Helvijs Saukants (born February 14, 2001), better known as broky, is a Latvian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for FaZe Clan as the AWPer and a former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player.

broky
Current team
TeamFaZe Clan
RoleAWPer
GameCounter-Strike 2
Personal information
NameHelvijs Saukants
NationalityLatvian
Career information
Playing career2019–present
Team history
2019Epsilon
2019–presentFaZe Clan

He is the first and only Counter-Strike player from Latvia to have won a major – the largest and most notable tournament in the game.[1]

Helvijs is also the first esports player to be nominated as Latvia's Sportsman of the Year in Technical Sports category.[2]

Career

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Saukants started his professional career in January 2019 with team Epsilon Esports.[3] In September 2019 he moved to the Faze Clan team.[4][5] With his new team he achieved a win at the BLAST Pro Series: Copenhagen 2019 in 2019, a 3rd–4th place. Place at the Intel Extreme Masters XIV – Beijing and fourth place at the BLAST Pro Series: Global Final 2019.[citation needed]

In 2022, he won the IEM Katowice 2022 with a 3–0 win against G2 Esports and then the ESL Pro League Season 15.[6] For his achievements, he was recognized by HLTV as the best player in a tournament for the first time at IEM Katowice. He then won his first major tournament with the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 after a 2–0 win against Natus Vincere.[7][8][9] The same year he also won the IEM Cologne 2022 with a 3–2 win against Natus Vincere.[10] He also reached the finals of the Roobet Cup and the Blast Premier: Fall Finals 2022. For his individual achievements, he received another MVP award in the Blast Premier: Fall Finals 2022. He was also voted 6th in the list of best players.[11]

In 2024, he competed in the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 finals, marking the second time on the grand final stage in the most notable event in Counter-Strike. This time, FaZe Clan lost to NAVI with a score of 1–2 and placed 2nd in the tournament.[12] After the major, he with his team FaZe Clan participated in IEM Chengdu 2024 and won the 1st place with a score 2–0 against Mouz.[13][14]

With prize money of over $1,000,000, he is Latvia's most successful e-athlete in terms of prize money as well as the first one to cross the $1 million mark in winnings.[15][16]

Notable achievements

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Placement Tier Type Tournament Team Date Prize
  S-Tier Offline BLAST Premier: World Final 2023[17] FaZe Clan 2023-12-17 $250,000
  S-Tier Offline CS Asia Championships 2023[18] FaZe Clan 2023-11-12 $250,000
  S-Tier Offline Thunderpick World Championship 2023[19] FaZe Clan 2023-11-05 $250,000
  S-Tier Offline Intel Extreme Masters Sydney 2023[20] FaZe Clan 2023-10-22 $100,000
  S-Tier Offline Intel Grand Slam Season 4[21] FaZe Clan 2023-03-26 $1,000,000
  S-Tier Offline ESL Pro League Season 17[22] FaZe Clan 2023-03-26 $200,000
  S-Tier Offline Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Cologne[23] FaZe Clan 2022-07-17 $400,000
  S-Tier Offline PGL Major Antwerp 2022[24] FaZe Clan 2022-05-22 $500,000
  S-Tier Offline ESL Pro League Season 15[25] FaZe Clan 2022-04-10 $190,000
  S-Tier Offline Intel Extreme Masters XVI – Katowice[26] FaZe Clan 2022-02-27 $400,000

Individual awards and accolades

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MVPs

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Was named the HLTV MVP of the following tournaments:

  • IEM Katowice 2022[7]
  • BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2022[27]
  • IEM Chengdu 2024[28]

Best Player Awards

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Was ranked as one of the best player of the year by HLTV:

  • 20th best player of 2021[29]
  • 6th best player of 2022[11]
  • 10th best player of 2023[30]

References

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  1. ^ "CS:GO Major Antwerp 2022". store.steampowered.com. 2022-05-03. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  2. ^ Stoilov, Kiril (2023-11-25). "FaZe Broky is up against motocross and rally drivers for Latvia's Sportsman of the Year". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  3. ^ "Everything About CS2 Professional Helvijs "broky" Saukants". eloking.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  4. ^ "FaZe Clan® Official". FaZe Clan® Official. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  5. ^ Geddes, George (2019-09-13). "Ex-Epsilon player Broky reportedly joining FaZe Clan for ESL One New York". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  6. ^ "FaZe Clan beat G2 Esports in IEM Katowice 2022 grand final". Upcomer. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  7. ^ a b "broky picks up first MVP of his career in Katowice | HLTV.org".
  8. ^ "The top 10 highlights from PGL Major Antwerp 2022". Upcomer. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  9. ^ Robertson, Scott (2024-04-08). "All Counter-Strike Major winners". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  10. ^ "Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII – Cologne". HLTV.
  11. ^ a b "broky izpelnās atzinību kā 2022. gada sestais labākais spēlētājs pasaulē". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  12. ^ Robertson, Nicholas Taifalos, Luci Kelemen, Mateusz Miter, Scott (2024-04-02). "PGL Copenhagen Major 2024: Schedule, results, and more". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2024-04-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2024 winners and highlights". eloking.com. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  14. ^ Kelemen, Luci (2024-04-14). "FaZe in seventh heaven against MOUZ as they break grand finals curse in Chengdu". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  15. ^ "Helvijs "Broky" Saukants — pirmais Latvijas e-sportists ar prēmijās nopelnītu miljonu dolāru". Jauns.lv (in Latvian). 19 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  16. ^ "'broky' kļuvis par pirmo Latvijas e-sporta pārstāvi miljonāru". www.delfi.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  17. ^ "BLAST.tv – The home of the best CS tournaments, CS news and esports community!". BLAST.tv. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  18. ^ "CS Asia Championships 2023 overview | HLTV.org".
  19. ^ "Thunderpick World Championship 2023 overview | HLTV.org".
  20. ^ "IEM Sydney 2023 – Congratulations FAZE Clan – ESL Pro Tour". pro.eslgaming.com. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  21. ^ "Latvijas e‑sportists Saukants kopā ar komandu izcīna "Grand Slam" un tiek pie miljona dolāru balvas". tv3.lv (in Latvian). 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  22. ^ "ESL Pro League Season 17 overview | HLTV.org".
  23. ^ "IEM Cologne 2022 overview | HLTV.org".
  24. ^ "FaZe Clan lifts PGL Major Antwerp trophy".
  25. ^ "ESL Pro League Season 15 overview | HLTV.org".
  26. ^ "IEM Katowice 2022 overview | HLTV.org".
  27. ^ "broky claims BLAST Premier Fall Final MVP award | HLTV.org".
  28. ^ "Broky achieves MVP title at IEM Chengdu 2024". 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  29. ^ "Unikāls sasniegums Latvijas esportā – broky iekļauts 2021. gada pasaules rangā". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  30. ^ "broky nosaukts par 2023. gada 10. labāko spēlētāju pasaulē". Sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-03-03.