iNation withdraw from CS:GO

The Serbian organization cited their "region's business market" as the reason for their withdrawal from the competitive scene.

iNation suprised the community this year by qualifying for the BLAST.tv Paris Major Europe RMR

iNation have announced the release of Nikola "⁠Dragon⁠" Boskovic and Vladan "⁠Kind0⁠" Mandic from their contracts, and their withdrawal from CS:GO. The news comes a few months after iNation's participation in the BLAST.tv Paris Major Europe RMR.

The Serbian organization pointed to market conditions as the reason for their withdrawal from CS:GO, saying that "momentum was not there, and Serbia is not yet ready for an esports industry and to foresee what the future holds for it." They did add that they hoped their exit would be temporary, and that they "hope to return when the stars align."

With a history in CS:GO dating back to 2013, iNation have made a positive, if understated, contribution to the professional scene. Well-known players, coaches and talent have graced iNation throughout the years, with their alumni including the likes of Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač, Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač, Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković, Janko "⁠YNk⁠" Paunović and Aleksandar "⁠kassad⁠" Trifunović.

In recent years iNation were toiling away in Europe’s online scene, but a strong run of form to kick off 2023 saw the team qualify for the BLAST.tv Paris Major Europe RMR and rise to No. 34 in the world rankings. At the RMR itself the squad exited with an 0-3 record, but gave BIG and ENCE a run for their money on a map apiece, ultimately suffering hard-fought defeats.

After their ill-fated attempt to qualify for the BLAST Paris Major, iNation parted ways with their most highly-touted player, Filip "⁠DEPRESHN⁠" Jarkić, and the duo of Ivan "⁠choiv7⁠" Zivkovic and Vladan "⁠VLDN⁠" Radevic followed a month later. Now the only remaining members, Dragon and Kind0, have been released from their contracts to be able to explore the market as free agents.