This Ropz 1V3 showcases his true potential
Every now and then new talent shakes up eSports and gets everyone talking, believer and skeptics alike. Robin “ropz” Kool emerged seemingly out of nowhere, as the 17 year old Estonian began demolishing most of Europe’s best talent in Faceit Pro League. Of course, it was only so long until an organization in desperate need of young blood to agitate their ranks would give him a shot, and mousesports would inevitably fit that criterion given the recent departure of the only player saving their relevance: Nikola “NiKo” Kovač.
Much like when Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik stepped in to the CLG lineup and started making noise, many outcries questioning the integrity of Ropz’s skill began to flood the realm of discussion surrounding this new found talent. Eyebrow-raising clips aside, one cannot doubt that Ropz is both mechanically and mentally skilled beyond many of today’s professional players, and this 1v3 against the struggling Swedes of NiP showcases that from start to finish.
Ropz times his movement from checkers into B-site perfectly in order to catch f0rest off-guard, as he may have thought his two teammates in vents would have maintained control of Ropz’s whereabouts. To follow this up, Ropz was smart enough to know that he should preeminently pull his smoke grenade to save him from dying with such low HP to the inevitable Molotov of NiP that would follow. Again, understanding both his low HP and that he would need to win two gunfights to win the match, Ropz played on the edge of the smoke twice hoping he would catch off guard the remaining two Ninjas, and did just that.
Admittedly, NiP played this situation horribly and should feel just the same about this play; however, in all sports great plays often spawn off of the back end a gaff from the opposition. This play from Ropz was no different, and if anything should have whatever remaining diehard mousesports fans very excited for their future. To say that Ropz is a replacement of NiKo is a stretch, but it won’t be too long before this player develops into one of, if not the world’s best.
