XPERION NXT: The Counter-Strike 2 team - esports player foundation

The project

XPERION NXT is a joint project of XPERION and the esports player foundation. The joint goal is to develop talented young players in the game titles Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Valorant and EA FC in order to bring them into the focus of world-class organizations. The focus is not on short-term sporting success, but on creating an optimal development and performance environment.

The Counter-Strike 2 team

Younes "sheezy" Moussa

How it all began

Youne’s enthusiasm for Counter-Strike was sparked in 2017 by his older brother, the current professional esports player Karim “Krimbo” Moussa. He made his breakthrough early on and now competes in national and international tournaments for Berlin International Gaming, or BIG for short.

As Younes followed his brother’s growing success, it eventually spurred him on to play competitively too, so that he became active on the gaming platform FACEIT in 2022. After just six months, Younes reached the highest rank there, which only strengthened his resolve to become a professional esports player like his brother.

Sheezy’s credo: “Talk less, do more”

Even though he invests a lot of time in Counter-Strike 2 week after week, Younes has a very clear goal in mind: to successfully complete his A-levels by the summer. Once this goal has been achieved, he will strive to play his way up to the highest leagues and tournaments in order to eventually have the opportunity to compete together with his brother or even against him.

Short Facts

Role in the team:

Rifle/Anchor

Favorite Map:

Anubis

Favorite Weapon:

AK-47

Favorite Skin:

ak-47 wild lotus

Dream opponent:

BIG

Lucas "tlx" Fischbach

All good things come in threes

With the esports teams “SparX eSports” and “Entropy Future”, Lucas had already gone through two stages before he finally found his way to XPERION NXT. He was introduced to Counter-Strike by his father, whom he watched play at the age of 11. His interest was quickly aroused and he eventually tried his hand at the game himself. Lucas can now look back on around 10 years of gaming experience, 2 of which he has already spent in the professional arena.

The task of the lurker

In the team, Lucas takes on the role of the Lurker, whose job it is to provide the In-Game Leader, or IGL for short, with important information. He is on his own at the other end of the map and bears a great deal of responsibility, but also has a lot of creative freedom. By spotting small details and mistakes in the opponents, Lucas can even help his team to win the round and the game.

The goal

Lucas wants to advance to the ESEA Advanced and the 1st division of the DACH CS Masters, in addition to many other exciting tournaments. He also wants to play against his idol, who he has been looking up to for 4 years: Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz from BIG. In addition to esports, Lucas never loses sight of his education, which he hopes to successfully complete this year. Once he has achieved this, he will be able to focus fully on the Esports and his gaming career in Counter-Strike 2.

Short Facts

Role in the team:

Lurker

Favorite Map:

Overpass

Favorite Weapon:

AK-47

Favorite Skin:

Printstream

Dream opponent:

BIG

Robert "Rhyzar" van Treeck

Confidence is key

Robert approaches every round with this mindset, and in his role as Entry Fragger he needs it. As such, he is flexible in the game, but always in the middle of things, which means he often gets killed. In most games, he is the first to interact with the opponent and Robert can perform. In his best official so far, he achieved a K/D (kills/deaths) of 64/14 with a KPR (kills per round) of 1.83.

Outside Esports

In addition to CS2 and esports, Robert keeps fit by regularly kickboxing and cycling. He also used to enjoy traveling a lot, but since his active playing days in Counter-Strike, he rarely gets to do so. He is also fascinated by topics such as geography and geopolitics and is constantly acquiring new knowledge. This may even help him when he finishes his A-levels in the near future. Robert has already set his next goal for the time after that: to take part in a major (Valve Major Championship) in Counter-Strike 2.

Short Facts

Role in the team:

Entry Fragger

Favorite Map:

Ancient

Favorite Weapon:

AK-47

Favorite Skin:

AWP Lightning Strike

Dream opponent:

BIG

Pascal "pxsl" Schneider

Versatile talent, always focused

Pascal’s versatility extends throughout his life. He didn’t start playing Counter-Strike straight away in 2013, but League of Legends, inspired by his brother. Right from the start, he was looking for fixed teams and opportunities to play competitively, but as a minor at the time, this was not possible for him. Frustrated by the dependence on random players in LoL, he eventually switched to CS:GO . Pascal joined a team directly, played in the 2021 2nd division, then moved up to the 1st Division of the ESL Championship until he was even promoted to the ESEA Advanced was allowed to compete.

At the same time, Pascal is currently studying Applied Computer Science, spends a lot of his free time dealing with PCs, their components and optimization and is passionate about playing darts. One of his dreams is to play at the World Darts Championships at the Ally Pally in London.

His role in the team is that of AWP, which presupposes that he knows every role and is at least somewhat proficient in it. At times, Pascal may also fulfill the role of Caller, Entry, Support or Clutcher. As Pascal has always been involved with the game as a whole, this benefits him in many ways.

Work hard, play hard

Pascal approaches everything in his life with this motto. His current goal is to reach ESEA Advanced together with the team and successfully complete his studies. Otherwise, he would also love to play against Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, one of the best CS:GO players in the world. The two have had a score to settle since a practice match.

Short Facts

Role in the team:

AWP

Favorite Map:

Nuke

Favorite Weapon:

AWP

Favorite Skin:

AWP Graphite

Dream opponent:

Vitality

Jan "jansen" Westerheide

The IGL

As the in-game leader, Jan leads the team through every round, which means he has a lot of responsibility. With his great experience as a player and analyst , he knows how to master this. After all, Jan was previously part of one of the most successful German Counter-Strike Esports Orgs. BIG . As a player he achieved with the EPIC DUDES took 3rd place in the ESL Championship, defeated many a Major Winner in the FACEIT and proved its best performance in a victory over GamerLegion. The best prerequisites to lead the team and XPERION NXT to victory.

In his free time, Jan likes to train in the gym. He lives and plays according to his credo – Be savage not average – and constantly tries to improve by 1% every day.

Short Facts

Role in the team:

IGL

Favorite Map:

Anubis

Favorite Weapon:

AK-47

Favorite Skin:

Butterfly Fade

Dream opponent:

Bleed/BIG/FNATIC

More information, insights and news about XPERION NXT and the Counter-Strike 2 Esports Team can be found here:

https://esportsplayerfoundation.org/xperion-nxt/
https://www.mediamarkt.de/de/specials/xperion/xperion-nxt
https://twitter.com/XPERION_NXT