The change had become inevitable. With the arrival of wasiNk and NBK- to the staff, and the replacement of bodyy with misutaaa, 3DMAX are not making a simple cosmetic adjustment. The organization is acknowledging that the project had hit a ceiling. This is not a spectacular crash or a public implosion, but rather the kind of slow stagnation that wears a group down from the inside. To understand why this change was necessary, we have to go back to the beginning.
From Subtop Project to Unexpected Breakthrough
3DMAX did not emerge out of nowhere. It is the product of several recent French failures. Before this project, there were DBL PONEY, HEET, Looking4Org, or the French iteration of Falcons. Each carried promise. Each ultimately hit a wall. Sometimes by a round, sometimes by a map, sometimes at an RMR where everything slipped away. 3DMAX is a mix of all that. Players shaped by those projects. Frustrated ambitions. Rebuilds. Near misses. A generation that learned through instability.
When the roster formed, it was far from a superteam. These were subtop profiles, players who had brushed against Tier 1 without ever settling there. No obvious superstar. No uncontested figure to build around. Just a group determined to finally create something stable. For a long time, the team struggled. Missed qualifications. Little expectation from the outside. What set them apart was an aggressive, proactive identity. Constant initiative. Constant risk taking. A style that could look raw at times, but was always clear in intent.
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Then came Shanghai 2024. Qualifying for the Major was already an achievement. The manner in which they did it made it exceptional. 3DMAX went 3-0 at the RMR, notably defeating G2. No lucky run. No favorable bracket. A genuine statement in a format where pressure is at its peak and every mistake can define a season.
That 3-0 changed the perception of the project. No longer a likable underdog. Now a team capable of beating the elite when it matters. In Shanghai, they played freely, imposed their tempo, and surprised opponents with their unapologetic aggression. For the first time, the project looked legitimate at the highest level.
2025, the Confirmation
Breaking through once can be momentum. Staying in the world’s top 10 or 12 is something else entirely. In 2025, 3DMAX managed to do exactly that. It is probably the most underrated achievement of their run. The swift replacement of Djoko with bodyy was meant to reinforce the structure. More Tier 1 experience. More control in key moments. Better management of mid and late rounds. On paper, the move made sense.
Statistically, the team remained strong in early rounds. They ranked among the best in the Top 30 for opening kills and flash assists. They also posted a high rate of successful force buys. They could create advantages and, at times, flip unfavorable situations. But the issue was not in the raw numbers.
Then the Real Tier 1 Wall
As 2025 unfolded, the aggressive style that once caught everyone off guard became studied, analyzed, anticipated. Timings were read. Pushes were expected. The element of surprise gradually faded. And 3DMAX struggled to consistently add a second layer to their game. They kept finding opening kills, but too often failed to convert 5v4 situations into round wins. The numerical advantage was created, but not consistently capitalized on. That gap points directly to mid round management and communication.
Side starts also became a weakness. Too many pistols lost. Too many early gun rounds mishandled, despite being prepared in advance. According to internal information, the plans for these early gun rounds existed in detail, sometimes built from A to Z. Yet certain calls were not respected once the match went live. When preparation collapses under pressure, the issue goes beyond simple execution.
Mid and late round management became the true litmus test. That is where experience is supposed to make the difference. Bodyy’s arrival was expected to solidify this aspect. In practice, based on several internal accounts, some key players were among the least vocal in crucial moments. In important rounds, no one clearly took responsibility for organizing setups after gaining map control. A teammate would have to compensate from the other bombsite, creating a domino effect. One player fixes an error, another overcompensates, the structure weakens, and the round falls apart.
This is not a lack of skill. It is a lack of clear hierarchy and collective structure.
Too Many Leaders, Not Enough Structure
Another issue was internal balance. Between Graviti, Maka, and bodyy, multiple leadership profiles coexisted. Each with their own vision of the game. In a perfectly structured team, that can enrich decision making. In a stagnating group, it can generate constant friction. The Djoko to bodyy change did not produce the expected step up. It brought energy at first, but also role conflicts, especially on the CT side where positions overlapped, and on T side where the extremities became less balanced. Adding more communication is not enough if it is not clearly hierarchized.
On top of that, there was no true superstar to anchor the system. The best teams at the top often revolve around a clear focal point. 3DMAX rely more heavily on the collective. When confidence is high, that works. When inconsistency creeps in, there is no single player capable of carrying a game alone.
At the same time, they never truly collapsed. There was no dramatic downfall, no complete implosion. But there was no defining breakthrough either. No deep playoff miracle run to inject oxygen into the project. No statement event that reset the narrative. They were rarely disastrous, yet never extraordinary. Consistently competitive, consistently around the same range. Always close, never transformative. That is sometimes harder to fix than failure. Frustration grew. Results began to decline, particularly at PGL Cluj 2026, where the team hit rock bottom. The fear of missing the Major resurfaced. Tension increased. The feeling that the project was running in circles became impossible to ignore.
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Returning to What Worked
The return of wasiNk as head coach signals a desire to restore structure. He may not be the most experienced coach on the circuit, but he knows the group and understands its dynamics. The goal is to bring the team back to its core principles while reinstating collective discipline. Bringing in NBK as assistant adds Tier 1 experience, something very important to step up. It is an interesting gamble, provided roles are clearly defined to avoid ego clashes.
Replacing bodyy with misutaaa also fits that logic. A more discreet profile, closer to what Djoko once provided, he could free up Graviti positionally and ease internal tension. The real question will be whether the expanded coaching structure remains aligned outside the server. Adding layers of experience can stabilize the in-game product, but only if it does not create overlapping voices or strategic friction behind the scenes. If managed correctly, however, it could allow the team to operate more cohesively on the server, within the competitive bubble.
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At its core, 3DMAX is going through a familiar chapter in French Counter-Strike history. Internal adjustments. Leadership conflicts. Reassessment. As often seen in French teams, raw talent alone is not enough without a strong and clearly defined structure. Sporting stagnation gradually seeped into the team’s internal climate, until change became inevitable.
From now on, the difference will lie in their ability to professionalize the structure and clearly define the hierarchy. The talent is there. The identity exists. The question is simple. Does this change mark a new beginning, or the end of a cycle that never truly managed to break through its own ceiling.
