I can still remember watching South African star Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek, at a young age, play for Bravado Gaming on LAN. That's almost a decade ago, and while my hands are sore from all the typing, Sonic continues to be a player local gamers can look up to.

He has been active since 2014 and has played for local teams such as Energy Esports, ATK Arena, Nixuh, as well as international squads such as Cloud9, Extra Salt, and Bad News Bears. Most recently, however, Sonic played with Wildcard Gaming before parting ways with the organization.

I am happy to report that Sonic has found a new home at NRG, as he's been added to the starting lineup for the American organization's CS2 squad.

• Jeorge “Jeorge” Endicott
• Alexander “br0” Bro
• Zechrie “XotiC” Elshani
• Aran “Sonic” Groesbeek
• Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella (IGL)
• Damian “daps” Steele (Coach)

With Aran, NRG has already won their first minor LAN, Fragadelphia Fragville 2025 in Knoxville, US, where they beat Ninjas in Pyjamas with a 3-1 score in the Grand Final.

Next up, NRG will compete at the ESL Pro League Season 22 Stage 1 in Europe, fighting for one of eight spots in Stage 2, aka the main event. We can't wait to see how far Sonic can climb under the NRG banner, and we wish the 26-year-old South African nothing but the best!

Header image via PGL.