Shox (gamer)

Richard Papillon (born 27 May 1992),^[1] better known as shox, is a French professional Counter-Strike player. He is considered one of the greatest players in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history, known for his high skill and longevity in the scene, and featured in HLTV's Top 20 Players list from 2013 to 2016.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} He has won over a dozen international tournaments, as well as one Major Championship: DreamHack Winter 2014.^[2]

shox
shox in 2018
Personal information
Name	Richard Papillon
Nickname(s)	shoxie, shoxieJESUS
Born	(1992-05-27) 27 May 1992 (age 33)
Nationality	French
Career information
Game	Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Playing career	2007–present
Team history
2014	Titan
2014–2015	Team LDLC
2015	Team EnVyUs
2015–2016	Titan
2016–2019	G2 Esports
2019–2021	Team Vitality
2021–2022	Team Liquid
2022–2023	Apeks
2023–2023	Nakama Esports
Career highlights and awards
CS:GO Major champion (Jönköping 2014) 4× HLTV Top 20 Player of the Year (2013-2016) 4× HLTV MVP

Early life

Shox began playing Counter-Strike when he was nine years old, and was introduced to the series by his older brother.^[1] His parents allowed him to take a year off from studies to pursue the game which led to him joining his first successful teams in Counter-Strike: Source around 2007.^[7] His handle referenced a model of Nike shoes that were popular at the time.^[1]

Career

Shox is best known for playing for a number of French Counter-Strike teams, including VeryGames, Titan, Team LDLC, EnVyUs, G2, and Team Vitality.^[3] Shox began playing competitive Counter-Strike in 2006^[8] but made his name in Counter-Strike: Source with French squads that dominated the game. Shox was a part of the VeryGames team that won ESWC 2011, his first Major.^[8] He rejoined VeryGames after Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released, becoming the best player in the world in late 2013 and early 2014.^[9]

In 2021 he joined a non-French team for the first time, signing with Team Liquid.^[10] Just six months later, he was moved to the bench after disappointing results.^[11] He then signed with a Norwegian organization, Apeks, in August 2022.^[12]