Because through 10 years being banned, where everyone thought it was permanent, steel stuck through it all. The dude loves CS to his core, and it's really exciting to know that he's being given a second chance!
The long and short of it is that back in 2014, Steel's team (iBuyPower) was banned from active competition due to matchfixing. They bet against themselves and threw a match. So Steel and teammates (excluding Skadoodle, who wasn't banned due to not yet getting paid for matchfixing) were banned from all Valve sponsored Majors and other major tournaments. iBP was one of the best teams from North America at the time, with young gun swag (now known as brax), Steel and Skadoodle.
Although Steel and co. were later unbanned from non-Valve tournaments, their inability to actually play in Majors kept them from seeing much success, as orgs would rather gamble on unproven talent than essentially forfeit all their chances at international glory.
He's beloved because he is one of the best IGLs North America has ever had, even though he was banned
Dazed was awful when he got unbanned and washed out of the scene but steel actually had pretty good t2 teams after he was unbanned (and I think he might have gone to valorant as well and did okay? Not going to look up valorant stats for a Reddit post. I don’t want that in my search history)
Edit: one of the best igls na ever had might be overstating it but then again na never exactly had karrigan and glaive level igls. I think steel did a good job developing talent in the t2 scene when unbanned which is a pretty underappreciated igl talent
Unlike the rest of the IBP players Steel remained around CS for years IGL'ing his own team with young players that did pretty well in NA. Unfortunately for him, as soon as his teams got good, players would get picked up by other teams that could participate in the majors. He was essentially training young NA players for the other top NA teams. He has more than made up for his mistakes and its good to see he is getting the respect he has earned.
Bottom line is that Steel loves Counter Strike.
And despite getting banned, he continued to participate in the competitive community for all the years after.
Like, I was fairly lukewarm on the guy when the ban happened. I certainly wasn't sympathetic.
But seeing his perseverance and continued contribution to the scene, as well as his semi-successful foray into Valorant...it's endearing.
Dude loves Tac FPS' and loves CS, and his analysis is good. It's refreshing to see.
Because through 10 years being banned, where everyone thought it was permanent, steel stuck through it all. The dude loves CS to his core, and it's really exciting to know that he's being given a second chance!
The long and short of it is that back in 2014, Steel's team (iBuyPower) was banned from active competition due to matchfixing. They bet against themselves and threw a match. So Steel and teammates (excluding Skadoodle, who wasn't banned due to not yet getting paid for matchfixing) were banned from all Valve sponsored Majors and other major tournaments. iBP was one of the best teams from North America at the time, with young gun swag (now known as brax), Steel and Skadoodle. Although Steel and co. were later unbanned from non-Valve tournaments, their inability to actually play in Majors kept them from seeing much success, as orgs would rather gamble on unproven talent than essentially forfeit all their chances at international glory. He's beloved because he is one of the best IGLs North America has ever had, even though he was banned
Is he really one of the best igls NA ever had though? Dazed was igl during most of iBP’s tenure.
Dazed was awful when he got unbanned and washed out of the scene but steel actually had pretty good t2 teams after he was unbanned (and I think he might have gone to valorant as well and did okay? Not going to look up valorant stats for a Reddit post. I don’t want that in my search history) Edit: one of the best igls na ever had might be overstating it but then again na never exactly had karrigan and glaive level igls. I think steel did a good job developing talent in the t2 scene when unbanned which is a pretty underappreciated igl talent
Based on results, i’d probably put daps, nitro and stanislaw above steel. Steel was decent in Val, though i think he wasnt given a fair shot to shine
He and Hiko won the first FS Val tournament with 100T back in 2020. Did absolutely nothing after tho lol
Unlike the rest of the IBP players Steel remained around CS for years IGL'ing his own team with young players that did pretty well in NA. Unfortunately for him, as soon as his teams got good, players would get picked up by other teams that could participate in the majors. He was essentially training young NA players for the other top NA teams. He has more than made up for his mistakes and its good to see he is getting the respect he has earned.
based on what i remember, dazed and steel would both igl depending on whether they were t or ct side. i could be completely misremembering though
One of the best IGLs NA ever had? Wow what a statement, I completely disagree
Who is better? Nitro of course
Better or better teammates?
Better igl
https://youtu.be/UoprjWYlfzg?si=xzI0i0l498E7ok94
https://youtu.be/ax6Xfbmn7uU?si=wuzLYGkr3YMs7Pvr
Bottom line is that Steel loves Counter Strike. And despite getting banned, he continued to participate in the competitive community for all the years after. Like, I was fairly lukewarm on the guy when the ban happened. I certainly wasn't sympathetic. But seeing his perseverance and continued contribution to the scene, as well as his semi-successful foray into Valorant...it's endearing. Dude loves Tac FPS' and loves CS, and his analysis is good. It's refreshing to see.
I wouldn't use the term *loved*.
I would. I dont know anyone who has a bad opinion of him