Childhood & Early Life
Olof Kajbjer was born in Tyresö, Sweden, on January 31, 1992, into an average Swedish family. He grew up with two siblings: a brother named Karl and a sister named Hanna.
He was an active kid with a keen interest in football. He started playing football at the age of 4 and continued to play through his school years. By the time he reached middle school, he had become one of the most competent players on his school team.
He dreamed of being a professional football player, but tragedy struck when he was 15. He hurt his knee badly and physicians advised him against playing football for at least a year. His ligaments needed time to heal. This was when his interest shifted from football.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Olof turned to his other love: video games. ‘Counter-Strike’ was his favourite game, and he soon started playing it regularly and got better at it. He also played in some small online tournaments. He had a competitive spirit that he had acquired from his prior experience in football.
He played so well that it made people think he was cheating. However, he also realized that, at that time, making a career in gaming was not the best career choice for him. Olof had no other option but to join a college, according to his parents’ wishes.
However, he had no interest in studying, and he dropped out of college within the first three weeks. He knew his forté lay in video games.
Continue Reading Below
Career
In 2012, at the age of 20, Olof started his professional gaming career and played in the tournament ‘Absolute Legends.’ The first ever professional team that he joined was ‘H2k.’ His first few months with ‘H2k’ were not too good. He could not compete with the players, who were more professional and experienced than him, and the team was not considered very strong either. He struggled to gain attention while he was playing with them.
After playing with ‘H2k’ for a year, Olof joined another team, ‘LGB eSports,’ which was another underdog team. Soon, Olof’s game started to improve remarkably.
The first major opportunity of Olof’s career arrived in March 2014, when he visited Katowice, Poland, for a ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’ tournament named ‘ESL One Katowice 2014.’ Although ‘LGB’ was a weak team, they had performed well in the months leading up to the tournament.
‘Fnatic’ was one of world’s best teams at that time, and ‘LGB’ went up against them in the quarterfinals. Nobody expected them to win, but they registered a surprising victory that led ‘LGB’ straight into the semifinals. Although the team lost to another strong team, ‘Virtus.pro,’ in the semifinals, their sensational victory over ‘Fnatic’ helped them get noticed in the gaming community.
Olof stayed back to attend the finals and felt that gaming was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He came back and worked harder on his skills, but he also knew that he needed to change his team if he wished to go a level higher. ‘Fnatic’ was ready to accept him with open arms, and Olof joined them in June 2014. This was the true beginning of his professional career and his gateway to international stardom.
Olof and Freddy Johansson, his teammate at ‘LGB,’ joined ‘Fnatic.’ Soon, the team participated in the ‘ESL One Cologne 2014 Major Championship.’ ‘Fnatic’ was one of the top contenders for the title this time, too, and they performed according to expectations.
During one of the group stage games against ‘Team Dignitas,’ Olof played miraculously and defused a “bomb” just a few milliseconds before it blew up. This was a highly talked-about performance. It also brought him widespread fame.
The team reached the finals, and Olof’s performance played a key role in it. Although the team lost in the finals, their table-turning comebacks in the tournaments were highlighted by the media.
A few months later, the team participated in the ‘DreamHack Winter 2014.’ The team reached the quarterfinals and was pitted against ‘Team LDLC.’ However, Olof made a controversial decision during the game, which did not sit well with the organizers, and ‘Fnatic’ had to withdraw from the tournament.
This event practically ended Olof’s gaming career. He seriously considered quitting ‘Counter-Strike,’ or at least his team, for good. However, the victory at the ‘ESEA Invite Season 17 Global Finals’ changed his mind.
In 2015, ‘Fnatic’ embarked on a winning streak. They won the ‘IOS Pantamera’ in February and the ‘ESL One Katowice’ in March. In August, ‘Fnatic’ became the first team ever to win two major tournaments consecutively, after they secured the title win at the ‘ESL One Cologne 2015.’ He team ended up winning all the three tournaments that they participated in, through the rest of the year.
By the end of 2015, Olof was regarded as the best ‘Counter-Strike’ player of the year.
The team started 2016 with a successful run at the ‘SLTV Starseries’ and the ‘IEM Katowice World Championship.’ In April 2016, Olof took a break from playing due to a strain in his hand.
In August 2017, Olof officially announced that he had joined ‘FaZe Clan.’ With that, he ended his three-year stint with ‘Fnatic.’ He has helped ‘FaZe Clan’ win three major tournaments, namely, the ‘ESL One: New York,’ the ‘ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2017,’ and the ‘ESports Championship Series Season 4.’
