Reading Time:

Published: July 3, 2023

Written by: Stoyan Todorov

  • This puts an end to the CS:GO professional’s almost four-year-long stay with the organization
  • Polly thanked Apeks for the time spent and said he is open to new coaching offers
  • Results at the BLAST Premier Paris Major seem to lay in this decision

Having been part of Apeks since 2019, assistant coach Pål “⁠Polly⁠” Kammen is leaving the organization. 

Polly Leaves Apeks

Just days after Apeks concluded their run at the BLAST Premier Paris Major, their assistant coach Pål “⁠Polly⁠” Kammen announced he is leaving the CS:GO organization. The 32-year-old Norwegian’s contract with the team has expired, marking the end of a four-year stint with Apeks.

Polly first joined the team in 2019 as a player, but quickly transitioned to the role of assistant coach. He had been part of the coaching staff ever since excluding a brief period as a standing-in for the active roster in 2020. He then took Apeks’ helm and sat as the head coach of the organization until the arrival of Jakub “⁠kuben⁠” Gurczynski mid-way through 2022.

In the post announcing his departure from Apeks, Polly emphasized his motivation to continue coaching in the new era of Counter-Strike 2 and reached out to organizations who may be looking for an experienced coach to contact him.

During his time with the team, Polly helped Apeks recover from the ill-fated iteration of the roster that included French legend Richard “⁠shox⁠” Papillon. The lineup backed away from all competition in September of 2022 due to poor results. Apex eventually stabilized by signing Damjan “⁠kyxsan⁠” Stoilkovski as a replacement for shox at the start of this year. What followed was Apeks rising in prowess on the online scene, climbing the world rankings thanks to solid placings like second-place finishes in back-to-back CCT West Europe Series.

The Culmination of Apeks’ race to the top was them eliminating Ninjas in Pijamas and Liquid from the BLAST Paris Major on their way to the tournament’s semifinals. Unfortunately, Apeks didn’t go much further and placed fourth at the event’s end. This also seems to be the reason why Apeks decided not to extend the assistant coach’s contract, despite Polly being a part of the organization for almost four years.

“We have made the difficult decision to not extend Pål “Polly” Kammen’s professional contract, when it expires on June 30th,” a statement from Apeks reads. “Pål has been with us from the very beginning, making this decision all the more challenging. Unfortunately, we have not performed as well as we expected, despite the resources allocated to our CS:GO main team. Ultimately, results are what matter most.”

Check out Bitcasino for the best bonuses

From our 5 star review…

“In fact, we would argue that Bitcasino’s esports product is one of the best we have experienced. It’s simple, clear-cut, and offers a variety of products and options that other platforms are failing to deliver on.”

MORE INFO
Tags
CS:GO Players Teams
Author Image
Stoyan Todorov

Stoyan is passionate about video games and electronic sports and has played and covered virtually every single competitive title - from Farming Simulator to Dota 2!

    Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [_id] => sundayschoolvantage1695456000000
            [type] => 0
            [origin_id] => 20119512
            [status] => active
            [start_time] => 2023-09-23T08:00:00.000Z
            [score] => 
            [competitors] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => sunday school
                            [side] => home
                        )

                    [1] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Vantage
                            [side] => away
                        )

                )

            [markets] => Array
                (
                    [winner] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8fd
                            [event_id] => sundayschoolvantage1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 1.47
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 2.36
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [total_maps] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8fe
                            [event_id] => sundayschoolvantage1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => over_2.5
                                            [1] => 2.03
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => under_2.5
                                            [1] => 1.64
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [map_handicap] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8ff
                            [event_id] => sundayschoolvantage1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home_-1.5
                                            [1] => 2.35
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away_1.5
                                            [1] => 1.47
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map1] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b900
                            [event_id] => sundayschoolvantage1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 1.52
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 2.24
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map2] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b901
                            [event_id] => sundayschoolvantage1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 1.54
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 2.19
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map3] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b902
                            [event_id] => sundayschoolvantage1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 1.56
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 2.16
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                )

            [sport] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => counter-strike
                    [name] => Counter-Strike
                    [esport] => 1
                )

            [tournament] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => counter-strike-international-t9330-cct-oceania-series
                    [name] => CCT Oceania Series
                )

            [category] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => 628a1181620f414f95577c7d
                    [key] => international
                    [name] => International
                )

        )

    [1] => Array
        (
            [_id] => vertexesportsclubantic1695456000000
            [type] => 0
            [origin_id] => 20119513
            [status] => active
            [start_time] => 2023-09-23T08:00:00.000Z
            [score] => 
            [competitors] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Vertex Esports Club
                            [side] => home
                        )

                    [1] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Antic
                            [side] => away
                        )

                )

            [markets] => Array
                (
                    [winner] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8f7
                            [event_id] => vertexesportsclubantic1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 0
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 0
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [total_maps] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8f8
                            [event_id] => vertexesportsclubantic1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => over_2.5
                                            [1] => 5.65
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => under_2.5
                                            [1] => 1.09
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [map_handicap] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8f9
                            [event_id] => vertexesportsclubantic1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home_-1.5
                                            [1] => 1.09
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away_1.5
                                            [1] => 5.44
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map1] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8fa
                            [event_id] => vertexesportsclubantic1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 1.03
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 9.56
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map2] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8fb
                            [event_id] => vertexesportsclubantic1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 1.03
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 8.91
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map3] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650d364235d1068f7761b8fc
                            [event_id] => vertexesportsclubantic1695456000000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 1.04
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 8.27
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                )

            [sport] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => counter-strike
                    [name] => Counter-Strike
                    [esport] => 1
                )

            [tournament] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => counter-strike-international-t9330-cct-oceania-series
                    [name] => CCT Oceania Series
                )

            [category] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => 628a1181620f414f95577c7d
                    [key] => international
                    [name] => International
                )

        )

    [2] => Array
        (
            [_id] => lynnvision9ine1695465900000
            [type] => 0
            [origin_id] => 20114431
            [status] => active
            [start_time] => 2023-09-23T10:45:00.000Z
            [score] => 
            [competitors] => Array
                (
                    [0] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => Lynn Vision
                            [side] => home
                        )

                    [1] => Array
                        (
                            [name] => 9Ine
                            [side] => away
                        )

                )

            [markets] => Array
                (
                    [winner] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650cb459b0221669fc2f23b9
                            [event_id] => lynnvision9ine1695465900000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 3.1
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 1.36
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [total_maps] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650cb459b0221669fc2f23ba
                            [event_id] => lynnvision9ine1695465900000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => over_2.5
                                            [1] => 2.22
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => under_2.5
                                            [1] => 1.64
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [correct_score_in_maps] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650cb459b0221669fc2f23bb
                            [event_id] => lynnvision9ine1695465900000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => 2:0
                                            [1] => 5.86
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => 0:2
                                            [1] => 2.12
                                        )

                                    [2] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => 2:1
                                            [1] => 5.42
                                        )

                                    [3] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => 1:2
                                            [1] => 3.34
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [map_handicap] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650cb459b0221669fc2f23bc
                            [event_id] => lynnvision9ine1695465900000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home_1.5
                                            [1] => 1.68
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home_-1.5
                                            [1] => 6.03
                                        )

                                    [2] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away_-1.5
                                            [1] => 2.14
                                        )

                                    [3] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away_1.5
                                            [1] => 1.12
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map1] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650cb459b0221669fc2f23bd
                            [event_id] => lynnvision9ine1695465900000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 2.53
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 1.5
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map2] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650cb459b0221669fc2f23be
                            [event_id] => lynnvision9ine1695465900000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 2.86
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 1.4
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                    [winner_map3] => Array
                        (
                            [_id] => 650cb459b0221669fc2f23bf
                            [event_id] => lynnvision9ine1695465900000
                            [selections] => Array
                                (
                                    [0] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => home
                                            [1] => 2.68
                                        )

                                    [1] => Array
                                        (
                                            [0] => away
                                            [1] => 1.45
                                        )

                                )

                        )

                )

            [sport] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => counter-strike
                    [name] => Counter-Strike
                    [esport] => 1
                )

            [tournament] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => counter-strike-international-t16b0-cs-go-esl-pro-league
                    [name] => ESL Pro League
                )

            [category] => Array
                (
                    [_id] => 628a1181620f414f95577c7d
                    [key] => international
                    [name] => International
                )

        )

)
1
Live odds: CS:GO

08:00 AM

Home

Away

sun
Van
1.47
2.36

08:00 AM

Home

Away

Ver
Ant
0
0

10:45 AM

Home

Away

Lyn
9In
3.1
1.36

Similar posts

CS:GO
September 22, 2023
Eternal Fire Relegate 9INE to the ESL’s Last Chance Stage

Eternal Fire can feel a bit safe for their berth in the ESL Pro League after they defeated 9INE 2-0, sending them to the Last Chance Bracket. Eternal Fire Defeat 9INE Engin “MAJ3R” Küpeli and company continue in the Maltese event after they successfully defeated their Polish opponents from 9INE in the event’s lower bracket. […]
CS:GO
September 22, 2023
MSL Announces He Retires from Counter-Strike

Mathias “⁠MSL⁠” Lauridsen has decided to retire from competitive Counter-Strike, ending a decade-long career that started way back in CS: Source. MSL Retires There often comes a time when esports players retire from professional competition in order to focus on other aspects of their career and life and it looks like this time has come […]
CS:GO
September 21, 2023
BlameF Extends His Contract with Astralis Until 2025

After recently becoming the new in-game leader of the Danish Counter-Strike team Astralis, Benjamin “⁠blameF⁠” Bremer extended his contract by two more years. BlameF Signs Contract Extension Ever since he joined Astralis back in November of 2021, Benjamin “⁠blameF⁠” Bremer has been one of the key elements of the team, helping them throughout many events […]
CS:GO
September 20, 2023
Sangul Sign Former Moviestar Riders Player Sausol to Complete their CS:GO Roster

After being released as a free agent a couple of months ago, Spanish Counter-Strike player sausol has found a new home in Sangul’s lineup. Sangul Acquire Sausol Pere “⁠sausol⁠” Solsona Saumell has completed the Counter-Strike roster of Turkish/Dutch organization Sangul, the team announced yesterday. The 23-year-old player comes in to replace Caner “⁠Soulfly⁠” Kesici, who […]
CS:GO
September 18, 2023
9z Defeat 5yclone to Earn Final EPL Group C Berth

After finding themselves in the Last Chance bracket following two consecutive losses, 9z recovered and eventually took on 5yclone to claim the final Group C playoff spot. 9z Beat 5yclone It has been a real adventure for 9z at the ESL Pro League Season 18 as the team has had numerous failures, yet has somehow […]
CS:GO
September 18, 2023
Cloud9 Defeat Spirit To Grab Final BLAST Fall Showdown Spot

BLAST Fall Showdown Europe’s list of teams has been completed by Cloud9 who took the last berth after winning against Spirit on Anubis and Mirage. Cloud9 Defeat Spirit Denis “⁠electroNic⁠” Sharipov and company from Cloud9 have not had much success over the past couple of months. Fortunately for them, this changed earlier today. C9 currently […]
CS:GO
September 15, 2023
FaZe Defeat Fnatic to Qualify for EPL Playoffs

FaZe emerged victorious from an interesting match against fnatic in Malta, which saw both very close maps, as well as a totally one-sided affair. FaZe Secure Victory Some of the names to participate in the ESL Pro League’s playoffs are already decided and FaZe is one step closer to being on the list after the […]
CS:GO
September 15, 2023
Imperial Send 9z to the Last Chance Bracket on Malta

Brazilian CS:GO team Imperial relegated their regional rivals 9z to the Last Chance Bracket at Malta after defeating them on Nuke and Anubis. Imperial Defeat 9z ESL Pro League Season 18 is rapidly moving forward and some teams are already being sent to the last chance bracket. South American CS:GO team 9z is one of […]
CS:GO
September 14, 2023
FaZe Dominate 9z to Earn First EPL Win

FaZe’s mixed European roster is one step closer to securing a playoff berth at the EPL in Malta after defeating their South American opponents from 9z. FaZe Defeat 9z Playing for the first time since their disastrous 9-16th place run through Gamers8 a month ago, FaZe seem to have learned their lesson, as the squad […]