Kévin "Ex6TenZ" Droolans is officially retired from playing competitive Counter-Strike. He is the second notable representative of the French pro scene to call it quits in the last few days.
Ex6TenZ – the mind behind VeryGames
Ex6TenZ first made a name for himself as the leader of VeryGames – the main force in Counter-Strike: Source. VeryGames’ success continued once they made the switch to Global Offensive. The French-Belgian squad, led by their captain Ex6TenZ, were the only team to challenge Ninjas in Pyjamas on a consistent basis in 2013, taking a number of titles under the Swedes’ noses.
That roster of Ex6TenZ, Richard “shox” Papillon, Nathan “NBK” Schmitt, Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom, and Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux was considered to have huge potential, but the sudden collapse of VeryGames would start a series of events that would lead to their separation and Ex6TenZ’ ultimate downfall.
After VeryGames – a story of mediocrity
The gang first signed for Titan after the dissolution of VeryGames but couldn’t find the same success and by the fall of 2014, Ex6TenZ was the only one left of the old five. While his former mates shox, SmithZz and NBK would go on to win a Major that same year with LDLC at DreamHack Winter, their former captain’s career stagnated.
Ex6TenZ stayed with Titan for two years until he was drafted by G2 in February 2016. That move reunited him with shox, ScreaM and SmithZz, with Cédric “RpK” Guipouy serving as the fifth member. That lineup survived just one Major cycle and the Belgian veteran was quickly shipped to Team LDLC. Unfortunately, that team would be far from its DreamHack Winter 2014 fame for the duration of Ex6TenZ tenure.
A second stint with G2 in the latter half of 2018 was equally unsuccessful and almost as short as the first one. Ex6TenZ’ final attempt at something worth noting was with GamerLegion where he once again played with a former VeryGames teammate – ScreaM, but would once again fail to replicate the past glory. The final game of the in-game leader’s career was a 1-2 loss to OpTic Gaming on June 28, 2019.
The old French scene is fading
This week Ex6TenZ confirmed that he has officially retired, making him the second player from the French glory days to retire in just a matter of days. Earlier this week SmithZz also announced his playing days are over, leaving just 60% of the old VeryGames still active.
While SmithZz will focus on streaming in the future, his former IGL is looking to make the step into coaching. Considered one of the brightest minds of Counter-Strike, it would be interesting to see if the ideas he couldn’t bring to success in his latter playing years could be implemented better from outside the server.
