Sixteen Seasons on the Server and Dual Major Crowns: Nathan "NBK" Schmitt Takes Charge of Phantom Esports on CS2
One of European Counter-Strike's most decorated chapters as a competitor has officially come to a close to make room for a brand-new tactical challenge. At 32 years old, French veteran Nathan "NBK" Schmitt has officially retired from his 16-year professional playing career to accept his first-ever full-time role as Head Coach for Polish organization Phantom Esports on Counter-Strike 2. Long nicknamed the "Kingmaker" for his ability to elevate championship rosters from the Counter-Strike: Source era through the height of CS:GO, the two-time Major winner now steps behind the booth to lead an international Danish-Polish five.
Sixteen Years at the Top and Two Major Trophies Before Moving Behind the Booth
Addressing the community on his official social channels, Schmitt confirmed that his playing days are officially behind him as he embraces full responsibility on the coaching side: "Well well well, here we are. A new chapter begins! After 16 years as a professional player, it's time for me to officially close that chapter and start a new one. I'm happy to announce that I've joined Phantom Esports as Head Coach!" His transition arrives during a pivotal autumn for veteran leaders across the scene, just hours after Shanghai Major champion Leonid "chopper" Vishnyakov announced his own retirement from competitive Counter-Strike 2.
Before concluding his final playing stint with French squad GenOne in February 2026, Schmitt built one of the richest resumes in European FPS history. Rising to prominence with VeryGames, he captured two Major titles: first at DreamHack Winter 2014 with Team LDLC, and a year later at DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 under the Team EnVyUs banner. A three-time Top 20 player in the world (5th in 2013, 17th in 2014, and 9th in 2015), he also competed at the highest tier for G2 Esports, Team Vitality, OG, MOUZ, and Team Falcons.
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From Assistant Coach at 3DMAX to Full Tactical Command at Phantom Esports
While Phantom Esports marks Schmitt's debut as an independent head coach, he has already spent much of 2026 preparing for the transition. On February 24, 2026, shortly after stepping down from GenOne's active lineup, he joined French organization 3DMAX as an assistant coach alongside head coach Damien "wasiNk" Dufour. Over a six-month tenure that concluded in August, the French veteran refined his analytical workflow and server preparation from the coaching staff's perspective.
At Phantom Esports, he steps in to replace Polish coach Dawid "lunAtic" Cieślak, who departed the club in September. In its official announcement, Phantom Esports underscored why the French tactician was their primary target: "His experience, winning mentality, and perspective on the game are exactly what we were looking for as we build the next stage of our project. Now it's time to get to work."
A Danish-Polish Lineup Led by nicoodoz and TMB Eyeing the VRS Climb
In his new role, Schmitt takes charge of a mixed roster combining two Danish players and three Polish talents. Despite competing without a permanent head coach since September, the squad has shown promising form this autumn, winning Elisa BreakOut Series 2 and reaching the semifinals of CCT Europe Series 12. Those runs propelled Phantom to a #55 global peak in mid-October and keep them hovering right around the #62 mark at a time when every Valve Regional Standings (VRS) point shapes tier-one tournament invites on Counter-Strike 2.
Here is the complete Phantom Esports Counter-Strike 2 roster now operating under Schmitt's leadership:
- Thomas "TMB" Bundsbæk (Denmark, In-Game Leader)
- Nico "nicoodoz" Tamjidi (Denmark, former Fnatic, Heroic, and OG AWPer, and Phantom's highest-rated performer over the past three months and 61 maps)
- Kamil "KEi" Pietkun (Poland, veteran aggressive rifler)
- Kacper "Kylar" Walukiewicz (Poland, former 9INE and ENCE rifler)
- Jakub "Kunai" Gieremek (Poland, young rifler promoted from Phantom Academy in September 2026)
- Nathan "NBK" Schmitt (France, Head Coach)
My Perspective
Having followed Nathan Schmitt's career since his peak CS:GO years, I always felt his eventual move into full-time coaching was inevitable. I was talking about this earlier today with Charles "Grimtag" while looking back at those 2014 Jönköping and 2015 Cluj-Napoca Major runs: even when he wasn't holding the primary in-game leader title on paper, he was constantly the player dissecting opponent rotations, inventing utility protocols, and taking on thankless anchor spots so his star teammates could thrive. Taking six months to learn the ropes as an assistant at 3DMAX before accepting the top job at Phantom Esports shows just how seriously he is treating this second career. With a proven AWPer like nicoodoz and the firepower of KEi and Kylar, I am convinced his structural discipline can push this Danish-Polish roster toward the global Top 30 in 2027.
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Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
