When FaZe Clan made the decision to re-sign a 31-year-old Finn ‘karrigan’ Andersen as its in-game leader, many Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans raised an eyebrow. But, after a whirlwind 18 months, the Dane has finally cemented his – and FaZe’s name – into the history books with a win at the PGL Antwerp Major 2022. This now officially makes him the oldest player in CS:GO to ever win a Major.
That title was previously held by Daniil ‘Zeus’ Teslenko, who, at the age of 29, took the PGL Major Krakow 2017 by storm with his team Gambit. karrigan, however, now holds that title at the grand old age of 32 – and it’s been a long time coming.
Karrigan was, of course, part of the ill-fated FaZe Clan team which blew a 15-9 lead on Inferno at the ELEAGUE Boston Major finals in 2018 against Cloud9. Many at the time believed karrigan’s chance to ever win a Major was over. However, the IGL never gave up and Antwerp proved to be the final stage – something he’s been working towards for years.
And it worked. With karrigan’s leadership on both Nuke and Inferno, Faze Clan was able to overcome Natus Vincere to lift the PGL Major trophy for the first time.
“I’m stronger than I was in Boston and I think I proved that today,” the Dane told James Banks on stage in a post-match interview. “All I wanted in my life is to win a Major, and we fucking did it here. I’m proud to call all these my teammates and I’m just so happy where I am right now.”
Karrigan has also attributed his win to his long-time girlfriend, who, after Boston, asked him to write down his dreams and challenged him to achieve them.
It’s one hell of a redemption arc for someone who came so close to winning a Major before and it’s one that’s deserved. However, given karrigan’s age, many are questioning just how long the Dane will continue before hanging up his keyboard and mouse after achieving the impossible.
Only time will tell, of course, but one thing’s clear: if he does retire, he’ll go down as one of the best leaders to ever grace the game.
