The 2022 rostermania recap
As the anticipation for the return of tier-one Counter-Strike reaches a crescendo, we took a look back to round up the big transfers that have happened since PGL Major Stockholm.
With a new year of Counter-Strike now upon us, it is time to reflect and take stock of the raft of player changes that occurred during the winter break. This includes transfers made immediately after PGL Major Stockholm; as was mentioned in our post-Major shuffle tracker, most big changes are made AFTER the Major cycle has concluded, and so it makes sense to include those in this post as well.
This article seeks to highlight the changes made amongst the biggest and best teams in the world, as well as a few where the new rosters are significantly more impressive than previous (see: Apeks).
Vitality
It took until December of 2021 for Vitality to pick up a trophy but win IEM Winter they did, and in general the end of the year was successful for the French squad. However, that single modest win was not enough for the ambitions of the organisation, who had aimed to make changes after a quarter-final exit at the PGL Major; thus, the blockbuster move of the offseason arose, with multiple-Major winners zonic, Magisk and dupreeh joining from Astralis. With the difficulty of playing in a different language, roles to consider, and a potential culture clash, it will be interesting to see if the team ends up being as good as it looks on paper.
G2
Last year ended without a single trophy for G2, but it was not without its high points, in particular a stellar run to the finals of PGL Major Stockholm. Much like with Vitality, the organisation has ambitions to compete with Natus Vincere, and so they went out and bagged an experienced IGL in Aleksib, a coach that many tout as one of the best in the world in XTQZZZ, and the hottest prospect on the market in young AWP prodigy m0NESY. Will an obvious upgrade in skill in the AWP role and a change in leadership be enough, or will G2 continue to falter in the high-pressure moments?
Astralis
Astralis' pedigree is undeniable, and the team simply did not live up to that pedigree in 2021. Even before superstar AWPer Nicolai "device" Reedtz departed the team things were not looking great, and once he did leave a slide into irrelevancy began. k0nfig and blameF were sought as the remedy, coming in from the failing Juggernaut lineup, and a brief renaissance that saw them take 3rd at BLAST Fall Finals suggested the changes were the right ones. Performances have not been quite so good since, and there is much to do to prove that this lineup can measure up to the incredible successes of the back-to-back-to-back Major winning squad.
Complexity
The Juggernaut lineup never quite managed to live up to the monumental billing, and 2021 was no exception. Admittedly the team were dealt a poor hand, dealing with medical and motivation issues multiple times, and having to adjust to multiple roster swaps. The organisation decided to jettison the entire project for 2022, instead going for a lineup made up of promising young NA talents, piloted by a South African IGL-coach leadership duo. The ceiling is immense for this squad, but it remains to be seen whether or not they will get anywhere near it.
FURIA
The best Brazilian team seemed to stagnate somewhat last year, and they never quite managed to recapture the form that saw them rise to #3 in the world in 2020. Admittedly they were still trying to find the right formula after the sudden departure of their star AWPer, Henrique "HEN1" Teles, and trying to do so by embedding youngsters in the team. Now, coming into 2022, they seem to be happy with the role performed by drop and they are bringing in an AWPer who had a great 2021 in the form of saffee, so lets see if they can kick on and challenge the best in the world.
Liquid
2021 was nothing to write home about for Liquid, quite literally considering they spent the majority of their year competing in Europe. The cs_summit 8 trophy was not enough to quell unrest within the squad, and by the end of the year it was inevitable the roster would break apart. A range of names were linked to the team, including Vinicius "VINI" Figueiredo, but eventually it would be an up-and-coming AWPer, a French legend, and an IGL returning from VALORANT who would revamp the squad. It really is anyone's guess as to how good this team will prove to be, but it will certainly be entertaining to find out.
FaZe
2021 wasn't terrible for FaZe, but it wasn't great either. Generally making playoffs without ever threatening to take home a title, karrigan and co. never really managed to quite add up to the sum of their parts. Enter ropz, one of the best players in the world and a regular resident of the HLTV top 20 list, who is reuniting with his old IGL. If karrigan can get the most out of ropz, expect this team to challenge for trophies in 2022.
BIG
The German squad have struggled to replace Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş, and this has reflected in their play throughout 2021. These struggles have coincided with a drop in the from of AWPer syrsoN, and the combination saw them thoroughly underwhelm for the majority of last year, particularly in tier-one events. They have picked up the hottest talent in Germany in the form of faveN, and already at Funspark ULTI the form seemed to be improved. How far they can go in 2022 remains to be seen, but if faveN can frag and syrsoN can get back to his best, the team may return to being a fearsome force on the server.
OG
OG were an interesting prospect last year, seemingly capable of majestic highs (think IEM Summer and ESL Pro League Season 14 groups) and pathetic lows (think IEM Cologne Play-in); this was in part down to the individual form of the players, with AWPer mantuu up-and-down and youngster flameZ somewhat inconsistent. With a new leader at the helm bringing a fresh approach and flameZ older and wiser, OG may be a dark horse to make some deep runs next year.
MOUZ
MOUZ had one really good event last year, Flashpoint 3. Everything else was mediocre to bad. It really is that simple. AWPer acoR seemed nothing close to the player we saw at MAD Lions, dexter struggled statistically, and Bymas was inconsistent. A rebuild has produced a very different team, with MOUZ having lost previous star ropz, but gained future star torzsi and French legend NBK-. If NBK- can bring some leadership qualities, frozen can fill ropz' shoes, and torzsi can play half as well as he did in academy, then MOUZ are going to take some names in 2022.
EG
Evil Geniuses were, quite frankly, a laughing stock in 2021. They were largely terrible, their performance at IEM Fall epitomising their year as a whole, and they ended up qualifying for the Major by the skin of their teeth; all of this resulted in a slide to as low as #40 in the world. A complete revamp was necessary, and the final result of said revamp saw Cloud9's Major winning core reunited (after the organisation initially pursued valde). Plenty will need to go right for this team to succeed, but if all of the pieces fall into place, then who knows where this team could end up.
Other notable changes:
ENCE
Sprout
Apeks
00Nation
Eternal Fire
SKADE
MAD Lions
SINNERS
1WIN
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş
Kalin 'KalubeR' Erenditsov
Viktor 'Duplicate' Mitev
Fredrik 'FREDDyFROG' Gustafsson
Joakim 'Relaxa' Gustafsson
Frederik 'acoR' Gyldstrand
Valentin 'poizon' Vasilev
Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjer
Danil 'ravenlot' Bikvaidze
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