The Shanghai Major's conclusion has kicked off a whirlwind of roster changes across the Counter-Strike landscape, with teams making bold moves to prepare for the 2025 season. Here's a rundown of the most notable moves and rumors:
Ninjas in Pyjamas
According to neL’s report, NiP are revamping their roster while only returning r1nkle.
Departures: Gareth “MisteM” Ries, Isak “isak” Fahlén, Fredrik “REZ” Sterner, Max “maxster” Jansson
Rumored Additions: Rafael "arrozdoce" Wing, Michel "ewjerkz" Magalhães, Rasmus "sjuush" Beck, Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer
Gaimin Gladiators
The organization released its entire roster, which included:
Players: Nodios, Queenix, kraghen, roeJ, nicoodoz
Coach: casle
Benched: Patti, salazar
FNATIC
Benched: IGL Alexandre "bodyy" Pianaro
Departures: Coach Jamie "keita" Hall and AWPer Aurélien "afro" Drapier
Rumored Addition: Rodion “fear” Smyk
Reports suggest fnatic is exploring fresh talent to revitalize its lineup.
The team finalized its rebuild:
Additions: Timur "FL4MUS" Marev, Kaisar "ICY" Faiznurov (from Cloud9)
Departures: Longtime captain Dzhami "Jame" Ali, David "n0rb3r7" Danielyan
Denis "electroNic" Sharipov has taken over as IGL.
Team Vitality
Departure: Lotan "Spinx" Giladi
Rumored Addition: Robin "ropz" Kool from FaZe Clan
FaZe Clan
Reports suggest is in advanced talks to join FaZe, replacing Robin "ropz" Kool, who is reportedly heading to Vitality.
Departure: Robin "ropz" Kool
Rumored Addition: Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski from Complexity
TSM
Dust2.us reports that TSM is building a new roster with:
Anthony "vanity" Malaspina
Edgar "MarKE" Maldonado
Deni "dea" Ediev
Matthew "d4rty" Paplawskas
The lineup is still being finalized.
Eternal Fire
The Turkish team replaced Buğra "Calyx" Arkın with academy graduate Samet "jottAAA" Köklü, returning from his loan to Sangal.
Falcons
The team finalized its rebuild:
Rumored Addition: Nikola "NiKo" Kovač, Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski, René "TeSeS" Madsen, Abdul "degster" Gasanov
Departures: Álvaro "SunPayus" García
HEROIC
The team is in advanced talks to finalize its roster:
Departures: Damjan "kyxsan" Stoilkovski, René "TeSeS" Madsen, Abdul "degster" Gasanov, Rasmus “sjuush” Beck
Targeted Additions: Linus "LNZ" Holtäng, Yasin "xfl0ud" Koç, Simon "yxngstxr" Boije from Sangal
Potential Additions: Álvaro "SunPayus" García, Linus "nilo" Bergman
Complexity
According to dust2.us’ report, the team is in talks to finalize its roster:
Targeted Additions: Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk, Nick "nicx" Lee
Departures: Ricky "floppy" Kemery, Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski
Other Notable Moves
G2: former in-game leader, Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen, entered free agency on January 1, 2025.
BIG: Benched Florian "syrsoN" Rische.
Alliance: B0denmaster leaves the roster.
Liquid: Benched YEKINDAR, with NertZ rumored to join.
FlyQuest: Signed regali as their AWPer.
9z: Benched buda and tge.
Lynn Vision: Acquired Starry from TYLOO.
The winter player break has already brought significant upheaval, with more moves expected as teams prepare for the 2025 season.
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