Legendary CSGO player and IGL Richard “Xizt” Landström has announced his retirement from competitive Counter-Strike. The 30-year-old mentioned in a statement that he will look forward to exploring opportunities in different roles like coach, manager or an analyst.
“My career has had its ups and downs, but looking back it’s been an amazing and unforgettable journey,” Xizt said, before thanking his teammates and fans for being a part of his 12-year long journey in the professional CS scene. “The future excites me and I’m not walking away from CS yet!”
The retirement of Xizt marks the end to an era of competitive CS. The former NiP star started participating in CS 1.6 tournaments and moved on to CS:GO, representing a number of big esports organizations including Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic, FaZe, and Dignitas.
Xizt also helped the legendary NiP CSGO roster to establish the historic 87-map win streak on LAN between September 2012 and April 2013. The streak was ended by Virtus Pro in April 2013.
“Being as unsuccessful as we were in fnatic and Dignitas, compared to earlier years in my career, really took a dent in me and my confidence,” Xizt said in an interview with HLTV.
However, fans can expect to see the star in a new role in the near future. “I am open to the opportunity to coach, do analytical work or team management, preferably in CS:GO where my expertise is,” Xizt said in the interview.