Shox Returns to Competitive CS:GO After Two Months With Apeks

One of the CS:GO veterans from the French scene, Richard "shox" Papillon, left Team Liquid in June earlier this year and returned home to take care of his mental health. After two months shox is all set for a return.

The 30-year-old has joined the international CS:GO roster of Apeks, currently ranked 60 in the world as per the HLTV global rankings.

Apeks despite housing multiple experienced players from across Europe is not the youngest team in the circuit. The average age of the active lineup is 26 years with the seniormost among them being shox while the youngest is Justinas "jL" Lekavicius at 22 years old.

Shox expressed his happiness to be back and competing in CS:GO after having undergone proper rest and recovery, "Took care of myself as needed, I feel fresh and ready to compete again. Excited to play our first official tomorrow."

Apeks signs shox to complete CS:GO roster

The French legend, shox, went through a tough six months with Team Liquid during which he faced multiple challenges on both professional and personal fronts and was eventually forced to step away from the competitive circuit.

He was subsequently benched from the Liquid roster, following which he returned home to France to undergo recovery and take care of his mental health.

During an earlier statement released by shox, he had spoken about doing everything possible to come out of his mental rut and undergo proper recovery by utilizing family resources, hiring a mental coach, playing sports, and other psychological escapes.

Now, almost two months down the line shox is feeling energized to get back and compete once again with the international lineup of Apeks.

"After my time in Team Liquid, I needed a break to recover from the exhausting schedule we had. I needed to make sure my head was healthy before joining a new team. I’m glad and thankful to Apeks and the players and coaching staff for this opportunity. I’m confident we can do great things with the right mindset, and I know everyone will put the work needed to make this journey together a beautiful story”, says shox, having signed a one-year contract with the Norwegian esports organization.

The French rifler aims to help the team grow by sharing his knowledge and experience, while also extending his complete support to Martin "STYKO" Styk. Shox aims to create good team chemistry and then go on to become a solid tier one contender.

With the signing of its fifth and final member, the CS:GO complete roster of Apeks is as follows,

• Martin “STYKO” Styk - IGL

• Tim “nawwk” Jonasson - AWP

• Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad - Rifler (Entry Fragger)

• Justinas “jL” Lekavicius - Rifler

• Richard “shox” Papillon - Lurker

• Jakub “kuben” Gurczyński - Head Coach

• Pål “Polly” Kammen - Assistant Coach