Headshot Machine: The story of ScreaM

‘Edshot, ‘Edshot, ‘Edshot. The headshot machine, Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom, is known for a lot of things: a wildly successful Counter-Strike: Global Offensive career, two appearances in the top ten of the HLTV Top 20 (2013 and 2016) players of the year lists, oh yeah, and clicking heads. ScreaM has built a career of what 99% of any community just treats as a joke. “Just click on their head”: ScreaM does so, with scary precision. ScreaM has been at the top of every game he’s tried his hand at, here is the story of the Belgian headshot king, VALORANT’s first superstar.

##An Early Start

ScreaM began playing competitive CS in 2010 at only 16 years old, playing on a variety of different French and Benelux teams, quickly building a reputation as one of the up and coming talents in the French-speaking CS scene. Perhaps most incredible about ScreaM’s early days was how he nearly instantly produced absolutely top level results: in his first year playing he finished no lower than third in any event, and came in second at both EPS France Season 8 and 9. In 2012 ScreaM began to establish himself further, and transitioned from CS: Source into Global Offensive, joining Millenium’s CS:GO lineup and instantly winning Epsilan 9 before taking home a bronze medal at ESWC 2012, losing to VeryGames. It’s safe to say that VeryGames were more than impressed with ScreaM during their match, with the Belgian rifler rising right to the top of the crop of upcoming Frenchs-speaking talent.

What made ScreaM so exceptional was not just his play on the server, the young Belgian was only 17 at this time, and he was outplaying numerous players with over a decade of experience. ScreaM signaled more than an up and coming talent, he was a changing of the guard, and he was also a meld of two generations. Many pros considered CS:GO more awkward to play, with some citing headshots as harder, and some remaining with the classic CS 1.6 and CS: Source. ScreaM was having none of that, he became arguably the greatest aimer of all-time, and all this before his 18th birthday. ScreaM wrapped up 2012 with a bronze medal in StarLadder StarSeries 4, dropping to Virtus.Pro in the consolidation final.

##VeryGames - A Month of Dominance

On January 1st, 2013, ScreaM joined what many consider one of the five best CS:GO lineups of all-time, VeryGames. The addition came to the surprise of absolutely no one, VeryGames were the best French speaking team in the world and ScreaM was among the best French speaking players in the world. The roster opened with a third in Esports Heaven: Vienna, taking home a fourth in Copenhagen Games 2013. Their first top level victory game on April 7th, 2013, where they dethroned the world number 2 side, Fnatic, to take home the top prize from Mad Catz Invitational: Birmingham. VeryGames were considered by many a favorite heading into the ESL Major Series, and they took home a 3rd-4th finish, dropping to the eventual champions Ninjas in Pyjamas. ScreaM and VeryGames as a whole fell out of form following that disappointment, and it showed in the ESL Major Series Summer weekly cups, where they lost to LDLC, Natus Vincere, and Virtus. Pro.

Holding the Belgian superstar down is impossible in the long run, and he added his first S tier trophy on June 30th, 2013, in the ESL Major Series Summer final. To say it was a dominant performance would be perhaps the understatement of the decade, VeryGames dropped one map in the entire tournament. They 2-0’d Fnatic and Virtus.Pro, only dropping a map to Copenhagen Wolves (a roster that would go on to become Astralis), on the way to a major title and one of the most impressive performances of 2013. ScreaM by this point was one of the world's premier rifle players, with many putting him among the three best rifle players in the world, and some putting him number one. ScreaM and VeryGames were absolutely dominant throughout Summer and Autumn, taking home no less than 10 titles, including the StarLadder StarSeries 7 title, and the ESL Major Series Fall title. ScreaM had been playing CS:GO for a little more than a year, and he already had the most S-tier event titles of any player in the scene, only rivaled by the Swedes of Fnatic and Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Leading into the inaugural CS:GO Major, DreamHack winter 2013, there were two favorites: ScreaM’s VeryGames and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Leading up to the major, ScreaM in particular was in absolutely incredible form, leading the way to a 2-0 victory over Fnatic in MSI Beat IT 2013 while posting headshot percentages over 70%. VeryGames made it out of their major group with relative ease, only losing to Complexity (featuring Spencer "Hiko" Martin and Braxton "Brax" Pierce) and qualifying to the knockout stage with a 2-1 record. A 2-1 victory over Copenhagen Wolves followed, and then the match many considered the grand final took place in the semifinals. Ninjas in Pyjamas edged past VeryGames and ScreaM, 2-1, leaving ScreaM with a 3rd-4th place finish. Noone would have guessed it at the time, but this would go on to be ScreaM’s best finish at any major. ScreaM ended the year taking home the 7th place on the HLTV Top 20 players of 2013, posting an absolutely ridiculous 74.8 headshot%... for the entire year.

##Titan, Epsilon, Kinguin: Going international

Following a strong end to 2013, VeryGames announced that they could no longer afford to retain their CS:GO roster, and would be looking for someone to purchase or sign the team. Titan Esports, a Singapore-Malaysian organization, came in and picked up the roster many considered among the three best in the world. 2014 was a year of “so close” for ScreaM, ESEA Global finals ended in the grand finals against iBUYPOWER, Fragbite Masters Season 2 ended with silver against Dignitas. The major defeat to Ninjas in Pyjamas had done something to ScreaM and Titan, the roster had more talent, player-for-player, than anyone else in the world. Yet they couldn’t close out any event, taking home a plethora of bronze and silver medals throughout the year and looking to be a tournament favorite once more for the third CS:GO Major ESL One Cologne 2014. What followed was an unmitigated failure for ScreaM and for the entire French CS:GO scene. Titan, Epsilon and LDLC.Com, the three French representatives, who many considered tournament favorites, were unable to accomplish anything, with two falling out in group stages or quarter finals. Titan were unable to progress from a group with Cloud9, Vox Eminor and Dignitas, losing 16-1 to Dignitas in the decider.

What followed was the first French shuffle, which saw ScreaM shuffled off to Epsilon, the lineup that many considered the weakest of the French rosters, and the results followed that. Epsilon’s best showing was a fourth place in StarLadder StarSeries 11, with a plethora of horrendous results in nearly every other tournament. Heading into 2015 it became clear that ScreaM, who was still an exceptional talent, was wasted on Epsilon, and rumors began to swirl around a super team under the Kinguin banner. On May 5th the roster formed, one of the first truly international teams in CS:GO, it was lauded as a team built on exceptional individual skill and an intention to communicate in English. Kinguin quickly fell into a tier all their own, they were good enough to hang with the top teams, especially with ScreaM enjoying some of the best form of his career. Kinguin dominated every qualifier thrown at them, gaining access to most top tier events throughout 2015, though they were consistently 5-8th in nearly every event. Including a disappointing 2-0 defeat to TeamSoloMid at ESL One Cologne 2015. Kinguin’s greatest success, and ScreaM’s last event with the team, came at Gaming Paradise 2015, where they took down Natus Vincere in the grand final.

##A return to France… until the end

ScreaM departed Team Kinguin and re-joined Titan, who were met with moderate success to close out 2015, most notably taking 5th in ESL ESEA Pro League season 2. The Titan branding would not survive for long though, as G2 Esports acquired the team that once more was lauded as having the most potential in all of CS:GO. ScreaM was arguably at his best in 2016: despite the lack of strong results, the rifler was absolutely incredible, leading his team to qualify for nearly everything throughout the year. When it mattered the most though, G2 Esports disappeared. Finishing 9-12th at the MLG Major Columbus 2016 and an abysmal 13-16th at ESL One Cologne 2016, ScreaM was once again unable to make a mark at the majors, though he was far from the problem for G2 Esports. Over the next six months ScreaM would struggle alongside his team, with no notable performances barring a silver medal at Northern Arena 2016, where they fell to Optic Gaming.

At the beginning of 2017 the second French shuffle occurred, though this time ScreaM wasn’t shuffled off to the side, he was brought on board with Team EnVyUs, the lineup many considered the premier French roster. While their first two months as a lineup featured a notable downturn in ScreaM’s performance, he, and the roster as a whole stormed back into form during the Autumn season of 2017. Victory at DreamHack Open Atlanta 2017 and storming through the qualifiers for every other event with next to no opposition had many thinking that EnVyUs could finally be the roster to see ScreaM take home a major title. Unfortunately for ScreaM and EnVyUs, the team quickly revealed their streaky nature and struggled mightily to close out 2017, finishing with a plethora of poor performances.

The writing was on the wall for ScreaM, and in early 2018 it became evident that there were going to be roster changes, and ScreaM was going to appear on the outgoings. The once feared headshot machine was becoming just another rifle-player. The headshots were still there, but the skill of the scene as a whole had risen so heavily that his aim wasn’t unmatched anymore. ScreaM wasn’t the best player on any server he joined, and EnVyUs couldn’t win a tournament, even those against what many considered to be lower level competition. Following a 3rd-4th finish at the CS:GO Asian Championships 2018, ScreaM departed EnVyUs, and it was clear that his time at the very top of the CS:GO scene was done. The Belgian superstar didn’t rest on his laurels, staying active with a variety of mix teams as well as standing in for Fnatic at ESL One New York 2018 saw him keep his talents sharp and earned him a brief cameo with his old home Epsilon.

In 2019 ScreaM helped lead a young GamerLegion roster, and while they never had incredible success, the desire ScreaM had to compete and lead was clear. The headshots were still there, the drive was still there, but the space and the opportunity were not. A variety of average performances over the year saw ScreaM stay in the public mind, and kept people asking if there was a chance for the Belgian to return to the top level of CS:GO. But at the end of 2019 it became clear that his home wasn’t going to be in CS:GO, and people began to wonder if this was the end of one of the most exciting players in the history of CS:GO. When 2020 began and ScreaM was still teamless, whispers began that he would be heading to VALORANT, and when the public beta started, ScreaM was one of the first players involved.

BLAST Valorant Twitch Invitational really established the trinity of European teams, as Team Liquid fell to FunPlus Phoenix and G2 Esports, with G2 once again coming out with the gold medal. ScreaM was once again relatively quiet, with only 214 ACS, though his headshot% ended at a stellar 37%. The ‘edshot machine had found his home, and was putting together strong performances one after another. ScreaM was playing an interesting mix of agents, with his most well known pick becoming his signature Reyna. Best In The West was little more than a show match, but it is perhaps the greatest single series performance we’ve seen at the top level of VALORANT. ScreaM put up 367 ACS, 138.9 ADR and a 2K/D. He had 12 Multikills, and led nearly every stat, putting up 0.86 kills per round in a quick 3-0. His 32% headshot% and aggressive Reyna had put him firmly among the very best players in the world of VALORANT.

ScreaM’s career in VALORANT is impressive, and it has yet to even take off. The superstar has a lifetime 258 ACS, 1.35 K/D, and is averaging a simply ridiculous 154.4 ADR. ScreaM has a 36% overall headshot% and has established himself as one of the best VALORANT players to play the young game. It is uncertain whether ScreaM and Team Liquid can rise to the top of the European scene and pass teams such as Bonk, FunPlus Phoenix and G2 Esports, but they look to be one of the most promising teams in the world. What we can say for sure is this: ScreaM has put his mark on every game he has played, and is one of the most recognizable European players across CS:GO or VALORANT.

The next “The story of…” will be on ScreaM’s early teammate, and now foe, Oscar Cañellas "m1xwell" Colocho. Who would you like to see after that? Let us know in the comments below!