CS2 Summer Rostermania 2025: Everything You Missed

It’s been a quiet few weeks on the server for Tier 1 Counter-Strike, as the post-major player break has been in full effect. However, silence on the server doesn’t mean that nothing has been happening. Over the last few weeks, the promised rostermania has delivered in spades. In this article, we’re going to give you a quick recap on everything you may have missed in the CS2 player break. 

Falcons Bring The Hype

Starting off with arguably the most talked-about move of the rostermania, Saudi org Falcons made the decision to remove a somewhat underperforming (until his farewell dance) Emil “Magisk” Reif. In his place, they have signed the hottest prospect of the moment – Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin.

For those of you living under a rock, kyousuke is touted by some as being ‘the next donk’. His mechanical prowess, impeccable crosshair placement, and frankly terrifying natural skill have also drawn comparisons to his new teammate, one Nikola “NiKo” Kovač.

Naturally, this high-profile move comes with some questions. Will the young Spirit Academy prospect be able to perform at the highest tier? Will Falcons be able to compete without a true anchor? Will NiKo be able to raise another demonically talented Russian child to stardom? Either way, Falcons have set themselves up to be a very exciting team to watch in the latter half of the year.

HEROIC Make Changes (again)

Since the end of the Casper “cadiaN” Møller era, HEROIC have developed something of a modus operandi: make some big roster changes, do pretty well with the team, make some big roster changes, repeat ad nauseam, and bank the profit. This rostermania has been no different.

In a shock move to many (including, it seems, to the player himself), HEROIC benched their best-performing player – Yasin “xfl0ud” Koç. Not only this, but the worst-kept secret of the last short while in Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia and Eetu “sAw” Saha moving to G2 went through around the same time. 

To replace the two lost players, HEROIC have picked up young Belarusian AWPer Gleb “gr1ks” Gazin and Swedish rifler Linus “nilo” Bergman. This results in the team having a strong Swedish core of nilo, Linus “LNZ” Holtäng, and Simon “yxngstxr” Boije bolstered by the Belarusian fragging duo of gr1ks and Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich. Certainly a team to keep an eye on.

MIBR Lose Lucaozy, Gain nicks

After a relatively decent showing at the BLAST Austin Major, Lucas “Lucaozy” Neves benched himself from MIBR. Whilst his time on the Brazilian team wasn’t objectively bad, the aggressive rifler found himself missing out on a lot of his preferred spots, often playing second fiddle to Felipe “insani” Yuji. Despite playing a crucial role in that Major elimination game against Falcons, Lucaozy decided to step back from the roster in search of a system that could truly utilize his preferred playstyle. In his place, MIBR have picked up Nicollas “nicks” Polonio.

GamerLegion Choose Inexperience Over Passivity

In another surprise move in this rostermania, GamerLegion made the decision to bench their AWper Henrich “sl3nd” Hevesi after a run of somewhat lacklustre performances against big opponents. In his place, the German organization has picked up Jeremy “Kursy” Gast, an inexperienced French AWPer looking for his first big break into the Tier 1 scene.

In a conversation with HLTV, Erik “ztr” Gustafsson referenced that Kursy’s potential to grow and improve is a significant part of the mindset of GamerLegion’s growth over the next short while. Kursy’s aggressive, action-heavy playstyle – in contradiction to the more passive nature of his predecessor – could give GamerLegion the explosivity they’ve been lacking.

Wildcard Change Their Hand

As so many of the roster moves have been in this player break, Wildcard’s changes were nothing less than surprising. In a move which seemed to blindside many of the NA organization’s fans, both Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz and Love “phzy” Smidebrant were benched after rumors of roster moves circulating since the start of the BLAST Austin Major.

In their place, Wildcard have added Sebastian “fr3nd” Kuśmierz and Jaxon “Peeping” Cornwell in an effort to make deeper runs in the latter half of the year.

The “L” In jL Stands For…

Leaving professional Counter-Strike in order to focus on individual well-being. Not very catchy, but a damn good reason to take a step back. Justinas “jL” Lekavicius has left the active roster of NAVI in order to focus on a variety of other things in his personal life, making room for yet another young prospect on the Tier 1 scene, Drin “makazze” Shaqiri.

NAVI explained that jL made clear to them ‘his wish to step away for now and focus on his well-being’, which came hand-in-hand with their desire to look for some kind of change to their roster after some lacklustre results of late.

Imperial Change Two

Imperial have bolstered their ranks with experienced ex-FURIA rifler Marcelo “chelo” Cespedes, in replacement for Richard “⁠chayJESUS⁠” Seidy. Alongside this move, they have also replaced Lucas “decenty” Bacelar with ex-SAW player José “⁠Shr⁠” Gil. Whilst the addition of chelo is doubtless going to be a positive one, and the potential for double-AWP setups with the arrival of Shr looks set to improve Imperial’s CT sides, benching their strongest rifler in decenty did raise a few eyebrows.

Spirit Bench magixx

In another of the most talked about changes of this rostermania, Team Spirit have removed longtime franchise player Boris “magixx” Vorobyev from the active roster, replacing him with yet another exciting young prospect in Ivan “zweih” Gogin. Throughout his time in Nemiga, zweih has looked impressive in the server, earning him a chance in the big leagues.

Liquid Stays Solid

Despite a run of lacklustre performances both as a team and from Keith “NAF” Markovic specifically, Team Liquid have made the somewhat surprising decision to make no changes. In an interview with HLTV, NAF stated that he believed his time on the team was over, but the support of his teammates has kept him on the roster.

At the time of writing, NAF has been performing well in the opening rounds of IEM Cologne 2025, proving that, sometimes, a change of mindset can work wonders in the server. Will Liquid’s choice to make no changes come back to haunt them as the grind of the season gets underway? Certainly one to keep an eye on.

M80 Do The NA Shuffle

M80 – perhaps the most interesting team on the NA scene of late – have shuffled some pieces around within the North American scene. Ethan “reck” Serrano has been benched and, in his place, the notoriously loud and feisty Jadan “HexT” Postma has been picked up. With the addition of HexT, M80 look set to employ a more aggressive approach to CS in the server, perhaps giving even more room for Mason “Lake” Sanderson to work his magic.

G2 Change It Up

G2 are perhaps the most changed team after the rostermania, with a multiplicity of roster moves coming in. IGL Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski and coach Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas have been benched, with Nemanja “huNter” Kovač picking up the calling responsibilities and Eetu “sAw” Saha joining as coach.

Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia has joined the roster as their AWPer, hoping to add experience and firepower to the team. To finish off the new-look G2, Matúš “matys” Šimko has joined from Fnatic. This is the least star-studded a G2 roster has looked in a long time, as they appear to have recentered their focus on building a solid foundation for their ‘new’ IGL to build a system upon.

No s1mple Solution For Faze

After their run in the BLAST Austin Major 2025, the CS community was split in their predictions as to whether or not FaZe Clan would pick up Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev on a full-time basis. In a surprise decision to many, FaZe have decided to return their long-time AWPer Helvijs “broky” Saukants to the active roster after some time away from the server.

After a particularly lacklustre season full of disappointing results from the FaZe squad, they seem to be relying on preexisting chemistry and a sense of reinvigoration to pull them through as the year moves on.

Perfecto Joins Virtus.pro

After over a year away from the server, Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy has returned to Tier 1 Counter-Strike and joined Virtus.pro. Reuniting with his Cloud9 and NAVI teammate Denis “electroNic” Sharipov, the powerhouse player looks to reignite his legacy at the highest level.

Whilst their initial games with this new addition haven’t gone their way, it remains to be seen what Perfecto can bring to the roster after properly bedding in.

FlyQuest Land jks

In an uncharacteristically short timespan, Justin “jks” Savage has found himself on a new roster. After being benched from Team Liquid in April, the Aussie rifler has returned to his homeland and joined FlyQuest. The Australian org benched Jay “Liazz” Tregillgas and have signed who most consider to be the greatest Australian CS player of all time.

Can the top-tier experience of jks bolster FlyQuest’s ranks and see them making consistently strong showings at the highest level? As with so many moves covered in this recap, it is most certainly one worth keeping tabs on.