One of the greatest snipers in Counter-Strike history calls time.
Slovakian CS:GO and CS2 veteran Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács has announced he is hanging up the keyboard and mouse today. He puts an end to a career spanning nearly two decades in the esport.
Arguably one of the greatest players of all time never to win a CS Major, GuardiaN departs after nearly a year with BC.Game Esports both as a player and a coach. He may be parting ways with competitive CS, but the community won't be forgetting GuardiaN in a hurry.
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"The decision was not hard to make": GuardiaN cites CS2 burnout, new projects in farewell
GuardiaN announced his CS2 retirement in a video interview posted by his organization BC.Game on March 4. "I decided to retire from competitive play. The decision was not hard to make," he said.
"When you spend half of your life competing in tournaments and flying around the world you kind of get burned out." He added it had been difficult to find motivation toward the end of last season and into 2025, especially following his benching in January after the squad opted to move in a new direction.
He also cited age, with the 33-year-old deciding it was best now to move on to bigger and brighter projects. "I'm not the youngest one anymore. It was time to focus on something else in life; some streaming, or some business."
GuardiaN played in 14 Counter-Strike Majors and represented some of the biggest orgs in the space. He spent over five years at Natus Vincere across two stints but got closest to a major championship with FaZe at 2018's ELEAGUE Major.
Alongside his major appearances, GuardiaN has won 12 S-tier LAN titles, been awarded eight event MVPs, and appeared on HLTV's top 20 player list six years in a row through the mid-to-late 2010s. His highest finish on the top 20 chart was second in 2015.
Veteran fans will remember his one-versus-five against Fnatic at IEM Katowice 2018. It's a play he himself said was his favorite in his career. "I've been to Majors, I've been to finals, I've won tournaments, I've had amazing teammates... I've done it all," he said. "I don't have a Major trophy but it's not all it takes to be happy in a career."
GuardiaN's advice for those hoping to make it in CS2 today? No matter how far you have to go, you should never give up. "I come from Slovakia where esports was not great, but hopefully I showed that from such a small country you can come and achieve big things."
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