Apeks and kuben part ways; mithR appointed as new head coach

The Polish coach will no longer stand behind Apeks after a year with the team.

Apeks and Jakub "⁠kuben⁠" Gurczyński are parting ways, the organization has announced, citing differences in long-term development philosophies for the team. The change comes after a successful year together during which Apeks reached the semi-finals of the BLAST.tv Paris Major and broke into the top 10 in the world ranking.

Taking over the coaching role will be Torbjørn "⁠mithR⁠" Nyborg, formerly of MOUZ and most recently Apeks Rebels as well as an assistant in the first team. Due to the roster restrictions, the new skipper will not be allowed to stand behind the players during ESL Pro League matches. Nevertheless, he will travel with the team and oversee the preparations.

kuben leaves Apeks after receiving high praise from his players and former players. "I just look at him as a kind of mentor, your coach. It's nice to have someone like him around," Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius told HLTV at the Paris Major, while he was still an Apeks player. "You know he's always calm, he doesn't show emotion often. This is a good thing for a coach to have."

More recently, at the IEM Cologne Play-in, Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk also had high praise for the coach. "I think it's nice to have him because he doesn't just teach you CS, but he also teaches individually how you can get better as a player," he said. "He's the glue between the IGL and each teammate, between the organization and the management and the team.

"He's also a father figure and a mentor to many of us. He's just making sure that we play to the best of our abilities, that we're mentally prepared and prepared in and out of the game."

kuben, distinguished as a player and then as Virtus.pro's coach, joined Apeks during the team's rebuild in the summer of 2022. The first months didn't come without strife and roster changes, but in the end, the team became a success story by breaking into the world's top 10 and becoming a mainstay in the top 20.

"While it’s bittersweet to leave Apeks, I am immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together," kuben commented. "It was a big challenge when I joined Apeks as we started from scratch, and I'm leaving them being part of the best teams fighting in the biggest tournaments.

"My time here has been nothing short of extraordinary. Now it's time for a change, and I'm beyond excited to see new challenges and opportunities that wait for me. I wish Apeks the best of luck moving forward."

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
13/09/2023	Apeks 16:00 M80	Match

Apeks is currently on a bootcamp in Oslo, Norway, where the team is preparing for ESL Pro League. Their first official match without kuben will take place on Wednesday, September 13, against M80.

Apeks is now:

Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk
Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad
Tim "⁠nawwk⁠" Jonasson
Damjan "⁠kyxsan⁠" Stoilkovski
Aleksandar "⁠CacaNito⁠" Kjulukoski

Torbjørn "⁠mithR⁠" Nyborg (coach)