Academies
Academy and development rosters: how teams find, train and promote their next players.
Team Vitality closes its academy team Vitality.Bee
Team Vitality announced on October 9 that Vitality.Bee, its League of Legends academy team of nine years in the French league, will shut down, with the club calling it a pause rather than an exit.
AcademiesBIG Academy sign Maden as captain and name sprayxd as coach
BIG place Maden, 27, at the head of their Counter-Strike academy team as in-game leader, and bring in sprayxd, formerly of Young Ninjas, as its coach.
AcademiesTeam Vitality Shuts Down Its Vitality.Bee LoL Academy After Nine Years
Team Vitality closed its Vitality.Bee League of Legends academy team, citing the current state of Europe's regional leagues rather than any single result.
AcademiesRiot and TJ Sports launch a global event for LoL's second tier
Riot Games announced on September 3 the World Star Challengers Invitational: 16 second-tier League of Legends teams from five regions, from September 20 to October 2, as a pilot.
AcademiesCS2 Prospects ranking: 31 young players graduate after Season 2
A leading Counter-Strike statistics site lists the 31 players leaving its Prospects ranking: 11 passed a map limit at the top level, 20 turned 21.
AcademiesNIP put the Young Ninjas academy on hold and release its players
Ninjas in Pyjamas announced on July 20 that its Counter-Strike academy, Young Ninjas, is on hold for the foreseeable future. Three players and the coach are free to sign elsewhere.
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.
AcademiesFaZe Clan launch FaZe Up Next, a CS2 academy team coached by gade
FaZe Clan unveiled an academy roster, FaZe Up Next, on June 3, with former professional gade as coach and RobbaN as head of Counter-Strike for the division.
AcademiesParken Challenger Championship folds, cancelling nine CS2 events
The company behind Copenhagen's Parken Challenger Championship has started bankruptcy proceedings and cancelled its nine remaining 2026 events, five weeks after announcing an expansion.
AcademiesGame Changers NA Stage 1: eight teams reach the 2026 main event
Riot Games published on May 22 the field and schedule of the Game Changers NA Stage 1 Main Event in Valorant: eight teams, a double-elimination bracket and six match days from May 29.
AcademiesThe NLC will split into UK and Ireland and Nordic leagues from 2027
Riot Games said on May 12 that Northern Europe's League of Legends regional league becomes two tracks, with 2026 as a transition year run by GameWaves and an eight-team Spring Split.
AcademiesLeague of Legends Game Changers Rising returns to EMEA with stages
Riot Games announced on May 6 the second season of its EMEA League of Legends competition for women: stages from May 29, points at each one and a six-team playoff in October.
AcademiesTeam Vitality open a Counter-Strike academy with the Project H five
Team Vitality presented Vitality Academy on April 22: five players aged 16 to 19 who had played together as Project H, a coach and a team manager from the main team's past.
AcademiesENCE promote their academy squad as an interim CS2 roster
Three weeks after benching its international lineup, ENCE moved its academy team up as the Counter-Strike 2 main roster on April 1, with HENU in for Matz.
AcademiesVirtus.pro rebuild their CS2 team around two VP.Prodigy players
Virtus.pro promoted AquaRS and F0R3VER from its academy team VP.Prodigy on March 12, completing a Counter-Strike 2 roster now led in game by mir.
AcademiesNAVI Reportedly Preparing a Valorant Academy Roster for 2026
Natus Vincere is said to be building a Valorant academy team aimed at VCL: NORTH//EAST, targeting players aged 16 to 19 under coach Ivan 'Johnta' Shevtsov.
AcademiesEMEA Masters Winter 2026 sends two regional teams toward the EWC
Riot Games published the primer of EMEA Masters Winter on February 26: 36 regional teams, three stages from March 9 and two places in the new Esports World Cup Qualifier.
AcademiesSpirit Academy unveil a new 2026 lineup under coach S0tF1k
Team Spirit's Counter-Strike academy starts 2026 with a new five under coach S0tF1k, rebuilt after three of its former players moved to other teams in 2025.