Tarik “tarik” Celik is one of the most desirable free agents on the Counter-Strike market. His accomplishments as a player combined with his talent and marketability make him extremely sought after. Many North American teams have jumped to acquire his services since stepping down from MiBR, but he has chosen to play the long game. The decision to wait until after IEM Katowice to begin his next chapter shows a level of patience and wisdom that other players tend to lack. The question that remains though, is which team will he choose?

Below is the list of teams that I believe Tarik will be choosing from, based on my intuition alone.

compLexity

Of all the choices, compLexity is an obvious match because of their deep roots in North America as well as Jason Lake’s own admission of reaching out to Tarik last month. Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert is on a temporary stint with the team and would open up a spot that Tarik could fill with ease. The question with this move is will Tarik want join a team that has struggled to find consistent results? It is no guarantee that him joining compLexity would fix their issues as a unit. Furthermore, how is his relationship with Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz? The two played together on OpTic Gaming where the lineup flip-flopped on who they wanted to in-game lead on multiple occasions.

Envy

Envy is an interesting opportunity due to the historic ties Tarik has to some of the players on the roster. He spent over a year on Counter Logic Gaming with Josh “jdm” Marzano and Stephen “reltuC” Cutler, so the incentive is there. They are coming off a tough loss at the IEM Katowice Minor Play-in after they made the last-minute decision to borrow Finn “karrigan” Andersen from FaZe Clan. Karrigan won’t remain on the team, but I would assume an additional roster move is on the table. Perhaps acquiring a player with Tarik’s consultation will sway him to sign the dotted line.

NRG Esports

Tarik choosing NRG Esports makes the most sense from a performance stand point. He is almost a direct replacement for Jacob “FugLy” Medina and could provide the extra firepower they need to take their next step. The team is playing with confidence and have qualified for IEM Katowice after missing out on the FACEIT Major. NRG has a well-defined structure and would be the easiest team for him to find his comfort zone and play the style he enjoys most. Furthermore, they are the best of the three teams by a long shot. I think NRG is the most likely place for Tarik to land and is where I’m putting my money. At the end of the day, it comes down to what he values most and we only have to wait a month to find out.