Pita Joins Copenhagen Flames As Head Coach

Copenhagen Flames have announced the signing of Faruk “pita” Pita, who will take over as the head coach of their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division. The Danish esports organization announced the news on Tuesday, August 24.

Pita Returns To Coaching

The 30-year-old has joined Copenhagen Flames to replace Daniel “djL” Narancic, who left the team in July. The Swedish-Bosnian strategist has been appointed as the new head coach, marking his return to coaching after a 19-month break.

Pita is a retired CS pro, who started his esports journey in January 2009. In the earlier years of his career, pita has played for several high-profile teams, including Fnatic, who he represented in 2010-2012.

In September 2012, pita transitioned to CS:GO and has since played for nine organizations. Some of his most notable stops were SK Gaming and Lemondogs, before making the switch to coaching in 2014.

His first coaching stint came with Ninjas in Pyjamas, which he joined in August 2014. While in charge of NiP, pita helped the team win their first and only CS:GO Major to date, the ESL One Cologne 2014.

Following the departure from the Swedish organization, pita joined CLG, where he spent seven months as a head coach. Pita eventually returned to pro play in December 2016 before returning back to a coaching role at NiP in February 2018.

Pita spent almost two years with NiP before he got released from his contract in January 2020 and was teamless since. Pita most recently made the headlines after ESIC handed him a 5.5-month ban due to the exploitation of the coaching bug.

Third Coaching Job

Although an experienced and successful coach, pita has only coached two teams to date. Still, he is one of the few coaches in the scene with a CS:GO Major title, and in the eyes of Copenhagen Flames, the right man to take the team to another level.

“I’m extremely pleased that we have been able to attach Faruk to our project,” said Daniel Vorborg, Head of Esports at Copenhagen Flames.

“It’s very difficult at our level to find coaches that can help us move to the next level. Faruk has a ton of experience, and just in a few days, he is already starting to have an impact on the team.”

Although many started to question Copenhagen Flames’ decision to sign a coach, who has been found guilty of exploiting the notorious coaching bug, Mr Vorborg explained the situation, stating that pita has shown good character when handling the situation.

“What Faruk did is not something we can align ourselves with, but neither can Faruk,” he said.

“We can all make mistakes, and while some are bigger than others, I think it speaks to Faruk’s character as a person how he has handled himself since making his mistake – having self-reported it to Valve back in 2018, speaking openly about it, not dodging any questions, and appearing on shows to discuss the matter.”

New Challenges Ahead

With a new head coach, Copenhagen Flames are now ready to begin their climb into the upper echelons of the CS:GO esports scene. The Danish squad are ranked 29th in the world, just three spots below the organization’s peak ranking of 26th.

Copenhagen Flames are currently competing in two tournaments – Gjirafa50 Masters League Season 2 and Malta Vibes Knockout Series #1. The Danes have yet to play a single match at Gjirafa50, where they’re waiting for their Swiss Stage opponents.

Meanwhile, Copenhagen Flames are already through into the semi-finals of Malta Vibes. There they’ll face off the winners of Lyngby Vikings vs. Entropiq.

At Malta Vibes, Copenhagen Flames already won against Imperial Esports (2-0), 1Win (2-0), O Plano (2-0), and Dignitas (2-1). Now, they’re only two steps away from claiming their second tournament title of the year and their first title since BLAST Rising 2021, which they won in May.