Extra Salt release MarKE
The Mexican player will be allowed to explore other options without the weight of a buyout on his shoulders.
Extra Salt have announced that they have parted ways with Edgar "MarKE" Maldonado, bringing an end to his ten-month tenure on the team and allowing him to explore options free from a contract heading into the 2022 season. He is the second player to officially depart the roster after Josh "oSee" Ohm was signed by Liquid at the end of December.
The announcement follows in the wake of a report from HLTV.org that indicated that the remaining trio of players on the Extra Salt starting roster were in talks to join Complexity alongside Paytyn "junior" Johnson and Michael "Grim" Wince, a deal that we know to be nearing completion.


MarKE has been a part of Extra Salt since March 2021, joining the team in place of Ian "motm" Hardy. Since his arrival, the team firmly established a place in the upper echelon of North America, dominating a majority of domestic tournaments and securing title wins in DreamHack Open March and June, as well as a runner-up finish in the FunSpark ULTI Europe Final.
The team also attended a number of notable tournaments in Europe throughout the last year, but were unable to manage any deep runs. More recently, they qualified for ESL Pro League Season 15 via the Conference stage, although their spot in the event is now in question as the majority of the roster is set to move to Complexity, a Louvre Agreement team who hold a partner spot in the league.
With reports of new North American lineups also emerging, MarKE will have some options to consider, having been a stable presence for Extra Salt throughout his tenure as he averaged a 1.11 rating over 277 maps. The organization, meanwhile, should still be left with Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek under contract as they consider options for the new year, teasing news of a roster announcement next week.
For now, Extra Salt are left with:
Johnny "JT" Theodosiou
Justin "FaNg" Coakley
Ricky "floppy" Kemery
Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen (coach)
Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek (inactive)