Mention the team K23 to any veteran fan of competitive eSports and you're most likely to solicit a response that they indeed have heard of the name, but more than likely can not quite remember why.

Upset for the ages

Flashback to over three years ago. It is 2005, the WCG World Finals in Singapore. A controversial decision to utilize Counter-Strike: Source as the medium of competition sends shockwaves throughout a community. Many in attendance such as Team 3D had even qualified for the event playing 1.6 and were given only a short period of time to learn a new game. However, while critical of the new bastard child that had been recently introduced, the rampant bashing and outrage that would grow to divide fans had yet to fully rear its ugly head.

Enter K23, a moniker they derived from Kazakhstan 2030, a government program that aims to better their country and has since become a source of tremendous national pride. They were a humble group of kids that grew up together in their home town of Almaty, previous Kazakh capital from the days of the U.S.S.R.

Pikiner and K23 discuss an upcoming match

With no need for embellishment or exaggeration it is safe to say that K23 entered the tournament an unknown talent from a nation that few in the world can actually spell correctly. However they arrived, this close knit team left a household name in eSports after taking down a handful the top names in the world, receiving their only losses from a Team 3D that would continue to dominate source in the coming year.

Overcoming great odds...

Now over three years later, the K23 name has once again emerged from the remote mountains south of Russia and demanded attention. Reforming only a few months prior to the WCG Finals in Cologne, four of the original five members along with a friend they were close with in town, have managed to overcome obstacles that most well known teams would have a difficult time weathering.

Initially, the former member and now manager of Virtus.pro, Konstantin "Groove" Pikiner, traveled to Kazakhstan to aid the newly reformed team. Speaking with Pikiner during the group stage matches, the former team mentor went into further detail. "When they decided to become serious about competing again, they asked for my advice. I taught them how to best practice and effectively use the few chances they had to play with real teams", apparently his words were taken to heart.

In a region where they are literally the sole high level 1.6 team in existence, and on internet about as stable as the San Andreas fault, they occasionally manage to arrange scrims with squads in Russia where the triple digit pings don't completely inhibit them. However for the majority of practice time they continually will focus on strats by repeatedly running them against local pugs with virtually no experience in competition. In fact, up until just three days before flying to Cologne, they hadn't even played an actual team on LAN.

Practicing intensely against CBTeam of Norway, Virtus.pro, and a handful of Russian talents, K23 concentrated on adapting to a LAN environment. Cramming as much useful experience as they could into each day. "Being able to play in front of [K23 coach] Konstantine was very valuable. He would watch and tell us how to better handle certain situations", recalls Asset "Solaar" Sembiyev after clenching the second place finish within their group. "The LANs in Moscow also gave us a much needed opportunity to develop aim on lower pings with good teams".

Returning to the spotlight

Pikiner watches every K23 match closely

While luckily avoiding placement in a group of death scenario, K23 was assigned to compete against Team Alternate as well as mTw. With only two teams progressing out of the first stage and into the playoffs, K23 would need to pull off quite an upset. They would have their chance against the hometown German team. Heading into that match, much was on the mind of Sembiyev. "We were aware that if we could win against Alternate that our chances of making it to the playoffs were very high. There was quite a bit of pressure."

Tuscan was selected for that round. This was a map that K23 admittedly had a lower amount of practice on and exposure to. They hoped that Alternate would find themselves in a similar situation.

Down by three after their initial CT side half, things were shaping up better than expected. They opened up the second half solidly, taking the game to a tie at twelve points on both sides of the board. The energy of the team was growing and a subtle excitement was beginning to develop. Alternate took the following two rounds, thus putting K23 in the precarious position of a very possible tie or loss. Receiving either would almost guarantee elimination from the tournament.

K23 after securing a spot in the playoffs

It was then, at the brink of being sent home on the first day, that the tide turned in their favor in the form of an incredibly well timed eco round. With the score at fourteen to twelve in favor of Alternate, K23 was forced to save in order to buy the next round and hopefully force a tie. With five glocks they rushed banana hard, taking out a pushing defender and picking up his m4. "Once we had the gun we were able to take the bombsite and quickly plant", said Sembiyev. Now with three alive on both sides they scraped to defend their site. Alternate was unable to make a retake happen, the bomb went off and K23 had much needed money.

Riding that success, they were able to win out the remainder of the rounds and accomplish a feat no one could have reasonably foreseen. By the end of the day mTw had swept their group, giving Alternate two losses against just one for K23 and securing their playoff spot.

The real question now though is whether or not K23 can continue the underdog success that echoes of their infamous 2005 performance? Even if the smart money says no, this has never been a team known for following the conventional expectations.

GotFrag eSports

Counter-Strike: K23: Back in the Spotlight

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