Bongo

**Bongo**, also known by his in game alias **Bashar**, is a player, caster and organizer of the Grand Tournaments. He has been a key behind the scenes figure in the expansion and continued existence of the Grand Tournaments and is one of only two players to have participated in all tournaments to date, with the other being co-organizer Miindy. Despite his prominence in running the tournaments and in casting, his on field results have been relatively lackluster, with two third place finishes being his best results and having underperformed expectations on multiple occasions.

## Appearances

### Appears in

Greg Gaming Invitational 1 Greg Gaming Invitational 2 Greg Gaming Invitational 3 Among Us Invitational 2021 Among Us Invitational 2022

### Debut

Greg Gaming Invitational 1

He is currently sponsored by the FaZe Clan, and has been since June of 2020, following being dropped by Supreme. He is typically considered in the mid to upper echelon of players by strength, but below the "goats".

Bongo's results
 Greg Gaming 2
 Greg Gaming 3
 Among Us 1
 Among Us 2
 Indigo Major

## Greg Gaming Invitational 1

Bongo participated in the inaugural Greg Gaming Invitational and the inaugural Grand Tournament. He was sponsored by Supreme and was drawn against Plazma for his opening match. He went into the tournament favored to reach the Semi Finals with a good shot of making the final.

His quarter final against Plazma on Vertigo started off evenly, but quickly shifted in favor of Plazma. After Plazma had reached 8 rounds and secured at least overtime Bongo staged a small comeback before being ultimately dispatched by Plazma 9-5. The match proved to be an embarrassing defeat for Bongo who remarked later that nerves prevented him from playing as strongly as he had hoped to once the situation declined while Plazma remarked he felt confident after building up a healthy lead against Bongo. The loss to Plazma caused him to be dropped by Supreme shortly after the tournament.

## Signing with FaZe and Golden Era

After being dropped by Supreme, Bongo was signed by the FaZe Clan and shifted his name to Bashar. He had used the alias for other esports such as Sid Meier's Civilization 5 and as such the organization was willing to sign him for Counter Strike as well.

### Greg Gaming Invitational 2

Bongo was once again invited to participate in the second iteration of the Greg Gaming Invitational and was drawn against Sam in the Quarter Finals. Expectations were at a similar level to before with him being expected to reach at least a further round. The match against Sam ended up being much more difficult than many anticipated, with the game being a back and forth with Sam taking the lead at many points, contrary to what was expected. Bongo eventually won the match 9-7 and remarked once again that nerves were making him very shaky during the match as soon as things had turned negatively. He then advanced to the Semi Final against Miindy, in which Miindy was heavily favored to win. The first half of the match was an unexpected back and forth in which it stayed a level 4-4. However, Miindy swept the second half to secure a 9-4 to relegate Bongo to the third place match against defending champion Ryan, following his narrow loss to Pizza. Bongo triumphed in the match 9-5, achieving his first podium finish and his highest finish yet.

### Greg Gaming Invitational 3

Bongo returned for the third Greg Gaming Invitational in a similar position once again. He was drawn to have a bye through the first round and was set to play the winner of Ducky vs Curry in the quarter finals. Following Ducky's overtime victory over Curry, he faced Ducky in the quarter finals and the game very much mirrored Bongo's quarter final match against Sam the tournament prior. It was a nervy back and forth match that ultimately resulted in a 9-7 victory for Bongo. With the victory Bongo secured his second consecutive top 4 finish alongside a second second consecutive semifinal appearance and would be his first match against to be Teddy. The semifinal against Teddy was another high intensity back and forth match, ultimately being pushed into overtime where Teddy triumphed with a narrow 10-9 victory. Following the defeat to Teddy, Bongo would be pushed into the third place match yet against, this time facing Candy. His match against Candy ended a solid 9-4 win for Bongo, with Candy leaving the game in an upset mood. Bongo achieved his second consecutive third place and podium finish with his victory over Candy, which would still be standing as his best result.

## Among Us Era and Disappointments

### Among Us Invitational 2021

Heading into the first Among Us Invitational, Bongo was once again one of the participants as per usual, continuing his streak of being in every tournament held. He was drawn against Plazma on Overpass in the first round, not being one of the four who had been given a bye. It was a rematch of Bongo's first loss and first game in tournament history and he was seeking to avenge that match and not have a repeat early round embarrassment. Bongo ended up sweeping the match 9-2, a massive shift in results from their first meeting, firing Bongo into the second round for a rematch against Teddy on Cobblestone. The match started off well for Bongo, with him leading 6-2 at the half. However, Teddy swept the entire second half of the match, coming back to win 9-6. The rematch served to start a slight rivalry between the two, as both of their meetings had been intense and due to their closeness in skill. His loss against Teddy sent him down to the losers bracket and losers round 1 against Miindy. It was an unfortunate pairing for Bongo, who would lose the match 9-0 on Nuke. While the match should've been intense and ill tempered due to the rivalry between Cloud9 and FaZe, it was not, as both players came together and messed around during the game after it became clear it would be a shutout for Miindy. The match was Bongo's worst defeat and provided him with his lowest placing ever.

### Among Us Invitational 2022

Following his poor performances in the previous Among Us Invitational, Bongo came in with a lot of pressure to improve on his prior results. He entered the tournament in the same skill bracket as he had always been and was drawn into Group A with familiar faces Sam and Teddy, alongside newcomer Rue in his current city of residence of Houston. His first match was against rival Teddy and was a repeat of their most recent meeting with Bongo taking a 5-3 lead in the first half before being swept in the second half to lose 9-5. His next match was against Sam, and far from being the nervy close match of last time, ended as a clean 9-2 win for Bongo, putting him with a record of 1-1 against the other 1-1 player Rue in his final match. Most rounds of the match ended up being close, however Rue won the lion's share, triumphing 9-4. With a record of 1-2, Bongo finished 3rd in his group and was sent to the losers bracket for a matchup against Temod. The match in Las Vegas proved to be an easy one for Bongo, with him taking a 9-2 victory over Temod to advance to the second Losers Round against Stefflon. Bongo had hoped for Teddy to lose that match up to meet his rival again, but instead was up against Stefflon where he won 9-5, advancing to the third losers round against Philip. Bongo's third Vegas showdown would also be his first loss, with Philip shutting him out in the first half 8-0, before a quick second half with the match ending 9-2. The defeat would mark Bongo's elimination from the tournament. His performance was a second underperformance in a row, although it was an improvement on his previous result. Following the tournament rumors began to surface that Bongo's poor results had caused a rift between him and his organization, which some claims he could be dropped if his results were to not improve.

## Organizational Work

In addition to playing in every single tournament, Bongo has taken a key role in behind the scenes work as well. He has casted for every single tournament and has been in charge of creating and editing the official brackets for every single competition. He was an organizer of the Greg Gaming Invitationals, although those tournaments had a far less centralized form of organization. Heading into the Among Us Invitational Era, Bongo has been a key organizer collaborating with Miindy to keep the tournaments running. For the Among Us Invitational 2022 he created graphics for the matches and groups of the tournament.

## Personal Life

Bongo was born in Miami, Florida and currently resides in Houston, Texas. He holds both American and Belizean citizenship and has lived in both countries.

## Bongo's Statistics

 Win/Loss Record
 OT
 Win Percentage
 Rounds Played
 Round wins/losses
 Round difference
 Round winrate
 Best finish
 Top 4 finishes