5W enter CS with team headlined by Thomas and joel

A new international lineup has been put together, featuring players from four different countries.

5W Gaming, a brand-new esports organization based in Bengaluru, India, have announced the signing of a Counter-Strike team captained by former Into the Breach member Thomas "⁠Thomas⁠" Utting.

The British player is one of 5W's headliners, along with Joel "⁠joel⁠" Holmlund, who leaves TSM amid reports that the North American organization is building a full Danish lineup.

joel averaged a jaw-dropping 1.62 rating during his first month on TSM but then seemingly hit a rough patch of form and saw his numbers dive (0.98 rating) during his final three months with the team.

After spending the last year on 500, former Monte player Hristiyan "⁠REDSTAR⁠" Pironkov will once again try his luck in an international project. He will be joined by fellow Bulgarian Deyvid "⁠h4rn⁠" Benchev, who has been without a team since leaving Pompa in December.

Rounding out the roster is Luca "⁠pr1metapz⁠" Voigt, who was part of the BIG Academy team that won ESEA Advanced Season 47 and finished second at the ESL Meisterschaft Autumn 2023 Finals.

Thomas told HLTV that he is excited to see how the team will evolve in the coming months, stating that it has "a lot of components that work well together."

"I've been looking forward to trying something different, and I think I've found that with this roster," he said. "As for expectations, we are currently only looking to develop before the RMR qualifiers by competing in as many online tournaments as possible.

"I would like to thank ITB for the great work we accomplished. It would not have been possible if not for the key staff, ownership and support in the organization. I also want to thank all the players we had, I truly wish them all the best of luck going forward."

5W have the following roster:

Thomas "⁠Thomas⁠" Utting
Hristiyan "⁠REDSTAR⁠" Pironkov
Deyvid "⁠h4rn⁠" Benchev
Joel "⁠joel⁠" Holmlund
Luca "⁠pr1metapz⁠" Voigt