As usual, we will bring you the latest player transfers from the world of Esports every two weeks in 2021. After it was relatively quiet in the Dota scene last year, due to Covid-19, many teams are now coming back.
In CS:GO, whole rosters change teams and the Dota 2 scene continues to get an influx of new teams. The first mixed team from a major organization starts in Valorant, and a CoD legend hangs up the controller.
CS:GI: Old GODSENT Roster Leaves, New Brazilian Project Launches
Cloud9: Woxic Goes, Xeppa Comes
Özgür "woxic" Eker leaves Cloud9, and is replaced by Erick "Xeppa" Bach.
Statement regarding Cloud9 CS:GO & Woxic.Wishing him the very best of luck in the future. More to come in the next couple of days.. pic.twitter.com/SSotR8UDBh
— C9 HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) January 18, 2021
After only three months at Cloud9, Woxic is now looking for a new team again. According to General Manager HenryG, one of the main reasons was Woxic's bad ping, as well as the unfavorable time difference.
He will be replaced by former Chaos player Xeppa in the future.
Some say he has unfinished business with CS:GO and I tend to agreeThe Colossus is back online on the 25th. Player: Erick '@Xeppaaa' Bach Role: Entry Rifle~ Contract: 3 year (Starting January 2021) Deal Value: $432,000 ($540,000 Potential with bonus)#C9win https://t.co/rOT1G9GA4q
— C9 HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) January 22, 2021
That Xeppa would go to Cloud9 had been suspected for some time. The signing now allows him to continue pursuing his CS:GO career, while his former teammates Vanity and Leaf try their luck in Valorant.
Ninjas in Pyjamas: Twist on the Bench
Simon “twist” Eliasson has been removed from the active roster and will be replaced by an academy player.
Thank you @twist https://t.co/LZmkM5SHVK#GONINJAS pic.twitter.com/oybD5MGwh5
— Ninjas in Pyjamas (@NIPGaming) February 2, 2021
After poor results, and a downward spiral in the team that needed to be interrupted, NiP decided to bench twist. With 17-year-old Erik “ztr” Gustafsson, an academy player moves up to improve the group dynamic again. The first opponent for the new roster is Astralis... A tough debut for the young Swede.
FaZe: Twistzz Replaces Kjaerbye
After Markus "Kjaerbye” Kjærbye was benched, he was replaced by former Team Liquid star Russel "Twistzz” Van Dulken.
Twistzz is here. CAPlease join us in welcoming @Twistzz to FaZe Clan's professional Counter Strike roster & starting lineup!#FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/6rbt6kuhdQ
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) January 30, 2021
Twistzz had announced he was leaving Liquid at the IEM Global Challenge,] right after their loss to Astralis, and had been without a team ever since. Now, he is part of the new FaZe roster, which is currently in transition after NiKo left the team. We are curious to see if the Canadian can continue his old successes at FaZe.
FunPlus Phoenix: GODSENT Roster Taken Over
With Jesse “zehN” Linjala, Pavle “Maden” Bošković, Martin "STYKO" Styk, Asger "Farlig" Jensen and Coach Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg, the Chinese organization takes over the old GODSENT roster.
AssembleProud to be Phoenix. Presenting our new CS:GO roster -SE Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg (Coach)ME Pavle "maden" BoskovicDK Asger "farlig" JensenFI Jesse "zehN" LinjalaSK Martin "STYKO" StykStay tuned for the last piece of the puzzleLET'S ROCK IT#FPX #FPXCSGO pic.twitter.com/Bh3mlqKMF3
— FPX (@FPX_Esports) January 25, 2021
Temporarily, Chris “chrisJ” de Jong will take over the role of in-game leader, as a player on loan from mousesports.
Our last piece of the puzzle for the first tournament of 2021 is readyPlease welcome chrisJ to stand-in and fight with us for the DreamHack Open! Let the Phoenix fly even higher boys!See you guys in the match!#FPX #FPXCSGO pic.twitter.com/K77RATJMmb
— FPX (@FPX_Esports) January 26, 2021
ChrisJ was recently benched from mousesports to make room for acoR. So, the relaunch of the FunPlus Phoenix CS:GO roster comes at a perfect time for him. The organization announced they want to prove themselves as a top-tier team in 2021.
Mousesports: acoR Is Here
As mentioned just now, Frederik “acoR” Gyldstrand replaces chrisJ, who moved to FPX.
Please welcome @acoRCS to mouz CS:GO Frederik will strengthen our roster with immediate effect and takes over the position of Chris "ChrisJ" de Jong. The 23-year-old Dane is joining us from Mad Lions and will make his debut at Summit on Monday. #ReadyWillingAble #TeamRazer pic.twitter.com/mak6tlvDbc
— mousesports (@mousesports) January 23, 2021
AcoR last played for MAD Lions, and will continue to play the role of AWPer. The organization already announced that they are looking for a replacement for Karrigan, as he does not want to extend his contract. In particular, Renagade's Christopher “dexter” Nong is being discussed.
GODSENT: The Brazil Project
And what does GODSENT do? Right, they finally give a home to the Brazilian project that has been speculated about for months.
GODSENT E BRASIL / GODSENT IS BRAZIL#GOD1 | #CSGO pic.twitter.com/9qxv2Ieo5i
— GODSENT (@GODSENT) January 21, 2021
The new Brazilian roster is led by Epitacio “TACO” de Melo, and coached by Olavo “chucky” Napoleão. Also joining the team is João "felps" Vasconcellos, and Ricardo "dead" Sinigaglia, two former MIBR players. Dead will take on the role of manager. The remaining players are former Yeah star Eduardo "dumau" Wolkmer, Bruno "b4rtiN" Câmara and Bruno "latto" Rebelatto. All players have signed for at least three years, and we are really excited to see what this experiment has to offer.
Dota 2: Two New Teams Enter The Arena
Tundra Esports: The FIFA Org Starts in Dota
The organization announces its Dota 2 roster with Adrian "Fata" Trinks (captain), Oliver "skiter" Lepko, Leon "Nine" Kirilin, Neta "33" Shapira, Malthe "Biver" Winther and Curtis "Curtis" Coffin (manager).
2021 will be a major year for our club. Today, we are excited to announce our expansion into @DOTA2! Meet the new squad:@DotaFata @Skiter @RAX_Nine@33Dota @BiverDota Read More: https://t.co/8Be9nWVeNN pic.twitter.com/eLmYG4jlDA
— Tundra Esports (@TundraEsports_) January 25, 2021
Tundra Esports previously made a name for themselves primarily in FIFA, but now decided to seek their fortune in Dota 2 as well. Dota 2 has been the focus of the organization for a long time, and now is the right time to get involved. With the team under Fata's leadership, they want to become one of the top teams in Europe.
High Coast Esports: Another Org Takes the Plunge
The Swedish organization takes over the Chicken Fighters roster and thus ventures into the Dota 2 scene.
[#ANNOUNCEMENT]The time has come. We're proud to announce our @DOTA2 roster. You'll catch us on the 23rd, battling it out in Dreamleague's EU Division 1 over at @DreamHackDota! SE @EraDota SE @ChessieDota SE @charliedota SE @Xibbe CZ @SupreamDota FI @okcyadota - Coach pic.twitter.com/yDzoJdDIqh
— High Coast Esports (@HighCoastES) January 20, 2021
The team consisting of Charlie “CharlieDota” Arat, Ondrej “Supream ^” Starha, Rasmus "Chessie" Blomdin, Adrian "Era" Kryeziu and Andreas "Xibbe" Regnemalm already qualified for DPC 2021. Originally, the roster was part of NiP, but they parted ways with their Dota roster at the end of 2020. We wish the team luck under the banner of the Swedish organization High Coast Esports.
Evil Geniuses: RAMZES666 Leaves the Team
Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarav leaves the Dota roster of Evil Geniuses.
Today we say goodbye to @Ramzes.We want to thank Roman for his time and contributions as a member of our EG #dota2 roster. pic.twitter.com/DTziHF7Fqe
— Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) February 1, 2021
RAMZES666 has been a professional Dota player since 2015, and played for Team Spirit, Team Empire and Virtus.pro, among others. He is also the first CIS player, and the fourth player ever to break the magic barrier of 10,000 MMR. Nothing is known about his future plans yet.
League of Legends: Tian Takes Time Off
FunPlus Phoenix: Break for Health Reasons
Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang is taking a break from competitive LoL due to health issues.
This is not an easy call for Tian. We'll get over this with him together, and we also believe he will get back stronger.Tian, we are waiting for The Return of the King! pic.twitter.com/13qiVTGFnP
— FPX (@FPX_Esports) January 21, 2021
The Jungler stated that he has been having motivational problems for quite some time, and he has been feeling sick more and more often due to constant stress. He will therefore take some time off, and seek professional help. During his break, he will be replaced by Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo.
Valorant: The First Mixed Roster of a Major Organization
Evil Geniuses: 2 Women, Three Men - It's Possible.
With EG Valorant, the organization introduces a mixed roster.
You know we couldn't sit this one out. Introducing our official @ValorantEsports Champions Tour roster: @omgitspotter@aleksandarosa@claudiache12@TemperatureCSGO@OsiasPHThe team will be kicking off their 2021 season TODAY in the VCT Open Qualifier. #LIVEEVIL pic.twitter.com/q5Ry4Ox4iU
— Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) January 27, 2021
The team consists of Nolan "Temperature" Pepper, Aleksandar "aleksandar" Hinojosa, Ronan "Osias" Javelona, Claudia "Clawdia" Che, and team leader Christine "potter" Chi. The female duo of Clawdia and potter comes from GX3, who made it to the finals in FTW Summer Showdown, where they lost to MAJKL.
Seven-time Counter-Strike World Champion, potter, will take the lead of the EG Valorant roster. Evil Geniuses’ CEO, Nicole LaPointe Jameson, said they watched a large number of players from the beginning, and considered how to create the best possible roster – a mixed roster seemed most promising here.
Call of Duty: A Legend Goes
New York Subliners: ZooMaa Is Calling it Quits
Tommy “ZooMaa” Paparratto announced, just before the start of CDL 2021, that he is ending his professional career.
Taking a step back from competitive Call of Duty...Read: https://t.co/z3g9YRIvnC
— NYSL ZooMaa (@ZooMaa) January 19, 2021
He cites an injury to his thumb as the reason for his sudden retirement, saying it never healed properly because he never took an extended break. As he could only play in pain due to the injury, and could not reach his full potential, he preferred to step back. However, he also emphasized how difficult the decision was for him, and that his heart is still attached to Call of Duty. He wants to stay loyal to the scene, and is already thinking about how he could do that in the future. Maybe we will see ZooMaa as a coach or content creator in the future, we will see.
FIFA: New Player for SV Wehen
SV Wehen Weisbaden: riedle_gaming Strengthens the Team
Marco “riedle_gaming” Riedle will play for the SV Wehen Wiesbaden Esports team in the future.
— riedle_gaming (@riedle_gaming) January 19, 2021
The 27-year-old will compete alongside Alexander “bono” Rauch and Sascha "M_ocki” Mockenhaupt in the DFB-ePokal. The player also represents the Esports Friends Gaming organization and, as part of his new contract, will also be a regular on SVWW's Twitch channel, where he streams his FUT Weekend League matches.
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