Envy owner hastr0: "We're still willing to apply a good budget to CS for the right opportunity"

The North American organisation's chief admitted that the team "haven't performed the best in CS for a while."

Envy owner and Chief Gaming Officer Mike "hastr0" Rufail has not ruled out a return to professional Counter-Strike in the future. In a series of tweets, he commented on the organisation's plans for the scene following the disbandment of its roster and coaching staff before the start of the 2021 tournament season.

Envy's decision came as a surprise to many after the organisation made a $2 million investment in 2020 to become one of the founding members of Flashpoint. Only two months ago, Mr. Rufail had reaffirmed Envy's commitment to Counter-Strike and pledged "a larger budget" for the team in 2021 than in the previous three years.

In a statement issued on Monday, Envy noted that it will "continue conversations to improve the Counter-Strike competitive scene with tournament organizers like B Site and CS:GO developer Valve." Flashpoint 2 was the only tournament in which Envy competed in the second half of the season, with the team finishing in 7th-8th place, picking up just one victory from four matches.

"We are still willing to apply a good budget to CS for the right opportunity in the future," the Envy owner said on Monday, "No one would be happier than me if that comes in 2021.

"Let's be honest, we haven't performed the best in CS for a while after being former world champions with our great French rosters. It was time for a hard reset and we are performing at a top level in so many other games right now. Will keep you guys posted."

Mr. Rufail went on to praise the team's players as well as coach Jakub "⁠kuben⁠" Gurczynski. All six have been made available for transfer as HLTV.org had reported earlier on Monday.