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Most Notable CS2 Transfers of 2024’s Rostermania

Counter-Strike’s Rostermania or silly season, call it what you want – the time for player movement between teams – is definitely upon us. The Perfect World Shanghai Major was the final event for the pro circuit in 2024, and for some players, it was also the last time they would ever play with their respective squads. Some were benched, others simply left without certainty for the future, while more high-profile players already had deals in place with their new teams prior to the final event of the year. From shock roster moves to complete lineup overhauls and free agents stepping into a new challenge, here are the biggest CS2 transfers and roster changes of 2024’s Rostermania.

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NiKo leaves G2 after a four-year stint

niko from g2 to falcons

Perhaps the biggest roster move that everyone was already aware of for months was Nikola “NiKo” Kovač’s transfer from G2 to Falcons, which was confirmed in August of last year. The news definitely shocked the entire world of Counter-Strike, as NiKo had become synonymous with the G2 brand already, through both the good and the bad, as one of the organization’s greatest players of all time. This set up the storyline for one last run at a Major championship, which would not only be the first for G2 but NiKo as well. Even with the help of the second-best overall player and #1 AWPer in the world, Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, NiKo fell short of his ultimate goal at the Major’s playoff stage as G2 was eliminated by FaZe Clan in the semi-finals. On January 3, 2025, NiKo officially became a member of Falcons – a team that is admittedly far from Tier 1 quality but will now be captained by one of the best mechanical players in history. NiKo’s legacy with G2 will be written not by the silverware but rather by the passion and love for the game that cannot be replicated by anything else. It’s safe to say that even as he enters this next chapter of his career, NiKo will always be a legend within the G2 organization.


YEKINDAR is benched on Team Liquid in favor of NertZ

yekindar benched on liquid, nertz heroic to nertz liquid

Compared to traditional sports, where getting benched is not necessarily the end of the journey on a given team, esports doesn’t quite work the same way. When Mareks “⁠YEKINDAR⁠” Gaļinskis signed a contract with Team Liquid all the way back in 2022, the move was widely praised by fans of the organization and the global Counter-Strike community. Starting out as a temporary stand-in for the team months before the move was announced, the impact everyone expected from him was quickly seen. YEKINDAR usually topped the scoreboard and was a major reason for Team Liquid’s success for a significant amount of time. Just like every player, however, YEKINDAR’s form dipped and has struggled to reach the highs he once did before. As Team Liquid continued their struggles as an organization, they ended 2024 with yet another significant roster move by benching someone who had been one of the core pieces of their lineup for the past two years. YEKINDAR’s spot was quickly filled in by Guy “⁠NertZ⁠” Iluz; however, members of the community have pointed out that the entry fragging role YEKINDAR used to carry out in matches may not have been entirely filled by NertZ joining the team. Still, only time will tell if Team Liquid’s ambitious roster shakeup will pay off.


ropz says goodbye after three years of competitive play with FaZe Clan

faze ropz vitality

On the very last day of the year, FaZe Clan made an announcement on all their social media pages with a tribute to one of the most intellectually gifted and consistent players ever: Robin “⁠ropz⁠” Kool. Just over a week earlier, it was reported that ropz had agreed to terms with Vitality as his contract with FaZe was already set to expire. He replaced Lotan “⁠Spinx⁠” Giladi, who had informed Vitality of his desire to join a new team a few months earlier, on the starting lineup. Under the ropz era, FaZe won the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and a plethora of Tier 1 tournaments, including two ESL Pro Leagues, IEM Cologne, and the Intel Grand Slam Season 4. ropz is now part of a stacked Vitality lineup that includes French legends Dan “⁠apEX⁠” Madesclaire and Mathieu “⁠ZywOo⁠” Herbaut, a young Shahar “⁠flameZ⁠” Shushan who is already one of the best in the scene, veteran William “⁠mezii⁠” Merriman, and longtime coach Rémy “⁠XTQZZZ⁠” Quoniam. Vitality has always been considered a capable contender, and with the addition of ropz, there is a whole lot more excitement for the future.


Falcons acquire HEROIC trio

falcons cs2 roster

One of the bigger CS2 transfers in terms of how significantly two different lineups were changed was the three-player transfer between HEROIC and Falcons. For quite some time, Falcons’ roster was only Emil “Magisk” Reif and coach Danny “⁠zonic⁠” Sørensen as the team’s failure to qualify for the Shanghai Major caused some problems and led to players simply opting out of the team. They had their sights on both NiKo and m0NESY, but the latter could not be swayed to leave his post at G2, leaving three empty spots on the roster by the end of December. That all changed when it was reported that the organization was having discussions with HEROIC regarding the trio of Damjan “⁠kyxsan⁠” Stoilkovski, René “⁠TeSeS⁠” Madsen and Abdul “⁠degster⁠” Gasanov, and in early January the signing was finalized and Falcons finally had a complete roster on their hands. The move was strategic for Falcons as kyxsan, TeSeS, and degster all brought with them a significant amount of ranking points to help boost their new team’s spot in the standings and push for a return to Tier 1 events. What was once seen as a team that would be stuck in the re-building phase forever now looks ready to be a legitimate threat against bigger organizations.


An all-new international lineup for HEROIC

heroic cs2 roster

After losing kyxsan, TeSeS, and degster to Falcons, Rasmus “⁠sjuush⁠” Beck to Ninjas in Pyjamas, and NertZ to Team Liquid, HEROIC were effectively an organization without a single player on their active roster. Their ranks wouldn’t be empty for long, though, as it was announced early in January that the organization had signed Linus “⁠LNZ⁠” Holtäng, Simon “⁠yxngstxr⁠” Boije, Yasin “⁠xfl0ud⁠” Koç, Álvaro “⁠SunPayus⁠” García, Andrey “⁠tN1R⁠” Tatarinovich, and Linus “⁠nilo⁠” Bergman. LNZ, yxngstxr, and xfl0ud all bring their youth coming from Sangal, SunPayus and nilo earn a new place to shine after getting out of Falcons’ bench, and tN1R makes his first-ever appearance with a Tier 1 organization after a career of mostly smaller teams. There isn’t exactly a lot of championship pedigree within HEROIC’s current lineup, given that it is a relatively young group with only one true veteran, but the potential is there. It’s also worth noting that SunPayus has an MVP medal to his name from IEM Dallas 2023, where he, alongside the rest of ENCE, stunned everybody with a remarkable campaign. He was also acknowledged as the sixth-best player of that same year, which further establishes his name as a good veteran to look up to for the likes of yxngstxr and company. The mix of players is definitely interesting to say the least, so the world must simply stay tuned for what HEROIC ends up achieving next.


North America’s GOAT joins FaZe Clan

elige faze from complexity cs2

Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski is not only one of the best players in the world but simply of all time. Especially in North America, where he has spent practically his entire career, he is viewed as a legend with a certified winning legacy. Eight years with Team Liquid and 18 months on Complexity later, he finally decided to make the jump overseas and transferred to Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s FaZe Clan team who needed someone to fill in the void left behind by the one and only ropz. If a replacement is what they need, then it’s hard to imagine any better than the very best North America has to offer. EliGE had one of the most unsuccessful stretches of his life with Complexity, as they did not win a single LAN trophy compared to all the success he once enjoyed with Team Liquid. Still, he was far and beyond their most consistent player and a veteran of the game with tons of experience to offer. The change-up from Complexity to FaZe is definitely a big one as EliGE is now surrounded by a group of Major champions, with the exception of 22-year-old David “frozen” Čerňanský, who is also eager to win one for the first time in his life. Having made it all the way to the grand final of the Perfect World Shanghai Major, losing only to the best team and individual player of 2024, it’s no secret that there is so much potential within FaZe’s current squad, and this may just be EliGE’s best shot at succeeding internationally one last time before his days of playing are up.

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