Apeks Bench STYKO

By Tit Krajnik

04 Oct 2023

Tit Krajnik 04 Oct 2023

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Apeks benched Martin "STYKO" Styk from its CS:GO roster
As confirmed, STYKO is not in Apeks' plans fort he future
The roster change follow a shaky run at ESL Pro League Season 18

STYKO (credit: via Twitter (@apeksgg))

Apeks have announced the benching of Martin "STYKO" Styk, who was removed from the Counter-Strike roster on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. STYKO's removal from the roster does not come as a shock to anyone since Apeks already found a replacement.

As announced on Wednesday, Apeks will continue without the Slovakian rilfer, who was let go from the team after 21 months. The 27-year-old was already replaced by Ådne "sense" Fredriksen, who joined Apeks from the organisation's academy team, Apeks Rebels.

The news is somewhat expected, as rumours suggested that STYKO was on his way out of Apeks. The rumours were further confirmed last month when Apeks brought in sense as a stand-in for CCT East Europe Series 2, where Apeks placed third-fourth.

In the announcement, STYKO explained that his contract with Apeks will not be extended at the end of 2023 and that he was moved to the bench. However, while his departure from Apeks was confirmed, STYKO has yet to reveal whether he has found a new team for 2024.

The Slovakian rifler joined Apeks in January 2022 when he got picked up by the European organisation from FunPlus Phoenix. Since his arrival, STYKO has accomplished a lot with Apeks, most notably helping the team reach the semifinals of BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.

However, since that remarkable performance, Apeks have struggled to find much success and have parted ways with a couple of key members, including Justinas "jL" Lekavicius, who left for Natus Vincere and coach Jakub "kuben" Gurczynski, who left the team in September.

"We've shared an incredible journey with Martin, from the disappointments of 2022 to the remarkable run at the Paris Major in 2023," said Head of Esports at Apeks, Anders Kjær.

"We are grateful for achieving this dream together with you, Martin. There is no doubt that you will forever be a legendary player in our club, and we wish you the best in whatever comes next."

STYKO was already replaced by 20-year-old sense, who joined Apeks' main roster from Apeks Rebels. In his debut with Apeks, sense helped the team reach the semifinals of CCT East Europe Series #2 and is set to make his next appearance at ESL Challenger League Season 46: Europe, which starts on Thursday, October 5.