Figuring out the French: HLTV Confirmed episode 11 recap

The eleventh episode of our talkshow HLTV Confirmed focused heavily on the recent movements in the French scene. We've collected a series of highlights for those of you unable to catch the show live.

To give unique insight into the scene, former LDLC and Titan player and current analyst Mathieu "⁠Maniac⁠" Quiquerez joined the panel alongside Host Lars "Yossarian" and Senior Writer Zvonimir "Professeur" Burazin.

With G2 potentially making significant roster changes in the near future, LDLC having a good run at IEM Chicago and Vitality heading into their first LAN, the panel had a lot to discuss about the francophone scene in CS.

The episode started with a lengthy interview with Maniac, who shared his thoughts about the conversion from pro player to analyst, as the 28-year-old Swiss has been on the desk at some of the biggest events this summer.

Maniac revealed that he still occasionally gets contacted by people in the French scene who want to feel him out regarding a return to competitive play or even coaching:

On the morning before the show, which aired Monday night, vpesports.com dropped quite the bomb, as the site reported that Kévin "⁠Ex6TenZ⁠" Droolans and Edouard "⁠SmithZz⁠" Dubourdeaux might be replaced to bring new blood into G2. Maniac, who played alongside the former in-game leader in LDLC was originally shocked to hear that his old teammate might be getting the boot only five months after he was revealed as the new hope in the top French team:

The alleged decision to replace SmithZz and Ex6TenZ comes after G2 has accumulated a string of bad results recently, going out in groups at ESL One New York and cs_summit 3 and sitting at the bottom of the table in the European part of ECS Season 6.

Many have criticised the two players, along with the rest of the squad, and, from his current position as an analyst, Maniac assessed on the show that the team was trying to play 'too perfect' for their own good, instead of getting down the fundamentals first:

According to the vpesports.com report, coming into G2 would be the two 3DMAX members, hybrid player Lucas "⁠Lucky⁠" Chastang and the talented Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug. In spite of having his doubts about the replacement move, Maniac agreed with an HLTV Confirmed viewer who wrote in that bringing in new blood to the French scene is probably a healthy decision:

A player that never fails to get mentioned whenever the French scene and its roster moves are talked about is the Belgian star Adil "⁠ScreaM⁠" Benrlitom. The 24-year-old seems to have been left out of yet another French shuffle, with the panel agreeing that he is probably left with only two options at this point:

As the final topic concerning the French scene, the panel touched on the new Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt-lead Vitality, who have been having lukewarm results in several qualifiers, but who are going into their first LAN event at DreamHack Open Atlanta this weekend.

Spearheading the team in the fragging department is one of the biggest, if not the biggest talent in the world right now, Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut, the 18-year-old turning heads everywhere with his flashy-but-calm playstyle. On the show, Maniac had nothing but praise for the young French prodigy:

You can watch the full VOD of HLTV Confirmed's eleventh episode right here: