The recent ELEAGUE Major: Boston kicked off a new year of CS:GO action, but its conclusion also had a domino effect, leading many teams to revamp their rosters.
Cloud9 won the Major over heavily favored FaZe Clan and, coincidentally, roster shuffles subsequently ran amok. The conclusion of the Boston Major led to roster shuffles in both the North American and European regions, as Valve Major roster lock rules no longer barred teams from making roster changes.
Related: Cloud9 conquer FaZe Clan in the ELEAGUE Major: Boston grand final
Unfortunately for many teams, it became apparent that they were no longer matching the cohesive and strategic firepower that C9 and FaZe brought to the current international scene. This has become especially difficult with Brazilian juggernaut SK Gaming also vying for the top spot in the world, since they were arguably the best team in 2017. To alleviate performance problems, teams generally resort to swapping out players in hopes of improving their overall synergy and performance—all in an effort to become the best in the world.
Here’s a summary of all of the roster changes that went down after the Boston Major, which concluded Jan. 28. The term “Drops” refers to a player being released, traded, benched or removed from the active roster by some other method. “Adds” means a player was signed to the team as a replacement.
Europe (EU)
The biggest changes in Europe were trades for Danish stars between Astralis, North, and OpTic Gaming. Virtus Pro was also the major headline within the realm of controversial changes. They’re no longer the longest lasting CS:GO lineup in history. As for the rest of the contenders in the region, it seems they’re just trying to return to a competitive form that’s good enough to compete at a high level in offline tournaments.
FaZe Clan
- Drops: Xizt (substitute), cromen (substitute)
- Adds: olofmeister (personal hiatus)
Astralis
North
Virtus Pro
Team Envy
Gambit Esports
- Drops: fitch, seized
- Adds: mir, B1ad3 (coach)
OpTic Gaming
- Drops: mixwell, Magisk, Friberg, allu, HS, stanislaw, ShahZaM
- Adds: k0nfig, cajunb, Gade, JuGi, Snappi
BIG
Heroic
Team LDLC
Ninjas in Pyjamas
G2 Esports
Vega Squadron
Fnatic
Mousesports
Not listed: Natus Vincere
North America (NA)
Cloud9, Liquid, and OpTic were the biggest changes in North America, with both teams opting to make drastic moves with players outside the region. But for many other teams it seems they are in transition periods, in which they’re still developing to become a force at the international level.
Cloud9
Team Liquid
MIBR (formerly SK Gaming)
Misfits
- Drops: ShahZaM, Sean Gares, SicK
- Adds: N/A (The organization has left CS:GO.)
Renegades
compLexity Gaming
NRG Esports
- Drops: AnJ
- Adds: nahtE
Former 100 Thieves
- Drops: kNg
- Adds: N/A (The organization has left CS:GO, but the team is remaining together.)
Former CLG
Rogue Gaming
- Drops: gMd, ryx
- Adds: SicK, Rickeh
Torqued (formerly GX)
Ghost Gaming (formerly Torqued)
- Drops: seb, vSa, stan1ey, MAiNLiNE
- Adds: steel, koosta, Pollo, Wardell
NTC
Luminosity Gaming
This article will be updated as more teams undergo roster changes. It will consistently change until the next Valve Major period, which is expected to begin around mid-Summer 2018.
H/T Flickshot
