Join us as we explore the sibling pairs in the professional CS:GO scene with fascinating details that few people are aware of!
Nivera – ScreaM
Belgium has made its mark on the professional CS:GO map with ScreaM, a player well-known for his incredibly accurate and visually stunning one-tap plays. Dubbed the “Headshot Machine,” he has previously played for strong international teams such as VeryGames, Titan, G2 Esports, Team Kinguin, Team Envy, and more. However, ScreaM’s playstyle has also been criticized for being flashy and ineffective in the professional arena, and recently he has stepped away from professional play to focus on personal streaming. What few people know is that he has a younger brother named Nivera, a promising young talent who is on his way to making a name for himself.
Nivera is only 18 years old and has been playing professionally for just over a year; in March 2020, he joined Team Heretics, a rising name in the French CS scene with very promising results recently. Nivera and his teammates’ latest achievement was a 6th place finish at ESL One: Road to Rio, after losing to NiP 1-2 in the 5-6 placement match. According to teammates who have played with Nivera, he has a lot of potential, and with guidance from veterans at Heretics, Nivera is gradually stepping out of ScreaM’s shadow and building his own identity.
huNter- – NIKo
This is perhaps one of the most famous sibling pairs in the professional CS:GO scene, as both huNter- and NIKo are incredibly talented players competing for top teams in the world. Since leaving CR4ZY and joining G2 Esports alongside teammate nexa, huNter- has truly revitalized this team and helped bring French CS back onto the professional CS:GO map after a long absence.
As for NIKo, since joining FaZe Clan (February 2017), he quickly became the face of this star-studded team. After karrigaN left the team, NIKo took on the IGL position, which has had some impact on his individual performance; however, with coldzera joining the team, FaZe Clan’s recent performance has been quite good, consistently ranking in the top 10 on HLTV.
Although they are only cousins, NIKo and huNter- have a very good relationship, always offering praise and encouragement to each other after every matchup. After defeating FaZe Clan at the StarLadder Berlin Major (when huNter- was still with CR4ZY), he shared, “I really didn’t want to face NIKo, and I felt sad when he lost the match.”
HEN1 – LUCAS1
HEN1 and LUCAS1 are a very famous sibling duo in the Brazilian CS community. As a pair of twins, they have played for many professional teams such as Não Tem Como, Immortals, 100Thieves, Luminosity, FURIA, and more. Their best achievement as a duo is a runner-up finish at the PGL Major Krakow 2017 after losing to Gambit Esports 1-2 in the grand finals.
However, their names are also associated with drama and have been labeled by many former teammates as “undisciplined and unprofessional.” One of the most notorious dramas involving this duo was their late arrival to the DreamHack Montreal grand finals, which resulted in Team Immortals forfeiting the first map and losing 0-2 overall. According to rumors, the duo went out drinking with teammate kNg the night before, leading to their tardiness and poor performance. They are also well-known for joining 100Thieves at the end of 2017 and leaving just two months later without having played a single official match.
An interesting fact about this duo is that they have an older brother who also played CS 1.6 and professional CS:GO under the nickname “pbf1.”
cooper – freakazoid
freakazoid is a well-known name in the North American CS:GO community with over 10 years of professional play, both in CS:S and CS:GO. Throughout his career, he has played for many teams such as Echo Fox, eUnited, Ghost Gaming, and is most famous for his time with Cloud9 alongside players like Skadoodle, n0thing, and shroud.
In recent years, he has played for Swole Patrol, where his teammate is cooper, who is three years younger. The relationship between the two faced some turmoil when in November 2018, cooper unexpectedly left the team right before the roster lock, causing freakazoid to become furious and post critical tweets about his younger brother. However, he later admitted that he overreacted and apologized to cooper. After this drama, Freakazoid continued to play for Swole Patrol until he recently decided to stop playing professional CS:GO and switch to Valorant, while cooper has not yet found a new home after leaving eUnited in March 2020.
