The name f0rest is a legendary one in CS history, from 1.6 to GO, with the ID gracing tournament trophies. However, as he has aged, f0rest himself has mentioned that he doesn’t hold an optimistic view of participating in CS events again due to lacking the energy needed to build and fight with a team from scratch.
Since May 2022, f0rest has been on the lookout for a new team. At that time, Dignitas put all its players on the transfer market and eventually parted ways with them, exiting the CS scene.
In a later interview with analyst Thorin, f0rest expressed his desire to break age barriers in CS and said that if given the chance to play for a top team, he would “surprise people.” He admitted then, “I’m not done yet,” but also acknowledged why some teams might doubt his abilities due to his age.
After leaving Dignitas, f0rest participated in exhibition matches and served as a stand-in for a few tournaments, notably at IEM Dallas 2023 where he replaced Freddy Johansson | KRIMZ for fnatic (posting a 0.76 event rating). Earlier this year, he was listed as a backup player by Complexity for PGL Copenhagen Major, though he didn’t get the chance to play.
Recently, during an Apex Legends event in Stockholm, f0rest spoke with Swedish media and admitted that his dream of playing another Major might not come true.
Addressing his previous statements, f0rest candidly said, “It looks very bleak. Back then, I was ambitious, wanting to play in a Major. Does that dream seem achievable now? Probably not. But I need to think about it properly before closing that door completely.
I’ll make a decision when the time is right, and that decision isn’t too far away.”
Nonetheless, f0rest seems less inclined to follow in the footsteps of his former rivals JW and flusha, who formed EYEBALLERS with young talents.
Not entirely ruling out such a scenario, f0rest still aims to utilize his wealth of gaming experience to aid the next generation of Swedish players in different ways.
“What JW, flusha, and they’re doing with EYEBALLERS is amazing,” f0rest commented. “But I don’t know if I could embark on that journey again. We did something similar at Dignitas.
Building a team from the ground up and nurturing talent takes a lot of time. I’m unsure if I have that energy left. So, I haven’t considered it, but I still think it’s fantastic.
If I can contribute to the next generation of Swedes in other ways, that would be great. That’s what I’m currently exploring, trying to share my experiences and knowledge to assist in any way possible.”
At 36 years old, f0rest’s last competitive match was in September 2023 at YaLLa Compass Autumn Contenders, where he stood in for Alliance against JANO, playing two maps with a 0.73 rating.