Israeli CS:GO superstar Spinx was told three years ago he wasn’t good enough to play in the FACEIT Pro League (FPL), a third-party matchmaking service for professional players and content creators, he said on Twitter today. But he kept grinding and is now a Major champion after winning the BLAST Paris Major with Vitality on May 21.
This speaks volumes to Spinx’s mentality toward the game and shows how the FPL circuit can gatekeep up-and-coming players instead of giving them tips and helping them develop into better players. Spinx, in particular, needed more assistance than the average FPL player since the Israeli scene has never produced a top-tier team and most of its good players leave to seek opportunities internationally.
Spinx started playing professionally in 2019 and joined c0ntact Gaming, his first notable team, in 2020. The project disbanded at the end of that year as the players failed to achieve anything newsworthy, but it was clear Spinx had potential.
He was then signed by ENCE alongside veteran in-game leader Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer in January 2021 and went on to become one of the best riflers in the world under Snappi’s leadership and the organization’s structure. Spinx was one of the main reasons ENCE became such a good team and finished as the runners-up at ESL Pro League season 15 in April 2022 and secured a top-four placing at the PGL Antwerp Major in May 2022 as he was their highest-rated player.
Spinx joined Vitality in August 2022 and helped turn them into one of the best squads in the world. He had a great impact from the get-go and helped them win ESL Pro League season 16 in October 2022.
Vitality had some shortcomings afterward and didn’t get back on their feet until Audric “JACKZ” Jug stood in for dupreeh at ESL Pro League season 17 in February and March 2023. The French rifler showed dupreeh how he should play, according to apEX, and from there, they won IEM Rio in April and most notably the BLAST Paris Major on May 21.
Three years after getting the boot from the FPL, Spinx finished the BLAST Paris Major as the third highest-rated player. He posted a superb 1.24 rating after 10 maps and led the team alongside ZywOo to win the final CS:GO Major.
