Pyjamas squad before getting swept aside by every other opponent, losing to ENCE, G2 and Natus Vincere without much fight. Certainly they were presented with some difficult opponents, but the Major run was nonetheless a rough experience for the Brazilian side.

So, did MIBR go on to build something special following the departure of coldzera? No. The rest of 2019 brought a couple of top-fours at events with weaker fields, and 2020 saw the team slip further into obscurity, their HLTV ranking dropping as low as 21st as they struggled to make headway even in tier-two online events. FalleN and fer would depart at the end of the year for pastures new, and the all-conquering Brazilian core was fully broken apart.