Overwatch organization Rogue is expanding its footprint to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, with the acquisition of European Counter-Strike squad Unity. That team will compete in its first competition under the Rogue banner at the upcoming Danish tournament Power-LAN on Aug. 26-28.
The team consists of Swiss, Danish and Estonian talent and is led by the likes of former Titan player and Team EnVyUs coach Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez. Alongside the remainder of the squad, Casper "cadiaN" Møller, Jesper "TENZKI" Plougmann, Nicolai "glace" Jensen and Kevin "HS" Tarn, he formed the team under the name Unity several weeks ago. They joined the Rogue banner after actively looking for a new home for several weeks.
"We're extremely excited to continue our journey as a team together with Rogue," Maniac tells ESPN.com. "I have been in contact with [their CEO] Frank for quite a while and always felt that he was a genuine person so as soon as the opportunity to join forces with him came along, this was something we had to explore. We look very much forward to cooperating with Rogue and we'll do our best to honor their trust."
The Counter-Strike squad will not only compete at the Power-LAN but will travel to Canada on Sept. 1-4 to compete at the Northern Arena event, where the team will meet the likes of Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, compLexity, Echo Fox, Immortals, Selfless, NRG Esports, Team SoloMid, OpTic Gaming, and Splyce, as well as fellow European competitor Team X.
Rogue is a relatively new organization to the esports space, forming on May 3 and picking up a European Overwatch team. Formed by former League Championship Series and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive organization Enemy co-owner Franklin "Frank" Villarreal, former Enemy general manager Sean "Hadaka" Mulryan, and a team of private investors, the team is not unfamiliar with the space.
"I'm extremely excited to welcome Maniac, Tenzki, cadiaN, HS, and glace to the Rogue family," Villarreal says. "I've been trying to work with Maniac for nearly a year and a half and finally have my chance. With Overwatch, Rogue has proven we can compete at the highest levels of competition, and I can't wait to prove the same in the more developed Counter Strike scene."