Daniel ‘mertz’ Mertz is a 19-year-old professional esports player that hails from Amager, Denmark. He trains in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, taking on the awper role for his current team, North. He is known to be very aggressive and talented which makes him stand out from his squad, finding openings in early rounds.
Mertz loves to watch football matches, most especially when FC Copenhagen is playing. Aside from CS: GO, Daniel has played other video games like Battalion and Call of Duty: WWII in his spare time. Being a professional gamer, he gets to travel the world to compete in prestigious Counter-Strike events and so to break away from gaming, Mertz goes sightseeing to refresh his mind.
Where it all began:
Daniel was introduced to Counter-Strike Source by a family friend, back in 2008. From the moment he started playing CS he enjoyed it, striving to be a better player competing at top level. When CS: GO was released, Daniel trained more seriously to pursue a gaming career while also improving his fighting skills.
Mertz began his professional gaming career playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive back in 2015 with his first esports team, Eastern Vikings. Improving and learning new fighting tactics, he moved on to play for other pro squads like Team 123, Alpha Gaming, Copenhagen Wolves, Fragsport, eFuture.dk and North Academy.
The Team:
North is an esports company that is based in Denmark and affiliated with F.C. Copenhagen and Nordisk Film. The gaming association supports only one team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that was created in January 2017, signing on with the former Dignitas players. The current roster includes MSL, aizy, valde as well as the latest additions of Mertz and Kjaerbye.
Competition Participation:
The most recent esports tournaments in 2018 that Mertz participated include the IEM Katowice 2018, CS Summit 2, and DaddySkins Western League Season 1. The last few months of 2017, North has taken part in Esports European League – Season 1, DreamHack Open Winter 2017, Skinhub Championship Season 2, WESG 2017 Europe Finals and Hellcase Cup #6 among many tournaments.
Mertz has acquired the gaming experience, having the pleasure of competing against top CS: GO teams like Ninjas in Pyjamas, Heroic, Red Reserve, BIG, Fragsters, Mousesports, AGO Gaming, Tricked Esports and many more squads, improving their gaming strategies and fighting skills.
Winnings:
The greatest win for Mertz so far in his gaming career was at the Esports European League Season 1, competing for North Academy. On their way to the finals, the CS squad dominated the event beating dizLown and Against All Authority. In the minor tournament final, EnVyUs were defeated by North Academy that won with an incredible score of 0-2 to claim a cash prize of $12K.
The second achievement for Mertz and his team, North was at the IEM Katowice 2018. The CSGO team lost to Faze Clan in the Upper Brackets, moving down to the Lower brackets round 2 beating Heroic. Advancing to the LB Round 3, North lost to NIP to finish in 8th place winning a reward of $9K.
