The 5 Craziest CS:GO Transfers That Almost Happened – Part 2

Following on from our first installment of the craziest CS:GO transfers that almost happened, we’re bringing our final installment, outlining our top 2 insane CS:GO transfers that would have changed the CS:GO scene forever.

2. KennyS to Natus Vincere

Even if someone doesn’t know Counter-Strike, they probably know KennyS. His name is synonymous with flashy plays, unbelievable clutches and inhuman flicks. Considered to be one of the best AWPers in the world, the French player has never left his country, despite offers from several major organisations.

However, the most surprising of all of these is Natus Vincere. Yes, really. According to the man himself, he was approached by the Ukrainian organisation at the end 2013. Offering a huge salary, the team wanted him as soon as possible, with in-game leader Zeus being particularly excited about the offer.

He attended a meeting with the directors of Na’Vi, all of whom were very keen for the move to take place. Zeus personally asked Kenny to join, believing that it would be the move that would make Na’Vi the best team in the world.

It gets stranger. The player he was set to replace was GuardiaN. At the time, considered to be either the best or second-best AWPer in the game (competing with Kenny for that title).

The transfer talks were ended due in part to Kenny’s English not being good enough at the time, and his reluctance to learn some Russian to communicate certain things in-game.

The team decided to stick with GuardiaN, and Kenny would go on to become one of the best AWPers of all-time, and even win a major, beating Na’Vi in that final. Counter-Strike history as we know it could have been vastly different if this move had happened. This was before Fnatic’s era or French dominance, both of which could have felt the knock-on effects from this transfer.

1. S1mple to MIBR

S1mple is, quite simply, the best player we’ve ever seen touch the game. He has almost perfected every aspect of the game, and does things that many would have previously thought out of the realms of possibility.

But, if you were judging him by his trophy cabinet alone and had no idea of any other aspect of his game, one could be forgiven for thinking of him as a great, but not greatest, player. He’s won a sizeable amount of championships, but has the major has always eluded him. After stints in North America and Eastern Europe, he settled in Na’Vi, where he’s played for the past two-and-a-half years.

Why doesn’t S1mple win more tournaments? It’s a debate that’s raged since he began playing. It’s testament to his individual skill that despite this anomaly there’s never been much of a question over how good he is. Of the three organisations he’s represented (Flipside Tactics, Team Liquid and Na’Vi), he hasn’t had the level of success that one might expect. No major and only a handful of big tournaments.

One of the most prevalent arguments is that his team lets him down. Often times, Na’Vi captain Zeus garners the most criticism, mostly for weird decisions made in-game, or for underperforming himself. Although much calmer than he used to be, S1mple can often be seen showing his frustration when, despite a great performance, his team lose.

But no one could have predicted what was happening behind the scenes in March of 2018. Apparently, S1mple and MIBR were in the advanced stages of talks for a transfer to the Brazilian organisation, replacing Taco.

For neutral fans, the prospect was delicious. The Undertaker and The Brazilian Terminator, together on the same team. They would be, almost certainly, unstoppable.

MIBR were willing to pay Natus Vincere’s asking price (somewhere in the region of $1.5 – 3 million), but there was a problem. The deal apparently including an option for the Brazilians to also buyout Russian player Flamie, a three-year veteran of the CIS organisation. Flamie had in-fact booked his plane tickets already, and was expecting to fly to South America within days. MIBR were not so keen. They had finished negotiations with S1mple, and he had all but joined the team, but Flamie was a different story

After several weeks of negotiations, they were unwilling to pay Flamie’s buyout price. While this was a blow, it didn’t really matter. After all, they had secured the services of S1mple. Again, reality doesn’t always work how you want it to. S1mple pulled out of the deal at the last second, and the whole fiasco was over.

It’s hard to say what would’ve transpired had S1mple gone to MIBR. At this time, FaZe’s European super-team were still thought of as the best in the world, and the thought of Niko, Olofmeister and GuardiaN going up against S1mple, Coldzera and FalleN is amazing. Would Astralis have begun their period of dominance in Marseille if they were forced to compete with this line-up? Would MIBR have struggled like they did in 2018? Would the age-old argument of firepower vs team-play be settled once and for all?

Like all of these transfers, it’s hard to say either way. The only timeline we know is this one, and these events never happened (although they did come astoundingly close).

But, if you ever feel down, just remember: There’s a universe out there where S1mple and Coldzera are playing on the same team against GeT_RiGhT and Seangares or Zeus and KennyS.