Yesterday we reported on Richard “shox” Papillon’s plans for a french “last dance” lineup, now he has officially teamed up with another familiar face, former teammate Edouard ‘SmithZz’ Dubourdeaux and three relatively unknown players to form a new lineup. Shox is looking to qualify for the BLAST.tv Paris Major that takes place in may.
Shox is back in the CS:GO world and recently announced on his stream that he is reuniting with former teammate Edouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux. The two pros, along with their three new colleagues Jeremy “kursy” Gast, Paul “Day0s” Niel and Ryan “Neityu” Aubry, will attempt to qualify for the upcoming BLAST.tv Major in Paris, France via open qualifiers and the Regional Major Ranking tournaments.
New team, new chance
The line-up is made up entirely of French players, with the three new players Day0s, Neityu and kursy being newcomers who have yet to show any notable success. The 34-year-old Boris “flex0r” Latry will help them as an assistant coach. The team doesn’t have a name yet.
For Shox, his new and own project means a return to the French scene, where he has already enjoyed great success. He was active in the French Counter-Strike scene for almost ten years, playing for VeryGames, Team Envy, G2, Titan, LDLC and Vitality, among others.
Shox & SmithZz are teaming up again with 3 young players! My nostalgic heart can't take it. 🥲
SmithZz will help the team at first, then move in staff role when needed, and let his place to a younger player.
The 3 other names will be announced tonight on @shoxCSGO stream. pic.twitter.com/z2gcfJX7dP
— neL (@neLendirekt) January 11, 2023
After spending almost a decade in the French scene, he wanted to experience something new and started looking for other opportunities internationally. In 2021, he moved to Team Liquid, however, things faltered there. He then moved to Apeks, but had lineup problems there as well, apparently because of different playing philosophies. Now he has set up his own team and wants to go all the way with them.
Shox reactivates SmithZz
SmithZz played in G2 for a long time and also moved to the coaching role part of the time. Three years ago, he left the team and took a break from competitive esports to devote himself to streaming full-time. Apparently, SmithZz’s time with the team as a player is temporary and he will most likely take on another role with the team in the future, such as coach or manager again, to make way for another player.
Sah mon pickem prend les memes droites que la maladie me met, les francais dano et matou sont out.
Et en plus on est pas a rio avec remy, ya rien qui va pic.twitter.com/Zjonei2hKq— Richard Papillon (@shoxCSGO) November 7, 2022
SmithZz explained that he is not trying to resurrect his playing career, but that he was brought in to bring additional experience to the team. He is expected to help guide and mold the three new players until the lineup is stable and he can move into another role. A very interesting approach that might make sense, in case they find a good replacement for him and have enough time to get everything going for the important stages of the Major qualification.