Farewell Dupreeh: Celebrating One of the Most Historic Players in Counter-Strike

24 Jun

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Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen ended his beautiful career as a professional gamer this past weekend. Below we will tell you a little about the trundling beginnings, the family tragedy in the background, as well as other lesser-known stories from the life of one of Counter-Strike's most successful players, who can be confidently described as one of esports' greatest legends.

Credit: ESL

Career Start and Ensuing Hardships

Dupreeh first came across Counter-Strike when he was a teenager. It was then at one of his friends' birthday party that he played the cult version of the game: Counter-Strike 1.6. Since he didn't have a computer at home, he often frequented local cafes in Copenhagen, while asking his parents for his own gaming equipment.

These requests were eventually answered by his father. One evening he brought home a company computer, though at the time it was mainly intended for work. Over time, however, his study turned into a family gaming room, where the teenager could take his first steps into gaming.

Counter-Strike quickly became an important part of dupreeh's life and a key part at the worst time in his life. In 2010, the historic player's father heard, after a routine checkup, the tragic news that he had malignant cancer. During this rough period, the teenager closed in on himself, but he found a bit of joy just in CS.

"I found an outlet for these emotions in Counter-Strike. It was the only place in my life where I could go, where life had meaning. At a time when I didn't remember what the word “fun” meant on a daily basis." - dupreeh recalled during an interview

However, despite his serious illness, dupreeh's father played a key role in the early days of his gaming career and beyond. He was the one who drove him to his first Counter-Strike tournaments, and was always supportive of him, dupreeh recalls. He fought the disease for almost 10 years, seeing his son's journey from winning his first small regional tournaments all the way up to growing stardom.

Sadly, dupreeh's father eventually passed away in 2019 during the course of IEM Major Katowice, which the Dane won with Astralis.

"Before the tournament, I visited my dad in the hospital, when it was already very difficult with him. I wanted to give up participating in the Major, but he said - “I want you to go to the tournament”. Those were the last words I heard from him."

Credit: ESL/Matthew Truelove

Expert on Winning Majors

Dupreeh is the only player in history to have played at all Major tournaments in CS:GO. He played his first one in 2013 with the colors of the Copenhagen Wolves, not even being on a professional contract at the time. Dupreeh and his teammates finished that tournament at the quarterfinal stage, meeting and forming strong bonds with crucial personalities for the remainder of his career.

While at the Copenhagen Wolves, the Dane played together with Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth and Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz, with whom he dominated the Counter-Strike scene a few years later. They also met shared the stage at Dignitas and TSM, but their greatest string of achievements together would come playing for Astralis. It was then that dupreeh won four Major tournaments in Atalanta, London, Katowice and Berlin, as well as a series of other important titles, dominating the scene until 2020.

While the post-2020 years for all five of the legendary Astralis squad were initially very difficult, dupreeh was the only one who was able to return to the top of the CS world. When his compatriots failed to qualify for subsequent Majors, dupreeh, after joining Team Vitality, regained his old form, culminating in his team's triumph at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2022 - the last historic Major of CS:GO.

This victory also made the Dane the only player in history to have succeeded in the art of winning the biggest trophy in Counter-Strike a total of five times. This has also translated into the fact that dupreeh is the player with the most earnings throughout his career when it comes to tournaments prize pools alone. The amount reaches about $2.5 million.

Now it's time for family

After winning absolutely everything he could, dupreeh is retiring from esports. The player admitted that the deciding factor was that he now wants to devote himself to his family and spend more time with his children.

"I want to spend more time with my children because for me they are the most important in the world. The day I had dreaded for a long time turned out to be one of the most beautiful in my life." - Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen

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Feature image credit: BLAST.tv