Every second week, we bring you the latest player transfers from the esports scene. This time there are some changes among the biggest names in the scene.
InCS:GO NiKo is changing the team, VP.Prodigy is upgrading their roster in Dota 2, Bjergsen is ending his LoL-player career, C9 is presenting a female Valorant team and there is also some movement in FIFA and Fortnite.
CS:GO: NiKo Moves to G2, FaZe Restructures, Aerial Takes a Break and Casemiro Founds His Own Team
G2: NiKo Has Arrived
The transfer from FaZe superstar Nikola "NiKo" Kovač to G2, which has long been suspected, has finally been confirmed.
WE GOT HIM pic.twitter.com/z0AML7J8rR
— G2 Esports (@G2esports) October 28, 2020
After almost two months NiKo's transfer from FaZe to G2 was finally confirmed. NiKo played for FaZe for three and a half years after he was bought out of mousesports in 2017 in one of the most expensive CS:GO transfers ever. At G2 he is united with his cousin Nemanja "huNter-" Kovač. As G2 made sound, he will probably not, as previously thought, oust François "AmaNEk" Delaunay from the roster, as the org is also toying with the idea of playing with an extended roster.
FaZe: Coach Leaves, Olofmeister Comes
Shortly after NiKo, coach Janko "YNk" Paunović also announced to leave FaZe, while Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer returns as a stand-in for NiKo.
Today we also part ways with our CS:GO coach, @YNk.Thank you Janko, for the leadership, the guidance, and the trophies during your time coaching @FaZeClan. We wish you nothing but the best in the future! #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/ttBJeKoBqu
— #FaZeUp (@FaZeUpdate) October 28, 2020
One legend steps away, another legend steps in.Please welcome @olofmeister back to the FaZe CS:GO Starting Lineup to stand in for our coming matches!#FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/LXjQKaldyX
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) October 28, 2020
After the transfer of NiKo FaZe must restructure. Shortly after the announcement of NiKo's transfer coach YNk also decided to leave FaZe. He justified his decision by saying that he sees the best chance for the team to reinvent itself in finding not only a new in-game leader but also a new coach. He also announced that he will remain loyal to CS:GO, but will take a break until the end of the year.
Until a replacement for NiKo is found, olofmeister will step in as stand-in. He left the active roster in May this year due to fatigue and was replaced first by Bymas and later by Kjaerbye. We are excited to see who will replace NiKo in the long term and wish the team every success.
Complexity: Jks as Fifth Man
The transition of Justin "jks" Savage from 100 Thieves to Complexity is complete.
Welcome to Complexity @COL_jks#WeAreCOL pic.twitter.com/VvKfZgUKtB
— Complexity Gaming (@Complexity) October 23, 2020
The Australian will fill the gap of oBo, who has returned to the USA. This is the first time jks plays in a team outside of Australia, having previously played for Vox Eminor, Renegades, and 100 Thieves. In 2019 he made it to 15th place of the top players of the year and is now expected to help the team to new successes.
ENCE: Aerial Takes a Break
Jani "Aerial" Jussila retires from the active roster due to illness.
Jani @AerialCSGO Jussila has notified the organization that he is on sick leave indefinitely.Due to these circumstances we have had to cancel our participation in the upcoming Elisa Invitational by BLAST.Read more: https://t.co/zc300wc5x9#EZ4ENCE pic.twitter.com/PqIf5NhsWz
— ENCE (@ENCE) October 22, 2020
The Finnish organization announced that Aerial will step back from the active roster indefinitely and therefore they will not be able to participate in Elisa Invitational 2. The team is currently exploring their options and wants to refill the roster as soon as possible. Aerial has been underperforming for the last six months and is therefore withdrawing to concentrate on his own wellbeing. When he will be ready for action again is still in the stars.
CaseEsports: Casemiros Own CS:GO Team
Real Madrid star Casemiro announced his own CS:GO team – CaseEsports.
Hoy ya somos mas grandes, hoy nace @CaseEsports mi propio equipo de CSGO formado por @yanyepz, @dztfps, @delbonifps, @land1ncs y @n1ssimV. #WelcomeCaseEsports pic.twitter.com/JgMFNGGzD7
— Casemiro (@Casemiro) October 29, 2020
The team will compete in Spain, but will have a completely Brazilian roster. Casemiro himself has been playing CS:GO for a long time and in this way emphasizes his passion for the game. The roster looks like this:
- Denis "currently" Fischer
- Paulo "land1n" Felipe
- Felipe "deboNi" Delboni
- Yan "yepz" Pedretti
- Vinicius "n1ssim" Pereira
They will have their first test at the DreamHack Open December Qualifiers.
Dota 2: VP.Prodigy Complete Roster and New Team Enters the Scene
VP.Prodigy: Gpk and Illias Join the Team
Danil "gpk" Skutin and Illias "illias" Ganeev complete VP.Prodigy
Meet @illias_dota Ilyas "illias" Ganeev, fifth player of VP.Prodigy #GOGOVP Welcome to the Bears pic.twitter.com/X42m8IryMw
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) November 2, 2020
MEET OUR NEW PRODIGY PLAYER #GOGOVP pic.twitter.com/or8vOzsVjp
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) November 1, 2020
gpk already played for VP.Prodigy as a stand-in before, but will now be staying permanently and taking over the role as a mid-laner. Illias was taken over by NA'VI and the rest of the team even paid half of the transfer fee. The fifth player will also take position 5 in-game. With the two new additions the roster looks like this:
- Egor "epileptick1d" Grigorenko
- Danil "gpk" Skutin
- Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin
- Vitaly "Save-" Melnik (captain)
- Illiad "illias" Ganeev
Live to Win: A New Force
With Live to Win, a completely new team is entering the scene, founded by some of the big names in the CIS region. Among the members are former NA'VI, Virtus Pro and Extremum players. Right now the team consists of:
- Igor "iLTW" Filatov
- Rostislav "fn" Lozovoi
- Vasily "AfertLife" Shishkin
- Alexander "Immersion" Hmelevskoy
- Akbar "SoNNeikO" Butaev
- Gleb "FeelMyPain" Antokhin (Manager)
League of Legends: Bjergsen Becomes Coach
TSM: Bjergsen Ends His Player Career
Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg ends his career as a player and becomes coach of TSM.
TSM @Bjergsen announcement: https://t.co/gySbf4NoEJ pic.twitter.com/SCoghVKJAx
— TSM (@TSM) October 24, 2020
One of the best LoL players in North America has decided to abandon his mouse and keyboard. In the future, superstar mid laner Bjergsen will no longer play himself, but will instead coach his former team colleagues. After a more than disappointing performance at the Worlds 2020, TSM now has to find a mid laner replacement who can meet the expectations of the fanbase.
Valorant: First All-Female Roster
Cloud9: Women´s Power
C9 announces C9WHITE, the first all-female Valorant roster.
Who run the World? We are excited to announce alongside @ATT our newest @PlayVALORANT roster who's ready to take over. Please welcome #C9WHITE to the C9 family! #C9WIN @alexismarieNY @annie_dro @Jazzyk1ns @katsumiFPS @mel_anjiWatch: https://t.co/GCKR73hTgI pic.twitter.com/MVwILeazOk
— Cloud9 (@Cloud9) October 25, 2020
The team had previously played together under the name MAJKL and has now been taken over by the well-known organization. Under their old name they could already secure a fifth place at the Counter Logic Gaming Blitz Open Cup. We are curious what the five girls have to offer in the future.
Call of Duty: Royal Ravens Complete Their Roster
London Royal Ravens: Roster Complete
The Royal Ravens have also completed their roster for the upcoming season.
Representing the UK, with a point to prove.Watch out, because the #RavensAreComing pic.twitter.com/1ZxSvmlDlh
— London Royal Ravens (@RoyalRavens) October 29, 2020
Thomas "Dylan" Henderson and Trei "Zer0" Morris will once again play alongside their teammate Seany and will be supported by Alex "Alexx" Carpenter, who played for Minnesota ROKKR last season.
FIFA: PGeorge is Back
Borussia-E-Sports: An Old Friend Returns
Georgios "PGeorge7" Papatolis is back at Borussia-E-Sports.
Herzlich Willkommen zuruck @bmg_PGeorge https://t.co/ccbukWVd9G#borussia I #dieFohlen I #unzahmbar pic.twitter.com/BFmaJfDFLV
— Borussia-E-Sports (@borussia_esport) October 26, 2020
PGerorge7 drew some attention in 2018 as "Rookie of the Year" and started his career in 2019 for Borussia-E-Sports in the VBL. After a six-month break he is now back again and strengthens the team around Yannick "Jeffry95" Reiners and Eleftherios "Lefti" Ilias.
Fortnite: A Team Falls Apart
Team Atlantis: Atlantis Is Dissolving
Žygimantas Krisčiūnas, CEO of Team Atlantis, announced that the organization will have to close down.
THANK YOU #FeelTheFlowForever https://t.co/SSBLTS6a6d pic.twitter.com/CoNxBhtIW8
— Team Atlantis (@Team_Atlantis) October 28, 2020
Due to numerous problems, including COVID-19, Team Atlantis is forced to disband. All content creators, managers, and players are dismissed. The team thanks all members and the community and emphasizes how difficult the decision was.
That´s all for this week. You can find everything else from the world of esports and gaming on EarlyGame or the EarlyGame YouTube channel! Catch up on previous esports player transfers here.