Update (January 2024): CYPHER has parted ways with TSM to join Bleed Esports.
Original article (August 2023):
Rising UK Counter-Strike star Cai ‘CYPHER’ Watson has officially joined TSM, as the North American organisation prepare to compete in CS once again.
Cai has been linked with a move to TSM for several weeks now, and this week the organisation made the announcement confirming his arrival, as part of a European roster.
CYPHER joins from UK esports organisation Into the Breach, with whom he finished top eight at the Blast Paris Major earlier this year as entry fragger/headshotter.
He said it’s an honour to join TSM and looked forward to some ‘incredible results’ with his new org.
Sam Macedonio, CEO and founder of Into the Breach, said: “Best of luck to my good friend CYPHER, an all round wonderful human. [I’ve had] a lot of good chats with [TSM GM] Mike Scales – confident he is in great hands. Mike is such a lovely chap, and despite the doubters I believe this roster will succeed (or at the very very least, Cai will shine).”
CYPHER joins TSM Counter-Strike roster for 2023
The full TSM Counter-Strike roster for 2023 is as follows:
- Valdemar ‘valde’ Vangså (Denmark)
- Mădălin-Andrei ‘MoDo’ Mirea (Romania)
- Audric ‘JACKZ’ Jug (France)
- Cai ‘CYPHER’ Watson (UK)
- Timofey ‘interz’ Yakushin (Russia)
- Coach: Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam (France)
- Assistant coach: Lambert ‘Lambert’ Prigent (France)
It’s a big return to CS for TSM, who haven’t operated in the game since they parted ways with their last roster in early 2017.
One of CYPHER’s former teammates at Into the Breach, Sebastian ‘volt’ Maloș (UK/Romania), also left the UK organisation earlier this year to join GamerLegion.
These moves add more UK CS players to the top tiers of the game, joining the likes of Fnatic player William ‘Mezii‘ Merriman and streamer Owen ‘smooya’ Butterfield.
Initial roster changes at Into the Breach were made last month, with new ITB player NEOFRAG not lasting long there – he was released by Into the Breach following ‘distasteful jokes’.
CYPHER was also recently featured in a documentary on the Blast Paris Major:
In this, the player from Harrow, said: “My plan [with ITB] was to play as best as I can, just grow and show what I’m capable of. I kinda describe myself as an inconsistent joker who can be good at the game when he wants.”
Let’s see how CYPHER fares at TSM – let’s hope we see his best as one of the UK’s most promising Counter-Strike players right now.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
