Stewie2k to stand in for G2 at IEM Dallas 2024

Counter-Strike

May 17, 2024

Daniel Morris

In Collaboration with Thunderpick

In one of the most surprising stories of the year so far, it has officially been confirmed that Stewie2k, the Smoke Criminal himself, will be standing in for G2 at IEM Dallas 2024. It was previously revealed that HooXi would be missing the event as he’s attending his sister’s wedding, and Stewie2k has been chosen as the short-term replacement.

Stewie2k back on LAN

Credit: Joao Ferreira | © PGL

IEM Dallas 2024 will mark Stewie2k’s first LAN event in over two years. The NA star last featured at the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 RMR with Evil Geniuses, although they crashed out there in 8th place. It was a difficult period for the player, who had found himself in poor form for some time.

Thanks @G2esports for the chance to compete and to potentially play in front of a home crowd in IEM Dallas. Grateful for this opportunity and to be able to play with the best rifler in the game @G2NiKo & a young star awper !

Appreciate all the love yall bringing. I’ll see you…

— Jake (@Stewie) May 17, 2024

It’s clear at this point that Stewie2k has a vested interest in returning to the professional CS scene. He recently had a stint filling coldzera’s shoes on Legacy, while the Brazilian team looked for a permanent replacement. This tournament with G2 represents a great opportunity for Stewie2k to show his skills as part of a strong roster, playing alongside the likes of NiKo and m0NESY for the first time.

Why Stewie2k?

Credit: PGL

With Stewie taking such a lengthy break from competition, and not exactly impressing at Legacy, it’s valid to ask the question – why him? It’s believed that G2 had explored the option of JACKZ filling in at IEM Dallas, but he actually played in the open qualifiers with a random mix of players, which disqualified him on this particular occasion.

That should have been the case, but I made qualifiers with random mix and was therefore blocked by ESL rules 🥲 pic.twitter.com/ZLEeRGCM6r

— JACKZ (@JACKZ_CSGO) May 7, 2024

In truth, Stewie’s presence here could purely be down to logistics. G2 can avoid the typical visa issues associated with picking up an EU player on a temporary basis, while bringing in a player who only needs to replace HooXi’s fragging output. Even for this version of Stewie, we reckon he can manage that. We don’t know if G2’s temporary Dallas run with Stewie2k will be a success, but we’re pretty excited to see how it goes.