The truth about SpawN - Part 2*
- Written by chaOz (translated by rijaH)
A chance with the best
We are now in the fall of 2003 and 
SK.swe had - with very few changes in the lineup - been capable of dominating pretty much everything they threw themselves at. As mentioned earlier, the organisation had been fortunate enough to sign fisker and ahl from team9 in January 2003 which meant the lineup was:
- Michael 'ahl' Korduner
- Christer 'fisker' Eriksson
- Tommy 'Potti' Ingemarsson
- Emil 'HeatoN' Christensen
- Christoffer 'brunk' Forsberg
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In February 2003, HeatoN was elected the second best player in the world, just beaten by a certain Ola 'elemeNt' Moum, who - at the time - was playing in 
eoLithic. SK.swe - however - had found a lineup that worked and won everything they aimed for. However, the organisation behind the team was very much aware of how quickly you can go from success to failure in the business they were in. So as of June 2003 - after a long time of negotiation - it became possible to sign the best player in the world at the time, elemeNt, from eoL.GoL (eoLithic and GameOnline had merged). Regarding the decision of trying a six man lineup, manager of SK, Andreas 'bds' Thorstensson, said the following on the SK site:
There have been rumors floating around that we would kick someone from the team, but they are very much not true. We do believe in our players, that's why we use contracts. The idea now is to have a team consisting of six players. Not five players and one reserve. We believe that this will raise our motivation and variation even more.
The line-ups will vary depending on map and day. Sometimes you have a down period, sometimes the opposite. The idea is to time this so we always have a strong line-up. The rotation also creates more variation in the team, something we might have been lacking at times.
bds - June 2003
The new team captain elemeNt also proclaimed about the switch to SK.swe:
SK is a high ranked clan with an excellent future and some really skilled players. I am really looking forward in developing myself as a player with this team. And with the help of the sponsors I will be able to use the hardware and gaming gear so I can bring my gaming to a higher level.
elemeNt - July 2003
A noble thought by SK, that should prove more difficult to handle in practice, than in theory. HeatoN and Potti were obvious choices to keep in the lineup, due to their huge experience and skills, fisker and ahl represented the young talents on the team, and had played together since the time in 2easy. And with the addition of the best player in the world at the time, it wasn't hard to figure out who was going to be left out in the cold, despite bds' statement about a rotation system. brunk - who had a long and impressive career - wasn't selected for the lineup the ESWC qualifier and thus also the main tournament. brunk hoped things would change at the CPL Summer event two weeks later, but no. With SK.swe's victory at the CPL it was clear that brunk was a long way from securing a spot in the starting five. He did - however - get the chance to fight for a spot on the team to WCG, since elemeNt - being Norwegian - was unable to play with the team. brunk had to fight with a certain other stand-in, but reality was obvious. brunk's time in SK was over. In this relation, he said the following on SK's site:
I had a really great time in SK and will miss most of the SK members. Sad that things like this happens but nothing last forever. I will not quit CS but I have no clue where I will go now. Thanks to all of you who suported me through the hard times, SK and Michaela.
brunk - September 2003
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As mentioned, WCG was just around the corner, and rules dictated of course that a team had to consist of five players of the same nationality. We are now in the middle of September 2003 and SpawN had just been released from mTw.HLO. After having evaluated SpawN and brunk there were no doubt, and immediately following his departure from mTw.HLO, SpawN received an offer as a stand-in at SK.swe. Finally he got the chance he had been waiting for - and this was on a team with old friends, a few legends and not to mention the the best player in the world. This was the chance of a lifetime and SpawN had no intention of letting it go to waste.
About SpawN as a person and a player, bds said the following on SK's site:
Gaming-wise my first memories was from his time in 2easy (team9). I met him at CPL Winter 2002, back then he was a "rough diamond." Really skilled, but naturally without the routine and experience yet. 2003 came and SK had the dream team, with elemeNt as captain, we just had recently won CPL Summer.
WCG was coming close and we had to pick a firth Swedish player, and we all agreed to give SpawN a chance. He had a brief tryout together with brunk. Before made the decision I asked Abdi to email me the reason why we should pick him. His response was something like: "Pick me, I am sure we will win every event. If I suck, you can kick me, but I am sure we will win everything!" He wrote it in a humble kind of way.
bds - February 2008
The golden months
SK.swe's name was of course a well-known amongst anyone who had the least bit of interest in Counter-Strike and tournaments. The team was solid and every player had - in their own fashion -pushed the limits for what was possible at the time:
- Potti was the most experienced player in the world - highly intelligent and calculating with an excellent and steady aim and good tactical skills.
- HeatoN had taken the "spraying-technique" to a whole new level and was the best in the world to control the two primary rifles. He was highly technical skilled and used hours on his own game.
- ahl was well-known for his consistent performances. He almost never had an off-day, and everybody on the team knew that he would rise to the occasion and perform at 100% when needed.
- fisker was the primary AWP-player until elemeNt joined and the job was divided. fisker could move like no other on the team and with his high ingame-sensitivity perform the most incredible moves.
- elemeNt was the best all-round player in the world, whilst at the same time being the tactical mind in the beginning of SK.swe. In the same way as Potti, elemeNt was incredibly experienced from his time on different teams, and his decision-making in-game was always thought through and calibrated.
At this time SpawN was 17 years old, and had two years prior never even heard or played the game Counter-Strike. Now he got the chance on the undisputed best team in the world and he didn't go unnoticed. The Swedish WCG qualifier was dominated by two teams: SK.swe and Frontline[EYE]. However, in the final there was no competition. SK.swe destroyed EYE with 13 - 3 and the Swedish spot at WCG was secured. SpawN had played excellently throughout the qualifier and could now look forward to travelling to 
Seoul with SK. His time on the team was extended.
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Some of the top teams at WCG were SK.swe, 
Team3D and 
team9. The group stage was the first trial of strength and chance for the teams to evaluate eachother. SK.swe destroyed all opposition. Nine matches, nine victories and a surplus of 87 rounds. No other team came even close to that. After the group stage it was single elimination, best of three maps. Again SK.swe proved to be the strongest and in the final, it took only two maps against Team3D to achieve victory. The team didn't just go through the tournament undefeated - they hadn't lost a single map through the 13 matches of the tournament. A very impressive fact, and SpawN was indeed one of the main reasons for the team's success.
bds said the following regarding SpawN's performance on the SK site:
He stepped in at WCG and not only did he do that convincingly, he was brilliant. After the WCG gold it went on.
bds - February 2008
Potti had a comment on this aswell:
WCG was a big thing, I guess, but since four of us have played together for a long time, a good player will fit in easily. SpawN is an insanely good individual player, so he fit in very quickly.
Potti - November 2003
Only two days after the success at WCG, the team was attending the Swedish qualifier to the American Cyber X-Games. HeatoN chose to sit out, yet again leaving an open spot for SpawN - obviously with team captain elemeNt back. Once again SK.swe had to face the EYE-guys in the final (at this time known as gamepoint.AMD). Since GP.AMD came from the lower bracket, they had to win two maps to win the game. Although they won the first, SK.swe closed the match on the second. This was the first lost map for SK.swe in 40 matches!!
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After the qualifying victory, SK.swe and SpawN parted ways once again, but barely a month would pass, before he was needed again. We are now in October 2003. CPL Copenhagen was upcoming and elemeNt was too busy with school, to prepare for the event with the team. Though he would be on the sideline as a coach. SpawN was yet again called in and the dream combo from WCG was united once again. SK.swe was merciless. Despite the fact that the absolute best teams in Europe was attending in Copenhagen, SK.swe was just better. In the final they were facing - like in the CXG-qualifier - gamepoint.AMD and once again they were victorious, beating them 13 - 10. Again SpawN had played amazingly and had proven to be one of the best player in the world at that time. With the victory the tickets for CPL Winter were also secured, where a first place finish would put a emphatic end to an amazing year for the organisation. Again SK thanked SpawN for his performance and parted ways once again.
We are now in the middle of December 2003. CPL Winter in Dallas was imminent, and the official SK-lineup was "finally" going to play an event together. Of course, many were anxious to see if the team would be able to win the last big event - just as they had won everything else they had partispated in that year and secondly to see how the team would perform without SpawN. However, fate had different plans in store for SK.swe. Before the team left, bds got ill and when the five players arrived in Dallas, elemeNt, fisker and ahl also felt sick. For fisker it was to such a degree, that he was unable to play, and SK.swe found themselves in a terrible pinch. bds took action and asked SpawN, if he could get on the next plane to Dallas and play the last event of the year with SK.swe. Of course, he accepted.
Thus, SpawN went to his second CPL Winter-event. At this time, CPL's event were always stacked with top teams. The events was the greatest you could win as a Counter-Strike player and SK.swe had already won the CPL Summer event that year. A victory at CPL Winter would set the finishing touch, even though the team had already performed way better than any other at that time. Through the tournament SK.swe displayed their strength, but also lost quite a few rounds in the process. In the semifinals - however - they annihilated 
mousesports and had to face 
Team NoA in the final. At this time, NoA consisted of:
- Jonas 'bsl' Alsaker Vikan
- Lars 'Naikon' Olaisen
- Hallvar 'knoxville' Dehli
Griffin 'shaGuar' Benger - Michael 'Method' So
The match turned out to be another display of force from SK.swe's side, and left no doubts in anyone's mind about which team was the best in the world. 13 - 4 was the final score and SK.swe ended 2003 in style!
A permanent spot among the greatest
In retrospect, SpawN's performance in the past fall was incomparable. To join the best team in the world at that time as an outsider. A team that had had success all year and was used to exclusively victory, and to perform at the same level as them calls for something special. But SpawN didn't just play as well as the rest of the team - he was a key element behind the success of the team, regardless of who he replaced. But the extencive trial was now over and SpawN was rewarded accordingly. In SK they could no longer ignore this player, who had pulled through som many times for them. Shortly after CPL Winter, SpawN got the best Christmas present he could imagine: a spot in SK.swe.
- Ola 'elemeNt' Moum
- Michael 'ahl' Korduner
- Christer 'fisker' Eriksson
- Tommy 'Potti' Ingemarsson
- Emil 'HeatoN' Christensen
- Abdisamad 'SpawN' Mohamed
After CPL Winter, manager bds said the following about SpawNs spot in the team:
After his astonishing performance at the WCG, CPL Copenhagen and CPL Winter 2003 we feel that he fits the team perfectly. We will use a six man rotation depending on maps, and this will also secure us when sudden problems occur like the illness at CPL Winter.
A big welcome to the man with, most probably, the best aim in the world, SpawN!
bds - December 2003
In 2004, SpawN received even more honors for his performances the past year. He won the award for leep of the year, whilst elemeNt - second time in a row - won the award for best player of the year 2003, closely followed by SpawN and Potti. Apart from this, the start of 2004 was quite calm. The big events were awaiting, and SpawN passed the time with different mix teams at events like Rendezvous. elemeNt was however getting restless. His interest in SK.swe was rapidly declining, while school and spending time with his friends took most of his focus. Meanwhile, changes had been made in NoA. The team's veteran, bsl, wanted to move on and speculations about who the new fifth player were flowing. shaGuar confused people further with the following statement (pay close attention to the choice of words):
I'm not going to get all hyper and scream at the top of my lungs. We've kept you in the dark for too long and your eyes are beginning to look bloodshot. You've faced your pheers, refusing to self-destruct on all your digital panic.
This announcement is just around the corner, as we are xeqting our plan, so don't erupt like a volcano in anticipation. Many of you have spawned theories that the missing element of Team NoA could be a number of different people.
Soon we will turn the heat on the burning pot. Ti food is great, even though it is spelt Tai. Do not seek revenge for our secrecy, the sun... man... it will rise again.
shaGuar - April 2004
At least ten hints about who the new player could be, but in the end Devon 'Destructo' Domercq from Rival was signed. Meanwhile, the rumors continued about NoA wanting to add a sixth player to the lineup. Once again elemeNts name was brought up and on the 23rd of April 2004 the news came: elemeNt was finished in SK.swe. In the subsequent interviews it was obvious that it had been hard for him to be a part of a Swedish team, where the players had such close bonds, leaving him alone. What was to happen with elemeNt was unknown, as he was on a contract with SK. Thus, a potential transfer to NoA was made impossible, which bds was quick to point out in an interview with Fragbite:
No, he's (red. elemeNt) not been released. We're going to go all the way with the contract he signed.
His interest for the gaming has been instabile for the last couple of weeks and his school has taken more time than he expected, so we've hardly played with him for quite a while. I'm mostly sad for Ola, who really has no idea what he wants to do. I don't have any worries about SK right now. Alot of people think that Ola is our master of tactics, but to be honest, that was just in the beginning of his time in SK.
Ola is a nice guy who just doesn't know what he wants. But he must learn to be responsible for his own actions. You don't just sign a contract and then break it.
bds - May 2004
Shortly after this interview elemeNt was presented as new player in NoA. Afterwards weeks went on with negotiations, but NoA ended up buying out elemeNt of his contract with SK. A ground-breaking episode in eSport-history, as it was the first of its kind. For SK, this meant that the team that won WCG and CPL Copenhagen continued, in hopes of persecuting as much success as in the year before. This -however - turned out to be quite a challenge.
Nothing lasts forever
With the 2003 SK.swe had, it would be just as hard an act to maintaining the huge success throughout 2004, as it had been winning all the tournaments the past year. Besides SK.swe having to try and recreating the fantastic momentum they had, the rival teams were seriously getting in the game. The first real test for SK.swe in 2004 came at the ESWC qualifier. The team was naturally given the top seed, and people was very excited about seeing them in action again, and had no doubts regarding the outcome of the qualifier. Therefore it was a huge shock throughout the CS-community when SK.swe had to admit defeat in the last game of the group stage. caYa - who didn't even have a familiar name in their lineup - accomplished what no other team could do in fall of 2003 - beat SK.swe on LAN. 6 - 13 was the outcome, and even though SK.swe already had secured further participation in the qualifier, it was a big shock for everyone. However, the team got their act together and ended up winning the qualifier and taking one of the three Swedish spots at ESWC. However, this sign of weakness would turn out to be predictive for the 2004 the team was facing.
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At ESWC the pressure was huge. The year before, elemeNt had just joined the SK lineup, which meant that their 3rd place was excused. This time it was the five players that had crushed all opposition in the fall of 2003 and everyone was excited to see if they could withstand the pressure - knowing that every team would do anything to beat SK.swe. However in the group stage the team was flawless. Three victories and SK.swe moved on in first place. However in the quarterfinals SpawN & co. faced 
Virtus.pro and this was the final stop for the Swedes. 9 - 13 to the Russians, and yet again on the same cursed map from the qualifier: de_dust2. This meant that SK.swe was out of the tournament and their efforts of trying to continue the winning streak from 2003 had come to a halt. The team ended 5th - 8th in the tournament that The-Titans won. About the event, bds said the following to CS-nation a few weeks later:
Well we expected it to be well, and we always expect top 5, top 3 makes us happy, so that didn't happen but we still intend to play well and be one of the best teams in the world.
bds - June 2004
HeatoN didn't have many flattering things to say about ESWC, as he expressed it to Fragbite:
ESWC was the worst tournament ever with about 40 fps and chopper headphones on the stage, in which you couldn't hear shit.
HeatoN - August 2004
Along with the lack of success, the team had far more promotion tours to Asia, where the players -especially SpawN - were considered gods. A media circus that none of the players had seen before, and critics would suggest that this has had an impact on their lack of performance.
About a month after ESWC, SK.swe had their shot at redemption. CPL's events were the ones SK.swe had a firm grab on. Potti had - with the exception of CPL Winter 2002 - not participated at a CPL-event he didn't finish first at. Four of the players had already proven that they could win this CPL-event the part summer and expectations were therefore high. Same for the admins, who seeded the team first, just ahead of the rivals NoA, with former teammate elemeNt. However it wasn't NoA who would prove to be the first challenge for SK.swe, but The-Titans. In the semifinals the match went into numerous overtimes before a winner was found. 19-17 was the outcome in the favour of SK.swe, and in the final, their fellow countrymen EYEballers awaited. Of course, many anticipated a win for SK.swe, but also knew that it would be very close - especially because EYE had shown tremendous strength in the previous matches. Even though there were plenty of famous players on both teams, it was EYE's stand-in Fredrik 'IsKall' Persson, who turned out to be - well, icecold. At halftime the score was 7 - 5 in favour of EYE on de_inferno, and then IsKall went into action. Six rounds was all EYE needed to win the game and IsKall made sure that it would be the first six. With a final score of 16 - 1 he secured the victory for EYE.
[KGB]Team and )
fucapo vs. 
GH
TYS vs. 
RUS
FRA vs. 
SPA
Roccat