Though the CS2 cycle has just started, lots of professional teams have been making massive roster changes already.
Keeping track of every notable roster change in CS2 might be difficult even for the most avid fans, especially with all the rumors and reports on top of the confirmed moves. If you want to be aware of everything happening in CS2’s professional scene, this article will keep you up-to-date when it comes to all of the confirmed or rumored roster changes in CS2.
Natus Vincere/s1mple
S1mple confirmed on Oct. 26 he’s taking a break from competitive CS2. The GOAT didn’t play at IEM Sydney, the first big CS2 tournament, earlier this month and is open to hearing offers and potentially becoming a primary rifler.
HLTV reported on Oct. 26 that NAVI is close to signing Sprout’s AWPer Ihor “w0nderful” Zhdanov to replace s1mple.
Heroic
Heroic caught the entire CS2 community off guard on Oct. 4 as it announced the benching of cadiaN, the longtime in-game leader of the team. The all-Danish squad were one of the most consistent CS:GO teams in the world for years but had an awful performance at ESL Pro League season 18 in September, before CS2 was released worldwide.
Heroic signed dupreeh on Oct. 23 to fill cadiaN’s spot until the end of the year at least. But on Oct. 25, the organization temporarily benched Matin “stavn” Lund and Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard. Heroic claimed the duo made the organization choose between cadiaN or the rest of the team after the disastrous Pro League run, and because stavn and jabbi allegedly promised to renew their expiring contracts, Heroic sided with them.
After cadiaN was benched, though, stavn and jabbi allegedly betrayed Heroic and informed the organization they wanted to join Astralis, Heroic said in a statement. Later that day, stavn hinted that Heroic is lying about the situation.
Falcons
Falcons has finalized a deal with Magisk, according to a report by HLTV on Oct. 27. He’s the first CS2 player joining the Saudi organization following zonic’s arrival earlier in October.
Cloud9
The pickups of electroNic and Perfecto in July were meant to bring C9 back to the top, but the team is still struggling to achieve anything meaningful. Nobody, however, was expecting sh1ro to ask to leave C9’s starting lineup on Oct. 26 and become a restricted free agent at the beginning of CS2’s cycle. It’s currently unclear who will pick sh1ro up and who C9 is targeting to replace the best player on the roster.
Team Liquid
After a rocky start with the roster composed of a majority of European players, Liquid is looking for a major roster overhaul.
Liquid is bringing back Twistzz, signing cadiaN to take the in-game leadership role from YEKINDAR and become the primary sniper, replacing Joshua “oSee” Ohm with Brazilian prospect Felipe “skullz” Medeiros, and hiring two-time Major champion Wilton “zews” Prado in place of coach Damian “daps” Steel, Dust2.us reported on Oct. 22.
Ninjas in Pyjamas
NiP benched its captain Hampus Poser on Oct. 24 after a string of bad results at the end of the CS:GO cycle and replaced him with Patrick “es3tag” Hansen, who was on the bench. On Oct. 25, NiP’s general manager Björn “THREAT” Pers said NiP will sign a new IGL in the future despite es3tag doing a “fantastic job” for now.
HLTV reported on Oct. 31 that Movistar Riders’ in-game leader Alejandro “alex” Masanet is set to join NiP soon.
