Where are they now: znajder

A story of euphoric highs and crushing lows; see where life has taken znajder, one of the formative figures of Swedish CS:GO.

Sweden reigned supreme in the first few years of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, as Swedish teams claimed four out of the first six Majors and established two dynasties under the banners of fnatic and Ninjas in Pyjamas.

While names such as Olof "⁠olofmeister⁠" Kajbjer or Patrik "⁠f0rest⁠" Lindberg rightfully took the spotlight, there are a few players whose accolades and contributions shouldn’t be forgotten.

One of these players is Andreas "⁠znajder⁠" Lindberg, who introduced himself in CS:GO by taking down Ninjas in Pyjamas in the THOR Open qualifier. This was the Swedish giants' first defeat ever.

Only a year later, under the colors of fnatic, he raised the trophy at DreamHack Winter 2013, CS:GO’s inaugural Major, engraving his name in history as one of the first Major champions alongside Jonatan "⁠Devilwalk⁠" Lundberg, Markus "⁠pronax⁠" Wallsten, Robin "⁠flusha⁠" Rönnquist, and Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell.

After being removed from fnatic in 2014, znajder’s promising future as a Swedish star started to wane amid a turbulent period filled with personal struggles, poor decisions, and unfortunate events. Cycling through multiple teams and lineups over two years, znajder found stability once again when he linked up with his former captain, pronax, and returned to the front line of competition under GODSENT.

znajder has been officially retired for three years, but in truth, he made his peace with esports even earlier. "I already quit overnight in 2019," he recalls. "I decided that I wanted to work instead. Lemondogs was more about getting some old friends together who are good at Counter-Strike."

When asked why he quit, znajder explained that the uncertainty, lack of long-term opportunities, and the industry's economic state pushed him to pursue a regular job. For example, he stated that he is owed approximately 30,000 EUR to this day for his services as a professional, an experience shared by many other players from that time.

Following the gradual erosion of GODSENT after the ill-fated swap with fnatic that had the two organizations trade flusha and JW for Simon "⁠twist⁠" Eliasson and Joakim "⁠disco doplan⁠" Gidetun, znajder had brief stints with an international EURONICS side and a Swedish team, Ancient, but neither project had the same gravitas or momentum as GODSENT.

Ultimately, znajder made his last appearance in CS:GO under Lemondogs, which, as he mentioned, was simply a fun project — a last dance with close friends.

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fnatic and GODSENT change three

In the summer of 2019, znajder was approached by one of his friends with an opportunity to teach an esports course at a Swedish school. Having already hoped for such an opportunity, he didn’t hesitate to take it and is now completing his sixth year as a teacher.

Over time, his role has expanded beyond teaching about esports, and he is now involved in subjects such as English, Physical Education, and Web Development. Today, he has sixty students under his tutelage, of which five made it to school esports tournaments and leagues.

Extensive experience in team dynamics and how to work together with a group towards a goal, znajder emphasized that the soft skills he has picked up during his tenure as a professional player have served him well in his life after esports. "Working as a five, plus a coach, towards really high goals… that puts a lot of pressure and demand on you as a person and player," he explains.

Still, znajder has ambitions beyond his educational duties. "I do enjoy coaching. I think I’m pretty good at it, and I’ve had some success in the Swedish leagues, but I would rather do that as a side project," he confessed. Instead, znajder’s long-term career plans lie in IT, a field that he has meant to get involved in for several years.

When he was younger, znajder decided against a university education to pursue his career as a professional CS player, something that he plans to make up for now as he is going to start applying to higher education. "Hopefully, if we catch each other again in five years, I’ll be working in IT," he quips.

After discussing his future plans, the conversation shifted to his past. Although znajder holds the rare accolade of winning the first CS:GO Major, his fondest memory was participating in another. "For me, it was actually the 2017 ELEAGUE Major," he says. "After fnatic, I had a lot of struggles, and it was hard for me to find a footing in tier 1 and tier 2. When we reached it with GODSENT, just reaching a Major again after a three-year break from Majors, it was amazing to me even though we ended up 2-3 in the Swiss stage."

GODSENT's participation at the Major in Atlanta was partly due to znajder, a key performer in the team's EU Minor run. The sense of validation this had provided him after not giving up when times were tough makes this achievement rank above even his Major trophy, and deep DreamHack runs with GODSENT.

And times were indeed tough for znajder, very tough. A rollercoaster of poor luck, bad decisions, and lack of mental support led him into a downward spiral after his tenure with fnatic.

"You can only deal with so much. You can try to shove stuff away and be like, 'That’s unlucky, let’s keep going,' but it keeps happening again and again, it gets harder," he reflects. As more and more pressure piled up, znajder attempted to take his own life in 2017, which his girlfriend fortunately prevented.

Only a few months later, znajder was involved in a horrific car crash. He swerved off a bridge and plunged into the water beneath. He was lucky enough that the rocks under the water's surface broke one of the car's windows, which allowed him to escape relatively unharmed. He played an important qualifier while still in shock only two days later. These two events and his environment’s indifference towards them catalyzed his eventual departure from the industry.

Later in his career, znajder found out that he has suffered most of his life from a genetically inherited thyroid disease, which he has to take medication for to this day. The side effects of this disease plagued his professional career for four years, between 2014 and 2018.

"I was always a bit tired, and I felt a bit rough in the morning," he says. "My routine of waking up was much longer than now. Now I just wake up, and I want to make coffee instantly and get going, but back then, when I didn’t have the medicine, it was way harder."

Despite these setbacks, znajder believes he could have applied himself more professionally. "My biggest regret is definitely not taking my career more seriously," he admits. "I just wish I was as mature as I am today when I was a top player. My work ethic was very up and down, sadly, and if I could fix something, it would be that I actually understood what a big chance it is to be an esports professional and not take it for granted.

"I think a lot of people will relate to my words there. After a while, it just ends up being like a regular job for you, and if I were more mature back then, I wouldn’t have let it be just a job."

Reflecting on this point, znajder left some advice for young players going through a similar phase. The fear of not experiencing the exciting social life of a young adult played a part in why he lacked in his commitment. "If you are a high-level player with a contract, I still think you should go all in on that. If there are true friends on the side who you meet maybe several times a year only, they will also be there after your career.

"I wish I did that a lot more. I had a lot of FOMO, I was so worried I would lose my friends, but in hindsight, I could have taken many more moments to focus on Counter-Strike than hanging out with friends."

Such experiences inevitably shape a person, so the conversation moved to the type of life philosophy he developed in the following years. From where he stands, life is a continuous rollercoaster of uptrends and downward spirals, often leading to anxiety about the future and what lies ahead. In these moments, he advises taking a step back and then gradually working on improving. "As long as you do what you can to make things better, they will become better, even if it's one month away or even two years away," he says. "That's my way of living.”

He then highlighted two more important points. The first is the connection between fitness and mental health, while also cautioning not to overdo it as it could lead to escapism. The second is the importance of nurturing lasting and fulfilling social connections.

"If you actually find someone that makes your day better every day, try and keep in touch," he says. "I still have those people; twist is one of them, for example. He is an amazing person. Sometimes, we reach out to each other, even if a year or two may pass. Just make sure the other person knows they positively impacted your life."

Talking about old friends and passion, the conversation turned to Counter-Strike 2, something which znajder praised. "I'm amazed. I think it's such a better game than CS:GO ever was. I’m so happy for the players who kept playing from when I was a pro.

Let’s take rain, for example. He played when I played, and he is still going strong in CS2," he exclaimed. Overall, he believes that the transition between CS:GO and CS2 was much smoother than between 1.6 and CS:GO, and it has reignited some passion in him.

Naturally, he still pays close attention to the professional scene, as well, so we took the opportunity to hear his thoughts on the development of the Swedish scene. "I feel like it's on an upward trend at least, but it is bit of a weird dream to have a Swedish five now.

"You have to pick talents regardless of their origin. I think this is a natural development. Looking back when we had three teams: NIP, fnatic, and GODSENT, it was amazing for that time and era, but I wouldn’t expect it to come back anytime soon if you want to beat teams like Spirit, Vitality, and FaZe."

Still, while a whole team may be unlikely, there are some talents from Sweden who znajder sees greatness in. Max "⁠maxster⁠" Jansson was the first to receive praise. "I think he just needs to get beat down, find himself, and then if he has the right mentality and confidence to come back from that, he's going to be Sweden’s next talent," he says. "But if he crumbles, he’s gone, like many other players. Like me, for example.”

znajder also took a moment to shout out one of his former pupils, Max "⁠kronkzz⁠" Gustafsson, highlighting his aptitude as a team player and his mechanical skill. Echoing his previous point, he noted that, like maxster, if kronkzz can find his groove, then the young 20-year-old talent could be one of the names we will see on our screens in the future.

A return to Counter-Strike is out of the question for znajder, although he dreams about it regularly. The industry has simply not evolved as much as he hoped, and he enjoys the stability of his current occupation. He stressed the situation of coaches in Counter-Strike, saying that unless you are one of the handful of top coaches, you switch jobs so often that you cannot build anything tangible.

Instead, znajder wants to be remembered for who he was at his zenith, when he was brimming with confidence and taking down the very best with fnatic.

"Nothing can replace the feeling of having full confidence, entering a game against a team of good players who will be rough, but you also have the confidence that you’ll be the game changer," says the man who had the hubris to best Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund in a 1vs1 in a Major grand final. "Especially if you know your family and friends are watching, I get shivers just talking about it."

To wrap things up, znajder wanted everyone to understand what a unique and special community we have in esports, although he believes we could all take care of each other a little better. "So many people who are left out in the real world who find a place in one of the esports games," he says. "Try to be kind because you could be the reason that person keeps feeling like shit, or you could just lift them up. No one is perfect, but as long as you try, it will be better than it is now."

Finally, he addressed everyone he played with throughout his career, expressing his gratitude towards them, regardless of how they left things. "We all helped each other evolve into the people we are today," he contemplates. 'It wasn't always easy, but reflecting on it, I appreciate every one of my teammates."