Counter-Strike 2
Counter-Strike 2: its teams, tournaments, transfers and the business around them.
Astralis appoint NEO head coach and add a performance coach
A month after parting ways with ruggah, Astralis hired its first head coach from outside Denmark, NEO, and brought in Xirreth from Natus Vincere as performance coach.
VenuesBLAST takes a 2027 Counter-Strike 2 Open to Ulaanbaatar in May
BLAST takes the second Open of its 2027 Counter-Strike 2 season to the Mongolian capital: 16 teams and US$1.25 million from May 10 to 23, 2027.
AcademiesMOUZ NXT sign two players and return to a full five
MOUZ announced two signings for its academy team MOUZ NXT on July 10. The team had been down to three players since April and had not played since May.
TechnologyCS2 update turns the bomb blast into a shockwave stopped by walls
A Valve update reworks the C4 explosion in Counter-Strike 2 and opens Premier Season 5, while Cache replaces Overpass in the Active Duty pool that ESL events follow.
SponsorshipsESL FACEIT Group shuts skin and case-opening sponsors out of CS2 events
ESL FACEIT Group has rewritten the sponsor rules of its Counter-Strike 2 rulebook, Dot Esports reported on July 8, 2026: skin and case-opening sites can no longer back its events.
IntegrityVAC bans and the CS2 Major: who is eligible and what a Banned Team is
How Valve's Major rulebook treats players with VAC bans: written approval, the Banned Team rule, forfeited winnings, discretionary disqualification and checks at the venue.
PlayersESL's July 2026 rulebook: CS2 players stay seated and comms rules tighten
ESL's second 2026 rulebook update for the ESL Pro Tour, published July 7, keeps players in their seats during maps, polices team voice chat and counts VAC bans for five years.
RostersHEROIC change two of five in a day: yxngstxr out, xfl0ud benched
On July 7, HEROIC benched xfl0ud, saw yxngstxr step down from the active roster and were briefly left with three players before naming a new five by the evening.
CoachesHEROIC replace coach TOBIZ and analyst R0nic with doto
HEROIC named its former academy coach doto head coach on July 6 and parted ways with TOBIZ and analyst R0nic. A day later, the five he was to lead had changed too.
TechnologyXSE admits it was not ready for tech failures at Pro League Guangzhou
The organizer of the US$1 million XSE Pro League Guangzhou says a power outage delayed day two, dismissed the lead admin responsible and replaced practice PCs.
OrganizationsLuminosity returns to Counter-Strike 2 with four Monte players and lux
Luminosity confirmed on July 1 a Counter-Strike 2 roster built on four Monte players and the Brazilian captain lux, its first team in the game since 2019.
TransfersBC.Game sign Magisk as in-game leader alongside s1mple and electroNic
BC.Game announced Magisk as its new in-game leader on June 30. The Counter-Strike 2 team now has four players and a caller after two months without one.
RankingsFalcons take the top of HLTV's world ranking from Vitality
HLTV's Counter-Strike ranking of June 29, 2026 lists Falcons first with 883 points, 60 ahead of Vitality, eight days after the team won the IEM Cologne Major. Three weeks earlier it was fourth.
TransfersG2 sign r1nkle off the NIP bench as their new AWPer
G2 completed the signing of r1nkle from Ninjas in Pyjamas on June 25, the day SunPayus was benched. Where the deal leaves G2's five, its academy snipers and the selling club.
RostersG2 bench SunPayus after one year and a Major quarter-final exit
G2 moved its AWPer SunPayus to the bench on June 25, six days after losing to Spirit at the IEM Cologne Major. The club gave no reason and named r1nkle the same day.
PlayersIEM Cologne Major 2026: HLTV ranks its 11 best players and All-Stars
HLTV ranked the 11 standout players of the IEM Cologne Major on June 25, 2026, led by MVP m0NESY, and named a five-man All-Star lineup capped at three per team.
VenuesIEM Cologne Major drew 67,000 fans to the LANXESS arena and Palladium
ESL FACEIT Group counts 67,000 spectators from more than 75 countries over nine days of play in two sold-out Cologne buildings, well above its own forecast.
TournamentsFalcons win the IEM Cologne Major, NiKo's first on his 17th attempt
Falcons beat FURIA 3-0 in the grand final of the IEM Cologne Major on June 21, 2026. It is the organization's first Major title, won after series against Vitality and Spirit.
TournamentsTeam Falcons Beat FURIA to Win the IEM Cologne Major 2026
Team Falcons swept FURIA 3-0 to win the IEM Cologne Major 2026, giving NiKo and m0NESY their first Major titles after a combined 18 prior attempts.
Media RightsIEM Cologne Major passes Austin as most-watched CS event by hours
Before its semifinals were played, the IEM Cologne Major passed 76.2 million hours watched, a Counter-Strike record, while a vertical TikTok feed set a record of its own.