Edouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux officially announced his retirement as a professional Counter Strike player. The 31 year old French had a stellar career spanning over 15 years playing Counter Strike Source and Counter Strike Global Offensive.
He formally announced his decision over a blog on Twitter recounting his journey over the years.
SmithZz debuted in 2005 as CS:S player and swiftly became one of the best players to ever touch the game.
His success with French organizations VeryGames and Team LDLC helped him to rise to the top of the scene.
After CS:GO was released in 2012, many professionals switched to the new game and so did SmithZz. SmithZz and VeryGames dominated the early days of CS:GO scene winning the ESL Major and StarLadder StarSeries. After finishing in the top 4 at DreamHack Winter Major in late 2013 logically SmithZz and VG wanted more.
Hanging around the constant roster changes, SmithZz found solace with LDLC in 2014. But they weren’t the favourites anymore, NIP had taken over. Placed in the same group at DreamHack Winter, LDLC rolled back the years to go undefeated in the group. They again faced NIP in the finals beating them once again in a stunning grand finale stretched to overtime.
SmithZz’s success at majors didn’t stop there. He again helped Team Envy a top 4 finish at the next major. His career started falling off from 2015 when they couldn’t muster a credible showing at the two majors that year. There was redemption in 2016 after the roster was picked up by G2. the roster came in second as the ESL Pro League Season 3 finals and winning the ECS Season 1 finals.
In 2017, SmithZz began a coaching role within the team. In the twilight of his career, SmithZz returned to the main lineup helping the team to a Top 8 finish at the ESL Pro LEague Season 8 finals.
Now officially retired, smithZz has already plans for the future with streaming to be a forefunt. His experience and the legacy left behind, he will always be an irreplaceable part of the community.
