Author: Jimmy “Infernal” Young

SAW has announced that Michel ‘ewjerkz’ Pinto will be leaving, marking the conclusion of a collaboration that began in July 2022. The 24-year-old was put on the bench at the beginning of December, with the organization stating that the rifler wished “to pursue new opportunities on the international scene” prior to José ‘⁠Shr’ Gil taking his spot on the active roster. SAW Announcement The Portuguese player is anticipated to secure his international transfer and join Ninjas in Pyjamas, who are preparing to refresh their lineup with four new members. The transition to the Swedish organization is expected to provide ‘ewjerkz’…

Sashi has revealed the acquisition of Rasmus ‘Zyphon’ Nordfoss from TSM, with the 20-year-old poised to replace Mikkel ‘MistR’ Thomsen on the main roster. The announcement follows a dry period for the Danish organization, which broke into the top 30 in July following their participation in the Esports World Cup. They participated in only one additional LAN event for the rest of 2024, the Perfect World Shanghai Major EU RMR, where they came close to securing a Major spot. The Danish team secured victories against Astralis and Eternal Fire but fell short against Virtus.pro and Spirit, finishing the RMR with…

Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač has signed with Falcons, marking the beginning of their rebuild for 2025 and concluding a year-long effort to secure his signature. Following strong connections with the Saudi organization in 2023, ‘NiKo’ turned down Falcons in a remarkable change of heart. However, this year, Falcons made another attempt, and Danny ‘⁠zonic⁠’ Sørensen’s determination has resulted in success. ‘NiKo’ has ranked among the top five players in the world on six separate occasions and has earned 8 MVP awards along with 49 EVP awards, yet he has not been able to secure a Major title even after teaming up…

Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač has departed from G2 in preparation for his highly anticipated transition to Falcons, as confirmed by the German organization. The Bosnian player enjoyed four successful years with G2, earning the IEM Cologne MVP award and achieving 2nd, 5th, 4th, and 3rd positions in the annual ranking of the top 20 players. His last appearance in G2 colors took place in Shanghai, where he lost to FaZe in the semi-finals, maintaining his status as the most accomplished individual player to have never claimed a Major title. Aiming for a major title, ‘NiKo’ is said to be embarking on…

Passion UA has parted ways with Rodion ‘⁠fear⁠’ Smyk, extending their best wishes for his “new journey” amid speculation about the in-game leader joining fnatic. This marks the team’s second adjustment during the off-season after Vsevolod ‘⁠s-chilla⁠’ Shchurov resigned on Friday to take an indefinite break because of burnout. ‘fear’ concludes an 11-month tenure with Passion UA following the team’s unexpected success in China, where they defeated Spirit, Virtus.pro, and Astralis in the Europe RMR to earn a spot at the Perfect World Shanghai Major. The Ukrainian team secured a 2-1 lead in the Opening Stage by defeating Complexity and…

Samet ‘jottAAA’ Köklü has taken the place of Buğra ‘Calyx’ Arkın on the roster of Eternal Fire as they head into the 2025 season, the Turkish organization declared on Thursday. The 22-year-old returns to the organization he played for from 2022 to 2024 as a member of their academy team. Last March, he was sent on loan to Sangal to further his development and ended up making a strong impression in lower-level play, achieving an average rating of 1.12 in 2024, as well as in their only major event appearance at ESL Pro League Season 20. ‘Calyx’ makes room for…

Alexandre ‘bodyy’ Pianaro has been sidelined from fnatic, as announced by the British organization on Thursday. The French player had served as the team’s in-game leader for just over a year, having joined in November 2023 to take over from Christopher ‘⁠dexter⁠’ Nong. During his tenure, fnatic’s most notable accomplishment was securing second place at the FiReLEAGUE 2024 Global Finals and qualifying for the Perfect World Shanghai Major. Even with two roster changes throughout the year and the recruitment of star rifler Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer, they still struggled to achieve success at major events. They took part in only three…

Passion UA has confirmed that Vsevolod ‘s-chilla’ Shchurov has left the roster to take an indefinite break from competitive play. In a video shared on the organization’s YouTube channel, ‘s-chilla’ disclosed that he has been struggling with burnout for a while. The announcement is quite unexpected, given that Passion UA was the uplifting narrative of the Shanghai Major. They secured their spot in the event by defeating Virtus.pro, Spirit, and Astralis in the Europe RMR, and they came close to advancing past the Opening Stage before suffering consecutive losses in qualification matches against GamerLegion and Wildcard. That performance propelled Passion…

Complexity has mutually agreed to end Ricky ‘floppy’ Kemery’s contract, as announced by the North American organization on Wednesday. This announcement follows less than a month after the 25-year-old was placed on the bench. ‘Floppy’ dedicated almost three years to Complexity after the organization acquired the Extra Salt core along with Michael ‘Grim’ Wince and Paytyn ‘junior’ Johnson in January 2022. During his time with Complexity, he participated in the Majors held in Antwerp, Paris, Copenhagen, and Shanghai, only missing the event in Rio de Janeiro after the team placed outside the qualification zone in the Americas RMR. In the…

FaZe has revealed that Robin ‘⁠ropz⁠’ Kool is leaving the team, bidding goodbye with a video that highlights his career and experiences with FaZe. The update comes after prior rumors indicated that ‘ropz’ might join Vitality to take Lotan ‘Spinx⁠’ Giladi’s place in the European squad. ‘Ropz’ had spent nearly three years with FaZe, reuniting with his former MOUZ teammate Finn ‘karrigan⁠’ Andersen in January 2022. Following ‘ropz’s integration into the team, FaZe achieved swift success, winning championships at IEM Katowice, PGL Major Antwerp, and IEM Cologne. FaZe Announcement ‘ropz’ and the FaZe team kept their strong performance going in…