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CS:GO – All about Friberg’s Banana Heroics

The entry-fragger nonamer in NiP’s dynasty, friberg was brought in as a sidekick to the heavy-hitters in f0rest and... | 3. December 2021

The entry-fragger nonamer in NiP’s dynasty, friberg was brought in as a sidekick to the heavy-hitters in f0rest and GeT_RiGhT. But the Swedish took his role to a different dimension, by becoming the king of Counter Strike’s most iconic alley.

Friberg 101

Adam “friberg“ Friberg remains the only player to have a permanent memento from Valve for a myriad of performances, as opposed to a singular play. Coldzera, s1mple, olofmeister, all these legendary names produced one-time eye-popping displays, but friberg’s consistent dominance on Inferno’s Banana reigns supreme over them all.

One of the most selfless characters in any great team, friberg was never interested in stats and flashy plays. He played so that his team could have the maximum chance of winning the round, and oh boy did he do that to perfection. Being a hero that dominated the most important position, on the map where the greatest debts were settled, is a feat beyond comprehension. A castle no other player has been able to build for themselves in any other position.

From mind bending multi kills from positions that seemed mollied to open up the bombsite, to killing every Terrorist that dare walk through Banana into B, the versatility of this Swede is beyond comprehension. With friberg in their team, NiP went on a 87-0 map run back in the early days of CS:GO, but that dominance didn’t last too long. They were still the greatest teams, but were mired with bad luck, as they lost repeatedly in Grand Finals.

NiP made the Grand Finals of all of the 5 initial Majors of CS:GO, but could only win one. They lost to fnatic twice, once to LDLC and one to Virtus Pro. The only Major they did win was their third Major, against fnatic no less. NiP couldn’t back their dynasty with the amount of trophies fnatic had, but no one in CS:GO history has even come close to threatening their 87-0 map win streak.

Currently, the 30-year-old friberg is plying his trade for Team Dignitas against legendary rifler and NiP teammate, f0rest. GeT_RiGhT used to be in the team as well but he quit the team very soon. Here is a breakdown of the greatest Banana plays from the King Of Banana.

The Historic Plays

Ace vs fnatic in ESL One: Cologne 2014 Grand Finals:

Down by 5-1 in the decider map of ESL One Cologne 2014, friberg hid in Banana amidst raging flames and blinding flashes. But somehow, he survived all of that and got a crazy 3k on the fnatic CTs. He soon went on to complete his ace, sparking an inspiring series of round wins for NiP. Soon the Ninjas went on to win the map, and hence the Major. friberg’s early heroics paved a way for NiP to win their first and only Major, despite making the Grand Finals of 5 consecutive Major Grand Finals.

“friberg has to back off.” The caster clearly failed his Friberg 101 course.

4k vs Virtus Pro in Copenhagen Games 2014 Grand Finals:

Down by one map in the Grand Finals, NiP found themselves in a force buy against a fully stacked VP side. But none of that mattered once friberg found himself at the end of Banana. He pulled out a magic trick where he instantly made 4 VP players disappear. With that, he once again showed why he was the King Of Banana. NiP went on to win the map, the match and the tournament.

“friberg! He ruins them!.”

4k vs LDLC in MLG X Games Aspen 2015 Grand Finals:

In yet another Grand Finals, friberg was holding B site from Porch alongside star fragger GeT_RiGhT. 33rd round of the map and 16-17 down, and one map lost already, the pressure was on NiP to win the round and the map. But friberg clearly didn’t care for that, as he brushed away the whole pack of Frenchmen en route to winning the map. A stunning 4k, as the hungry animal in friberg aggressively went out hunting for the last kill. NiP won the map, but ended up losing the match and the tournament. Regardless, friberg’s 4k wrote its name in the history books of CS:GO.

“This could be a massacre.” The caster knows.

The Legend

Friberg remains the only player in CS:GO history to have a tribute for him for a bunch of plays, as opposed to a singular flashy play. He openly acknowledged his status, with constant references to it, like eating bananas in front of cameras. This is a great friberg clip where the guys were just chilling out during a technical timeout of a Grand Finals.

The legacy of this banana beast will never be tarnished, not less because he has been immortalized by Valve on Banana.

“Via Adamo” is Italian for ‘Adam Street.’ Adam is the first name of friberg, and it’s a beautifully quiet and sly reference to the legend of the King Of Banana.