DreamHack Winter 2014 Major champion Richard ‘shox’ Papillon is without a team after being released by Apeks, the Norwegian organization has announced.
When Apeks announced shox to much fanfare on August 11, there was the feeling that the team had genuine dark-horse potential, with the French veteran joining a stacked roster that also included the ever-reliable Joakim ‘jkaem’ Myrbostad and former NIP AWPer Tim ‘nawwk’ Jonasson.
But all of that enthusiasm quickly turned into disappointment. Weeks later, Apeks pulled the team out of all tournaments after a string of disappointing performances.
Despite their blend of talent and experience, the team failed to qualify for the European RMR, ending shox’s perfect streak of Major appearances. At Fragadelphia 17, Apeks could not go beyond the semi-finals after losing to BIG Academy in the last-four stage of the North American LAN tournament.
— Apeks (@apeksgg) October 25, 2022
As the end of a Major cycle looms with IEM Rio on the horizon, Apeks have announced that shox will not be part of the squad moving forward, citing “a difference in vision on how to proceed with our in-game team development.”
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“After much deliberation, we have mutually agreed for shox to explore his options,” Apeks said in a statement. “Richard has been nothing short of a stellar professional throughout this process, and we are doing everything we can to help him find a home where he can thrive.”
shox, who had joined Apeks after a disappointing spell with Team Liquid, has not given any indication of what he wants to do next. But his sudden availability will certainly lead to rumblings of a possible ‘French Last Dance’ project alongside players like Kenny ‘kennyS’ Schrub and Nathan ‘NBK-‘ Schmitt. The latter, his teammate on the LDLC team that won the DreamHack Winter 2014 Major, is currently playing for Falcons.
Last month, Karmine Corp president Kamel ‘Kameto’ Kebir confirmed that the organization is interested in entering CS:GO ahead of the BLAST Major in Paris. He ruled out the possibility of signing a star-studded roster, adding that the organization could either put together a Last Dance project with veterans or sign a team that can grow over time.