kNg CS:GO - Who is Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe?

Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe (1992) is a Brazilian AWPer currently playing for INTZ eSports, well-known for his controversial behavior in the scene. He entered the world of professional Counter-Strike at the age of sixteen, racking up two and a half years of experience before CS:GO was even released. His g3nerationX roster would become Keyd Stars’ immediate replacement of FalleN and co. who would go on to conquer the world under the Luminosity banner.

After spending quite a few years in the wilderness with smaller teams – including an odd stint with Red Reserve in the first half of 2017 –, he found most of his success during his time with Immortals, the promising Brazilian side with a checkered history both on and off the servers. Their best results would include a semi-final appearance at DreamHack Open Summer 2017 and their fairytale run all the way to the final of the Krakow major where they’ve lost to Gambit. He has earned over $70 000 as a professional Counter-Strike player over his ten-year career according to prize money aggregate site esportsearnings.com – over $50 000 of which came in that calendar year.

Of course, their most infamous outing came shortly thereafter with their second-placed finish at DreamHack Open Montreal the same year: since they didn’t turn up in time for the final match, they’ve automatically forfeited the first map to North, going on to lose the second one 16-9 in fairly straightforward fashion. The team would blow up only ten days later as he and a few of his ex-teammates ended up at 100Thieves, only to be released without playing a single match under their banner as the organization withdraw from CS:GO basically immediately after kNg’s latest controversy.

Latest being the keyword here: Vito is no stranger to public spats, getting into trouble due to posting a literal death threat tweeted to CLG’s Ryu (and apparently trying to follow it up in some capacity by showing up at the player’s hotel and having to be restrained). With this and the Montreal debacle on his resume, it was not the best of idea to get into an argument with Thorin on social media, one which led to his almost instantaneous removal of 100Thieves due to "offensive and inappropriate" language. His apology would only come almost a year later.

Nevertheless, the fact that he has managed to find a new home after multiple incidents that would normally end a player’s career for good is a pretty clear indication of his talent. With the Brazilian CS scene in flux, a redemption arc still seems a realistic possibility for the Brazilian blessed with the fiery temper of his Italian forefathers. Whether he has learned his lesson remains to be seen.